scholarly journals Investigating Learner Silent and Verbal Responses to Tasks

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 61-72
Author(s):  
Dat Bao ◽  
Yongde Ye

This article reports a study on EFL/ESL learner perceptions of classroom tasks with reference to verbal or non-verbal participation, that is, how much speech and silence would be employed in response to a rage of task types. Data were collected from 260 learners from Indonesia and the Philippines. The article begins by explaining why silence and speech are the focus of the discussion. Secondly, it shares the literature review on how silence works in language learning and why it deserves a place in classroom teaching. Thirdly, it highlights classroom tasks that trigger silent processing and explain why this is the case. Finally, there are recommendations for task design in which similar activity types are introduced to assist the learning of reflective students.

2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
Dat Bao

This article argues that silence as a communication can be academically practised in the classroom as much as talk, simply because talk and silence are both essential components of everyday interaction (Nakane, 2012). These two constructs are interdependent in the sense that one would not exist without the other. Silence can be practised in two different ways: one is to employ it as a mental processing process in learning; two is to observe and discuss how silence is used in communication. The article begins by sharing the literature review on how silence works in education, how t deserves a place in SLS theorisation, and how it constitutes communication competence. Secondly, it highlights classroom tasks that trigger silent processing and explain why this is the case. Thirdly, the discussion recommends an activity which addresses the value of silence, which was developed by the author through research and experience. Finally, there are recommendations for task design in which similar activity types are introduced to assist the learning of reflective students.


Author(s):  
Yan Liang

With the advent of the Internet age, network information technology is rapidly entering college English classes, which fundamentally changes the mode of college English teaching. In college English classroom teaching mode, as a brand teaching form, College English multimedia network teaching environment has brought advantages to classroom teaching, but also brought about impacts on teaching concepts, teaching models, teaching methods and other aspects. There are some phenomena that are inconsistent with the reform model at the students, teachers and the environment. The balance of traditional English classroom teaching has been broken, which has affected the smooth progress of college business English classroom teaching mode reform. It is very important to analyze and resolve these imbalances and find ecological methods for optimizing university English education. In this context, the advent of multimedia-assisted education technology has provided better conditions for the implementation of Business English classroom education in universities. Multimedia-powered business English education allows teachers to create a better language learning environment in class more conveniently and quickly, helping students acquire grammar knowledge and achieve their educational objectives.


Author(s):  
Kirsi Korkealehto ◽  
Vera Leier

This project was conducted in a five credit course in English as a Foreign Language, which was a compulsory module in first year business administration studies. The data includes students’ learning diaries and a post-course online questionnaire (N=21). The data were analysed using a content analysis method. The results indicate that the students perceived the multimodal task design as enjoyable and students’ engagement was fostered by course design, teacher’s activity, student’s activity, and collaboration.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (5) ◽  
pp. 23
Author(s):  
Rupert Walsh

Mobile Assisted Language Learning (MALL) is now common in extra-curricular language learning, but, more recently, teachers have increasingly sought ways to utilise MALL as a communicative classroom tool. Research into the extent that MALL can transform a whole communicative language course, and learners’ impressions of such courses, is scarce. This study, therefore, sought the opinions of five undergraduate learners on a short communicative English language course based on communicative principles, with materials entirely sourced from learner’s own devices. Learner reflections elicited in interviews suggested that MALL had aided the facilitation of an environment that was interactive, motivating, differentiated, authentic and autonomous, at times potentially more so than on a course using traditional material sources. The novel aspect of allowing freedom in choosing materials caused some complications, though none were considered insurmountable with minor adjustments to the course plan. In summary, student reactions implied that a communicative course could be taught exclusively through mobile-sourced materials, but further research is required to identify exactly how this would best be achieved. Nevertheless, findings here give reasons for practitioners to explore methods of classroom teaching inclusive of MALL that encourage self-directed learning, the creation of a platform for interaction, personalization, differentiation, a shared experience for learners and elements of game-play.


Author(s):  
Sally Durand

Among the many facets of Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL), studies using computer language corpora have risen to considerable prominence in research agendas. The author argues that corpora are useful tools for practicing teachers. However, the myth that “corpus-based research is too complicated to be useful for teachers” (Conrad, 2009) prevails in pedagogical contexts. This chapter strives to dispel that myth by synthesizing a wealth of research and their accompanying pedagogical applications. Secondly, it shares specific pedagogical activities to implement corpus data in classroom teaching. These corpus-informed classroom strategies provide concrete examples that will assist TESOL/TEFL teachers in making their coursework authentic and therefore more meaningful to students learning language.


2011 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 3
Author(s):  
Zorana Vasiljevic

Teachers are often faced with difficulty in choosing appropriate teaching activities for use in their classroom. In selecting suitable materials for their learners, teachers need to be able to analyze any tasks (i.e., their objectives, procedures and intended outcomes) before they are applied in the classroom. This paper will attempt to outline a systematic procedure for predictive task evaluation. This model should help teachers to identify elements in the task design that are likely to affect the accuracy, fluency and complexity of the students’ output before the task is implemented in the classroom and thus help them to make decisions regarding task selection and their sequencing.


1992 ◽  
Vol 68 (2) ◽  
pp. 417-424 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. Buonviso ◽  
M. A. Chaput ◽  
F. Berthommier

1. Neighboring mitral cells in the rat olfactory bulb have been previously shown to give similar response profiles to a series of odorants. We now analyze their temporal patterns of activity before and during stimulation to evaluate to what extent soma proximity may act on their temporal correlation and to what extent olfactory stimulation may force two close cells to fire with similar patterns. 2. In anesthetized adult rats, we recorded simultaneously the extracellular single-unit activities of two mitral cells with the use of twin micropipettes with tips separated by less than 40 microns. These activities were recorded before and during stimulation by a series of five odorants. 3. Activities were classified into nine types according to their temporal pattern along the respiratory cycle. These types comprised nonrhythmic patterns and rhythmic ones, the latter being simple or complex. A phase parameter was also calculated to compare the positions of maximal activity within respiratory cycles of pairs of cells that had rhythmic activities. 4. All analyses were made by comparing data from pairs of close cells with data from pairs of control cells obtained by pairing each first cell of all recorded pairs with the second units of all other pairs. Results reveal a probability of similar activity types significantly higher in pairs of close cells than in control ones before stimulation. Odorant stimulation enhances this difference by reducing the probability of similar associations in control pairs. Close cells present similar patterns as frequently before, as during, stimulation; however, the probability of double nonrhythmic firings decreases whereas the probability of double rhythmic ones increases.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)


1987 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 45 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paula Kezwer

There have been a number of studies done to try to explain the effects of out goingness versus reservedness on second language learning. The results of these studies have often been contradictory with some showing a clear correlation between extroversion and success in learning a second language, others failing to demonstrate that there is a positive correlation between out goingness and second language proficiency. This paper presents a survey of all the major studies dealing with the influence of extroversion on second language learning. It is argued that among the reasons for the discrepancies in research results are the wide variety and dubious validity of the personality assessment instruments used; the nature of the tasks used to determine second language proficiency; and the structure of classroom interaction. The implications of extroversion and introversion for classroom teaching are also considered.


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