scholarly journals Potential Changes in Saudi Students’ Motivations and Attitudes towards Learning English as a Foreign Language after Immersion in an L2 Learning Environment

2022 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 01-21
Author(s):  
Maha Alshehri
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Saudi Students ◽  
L2 Motivational Self System ◽  
L2 Learning ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Self System ◽  
Learning English ◽  
Attitudes Towards Learning

This study traces potential changes in the motivation of Saudi students studying English as a second language (L2) in the UK. It investigates whether the beliefs and motivations of these students have changed during their learning experience, and identifies the pedagogical implications of such change for English teaching, not only to Saudi students in the UK but also to Saudi students enrolled in Saudi higher education institutions. It aims to identify the reasons behind changes in motivation as well as the impact these may have on students’ attitudes towards learning English as a foreign language (EFL). Data from questionnaires, interviews, and observations are used through three phases of the English academic programme. The study subjects are newly arrived Saudi students (three PhD students and 29 Master’s students) studying in four different universities in the UK under the fields of Linguistics, Applied Linguistics, and Translation. The conceptual framework is based on Dörnyei’s L2 Motivational Self System Theory and Dörnyei & Ushioda’s motivation and L2 self-framework. Changes in motivation are usually accompanied by changes in students’ classroom involvement, attitudes towards the target language, and positive or negative impacts on the students’ outcomes and language competencies. Similar to other types of learning, L2 learning cannot take place in a vacuum. The present study has various contributions to the field of SLA. First, it validates earlier studies about the issue of motivation in linguistics, attitudes towards language, and changes in one’s self-identity as an outcome of language development. Second, it serves as an addition to the body of knowledge pertaining to motivation and attitude of Saudi students towards English as L2 and the important role of culture in this process. Further, it serves as an important contribution to how Saudi students’ L2 acquisition is understood using Dörnyei's L2 Motivational Self System.

The Impact of the Big Five Personality Traits and Motivational Self-System on Iranian EFL Learners’ Intended Effort: An Investigation into McAdams’ Model of Personality

RELC Journal ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 003368822093301
Author(s):  
Majid Ghorbani ◽  
Shokouh Rashvand Semiyari
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Personality Traits ◽  
Big Five ◽  
Big Five Personality ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
Big Five Traits ◽  
L2 Motivational Self System ◽  
Ideal L2 Self ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Self System

Although L2 Motivational Self System has received extensive attention over the past decade or so, its relations with the Big Five Traits and their impact on effort expended towards L2 learning within a dynamic Model of Personality has remained largely unexplored in second language (L2) studies. Accordingly, this article details a quantitative study drawing on McAdams’s (1995) model to investigate the contribution(s) of the Motivational Self System and the Big Five Traits on L2 learners’ intended effort. To this end, 654 Low-intermediate to Intermediate English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners were asked to complete the Big Five Inventory-2 along with the Motivational Factors Questionnaire. The predictive power of the variables under the study were analysed through multiple regression including standard and sequential regressions. Among the personality traits, Open-mindedness had the greatest impact and Conscientiousness had significant, yet moderate effect on the learners’ intended effort. Among the motivational facets, Ideal L2 Self had the greatest contribution, Attitudes Towards Learning English had the second most significant part, and lastly, Ought-to L2 Self had moderate, yet significant effect on learners’ intended effort. The findings also indicated that the motivational facets overshadowed the personality traits when they were entered in to the model simultaneously. The implications and suggestions for further research were also highlighted.

scholarly journals Code-switching Versus Target-language-only for English as a Foreign Language: Saudi Students’ Perceptions

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (9) ◽  
pp. 18
Author(s):  
Mazeegha A. Al Tale‘ ◽  
Faten A. Alqahtani
Keyword(s):  
Reading Comprehension ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Teaching Strategies ◽  
Instructional Strategy ◽  
Code Switching ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Saudi Students ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Negative Perceptions ◽  
The Impact

Selecting the medium of instruction to teach English as a Foreign Language (EFL) has been a controversial issue for several years. This article explores the impact of code-switching (CS) versus target-language-only (TL-only) teaching strategies on the learning and affective sustenance of EFL reading comprehension beginner students based on their perceptions. It also investigates whether there is a significant difference between the participants’ perceptions of these two teaching strategies’ possible impact on their learning and affective sustenance. Fifty-two female Saudi college students participated in the study. A questionnaire and follow-up interviews were used to collect the data. The results indicate that the participants had positive perceptions about the impact of CS on their learning and affective sustenance in the EFL reading classes as opposed to negative perceptions about TL-only instruction. The results also show that there is a significant difference between their perceptions of TL-only instruction and CS, indicating that they prefer CS to TL-only instruction in their EFL reading classes. We recommend that reading comprehension teachers for beginners utilize CS as a facilitating instructional strategy for EFL beginners to give them affective support and make the input more comprehensible.

GRAMMATICAL CATEGORIES OF VERBS IN ENGLISH AND ALBANIAN

2018 ◽  
Vol 28 (7) ◽  
pp. 2245-2249
Author(s):  
Suzana Ejupi ◽  
Lindita Skenderi
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Learning Process ◽  
English Learners ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
English Language ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Part Of Speech ◽  
Grammatical Categories ◽  
Learning English

Working with English learners for many years, gives you the opportunity to encounter linguistic obstacles that they face while learning English language as a foreign language. Additionally, teaching for 13 years and observing the learning process, it enables you to recognize the students’ needs and at the same time, detect linguistic mistakes that they make, while practicing the target language. During my experience as a teacher, in terms of teaching and learning verbs in general and its grammatical categories in specific, it is noticed that Albanian learners find it relatively difficult the correct use of verbs in context and even more confusing the equivalent use of verbs in Albanian. Since verbs present an important part of speech, this study aims to investigate several differences and similarities between grammatical categories of verbs in English and Albanian. As a result, the Albanian learners of English language will be able to identify some of the major differences and similarities between the grammatical categories of verbs in English and Albanian; overcome the usual mistakes; gain the necessary knowledge regarding verbs and use them properly in English and Albanian.

Effects of English usage on Facebook and personality traits on achievement of students learning English as a foreign language

2014 ◽  
Vol 42 (1) ◽  
pp. 17-24 ◽  
Author(s):  
Po-Chi Kao ◽  
Philip Craigie
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Personality Traits ◽  
Big Five ◽  
Big Five Personality Traits ◽  
Big Five Personality ◽  
Unique Contribution ◽  
Pearson Product Moment Correlation ◽  
English Usage ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Learning English

In this study we explored the impact of English usage on Facebook (EUF) and the Big Five personality traits of 164 Taiwanese university students on their level of achievement in learning English as a foreign language (EFL). Using the Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient, we found that EUF was positively associated with extraversion and conscientiousness, but negatively related to neuroticism. The results of a simultaneous multiple regression analysis indicated that EUF, extraversion, and neuroticism accounted for a statistically significant amount of variance in EFL achievement. Of the variables, EUF made the largest significant unique contribution to the prediction of the participants' EFL achievement.

scholarly journals Cognitive and Applied Linguistics Aspects of Using Social Media: The Impact of the Use of Facebook on Developing Writing Skills in Learning English as a Foreign Language

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 110-118 ◽  
Author(s):  
Blanka Klimova ◽  
Marcel Pikhart
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Web Of Science ◽  
Language Skills ◽  
Writing Skills ◽  
Review Article ◽  
Language Competence ◽  
Time Period ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Positive Effect ◽  
Learning English

Facebook is undoubtedly the most popular social network site nowadays with over two billion users. Therefore, there has been research exploring its potential as a learning environment for various fields of education, including learning English as a foreign language (EFL). As the findings of research studies indicate, Facebook is especially used in developing productive language skills, such as writing, which is considered to be the least popular and the most difficult skill to master. Thus, the purpose of this article is to explore the impact of Facebook on developing writing skills in learning English as a foreign language. The methodology is based on the search for available studies on the research topic, i.e., the impact of Facebook on developing writing skills in EFL, in the world’s databases: Web of Science and Scopus. The search was not limited by any time period. The results of this review article reveal that using Facebook has a positive effect on developing writing skills in EFL classes, especially in shaping and organizing ideas, enhancing motivation, developing and supporting collaboration among peers, improving vocabulary, and reducing students’ shyness. However, more experimental research should be done in this area to reveal other aspects of the writing process, such as communicative language competence, which can be improved by using Facebook, as well as address researchers from continents other than Asia.

Interactive Learning Between Chinese Students Learning English and English Students Leaning Chinese on the Platform of Wiki

2011 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
pp. 70-85 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dongshuo Wang ◽  
Bin Zou ◽  
Minjie Xing
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Interactive Learning ◽  
Chinese Students ◽  
Foreign Language Learning ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Legitimate Peripheral Participation ◽  
Chinese As Foreign Language ◽  
English Students ◽  
Learning English

This research investigates the interaction between English students learning Chinese in the UK and Chinese students learning English in China via a wiki platform. Activity theory and legitimate peripheral participation theory were employed as a theoretical framework; wiki was embedded as an interactive learning tool. The findings revealed that Chinese native speakers assisted English students learning Chinese as foreign language (CFL) by means of reorganizing word orders and restructuring sentence patterns. The usages of clarification and elaboration were more frequent than the usages of added and deleted information. Both CFL and English as foreign language (EFL) students interacted with each other in attending to language forms through the essay correction and revision process, and the interaction consequently enhanced their target language learning. The study suggests that wiki provides a dynamic platform, which encourages further integration into the syllabus to support foreign language learning.

scholarly journals Collaborative tasks and learning occasions in English as a foreign language

2011 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 837-852 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marília dos Santos Lima
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Research ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Learning Process ◽  
Foreign Language Learning ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Linguistic Knowledge ◽  
Collaborative Dialogue ◽  
Learning English

The study reported here forms part of a program of qualitative research focusing on the use of collaborative tasks in learning English as a foreign language in Brazil. The research examines the concept of collaborative dialogue (SWAIN, 2000), understood as dialogue that constructs linguistic knowledge within a sociocultural view of language learning. The results indicated that the learners reflected upon the target language, tested hypotheses and reformulated their production in order to promote mutual comprehension in the learning process. The results also revealed that the interaction established during the production of the collaborative dialogue stimulated foreign language learning as the students noticed linguistic gaps in the target language, and sought solutions together.

scholarly journals The Impact of Native Language Use on Second Language Vocabulary Learning by Saudi EFL Students

2016 ◽  
Vol 9 (5) ◽  
pp. 134 ◽  
Author(s):  
Muhammad Saleem Khan
Keyword(s):  
Community College ◽  
Second Language ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Secondary Students ◽  
English Language ◽  
Language Use ◽  
Native Language ◽  
Vocabulary Learning ◽  
Target Language ◽  
The Impact

<p>This paper strives to explore the impact of Native Language use on Foreign Language vocabulary learning on the basis of empirical and available data. The study is carried out with special reference to the English Language Programme students in Buraydah Community College, Qassim University, Saudi Arabia. The Native Language of these students is Arabic and their Second Language is English. The participants in this research study are the post-secondary students of Buraydah Community College in Intensive Course Programme. The instrument used in this study was in the form of two tests. It is well known that in language assessment tests play a pivotal role in evaluating the EFL learners’ language proficiency. The use of native language as a semantic tool for assessing second language learners’ understanding shouldn’t be rejected altogether especially for the undergrad Saudi EFL (English as a Foreign Language) students. The outcomes of the study show that in learning the vocabulary of target language is significantly helped by the use of translation method of native language (Arabic) in understanding the meaning of novel words and expressions of foreign language (English). This method is widely welcomed by majority of the students of Buraydah Community College. It’s recommended to use this method in order to take the students directly to the core meaning of the word or expression. It also, sometimes, gives a sense of accuracy of the meaning of native language equivalents.</p>

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