scholarly journals PREPARATION TECHNIQUE FOR WRITING ESSAYS AT INTERNATIONAL EXAMS IN ENGLISH

2020 ◽  
Vol 224 ◽  
pp. 72-79
Author(s):  
E.V. Bessonova ◽  
◽  
I.K. Kirillova ◽  
YU.A. Tarabarina ◽  
◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Proficiency ◽  
English Language ◽  
Main Idea ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Task Orientation ◽  
Preparation Technique ◽  
Essay Writing ◽  
High Level ◽  
International English

Today experts with a high level of proficiency in a foreign language are considered in demand in the labour market. The level of foreign language proficiency is confirmed by a high test result of international exams in a foreign language. The essay is a mandatory part of international English language exams such as TOEFL, IELTS, and Cambridge Advanced English. We examined the requirements and assessment criteria for the essay writing exam task. The task assesses the level of speech skills formation necessary to create your own pieces of writing in a foreign language. As part of the research, we developed a technology for teaching writing based on a product-oriented approach. According to the technology we have identified the following stages of text production: task orientation, text planning, text writing, and text self-editing. We have also proposed a set of exercises aimed at developing following skills: task understanding, formulating the author’s point of view and its proving with relevant examples, planning a cohesive and coherent text, text division into paragraphs, highlighting of the paragraph’s main idea, development of the idea in the text, expressing ideas in the text logically in accordance with the rhetorical structure of English essay, usage of lexical cohesive means, text self-editing. This technology was tested during experimental training; its results prove the effectiveness of the proposed technology for teaching essay writing according to international English language exams requirements.

scholarly journals FOREIGN LANGUAGE COMMUNICATIVE COMPETENCE DEVELOPMENT AS A MEANS OF INTERNATIONAL VOLUNTEERING COOPERATION

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
pp. 69-76
Author(s):  
A. N. Kazantseva
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
International Cooperation ◽  
English Language ◽  
Communicative Competence ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Theoretical Point ◽  
Teaching English ◽  
International Volunteering ◽  
International Participation ◽  
High Level

The article is devoted to the description of opportunities for developing a foreign language communicative competence to establish international cooperation in the field of volunteering using the methods of teaching English for Specific Purposes (ESP). The relevance of the topic is determined by dissemination of ideas of volunteerism around the world. The programmes for the development of social policy in Russia state the need to establish international cooperation on volunteerism issues; there are plans for organizing some events with international participation. They require a high level of proficiency in English for communication in the field of volunteering. The purpose of the article is to substantiate the methodology of teaching English for establishing cooperation on volunteering from a theoretical point of view. The current policy of activating international volunteering is analysed, the possibilities of using the ESP concept as a method of short-term specialized teaching of English on a specific topic are discussed, and an approximate thematic planning of a language training course for participation in international volunteer projects is presented. The following methods are used to conduct the research: the analysis of Acts on volunteering at the international and Russian levels, an overview of the websites of Russian volunteer projects and foreign volunteer organizations, the analysis of scientific literature on the methods of teaching English, including ESP. The results of the study confirm the need to develop a foreign language communicative competence for establishing a professional and productive international cooperation on volunteering. An approximate thematic planning of English language classes within the framework of the ESP concept to establish such cooperation is proposed.

scholarly journals Teaching grammar in context and multilingual environment

2021 ◽  
Vol X (3) ◽  
pp. 119-126
Author(s):  
Babulia (Khatuna) Akhobadze ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Proficiency ◽  
English Language ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Lesson Plan ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Complex Method ◽  
Main Subject ◽  
Language Competence ◽  
High Level

The Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) method focuses on teaching the main subject through a foreign language. This method is already successfully used in various around the world no specific formula or textbook exists so far. Based on the study of the existing literature, the possibility of using CLIL at Universities of Georgia and its anticipated results are analyzed in the present thesis. Target language of CLIL is mostly English. In our country English for Specific Purposes (ESP) is successfully taught in many Universities. For example, at the Faculty of Economics and Business our students are taught Business using a special English textbook to learn some issues of economics and business. Teaching any curricular subject using CLIL will be twice as effective and convenient for both the student and the university than teaching English and this particular subject separately. CLIL ensures a comprehensive study of a specific subject and a high level of English language proficiency. CLIL has a significant positive impact on the growth of the students’ language competence. It helps them to achieve significant success in terms of various linguistic aspects, such as: vocabulary, terminology, academic English, etc. However, the assessment is made not in terms of language competence, but in terms of subject matter proficiency. Indeed, CLIL does not only mean language teaching - it is a complex method of using a foreign language to study a major subject. Consequently, knowledge is assessed within the competence of the main subject and thereby the language proficiency as well. With no database of textbooks for CLIL, everything is upon the teacher training, as a result of which the teacher must be able to compile a lesson plan based on different subject materials. We propose to use CLIL to teach different curricular subjects to the students of the Faculty of Economics and Business. To begin with economics, famous economists, e.g., Marshall, Robbins, Sandmo, etc. have different answers to the question "What is economics?" Therefore, the goal of the lecture course we suggest within CLIL will be to find the answer to this question.

Tauchnitz for Translators. The Circulation of English-language Literature in Finland

2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (2-3) ◽  
pp. 161-179
Author(s):  
Outi Paloposki
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
English Language ◽  
Book History ◽  
Language Skills ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Book Production ◽  
German Publisher ◽  
Language Literature ◽  
Selection Of

The article looks at book production and circulation from the point of view of translators, who, as purchasers and readers of foreign-language books, are an important mediating force in the selection of literature for translation. Taking the German publisher Tauchnitz's series ‘Collection of British Authors’ and its circulation in Finland in the nineteenth and early twentieth century as a case in point, the article argues that the increased availability of English-language books facilitated the acquiring and honing of translators' language skills and gradually diminished the need for indirect translating. Book history and translation studies meet here in an examination of the role of the Collection in Finnish translators' work.

Can-Do descriptors – Realigning English Language Curriculum at Higher Education Institution to CEFR

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 84
Author(s):  
Erda Wati Bakar
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Proficiency ◽  
English Language ◽  
Education Institution ◽  
Ministry Of Education ◽  
Language Curriculum ◽  
English Curriculum ◽  
The Common ◽  
The University

The Common European Framework of Reference for Language (CEFR) has become the standard used to describe and evaluate students’ command of a second or foreign language. It is an internationally acknowledged standard language proficiency framework which many countries have adopted such as China, Thailand, Japan and Taiwan. Malaysia Ministry of Education is aware and realise the need for the current English language curriculum to be validated as to reach the international standard as prescribed by the CEFR. The implementation of CEFR has begun at primary and secondary level since 2017 and now higher education institutions are urged to align their English Language Curriculum to CEFR as part of preparation in receiving students who have been taught using CEFR-aligned curriculum at schools by year 2022. This critical reflection article elucidates the meticulous processes that we have embarked on in re-aligning our English Language Curriculum to the standard and requirements of CEFR. The paper concludes with a remark that the alignment of the English curriculum at the university needs full support from the management in ensuring that all the stakeholders are fully prepared, informed and familiar with the framework.

scholarly journals Listening Skill Requires a Further Look into Second/Foreign Language Learning

2012 ◽  
Vol 2012 ◽  
pp. 1-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hossein Bozorgian
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Language Proficiency ◽  
English Language ◽  
Foreign Language Learning ◽  
Strongly Correlated ◽  
High Stakes ◽  
Reading And Writing ◽  
Listening Skill ◽  
Reading History

Current English-as-a-second and foreign-language (ESL/EFL) research has encouraged to treat each communicative macroskill separately due to space constraint, but the interrelationship among these skills (listening, speaking, reading, and writing) is not paid due attention. This study attempts to examine first the existing relationship among the four dominant skills, second the potential impact of reading background on the overall language proficiency, and finally the relationship between listening and overall language proficiency as listening is considered an overlooked/passive skill in the pedagogy of the second/foreign language classroom. However, the literature in language learning has revealed that listening skill has salient importance in both first and second language learning. The purpose of this study is to investigate the role of each of four skills in EFL learning and their existing interrelationships in an EFL setting. The outcome of 701 Iranian applicants undertaking International English Language Testing System (IELTS) in Tehran demonstrates that all communicative macroskills have varied correlations from moderate (reading and writing) to high (listening and reading). The findings also show that the applicants’ reading history assisted them in better performing at high stakes tests, and what is more, listening skill was strongly correlated with the overall language proficiency.

scholarly journals “The Course Was Not Only for the Semester but Also for Life”: Scaffolding Summary Writing for EFL Students Across Academic Disciplines

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 203-212
Author(s):  
Carina Sjöberg-Hawke
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Proficiency ◽  
English Language ◽  
Teaching Practice ◽  
Academic Disciplines ◽  
Teacher Response ◽  
Summary Writing ◽  
Learning Path ◽  
Efl Students ◽  
Specific Learning

It can be a challenge for a university teacher to arrange the teaching of written tasks so that weak foreign language students with differing disciplinary backgrounds can develop their written communication skills. The difficulty is to avoid the focus from becoming just language proficiency. In one course at a technical university in Sweden, three written summaries are scaffolded to address such a challenge. The purpose of this teaching practice paper is to show how employing a specific strategy of repetition facilitates the writing skill development in low-level English language multidisciplinary students. The repeated features are the genre of the task, the writing process used and the occurrences of teacher response. They are organised along a specific learning path so as to encourage the students to build on the knowledge gained in each iteration, between tasks and potentially beyond the course. The paper describes the journey the students take writing the three summaries, working on fulfilling criteria concerned with aspects such as content organisation, coherence and cohesion, and limited grammar errors. A brief analysis of excerpts from one case student’s first and third summaries is included. It is suggested that while the scaffolding can remain the same, the material could be replaced to suit other skills and language level needs.

scholarly journals English foreign language teaching anxiety of Indonesian pre-service teachers of undergraduate internship program

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 222
Author(s):  
Huyi Intan Sari ◽  
Choiril Anwar
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Proficiency ◽  
Time Management ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
English Language ◽  
Language Teaching ◽  
Language Education ◽  
Teaching Experience ◽  
Negative Evaluation ◽  
Teaching Anxiety

Anxiety is a topic mostly investigated in the field of foreign language education. Unfortunately, the main focus of the studies on the aforementioned topic has primarily been provided in relation to anxiety suffered by students not teachers. Anxiety in speaking English while teaching has been proven to be a separate obstacle to the success of the language teaching and learning. This still happens to teachers who even have years of teaching experience. This study aims to investigate the English language teaching anxiety as experienced by the pre-service teacher at the department. The FLTA questionnaire consisting of 27 out of 45 items was adopted to collect data. Since this study was carried out during the COVID-19 pandemic, the questionnaire was distributed to the participants via email. The analysis was then made by implementing the qualitative descriptive approach and simple quantification to support the description. The results show that there were five factors of anxiety occur during the program. They were teaching inexperience, self-perception of language proficiency, fear of negative evaluation, lack of student�s interest, and difficulty with time management. These findings are expected to become a reference for the efforts of developing an internship preparation program.

scholarly journals FUNCTIONING OF ELLIPTICAL STRUCTURES IN ENGLISH SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNICAL TEXTS

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (87) ◽  
Author(s):  
Maryna Hederym ◽  
◽  
Nataliya Hlinka ◽  
◽  
Keyword(s):  
English Language ◽  
Main Idea ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Communication Process ◽  
Sentence Structure ◽  
Linguistic Features ◽  
Scientific Texts ◽  
Theoretical Approaches ◽  
Functional Features ◽  
Characteristic Features

The article is devoted to the study of one of the most important issues in modern linguistics – the problem of elliptical sentences, namely their definition, classification, different approaches to the study of this phenomenon and functioning in English-language scientific and technical texts. One of the tasks of scientific text is the ability to convey a large amount of new information in a sufficiently limited amount of text. It is this that leads to syntactic compression (the use of an ellipse) in such texts. Syntactic compression, as we have mentioned, is one of the characteristics of the modern scientific style. Authors of scientific texts seek to reduce the amount of text by compression, while increasing its content. Ellipse is a multidimensional phenomenon in language that allows authors to make the communication process more productive by using language savings. The ellipse has an extremely large pragmatic potential in achieving an extralinguistic effect. The use of the ellipse as a means of linguistic economy in scientific and technical texts is especially appropriate because the characteristic features of scientific and technical style are its informativeness (content), logic (strict sequence, clear connection between the main idea and details), accuracy and objectivity. It is an effective way of unloading sentence matter and exempting it from meaningfully redundant or structurally redundant components that carry repetitive information, it is based on the principle of compactification of predicative units. From a stylistic point of view, the desire to save language means leads to the emergence of new constructions that enrich the language, make speech dynamic, expressive. The article considers pragmatic and linguistic features of the ellipse, its structural and functional features. The article traces an attempt to review and structure the main theoretical approaches to the interpretation of the concept of "ellipse", the study of functions that perform elliptical structures in sentence structure and analysis of functional features of elliptical structures in English scientific and technical texts.

Linguistic Expats and Bounded Fluency

2019 ◽  
pp. 42-57
Author(s):  
Tsedal Neeley
Keyword(s):  
Organizational Culture ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Proficiency ◽  
English Language ◽  
Home Country ◽  
Mother Tongue ◽  
English Language Proficiency ◽  
Conference Call ◽  
Remote Location ◽  
Japanese Employees

This chapter focuses on the Japanese linguistic expats and their linguistic shock, which initially presents a barrier to learning a foreign language. It provides the results of the seemingly insurmountable challenge at the mandate's announcement—base English language proficiency for the Japanese domestic workforce. Here, the term “linguistic expat” is used to describe employees like Kenji who live in their home country yet must give up their mother tongue when they enter their place of employment or sign into a conference call from a remote location. This chapter shows how this twist—a mismatch between language, nationality, and organizational culture—made the Japanese employees uncomfortable. Learning English, at least in the first phase, required that they form new perceptions of themselves, their company, and their jobs. The demands of the mandate made them feel anxious about their productivity and insecure about their future at Rakuten. Although the majority of the linguistic expats progressed in their acquisition of English, few were able to reach a level where fluency was automatic.

Learners’ perceptions of a Wiki-enhanced TBLT approach designed and implemented at the syllabus level

2019 ◽  
Vol 54 (3) ◽  
pp. 221-256
Author(s):  
Shenglan Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Language Proficiency ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Design Model ◽  
Essay Writing ◽  
Overall Design ◽  
Foreign Language Learners ◽  
Learning Contexts ◽  
Class Presentation

Abstract This study examines learners’ perceptions of an approach for improving Chinese-as-a-Foreign-Language learners’ language proficiency, especially their speaking ability. Built upon the Distributed Design Model, a wiki-enhanced, Task-Based Language Teaching (TBLT) approach was designed at the syllabus level, taking into consideration various learning contexts. The approach was implemented and evaluated. Findings show that the overall design of this approach and most of the different components of the pre-task, core-task (interviews with native speakers, wiki-writing, and in-class presentations), and post-task activities were very positively perceived by the students. All students liked this design and enjoyed the class. The main reasons include (1) Students valued the opportunity to interact with native speakers outside the classroom; (2) The in-class presentations gave them an opportunity to express their personalities; (3) They liked the fact that the wiki-essay writing was connected to the in-class presentation because this helped them prepare the content of their presentation, also enabled them to develop writing and speaking on a single topic so they could become more advanced in that topic; (4) They also liked the consistency in organization and the eight units being procedurally similar. The learners held varying views on a few components of the pre-task and post-task activities.

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