scholarly journals Validation and Investigation of Sentence Parsing Strategies: a Study of EFL Learners Psych and Language Processing

2015 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 1099-1122
Author(s):  
Sahar Moeenian ◽  
Gholam Reza Abbasian
Keyword(s):  
Language Proficiency ◽  
Language Processing ◽  
Sentence Processing ◽  
Strategy Use ◽  
The Other ◽  
Human Cognition ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
Proficiency Levels ◽  
Proficiency Level ◽  
Late Closure

Having a proper insight into understanding the human cognition in sentence processing strategies, this study explored the nature of Minimal Attachment and Late Closure strategies in relation to language proficiency levels. Facing the problem that why some EFL learners tend to parse differently (i.e., use Minimal Attachment and Late Closure Strategies), on one hand and the need to develop a reliable and valid instrument to do the respective investigation on the other hand, was the motive behind this study. By administering a Preliminary English Test (PET), three groups of Iranian adult EFL learners, both male and female were conventionally classified into three levels of proficiency. Three separate researcher-made sentence comprehension tests (each for one proficiency level) were then adopted as the main data collecting instruments through applying Think- Aloud Protocol in which all steps of instrument validation were taken. Findings revealed the use or better to say construct validity of various strategies. Meanwhile, the analyses revealed that the parsing strategies are, to some extent if not that much, associated with language proficiency levels, indicating that language proficiency level has some degree of effect on the participants use of parsing strategies as a whole, although findings on Minimal Attachment and Late Closure strategy use as two separate ones differed. While, there was not much effect of language proficiency level on Minimal Attachment strategy, the findings indicated a moderately large effect size on Late Closure strategy use and the three groups showed almost higher means on Late Closure strategy rather than the other one. Therefore, certain parsing strategies are associated with language proficiency level proving the fact that language proficiency level is an effective parameter as far as human cognition in language processing in general and sentence processing in particular are concerned. Moreover, not only is there relationship among language proficiency levels and the strategy use but the nature of relationship varies depending on language proficiency level and strategy type.

scholarly journals The influence of proficiency level on the use and choice of L1/L2 communication strategies used by Iraqi EFL students

2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 127
Author(s):  
Raed Latif Ugla ◽  
Mohamad Jafre Zainol Abidin ◽  
Mohammed Najim Abdullah
Keyword(s):  
Language Proficiency ◽  
Communication Strategies ◽  
Strategy Use ◽  
Communication Strategy ◽  
Proficiency Level ◽  
English Major ◽  
Efl Students ◽  
Interactive Task ◽  
Speaking Task

<span>This study aimed at investigating the influence of language proficiency level on the frequency of the use and choice of L1/L2 communication strategies used by Iraqi EFL students. This study was qualitative in nature. The interactive task and speaking task were used to gather data regarding communication strategy use and choice from<em> </em>52 second and third year English major students. Those participants were divided into two groups; low and high proficient students (n=27 low proficient students and n=25 high proficient students). A taxonomy of communication strategies was adopted to code the communication strategies used by low and high proficient Iraqi EFL students. The results revealed that low proficient students use communication strategies more frequently than high proficient students. Both low and high proficient students used communication strategies other than those included in selected taxonomy. This study showed that low proficient students use L1-based strategies more frequently, while high proficient students use L2-based strategies more frequently.</span>

The interplay of oral corrective feedback and L2 willingness to communicate across proficiency levels

2020 ◽  
pp. 136216882092896
Author(s):  
Mostafa Zare ◽  
Zohreh Gooniband Shooshtari ◽  
Alireza Jalilifar
Keyword(s):  
Corrective Feedback ◽  
Structured Interview ◽  
Willingness To Communicate ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
Feedback Type ◽  
Proficiency Levels ◽  
Proficiency Level ◽  
High Preference ◽  
Oral Corrective Feedback ◽  
The Impact

This study aims to explore the impact of oral corrective feedback types on English as a foreign language (EFL) learners’ willingness to communicate across proficiency levels. It also investigates how EFL learners view different types of feedback in relation to their willingness to communicate. Sixty Iranian EFL learners were tracked in four proficiency levels. Initially, the participants filled in a questionnaire to measure their attitudes to oral CF and their willingness to communicate. Subsequent to the teachers’ employment of explicit correction, recasts, and prompts, the learners’ willingness to communicate was measured anew. A semi-structured interview was also conducted. The results revealed learners’ high preference for prompts. A two-way mixed between-within ANOVA demonstrated a significant effect for both oral corrective feedback and proficiency level on willingness to communicate. Furthermore, elicitative types of feedback were ranked as the most contributory feedback type to L2 willingness to communicate.

scholarly journals The Comparative Effect of Teaching Concept Mapping in Reading on Extrovert and Introvert EFL Learners' Self-Regulation

2017 ◽  
Vol 6 (5) ◽  
pp. 161
Author(s):  
Mania Nosratinia ◽  
Fatemeh Abbasi
Keyword(s):  
Concept Mapping ◽  
Language Proficiency ◽  
English Language ◽  
Self Regulation ◽  
English Language Proficiency ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
Proficiency Level ◽  
Teaching Concept ◽  
Efl Teachers ◽  
Pre Treatment

The present study attempted to compare the effect of teaching concept mapping in reading on extrovert and introvert English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners' Self-Regulation (SR). The participants were 60 female EFL learners at the intermediate level of English language proficiency, between 18 and 20 (Mage = 19). The Preliminary English Test was employed in order to select homogeneous participants in terms of English language proficiency level, followed by administering Eysenck's Personality Inventory (1985). The language-wise homogeneous introvert (n = 30) and extrovert (n = 30) participants were assigned randomly into two experimental groups of 30. To identify the pre-treatment and post-treatment levels of participants' SR, the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (1991) was administered twice. The two groups were instructed using the same material and implementing Harris and Graham’s (1996) concept mapping instruction model. The analysis of the scores using an Independent-Samples t-Test revealed that extrovert participants exhibited a significantly higher SR level as a result of being exposed to concept mapping. The study concludes with a discussion on the obtained results and the probable reasons leading to them, followed by presenting some implications for EFL teachers, learners, and syllabus designers. 

scholarly journals A meta-analysis of task-based differences in bilingual L1 and L2 language networks

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lindy B Comstock ◽  
Bruce Oliver
Keyword(s):  
Language Proficiency ◽  
Language Processing ◽  
Functional Organization ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
L2 Acquisition ◽  
Linguistic Processing ◽  
Proficiency Level ◽  
Meta Analyses ◽  
L1 And L2 ◽  
Design Factors

The functional organization of first (L1) and second (L2) language processing in bilinguals remains a topic of great interest to the neurolinguistics community. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies report meaningful differences in the location and extent of hemodynamic changes between tasks performed in the L1 and L2, yet there is no consensus on whether these networks can be considered truly distinct. In part, this may be due to the multiplicity of task designs implemented in such studies, which complicates the interpretation of their findings. This paper compares the results of previous bilingual meta-analyses to a new ALE meta-analysis that categorizes neuroimaging studies by task design. Factors such as the age of L2 acquisition (AoA) and the L2 language proficiency level of participants are also considered. The findings support previous accounts of the effect of participant characteristics on linguistic processing, while at the same time revealing dissociable differences in fMRI activation for L1 and L2 networks within and across tasks that appear independent of these external factors.

scholarly journals Scope of Cooperative Learning (CL) Strategies in Teaching English to Saudi Adult EFL Learners: A Study of Practical Barriers and Possible Implications

2017 ◽  
Vol 6 (7) ◽  
pp. 110 ◽  
Author(s):  
Muhammad Ishtiaq ◽  
Muhammad Sabboor Hussain
Keyword(s):  
Saudi Arabia ◽  
Cooperative Learning ◽  
Language Proficiency ◽  
Educational Administration ◽  
English Language ◽  
English Language Teaching ◽  
Teaching English ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
Proficiency Level ◽  
Efl Teachers

This study aims at investigating the teachers’ practices and perceptions in teaching English in Saudi Arabia by viewing their stance on Cooperative Learning (CL) — an innovative teaching approach proposed to raise the language proficiency level of adult EFL learners. The study has been conducted in Qassim University, Saudi Arabia—a vibrant and flourishing EFL context. A quantitative tool (a questionnaire) has been used to collect data and to serve qualitative purposes. It reports 80 EFL teachers’ (40 males and 40 females) perceptions about CL using a 17-items comprehensive survey covering all the possible barriers in the way of implementing CL strategies in EFL classes. The survey items also explore how the EFL teachers in Saudi Arabia foresee the implications of making such an innovative move in their classes. The responses have been analyzed on a 5-point Likert scale which ranges from strongly disagree-disagree-neutral-agree-strongly agree. Major findings are that CL strategies have practical barriers but their implications are far more positive. The barriers are mainly due to the wrong learning habits of the adult EFL learners in Qassim University and lack of will and vision of the educational administration. The study recommends that CL strategies need to be given due consideration and support by the administrators and policy makers to raise the proficiency level of adult EFL learners. The study also allays the misconception that majority of the practitioners in English language teaching field are not ready to practice and implement CL strategies in their classes.

scholarly journals EFL Learners’ Learning Styles and Self-regulated Learning: Do Gender and Proficiency Level Matter?

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 616-623
Author(s):  
Jahanbakhsh Nikoopour ◽  
Mohammad Shaker Khoshroudi
Keyword(s):  
Learning Styles ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Language Proficiency ◽  
Self Regulation ◽  
Moderator Variable ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
Self Regulated Learning ◽  
Proficiency Level ◽  
Regulated Learning

The present study attempted to investigate the interdependence of self-regulated learning and language learning styles among three levels of language learners. Their gender and language proficiency level were also taken into consideration to find out the interaction between these variables. To carry out the study, the subject was selected based on the multi-stage sampling procedure. From five universities, 200 EFL learners studying TEFL, Literature, and Translation were randomly selected. Based on their scores on the TOEFL test, the participants were divided into beginner, intermediate, and advanced levels. From each level, 30 subjects were randomly selected. The research instruments were used to collect the required data for the study. After analyzing the data, the results showed a significant relationship between the EFL learners’ learning styles and their self-regulation. It was disclosed that the higher the learners’ scores on language learning styles were, the more self-regulated they were. When gender was taken into account as a moderator variable, no significant correlation between language learners’ learning styles and their gender was detected. It was found that both male and female learners were self-regulated in the same way. In addition, EFL learners’ proficiency level significantly made a difference in their self-regulation; however, it did not affect their learning styles.

scholarly journals The Effect Of Viewing Subtitled Videos On Vocabulary Learning

2010 ◽  
Vol 7 (9) ◽  
Author(s):  
Madhubala Bava Harji ◽  
Peter Charles Woods ◽  
Zhinoos Kamal Alavi
Keyword(s):  
Language Proficiency ◽  
English Language ◽  
Vocabulary Learning ◽  
Instructional Video ◽  
Specific Test ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
Treatment Groups ◽  
Second Language Development ◽  
Proficiency Level ◽  
The Mean

Second language development could be achieved through various teaching or learning processes; however, employing multimedia has recently intruded the process in easing or complicating manners. This study has focused on the effectiveness of English subtitles on the EFL learner’s vocabulary learning. The participants were 92 Iranian degree university students studying Translation at Islamic Azad University of Mashhad, Iran. Having set two homogenized groups on the basis of their English language proficiency level, each was randomly assigned to be control and treatment groups. They were given two different instructions, one practicing instructional video episodes with subtitles and the other without subtitles. Their vocabulary learning was tested by a Content Specific Test (CST). The mean scores of the two groups were compared through a t-test. The findings illustrated that participants viewing the videos with subtitles could obtain a significantly higher mean score of the CST vocabulary tests than that of the ones who viewed the videos without subtitles. The findings of this research can get educators well informed of the effectiveness of subtitles on EFL learners’ better vocabulary learning.

scholarly journals EXPLORING SEMANTIC PROSODIC AWARENESS LEVELS OF EFL LEARNERS THROUGH NEAR-SYNONYM WORDS

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tuncer Aydemir ◽  
Ali Şükrü Özbay ◽  
Mustafa Zeki Çıraklı
Keyword(s):  
Language Proficiency ◽  
Proficiency Test ◽  
Structured Interview ◽  
Tertiary Level ◽  
Prosodic Features ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
Proficiency Levels ◽  
Semantic Prosody ◽  
Near Synonyms

Near-synonyms are semantically similar words, but they are not always interchangeable, having a variety of collocational and semantic behaviours. Tertiary level EFL learners’ use of near synonyms demonstrates significant differences in terms of word choices. This article investigates (1) the level of semantic prosodic (SP) awareness in EFL learners, (2) the correlation between their SP awareness and English proficiency levels, (3) the ways EFL learners use semantic prosodic features in their speech and written productions and how they cope with challenges in SP and (4) the factors affecting their SP knowledge. The data were analysed quantitively and qualitatively. A proficiency test, a semantic prosody test, an open-ended questionnaire and a structured interview were used respectively. The findings reveal that learners’ SP knowledge correlates with language proficiency, but their awareness levels have little to do with the proficiency. One implication for the curriculum developers is that they should consider including relevant content related to the semantic prosody in syllabi so that the students will be able to create semantically relevant sentences like their native counterparts. <p> </p><p><strong> Article visualizations:</strong></p><p><img src="/-counters-/edu_01/0798/a.php" alt="Hit counter" /></p>

The Comparative Effect of Audio-Taped and Written Homework Feedback on EFL Learners’ Speaking Complexity, Accuracy and Fluency

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 4
Author(s):  
Maryam Mashoura ◽  
Abdollah Baradaran ◽  
Ghassemi Nazanin
Keyword(s):  
Language Learners ◽  
Language Proficiency ◽  
Research Study ◽  
Comparative Effect ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
Proficiency Level ◽  
Participant Selection ◽  
Dependent Variables ◽  
New Methodologies ◽  
Independent Variable

The main focus of the present study was the comparative effect of two various types of homework and feedback (Audio-Taped Homework Feedback and Written Homework Feedback) on EFL learners’ speaking complexity, accuracy and fluency. Also, there are three dependent variables including Speaking Complexity, Accuracy and Fluency. The study offered the same kind of teaching procedures to 60 female EFL learners, selected from a population of 90 individuals. All have been studying at intermediate level of English learning at the same institute for approximately 3 years. The process of participant selection was based on learners’ performance on a sample piloted test called PET, at Zabansara institution. Indeed, Due to the fact that there is a need to be able to generalize the present study’s findings to similar contexts of learning, the piloted PET test was carried out and general language proficiency level of students was measured meticulously. Moreover, the total number of the present research participants (60) was divided into one experimental groups as Audio-Taped Homework Feedback and one experimental group as Written Homework Feedback. Each individual group consisted of 30 members. 10 sessions of treatment (each 2 hours) were held for both experimental groups. The outlook of the present research study was seen as enhancement of language learners’ Speaking Complexity, Accuracy and Fluency. Hence, two models of Homework (by the participants) and Feedback (by the teacher) were carried out. The present research study included one independent variable with two modalities of Audio-Taped Homework Feedback and Written Homework Feedback. What is more, there are three dependent variables as Speaking Complexity, Accuracy, and Fluency. It is necessary to point it out that a Pre and Posttest of Speaking was administered to all individuals (participants) considering Speaking Complexity, Accuracy, and Fluency. To this end, the statistical analyses were conducted and the obtained results showed a significant influence of Audio-Taped Homework Feedback on the mentioned dependent variables, comparing with Written Homework Feedback. This research study is hoped to increase students’ general language proficiency level along with the focus on new methodologies of assignment/feedback and implementation of the findings as reference in further educational contexts.

Strategy Use by English-Major Jordanian Undergraduates

2010 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 31-40 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yousef M. Al-Shaboul ◽  
Sahail M. Asassfeh ◽  
Sabri S. Alshboul
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
Learning Strategies ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Language Proficiency ◽  
Metacognitive Strategies ◽  
Strategy Use ◽  
Proficiency Level ◽  
English Major ◽  
Strategy Types ◽  
The Impact

AbstractResearch suggests that gender and perceived language proficiency level are among the factors that may impact the strategies language learners use. This study explored the impact of these variables on learning strategies used by 111 English-major Jordanian students. The instrument was Oxford's (1990) Strategy Inventory for Language Learning (SILL). The study revealed that females opt to use strategies more frequently than males. Results also showed that the higher the proficiency level, the more frequent the strategy use. Metacognitive strategies were the most prevalent among the different strategy types whereas memory strategies were the least deployed. These findings are discussed and implications are outlined.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document