scholarly journals Evaluation of reading comprehension in a foreign language: A qualitative case study

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (18) ◽  
pp. 1-28
Author(s):  
José Villalobos ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Reading Comprehension ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Qualitative Case Study

scholarly journals Applying the Kintsch-Van Dijk Model to Evaluate Impact on Foreign Language Learning: A Case Study

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 22
Author(s):  
Ali Saleh Alghonaim
Keyword(s):  
Reading Comprehension ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Reading Ability ◽  
Teacher Perception ◽  
Foreign Language Learning ◽  
Structured Education ◽  
Foreign Language Acquisition

Reading comprehension is not an area of much attention in the EFL scene in Saudi Arabia. The reason is simple: In the current teacher perception of foreign language acquisition in the country, vocabulary and grammar are the only two components paid any attention. With the teacher at the center of the learning process, learner centric tasks such as reading are left to the ingenuity of the learners and kept strictly out of the class boundaries. Consequently, learners never acquire reading ability and their little exposure to the foreign language dies as soon as they leave the structured education system. This runs contrary to the very basis of language acquisition as being a life long process. The aim of this paper was to evaluate the possibility of greater learner autonomy by developing and training them in reading techniques that can be used beyond the classroom. The idea was to intervene using the theory of Kintsch-Van Dijk as proposed in their model of reading comprehension. Conducted as a case study with a proficient learner of English, the results indicated that the model can be applied to the advanced learner with much success, giving such learners a potent tool for lifelong language acquisition.

scholarly journals “That German stuff”: Negotiating Linguistic Legitimacy in a Foreign Language Classroom

2018 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 18-30 ◽  
Author(s):  
Johanna Ennser-Kananen
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Use ◽  
Qualitative Case Study ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Language Classroom ◽  
School Classroom ◽  
High School Classroom

This qualitative case study of one German suburban high school classroom in the Midwestern United States examines how learners of German negotiate their linguistic legitimacy, which is defined as discursively constructed acceptance or validation for their language use. Specifically, it investigates how the students negotiated legitimacy for using their target language German in their classroom. Based on the premise that linguistic legitimacy is crucial for the maintenance and development of speakers’ languages, data was collected and analyzed from classroom recordings, semi-structured interviews, and participant observations. Findings revealed that, while English dominated the lessons as the default legitimate language among the students, using German was accepted and valued under certain circumstances. Such instances of linguistic legitimacy included the use of German for entertainment or in role plays, a pattern which points to the students’ desire to mitigate investment and display “uninvestment” in learning or using German. Implications for foreign language (FL) pedagogy and teacher education are discussed.

scholarly journals Understanding Basic English Users’ Classroom Interaction: A Case Study

HOW ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. 30-44
Author(s):  
Ximena Rocío Contreras-Espinosa ◽  
Karen Michell Villamizar-Mantilla
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
English Language ◽  
Qualitative Case Study ◽  
Classroom Interaction ◽  
Public University ◽  
Interaction Patterns ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Language Classroom ◽  
Basic English

This qualitative case study seeks to understand the importance of interaction in an A1-English language course at a public university in Colombia. Data were collected through six non-participant observations and four semi-structured interviews. Data were organized and analyzed by using MAXQDA software. These instruments provided enough information of the participants’ perspectives about the importance of interaction when learning a new language. With these instruments, it was also possible to find the types of interaction that occurred between the participating teacher and students in the observed foreign language classroom. The findings reveal five different interaction patterns that emerged depending on its purpose, who started them, when they occurred, and how they were given.

scholarly journals Postmodernism as a Theoretical Framework for Learner Autonomy Research

2018 ◽  
pp. 342-370
Author(s):  
Christine O’Leary
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Qualitative Case Study ◽  
Education Institution ◽  
Learner Autonomy ◽  
Social Constructions ◽  
Foreign Language Learners ◽  
Constructivist Perspective

The multidimensional nature of current conceptualisations of learner autonomy combined with the need to access both individual and social constructions presents both ontological and epistemological challenges when researching a pedagogy for learner autonomy. This paper will discuss the advantages and challenges to exploring the development of learner autonomy and its implication for practice from a postmodernist and social constructivist perspective, based on a qualitative case study of the development of advanced specialist and non-specialist foreign language learners and their teacher as a learner practitioner-researcher, in a large Higher Education Institution in England. It will show, in particular, how such methodology facilitates a dynamic research design, providing an opportunity to adapt and use existing theories whilst maintaining a strong emphasis on the learner’s ‘voices’. It will conclude with a set of recommendations together with the limitations of such an approach.

A qualitative case study of CSL learners’ reading strategies

2018 ◽  
Vol 53 (2) ◽  
pp. 131-162
Author(s):  
Sha Huang
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Reading Comprehension ◽  
Chinese Text ◽  
Reading Strategies ◽  
Qualitative Case Study ◽  
Comprehension Strategies ◽  
Reading Process ◽  
Depth Analysis ◽  
Effective Use

Abstract Reading is a challenging task for Chinese as a second language (CSL) learners. Research has shown that effective use of strategies helps to enhance reading comprehension. However, studies about the reading strategies of CSL learners are extremely limited, and even fewer studies focus on how CSL readers use reading strategies to facilitate comprehension when reading a Chinese text. This case study addressed this gap by conducting an in-depth analysis of how three CSL readers used strategies to enhance their comprehension. Through think-aloud and recall protocols, close observations, and interviews, this study identified 26 comprehension strategies used by these readers during the reading process. It also reported the strategies commonly used by these readers to enhance reading comprehension effectively, such as using context to decode words, monitoring, identifying important information, and skipping unimportant parts. This article presents the study’s findings and their implications.

I Thought I Forgot about it: A Case Study in Attrition of English Grammar and Reading Comprehension

2016 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
Thamer Alharthi ◽  
Albandary Al-Hassan
Keyword(s):  
Reading Comprehension ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Female Students ◽  
Formal Learning ◽  
Language Attrition ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
English Grammar ◽  
English Major ◽  
Undergraduate Female

<p>The purpose of the present study was to investigate foreign language attrition in Saudi Arabia. It focused on the attrition of English grammar and reading comprehension of university students whose formal learning of English had ceased between one and four years prior to the study. The participants were non-English major Saudi undergraduate female students at a Saudi university who had completed an English course in order to fulfill college requirements. The study adopted the kind of design commonly used in language attrition studies, i.e. a combination of longitudinal and cross-sectional approaches. Various measurements of L2 attrition were conducted, including tests, questionnaires, and can-do scales. The findings suggest that (1) attrition due to ack of use of English did occur, (2) attrition sets in quickly and then levels off after four years of non-use, (3) reading comprehension is more vulnerable to attrition than grammar, and (4) no significant differences between participants were found due to the length of time English had not been used. </p>

scholarly journals Supervisors’ Perspectives on Graduate Students’ Problems in Academic Writing

2022 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 545-556
Author(s):  
Omar Moh'd ◽  
Yasser Al-Shboul ◽  
Ibrahim Fathi
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Academic Writing ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Qualitative Case Study ◽  
Comprehensive Analysis ◽  
Writing Apprehension ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
Studying Abroad ◽  
Theoretical Perspectives

<p style="text-align: justify;">Writing is very important for learners; it is a dynamic and creative skill. Although studies on students’ problems when writing a dissertation among Native Speakers (NS) are widely done, studies on English as a Foreign Language (EFL) are limited, especially those which examine problems faced while writing dissertations among Ph.D. EFL learners, in particular, Jordanian Ph.D. candidates. Studies on the supervisors' perspectives of writing a dissertation are scarce among EFL learners, particularly Arab learners. This study aims at focusing on supervisors' perspectives of writing dissertations among Jordanian Ph.D. students who are studying abroad. This study is a qualitative case study. The researchers interviewed nine Malaysian supervisors who supervised 21 Jordanian Ph.D. candidates. The results show that six main themes emerged from the supervisors' perspectives, and they are grammatical mistakes, lack of vocabulary and verbs reporting, personal effects, lack of motivation, writing apprehension, and the problem with generic thesis structure. This paper contributes with a comprehensive analysis of the theoretical perspectives on problems Ph.D. students face when writing a dissertation. The study also fills in the gap in the field of supervisors' perspectives of writing a dissertation. Based on the results found, the researchers suggest a number of recommendations and further research that might help supervisors understand the reasons behind such difficulties.</p>

scholarly journals Desarrollo de la expresión y la oralidad a través de clubs de lectura en el aula de inglés en Escuelas Oficiales de Idiomas

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sonia Vecino-Ramos ◽  
Paola Ruiz-Bernardo
Keyword(s):  
Reading Comprehension ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Personal Experience ◽  
Reading Development ◽  
Educational Levels ◽  
English Classes ◽  
Language Classroom ◽  
Oral Expression ◽  
Reading Clubs

The reading clubs or book clubs are an innovative practice in the foreign language classroom that, apart from the reading comprehension, allow the students to share their individual and personal experience with their classmates, and, thus, improve their speaking by means of the practice of orality, as well as to promote their critical and reflexive thinking throudh the contualization offered by the book. This communication explains the case study of these clubs in English classes at Official School of Languages in Castellón in the B1, B2 and C1 levels. To evaluate the experience a self-designed survey was administered based on their reading development and centered in the students perception related to their improvement in reading comprehension and oral expression. From the results, it can be concluded that the students perception towards the use of reading clubs in the classroom to practise oralitiy and speaking is positive, which makes it advisable to use them in other languages and different educational levels.

scholarly journals THE IMPLEMENTATION OF SQ3R TECHNIQUE IN TEACHING READING COMPREHENSION

2019 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 74-80
Author(s):  
Susie Kusumayanthi ◽  
Sely Mariam Maulidi
Keyword(s):  
Reading Comprehension ◽  
Qualitative Case Study ◽  
The State ◽  
Vocational School ◽  
Teaching Reading

This study aims to describe the implementation of SQ3R in teaching reading comprehension and to identify students' responses to the implementation of SQ3R. This study uses a qualitative case study conducted at one of the state vocational school in Purwakarta. It involves 4 students. Data were collected through observation and interviews. The data from 2 instruments were analyzed qualitatively. The results of this study indicate that the implementation of SQ3R helps students to understand English words. According to Apandi (2011), SQ3R helps the students to understand English words. The students also responded positively to the implementation of SQ3R. Therefore, SQ3R is recommended to be implemented in teaching reading comprehension.

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