scholarly journals Willingness to Communicate, Possible Selves, Learner Autonomy, and Academic Target Needs: Implications for Sustainable Development in L2 Pedagogy

2019 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 121-138
Author(s):  
Rajab Esfandiari ◽  
Sepideh Hesani
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Possible Selves ◽  
Learner Autonomy ◽  
English For Academic Purposes ◽  
Willingness To Communicate ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Academic Settings

Abstract Life-long learning requires that language learners be well prepared for the target situations they will be operating in. To achieve this goal and to improve education for sustainable development, language teachers and language educators need to motivate language learners to participate in the target language. The present study, therefore, investigated the relationships between willingness to communicate (WTC) and possible selves, WTC and learner autonomy, and WTC and academic target needs in an English for Academic Purposes (EAP) context to open up new horizons for sustainable L2 learning. In addition, the present study was aimed at examining the extent to which WTC, possible selves, and learner autonomy would predict academic target needs. Five hundred and ninety male and female undergraduate students from two state-run universities in Iran participated in this study. The present study used four questionnaires to collect the data, and SPSS (version 25) was used to analyze the data. The findings showed a significant positive relationship between WTC and possible selves. Finally, results from hierarchical multiple regression revealed that WTC, possible selves, and learner autonomy were predictors of academic target needs. The findings suggest that the interplay of several variables should be considered if language learners need to actively communicate in L2 academic settings. Implications for sustainable development in L2 pedagogy are also discussed.

scholarly journals Sustainable Development of EFL/ESL Learners’ Willingness to Communicate: The Effects of Teachers and Teaching Styles

2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 396
Author(s):  
Xuemei Chen ◽  
Jean-Marc Dewaele ◽  
Tiefu Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
English Language ◽  
Teaching Styles ◽  
Mainland China ◽  
Willingness To Communicate ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
English Language Teaching ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Culture Of Learning

Willingness to communicate in a second or foreign language (L2 WTC) is an important individual difference variable that influences the target language learning process. To cultivate students’ communicative competence for sustainable development and help them become active citizens of the global world, language teachers and educators need to understand L2 WTC and find ways to promote it. The present study explores the effects of teachers and teaching styles (TTS) on L2 WTC of Chinese learners of English, through a comparison of a group of 148 students in mainland China and 73 Chinese students abroad. Respondents filled out online questionnaires concerning their attitudes and perceptions of TTS and self-reported L2 WTC inside and outside classrooms. Eight of them also participated in interviews. Results revealed significant differences in TTS between the two groups and a generally low WTC among them. TTS were linked more strongly to L2 WTC in the group in mainland China. The differences are attributed to the discrepancy in social expectations, culture of learning and the opportunity to use English outside the classroom while abroad. This study may provide insights into English language teaching pedagogy from the perspective of English as a pluricentric language.

British Council’s English for Academic Purposes (EAP) Students’ Manual: A Critical Analysis of the Coursebook Taught at Pakistani Universities for Academic Purposes (EAP) Students’ Manual: A Critical Analysis of the Coursebook Taught at Pakistani Universities

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Critical Analysis ◽  
English Language ◽  
Language Teaching ◽  
Language Skills ◽  
Primary Source ◽  
English For Academic Purposes ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Teaching Principles

English for Academic Purposes course focusing on the academic language needs of students is a subfield of English for Specific Purposes (ESP). It is a type of specialized course to integrate specific subject matter, language content, and material based on learners’ needs. The study aims to evaluate the British Council’s English for Academic Purposes (EAP) coursebook in terms of content, sequencing, learners’ autonomy, motivation, feedback and focus on language skills. Furthermore, the study tries to provide a general perception of the usefulness and effectiveness of the coursebook for undergraduate students. The EAP Students’ Manual coursebook is used as a primary source for the data collection. The researcher has chosen Nation & Macalister (2010) model of language teaching principles to analyze and discuss the data. The study found the coursebook a useful, effective and an appropriate source of English language learning in terms of the investigated aspects of the book. The findings report that the coursebook provides practice and practical usage in all domains of the academically required English language skills. It helps the students to build language competency and to be more independent learners. In addition, it provides an opportunity to the learners to think in the target language, use the language more practically and learn it in a natural type of environment. The study concludes and suggests that the content needs to be supplemented with English language audios and videos presenting the students relevant documentaries and helping material in order to make the coursebook and the learning process more useful, effective, interesting and motivating. Furthermore, the study recommends that while choosing /designing a coursebook for a certain course, it needs to be evaluated following the various criteria and language-teaching-principles suggested by different language researchers.

British Council’s English for Academic Purposes (EAP) Students’ Manual: A Critical Analysis of the Coursebook Taught at Pakistani Universities

2019 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
English Language ◽  
Language Teaching ◽  
Language Skills ◽  
Primary Source ◽  
English For Academic Purposes ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Teaching Principles ◽  
Language Needs

English for Academic Purposes course focusing on the academic language needs of students is a subfield of English for Specific Purposes (ESP). It is a type of specialized course to integrate specific subject matter, language content, and material based on learners’ needs. The study aims to evaluate the British Council’s English for Academic Purposes (EAP) coursebook in terms of content, sequencing, learners’ autonomy, motivation, feedback and focus on language skills. Furthermore, the study tries to provide a general perception of the usefulness and effectiveness of the coursebook for undergraduate students. The EAP Students’ Manual coursebook is used as a primary source for the data collection. The researcher has chosen Nation & Macalister (2010) model of language teaching principles to analyze and discuss the data. The study found the coursebook a useful, effective and an appropriate source of English language learning in terms of the investigated aspects of the book. The findings report that the coursebook provides practice and practical usage in all domains of the academically required English language skills. It helps the students to build language competency and to be more independent learners. In addition, it provides an opportunity to the learners to think in the target language, use the language more practically and learn it in a natural type of environment. The study concludes and suggests that the content needs to be supplemented with English language audios and videos presenting the students relevant documentaries and helping material in order to make the coursebook and the learning process more useful, effective, interesting and motivating. Furthermore, the study recommends that while choosing /designing a coursebook for a certain course, it needs to be evaluated following the various criteria and language-teaching-principles suggested by different language researchers.

scholarly journals A Study of Language Anxiety among English Language Learners in Saudi Arabia

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Badia Muntazer Hakim
Keyword(s):  
English Language Learners ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
English Language ◽  
Group Discussion ◽  
Structured Interview ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Language Anxiety ◽  
Self Awareness

Classroom anxiety is a recurrent phenomenon for language learners. There are various factors that cause language anxiety, the most common of which include learners’ excessive self-consciousness and self-awareness concerning their oral reproduction and performance and their peculiar, and quite often misplaced and mistaken, views and beliefs regarding different approaches. Other potential reasons for this problem could include the fear, and the consequent deterrence occasioned thereof, of encountering difficulties in language learning, specifically learners’ individual problems regarding the culture of the target language and the varying social statuses of speakers. The most important fear is, perhaps, the deterrent fear of causing damage to one’s self-identity. Therefore, while needing to paying special attention to language learners’ anxiety reactions, language teachers have a crucial role in helping their students achieve the expected performance goals in the target language. Another factor that could potentially lead to language anxiety is simply the poor command of the target language. This problem could be attributed to linguistic barriers and obstacles language learners encounter in learning and using the target language. In the current study, using a qualitative, semi-structured interview and the focus-group discussion technique, the researcher aims to investigate the factors that contribute to language anxiety among Arab language learners. It focuses on learners both within the classroom setting and without, i.e. in the social context, and recommends a number of approaches to manage and overcome this problem.

scholarly journals Reading Strategies, Reading Comprehension, and Translation

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 55-67
Author(s):  
Gabriella Kovács
Keyword(s):  
Reading Comprehension ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Reading Strategies ◽  
Reading Skills ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Border Crossings ◽  
Comprehension Skills ◽  
Intercultural Mediators ◽  
Reading Comprehension Skills

AbstractTranslators and language teachers are cultural and intercultural mediators, facilitators of intercultural transfers and border crossings between cultures. The abilities to understand, interpret, and produce written texts appropriately play an essential role in these professions. In the process of translation, source-language texts have to be understood and translated using the most appropriate target-language equivalents. Reading skills and awareness of reading strategies are equally essential for language teachers, who are expected to guide language learners in developing these skills. In this study, we intend to examine the reading habits and reading strategies used by a group of Hungarian translator and teacher trainees when dealing with texts written in English. Their reading comprehension performance will be assessed with a test and compared with their ability to translate English texts into Hungarian. Based on the literature and our personal experience in language teaching, teacher training, and translator training, we assume that students preparing for the above mentioned professions have a well-developed reading strategy awareness and that their reading comprehension skills in English strongly influence the ability to translate texts into their native language.

scholarly journals Pre-teaching Vocabulary in Teaching Reading Skill: A Hindrance to Learner Autonomy?

2021 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 123-132
Author(s):  
Takad Ahmed Chowdhury ◽  
Arjumand Ara
Keyword(s):  
English Language ◽  
Educational Practice ◽  
Learner Autonomy ◽  
Receptive Language ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
English Language Teaching ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Teaching Reading ◽  
Reading Text

Pre-teaching vocabulary of unfamiliar words of a reading or listening lesson is a technique used by English language teachers where they define and explain unfamiliar but essential words of the text just before the start of the comprehension task.Conversely, learner autonomy is an educational practice that refers to the learners' responsibility for their own learning, both in terms of what they learn and how they learn. These two diametrical ideals in English Language Teaching (ELT) demand research to justify pre-teaching vocabulary in teaching receptive language skills. Accordingly, this review paper investigated the effectiveness of pre-teaching vocabulary in teaching reading skills to English as a Second Language (ESL) or English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners by reviewing recent literature. It sheds light on the concepts of learner autonomy, strategies to teach vocabularies in reading, pre-teaching vocabulary, and the extent pre-teaching is justified. This paper concludes that, while the principle of vocabulary pre-instruction is generally in conflict with that of learner autonomy, this particular strategy in ELT cannot be entirely disregarded to facilitate comprehension of a reading text and thus in promoting the use of target language, and can selectively be used by the teachers in interesting and useful ways. The study will help teachers to better understand to what extent pre-teaching vocabulary is useful and what strategies of this teaching technique can help motivate students to read and comprehend a reading text. Scope for future research is provided

scholarly journals Dunkin’ the Donut: A Study on Students’ Patterns of Language Use through Technology Applications in Independent Language Learning

2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 125-132
Author(s):  
Norizul Azida Darus ◽  
Norhajawati Abdul Halim
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
The Other ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Foreign Language Teachers ◽  
Foreign Language Learners ◽  
Language Classroom ◽  
Technology Applications

Any language can be acquired at any time, but to acquire the language, one needs to learn the language. Learning a second or foreign language is not a favourite among second or foreign language learners. This is because learning a language is a very intense time-consuming activity. Learning is often unsuccessful because learners receive impoverished or insufficient input and lack of motivation. To this, second language or foreign language teachers play the most significant role to help and motivate the students to acquire the said language. The preferred method is to be immersed into the actual ecosystem of the target language and become part of the language ecosystem. The other way is to dunk the learners into the artificial ecosystem of the language classroom. In dunking, the learners are immersed temporarily and repeatedly into the simulated ecosystem language. As can be seen now, technology remains the only viable option to get enough interactive contact with the target language. Using interesting software is one of the methods in making learning more interesting. Furthermore, the students are able to practice the language not only during class time, but on their own free time outside of class hours, that is during students’ independent time of learning. The findings revealed that most students found using the applications has improved their language learning. The role of teachers on the other hand is to provide instructions and assist whenever necessary and needed by the students.

scholarly journals Becoming Language Teachers: Exploring Student-teachers’ Identities Construction through Narratives

2019 ◽  
Vol 18 ◽  
pp. 6-27 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nancy María Torres-Cepeda ◽  
Bertha Ramos-Holguín
Keyword(s):  
Student Teachers ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Public University ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
Theory Approach ◽  
Teaching Experiences ◽  
Narrative Study ◽  
Grounded Theory Approach ◽  
Depth Interviews

This paper reports on the findings of a qualitative narrative study. Its aim was to analyze what student-teachers’ narratives unveiled about the construction of their identity as language learners, and the connections made with being future in-service teachers. This study, which was carried out with undergraduate students from a public university in Tunja, was the product of permanent interaction and dialogue with student-teachers in their initial teaching experiences. Narratives, in-depth interviews, and journals were used as data collection instruments. Data were analyzed using the grounded theory approach. The results suggest that student-teachers construct and re-construct their identities as language learners and future teachers across classroom interactions and their empowerment through teaching and reflection

scholarly journals Analysis of error sources in L2 written English by Indonesian undergraduate students

2019 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 71-83
Author(s):  
Burhansyah Burhansyah
Keyword(s):  
University Students ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Second Language Learners ◽  
Research Field ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Elementary Level ◽  
Error Sources ◽  
Common Problems ◽  
Analysis Of Error

This study investigates second language learners’ production in writing, aiming to understand common problems the learners frequently have with English. The study focuses on the analysis of errors in 100 essays written by 50 Indonesian undergraduate students of English, which is aimed at identifying the commonly occurring errors, classifying them according to a linguistic category, and explaining the causes of the occurring errors. The study shows that a large number of the occurring errors resulted from intralingual sources, the proportion of which account for more than 60% of the total errors. The results conform to a number of earlier studies in this research field which concluded that the majority of errors L2 learners make stem from intralingual interference. Another possible explanation for the phenomena is that because the subjects participating in this study are university students majoring in English, they had at least mastered the basics of English when entering university. As a result, they are more likely to make fewer interlingual errors than students at elementary level who tend to rely more on their native language when dealing with the aspects of the target language which they have not yet mastered.

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