LANGUAGE LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES IN ONLINE INTERCULTURAL PEER INTERACTION

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sun Hee Kim ◽  
Hikyoung Lee
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
Peer Interaction ◽  
Learning Opportunities

Pair dynamics and language-related episodes in child EFL task-based peer interaction

2021 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 189-213
Author(s):  
Elisabet Pladevall-Ballester
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Peer Interaction ◽  
Learning Opportunities ◽  
Efl Context ◽  
Young Learners ◽  
Expert Novice

Abstract Previous research shows young learners are indeed able to interact in a foreign language (FL) and negotiate for meaning while also attending to form. One of the variables that has been least studied among young learners (YLs) in FL contexts is the kind of relationships established among the members of a dyad and how the nature of pair dynamics affects the learners’ ability to attend to language. The present study explores the pair dynamics and the frequency and types of language learning opportunities in the form of language-related episodes (LREs) that emerge during peer interaction in a spot-the-differences task completed by young learners in an English as a Foreign Language (EFL) context. We also examine the effects of age and pair dynamics on the production of these LREs. Results suggest that children interact mainly using collabo­rative patterns and can actually attend to language in episodes which are mainly meaning-focused and are resolved particularly in expert/novice dyads. Age has been found to significantly affect the production of LREs but pair dynamics seems to be less determinant. Findings corroborate the need for YLs to be given the chance to interact with their peers in class to foster learning opportunities.

Training Graduate Student Clinicians to Use Preschool Peer Interaction Strategies

2009 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 13-18
Author(s):  
Corey L. Herd
Keyword(s):  
Language Development ◽  
Training Program ◽  
Peer Interaction ◽  
Graduate Program ◽  
Peer Interactions ◽  
Graduate Programs ◽  
Communication Disorders ◽  
Learning Opportunities ◽  
Knowledge And Skills ◽  
Direct Training

Abstract Playing with peers is an important part of childhood—what children learn from interacting with one another has enormous impact on both their social and language development. Although many children naturally develop the ability to interact well with peers, some children have difficulty interacting with other children and may miss out on important learning opportunities as a result. Speech-language pathologists (SLPs) can target the peer interactions of young children on their caseload, assuming that they have the knowledge and skills with which to address them. SLP graduate programs have the opportunity to provide future SLPs with both knowledge and skills-based training. This study assessed a graduate program in which three graduate clinicians participated in a preschool program for children with communication disorders; peer interactions were targeted within the program. The students were observed and data was collected regarding their use of peer interaction facilitation strategies in the group sessions both prior to and after they participated in a direct training program regarding the use of such skills. Outcomes indicate that the direct training program resulted in a statistically significant increase in the students' use of different strategies to facilitate peer interactions among the children in the group.

Learning opportunities in peer-peer interaction: A case study of two L2 Mandarin Chinese learners

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 199-226
Author(s):  
Dan Jiang
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Mandarin Chinese ◽  
Learning Opportunities ◽  
French Immersion ◽  
Chinese Learners ◽  
Instructed Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Negotiation For Meaning

AbstractThe roles of interaction have been studied for several decades. Recent studies have turned to investigate “the details of which components of interaction might be more or less effective in which contexts with which learners” (Loewen, Shawn & Masatoshi Sato. 2018. Interaction and instructed second language acquisition. Language Teaching 51(3). 285–329: 286). This case study, based on three unstructured interactions outside the classroom between two L2 Mandarin Chinese learners, investigates the learning opportunities these interactions brought about in terms of helping them to increase in control over forms that had already been encountered inside the classroom. Using the concept of the language-related episode (Swain, Merrill & Sharon Lapkin. 1998. Interaction and second language learning: Two adolescent French immersion students working together. The Modern Language Journal 82(3). 320–337), this study sets focus on learning opportunities for lexis- and grammar-related items. It finds learning opportunities arise as the two peers negotiate for meaning motivated by the need to comprehend, strive to use the L2 to express/co-express themselves, and improve their form through the other’s feedback. In addition, lexis-related learning is found to be very positive in this study. The dictionary played an indispensable role in facilitating the learners when they encountered lexis-related issues. Further, it enabled the learners to learn new vocabulary when driven by communicative needs. In comparison, the grammar-related learning is found to be relatively complicated. And the fact the learners had nowhere to resort to concerning grammatical issues attributed to it. In terms of the different types of interactions, compared to learning through negotiation for meaning and feedback, output and co-construction/collaboration were found to be most productive in promoting the learning.

scholarly journals Logbook: a Tool for Learning Inside and Outside the Language Class

EL LE ◽  
2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marcella Menegale
Keyword(s):  
Knowledge Transfer ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Learning Strategies ◽  
Experimental Research ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Learning Opportunities ◽  
Metacognitive Awareness ◽  
Language Competence ◽  
Language Class

One of the aims of language learning is that learners can apply outside the classroom what they learn at school and, vice versa, can use in classroom what comes from their experience in ‘real’ life, that is, outside school walls. However, as nearly a century of experimental research on the field has proved, knowledge transfer does not occur spontaneously, on the contrary, this capacity seems to be particularly complicated and difficult to encourage. It is therefore crucial to help learners gain awareness and make use of existing language learning opportunities as well as the learning strategies they can employ so to increase their capacity to make connections. Among the different tools that can be used to enhance both language competence and metacognitive awareness, logbook is considered one of the most handy and purposeful. This paper will try to explain what a logbook is and how it can be used with students with the intention to promote their language learning both in and out of the classroom.

Language choice and second language learning opportunities in learners’ social networks

2007 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 5.1-5.18
Author(s):  
Naomi Kurata
Keyword(s):  
Social Networks ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Language Choice ◽  
Learning Opportunities ◽  
Natural Environments ◽  
Foreign Language Learners ◽  
L2 Learning ◽  
On Line ◽  
Natural Interactions

This paper examines the patterns of language choice and the construction of L2 learning opportunities in foreign language learners’ social networks by focusing on how these patterns and opportunities are socially structured in a Japanese language learner’s natural interactions. It is based on a range of data, including a script of on-line chat occurring in natural environments as well interview data. Drawing on Cummins’ (1996) concept of interpersonal space, the findings indicate that there were a number of social and contextual factors that seemed to affect the learner’s language choice and L2 learning opportunities in complex ways. Most of these factors appeared to be related to the learner’s and/or his network interactants’ identity as an adequate L2 user and their perception of each other’s L2 proficiency and/or role. This paper provides insights into how to create environments that promote the learners’ opportunities for L2 use and learning.

scholarly journals Speaking Their Sex: A Study of Gender and Linguistic Space in an ESL Classroom

2002 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 37 ◽  
Author(s):  
Allyson Jule
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Language Use ◽  
Learning Opportunities ◽  
Linguistic Variable ◽  
Esl Classroom

This study is an exploration of the amount of talk (also referred to as "linguistic space," Mahony, 1985) used by girls as opposed to boys in a grade 2 ESL classroom located in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia. The focus was on the amount of language used by the girls in teacher-led classroom lessons. Data were collected through videotaped observations, which were then transcribed, measured by counting words, and analyzed for conversational opportunities. The findings revealed that being a girl may have affected participation in the classroom lessons, and by extension affected language-learning opportunities. The particular lack of linguistic space in the girls' experience suggests that the girls in this classroom may be limited in language use. Their silence appeared partly influenced by the teacher's response to their comments. The article concludes with a discussion of gender as a significant linguistic variable in an ESL experience.

scholarly journals Governmental partnerships for language learning: A commercial language platform for young workers in Colombia

2017 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 42 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gustavo Garcia Botero ◽  
Jacqueline Garcia Botero ◽  
Frederik Questier
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
English Language ◽  
Monitoring And Evaluation ◽  
Learning Opportunities ◽  
English Language Learning ◽  
English Learning ◽  
Young Workers ◽  
Colombian Government ◽  
Learning Policies ◽  
Free Language

<p>In June 2015, the Colombian government via the Labor Ministry announced a project for young workers called 40.000 Primeros Empleos. In the framework of this project, the Ministry of Labor signed an alliance with the language platform Duolingo as a strategy to provide participants with English learning opportunities and a free language certificate. With the help of a monitoring and evaluation perspective, this study describes Colombian English language learning policies and their relationship with the labour market. The discussion presented here intends to maximize the outcomes of these kinds of agreements and to provide insights for researchers and national stakeholders willing to carry out similar projects in their countries. Certification is also thoroughly analyzed as a means of estimating the possible impact of this partnership.</p>

scholarly journals The Pedagogy of Learner Autonomy: Lessons from the Classroom

2017 ◽  
pp. 102-115 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sara Cotterall
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
Learner Autonomy ◽  
Learning Opportunities ◽  
Learner Engagement ◽  
Written Narratives ◽  
Japanese University ◽  
Classroom Activities ◽  
Learning Contexts ◽  
The Relationship

Learner autonomy in language learning has been the focus of enthusiastic investigation for the last 25 years. Research has focused on three key areas: the nature of autonomy, efforts to foster learner autonomy and the relationship between learner autonomy and effective language learning (Benson, 2011). This article focuses on the second area – the pedagogy of learner autonomy – and reports on insights gained from a career spent exploring learners’ efforts to learn a language. The paper is organized around a pedagogical model (Cotterall & Murray, 2009; Murray, 2013) which aims to enhance learner engagement and autonomy. The model consists of five affordances – engagement, exploration, personalization, reflection and support – which emerged from analysing the interviews and written narratives of Japanese university students engaged in independent language learning. The paper first discusses each of the five affordances and the way they contribute to the quality of language learning opportunities (Crabbe, 2003) in a given environment. Next, the affordances are illustrated in relation to five different learning contexts in an attempt to highlight the diverse ways in which learner autonomy can be promoted. Rather than prescribe particular classroom activities, the model identifies principles which can guide pedagogical decision-making. The paper concludes by considering the model’s potential as a set of guidelines for teachers who wish to promote learner autonomy.

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