The specifics of foreign language distance learning

2020 ◽  
pp. 72-78
Author(s):  
N. A. Drutsko ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Online Communication ◽  
Foreign Language Learning ◽  
Stressful Environment ◽  
Online Mode ◽  
Physical Isolation ◽  
University Classrooms ◽  
Absolute Advantage

The internationality of the communicative community and the incessant process of modernization require from railway specialists the skill of freely interacting with native speakers of another language. Knowledge of a foreign language at a time when many types of activities have switched to remote functioning is an absolute advantage. This is both the opportunity to obtain relevant knowledge from foreign language sources, and the freedom to communicate and exchange experience with colleagues, regardless of which language they are native speakers. Learning online increases the responsibility of the future railway specialist for the result of mastering a foreign language, conscientiousness in organizing his own educational activities, and independence in completing assignments. The importance of learning a foreign language for railway students during a pandemic remains extremely high. With an eye on quarantine measures, we note that the inability of live communication with people is compensated by online communication channels. The greater number of tools future specialists possess, the more successful they are in coping with the current problems. A foreign language (especially English as a working language of business communication) is one of these tools. The quarantine did not prevent railway specialists from contacting their foreign colleagues, actively sharing their experience, thus being able to cope with a stressful environment in a much better way. Those specialists who switched to online mode and had to communicate with clients using communication tools also noted tangible advantages in knowing a foreign language. In case of forced physical isolation, USURT teachers use productive forms and methods, making foreign language learning no less interesting than in university classrooms. In this article, the author provides a comparative analysis of the capabilities of various online platforms and makes arguments in favor of choosing the Blackboard digital platform. Particular attention is paid to the organization of remote control over training and the forms of influence on the motivational sphere of students.

The Business of Pragmatics. The Case of Discourse Markers in The Speech of Students of Business English and English Linguistics

2011 ◽  
Vol 161 ◽  
pp. 10-30 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lieven Buysse
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Native Speaker ◽  
Foreign Language Learning ◽  
Discourse Markers ◽  
Business English ◽  
Foreign Language Learners ◽  
Native Speech

Abstract This paper investigates how foreign language learners use discourse markers (such as so, well, you know, I mean) in English speech. These small words that do not contribute much, if anything at all, to the propositional content of a message but modify it in subtle ways, are often considered among the last elements acquired in a foreign language. This contribution reports on close scrutiny of a corpus of English-spoken interviews with Belgian native speakers of Dutch, half of whom are undergraduates majoring in Commercial Sciences and half of whom are majoring in English Linguistics, and sets it off against a comparable native speaker corpus. The investigation shows that the language learners exhibit a clear preference for “operative discourse markers” and neglect or avoid “involvement discourse markers”. It is argued that in learner speech the former take on functions typically fulfilled by the latter to a greater extent than in native speech, and that in some cases the learners revert to a code-switching strategy to cater for their pragmatic needs, bringing markers from Dutch into their English speech. Finally, questions are raised as to the place of such pragmatic devices in foreign language learning.

scholarly journals Tapping into the Educational Potential of Facebook: Encouraging Out-of-Class Peer Collaboration in Foreign Language Learning

2015 ◽  
pp. 176-190 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ward Peeters
Keyword(s):  
Social Network ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Social Network Sites ◽  
Online Communication ◽  
Foreign Language Learning ◽  
Peer Collaboration ◽  
First Year ◽  
Communicative Context ◽  
Educational Potential

Due to their social framework and often informal character, social network sites such as Facebook are believed to promote out-of-class learning by encouraging learners to participate in online peer collaboration. Yet, the evidence remains inconclusive when it comes to the effectiveness and students’ appreciation of collaborating via social network sites, which indicates the need for further research. The first part of the present paper discusses the ‘out-of-class’ use of a closed Facebook group by analysing the online communication behaviour of 119 first-year foreign language English majors at the University of Antwerp (Belgium) participating in a writing course. The assessed data (more than 4,000 Facebook posts and a post-questionnaire) suggest that the socio-communicative context of a Facebook group motivates students to learn collaboratively beyond the physical classroom walls. The remaining part of this paper investigates which conclusions can be drawn from this for increasing the effectiveness of independent self-access modules and study programmes blending self-access and classroom learning. Here, results hint at the fact that students attach particular importance to social network sites as support networks for sharing positive and critical learning experiences and language learning tips.

Alternative Tool to Engage Learners in Comprehending Written Forms in Mandarin

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
pp. 25-34
Author(s):  
Arutchelvi K.Kumaran ◽  
Chong Geeng Ling ◽  
Evelyn Sharminnie Vasuthavan ◽  
Angeline Ranjethamoney Vijayarajoo ◽  
Teoh Joo Tong
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Foreign Language Learning ◽  
Board Game ◽  
Post Test ◽  
Written Form

In the Malaysian context, Mandarin is taught as a foreign language. Learning the written forms can be challenging, especially for non-native speakers. Furthermore, teachers found this component to be problematic, based on learners’ classroom written tasks. In order to assist learners’ comprehension of the written form, a board game called ‘Catch Me If You Can’ was developed. The focus of this study is to find out the effectiveness of the board game in learning the written forms. The study sample consisted of 20 respondents from a local University. Data comprised the responses from questionnaires and interviews. A pre and post test was administered to gauge students’ performance in the written tasks. The findings showed the respondents enjoyed learning the written forms in a fun and engaging way. Hence, this game can be used as complementary tool in the teaching and learning of written forms.

The English-as-a-lingua-franca approach

2010 ◽  
Vol 34 (3) ◽  
pp. 201-221 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sabine Fiedler
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Foreign Language Learning ◽  
International Communication ◽  
Artificial Language ◽  
Lingua Franca ◽  
Learning And Teaching ◽  
Number Of Factors ◽  
The World

English has spread so widely around the world that its native speakers are now outnumbered by its non-native speakers. Recent publications have shown that the dominance of English has led to severe disadvantages for non-Anglophones. Several options of language policy have been presented to find fair and democratic approaches to international communication. Their scope includes different variants of multilingualism, the limitation of the number of languages used in international communication, restriction to receptive skills, the introduction of a system of compensation, initiatives to revive an ancient language (e.g. Latin), and the use of an artificial language. The model English as a Lingua Franca, the idea that the English spoken by non-native speakers is a variety in its own right whose norms are established by its users instead of native speakers, is among these proposals. The paper discusses the extent to which this approach seems to be feasible. Despite its appeal among learners and speakers of English as a foreign language, a number of factors seem to hamper its chances of realization. These factors involve a complexity of issues, such as traditions in foreign language learning and teaching, the heterogeneity of lingua franca communication and psychological reservations.

scholarly journals Einsatz eines didaktisch gelenkten Chatrooms im Fremdsprachenunterricht

2003 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lela-Rose Engler
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Foreign Language Learning ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Synchronous Communication ◽  
Language Abilities ◽  
Language Classes ◽  
Development Of Language ◽  
New Research

The use of virtual chatrooms for foreign language learning processes has lead to new research questions in the area of language acquisition. Assuming the differences between tutored and untutored chats tutored chats do not only offer the opportunity of synchronous communication between native and non-native speakers but also support the development of language abilities as reading and writing in the target language. In distance learning they can substitute for missing oral conversational classes. The conditions which either do or do not support the use of chatrooms have to be taken into account for planning and evaluating distance foreign language classes.

scholarly journals You sound attractive! Perceptions of accented English in a multilingual environment

2011 ◽  
Vol 34 (2) ◽  
pp. 216-236 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susana A. Eisenchlas ◽  
Chiharu Tsurutani
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Cultural Difference ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Foreign Language Learning ◽  
Standard English ◽  
Foreign Born ◽  
Foreign Accents ◽  
Native Speakers Of English ◽  
Accented English

Sociolinguistic research on attitudes towards language has revealed that native speakers of English are drawn towards those who share their native accent and respond cautiously, perhaps negatively, towards those speaking in ‘accented’ English (Lambert, Hodgson, Gardner & Fillenbaum, 1960; Rubin, 1992). These perceptions greatly disadvantage migrants in competitive job and educational markets. This study investigated perceptions held by Australian university students learning foreign languages towards lecturers with non-standard English accents. The investigators used a modified matched-guised technique to test students’ responses to speech samples from six speakers, one Australian born and raised and five foreign born and raised. Results contrasted clearly with those of previous studies; students rated those who they heard as ‘accented’ speakers highly in many personality dimensions, suggesting the students’ greater readiness to accept foreign accents. The results highlight the importance of foreign language learning in fostering acceptance of linguistic and cultural difference and in facilitating mutual understanding among groups, particularly in multicultural societies.

The crosslinguistic assessment of foreign language vocabulary learning

1996 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 149-183 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vera Kempe ◽  
Brian Macwhinney
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Lexical Decision ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Lexical Decision Task ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Foreign Language Learning ◽  
Written Language ◽  
Decision Task ◽  
Lexical Development ◽  
Foreign Language Vocabulary Learning

ABSTRACTThis study examines a task that can be applied in a uniform fashion across different languages to compare levels of vocabulary development in foreign language learning. Experiment I tested native speakers of Russian and German and demonstrated the basic comparability of the subjects' judgments for both words and nonwords. The results for Russian showed an influence of word length, which can be understood in terms of the Orthographical Depth Hypothesis. Experiment 2 applied the same task to learners of Russian and German and found that learners of Russian had achieved a lower level of vocabulary control than learners of German at comparable language exposure levels. This disadvantage for Russian can be attributed to the novelty of the Cyrillic graphemic system, which restricts the accessibility of written language input at early stages. There was a nonlinear increase over time in word sensitivity, which can be attributed to the increasing contribution of lexical plausibility factors at later stages of learning. Moreover, the lexical decision task appeared to be sensitive to inhibitory effects of concurrently studied languages, as well as to decay due to the lack of regular exposure. Together, these results indicate that the lexical decision task can be a useful tool for the assessment and crosslinguistic comparison of lexical development in foreign language learning.

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