scholarly journals Maintaining and Supporting Seniors’ Wellbeing through Foreign Language Learning: Psycholinguistics of Second Language Acquisition in Older Age

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (21) ◽  
pp. 8038
Author(s):  
Marcel Pikhart ◽  
Blanka Klimova
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Positive Psychology ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Foreign Language Learning ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Control Groups ◽  
Young Control ◽  
Experimental Group ◽  
Elderly Control

This study concerns aspects of positive psychology connected to foreign language learning (FLL) in an older healthy generation. The positive psychology perspective stresses the positive aspects of improved wellbeing in participants who engage in various activities, particularly mental and brain-training practices. Therefore, the aim of this study was to explore older people’s subjective feelings connected to their FLL as one of the crucial ways to improve their quality of life (QoL). The objective of the research was to determine the subjective satisfaction level of the participants of a second language (L2) acquisition course. The research sample (experimental group) consisted of 105 respondents who were Czech citizens and 55+ years old. Two control groups were set up. The first (young control) consisted of 102 young adults (university students), also Czech citizens, aged between 19 and 23 years. The second control group (elderly control) consisted of 102 subjects older than 55 years, similar in age to the experimental group. A standardized online questionnaire survey was the principal research method, identical both for the experimental and control groups. The findings clearly showed that language training significantly improved the subjective positive feelings and wellbeing of the older participants, regardless of their objective progress in FLL itself. These results stood in opposition to the young control group and were different from the elderly control group. The results revealed that FLL is an effective tool for enhancing the overall wellbeing of older people, which was shown in their expression of their feelings of happiness, satisfaction, and positive motivation to learn an L2. In addition, FLL objectively affected their mental health in a positive way and expanded their social networks. Moreover, FLL was a meaningful activity for them, despite the weak objective learning outcomes due to the decline of cognitive functions, helping them find their general purpose of life, as well as life motivation as expressed in the survey. These findings are crucial, as it has already been proven that wellbeing is directly connected with good health and longevity. Therefore, national governments and all stakeholders dealing with the present issue of the aging population should pay undivided attention to the enhancement of older people’s wellbeing by all possible intervention approaches, including FLL. There is limited research into the issue and the findings of this investigation could be an impetus for further research into the topic from the perspectives of cognitive science, psychology, and psycholinguistics.

Utilizing WhatsApp Messenger to Enhance Listening Skills of Civil Engineering Degree Students in Mandarin Courses at UiTM Penang Branch

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 51-60
Author(s):  
Foo Terng Hoe ◽  
◽  
Teck Heng Lim ◽  
Boon Yih Mah ◽  
◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Test Scores ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Foreign Language Learning ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Listening Skills ◽  
Instructional Tool ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Experimental Group

Listening skills are important skills that need to be mastered by foreign language learners. Listening skills have, however, often been neglected in the teaching and learning process. This study aims to investigate the effectiveness of using WhatsApp messenger as an instructional tool in enhancing listening skills. This experimental research employs the two-group pre-test post-test design. Two groups of 30 students who enrolled in the Introductory Mandarin course in one of the public universities in Malaysia took part in the study. During the study, the experimental group of 30 students underwent listening drills and exercises using WhatsApp messenger as the treatment, while another 30 students in the control group were taught by another lecturer using the conventional method of teaching listening skills. Listening test scores of before and after the treatment were compared and analyzed using Independent Samples t-Test to identify the significant level of the difference between the scores of these two groups. The findings show no significant difference in the listening pre-test scores between both control and experimental groups. However, after the treatment, the listening scores of the experimental group students are significantly better than that of the control group students. These results indicate that WhatsApp messenger is a useful instructional tool to teach listening skills in foreign language. The findings of this study could be used as a reference for further development of WhatsApp messenger as an instructional tool to enhance listening skills, overcome the constraints on teaching time, and improve the pedagogy as well as the instructions of foreign language learning.

scholarly journals Enhancing Comprehension of Lecture Content in a Foreign Language as the Medium of Instruction: Comparing Speech-to-Text Recognition With Speech-Enabled Language Translation

SAGE Open ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 215824402095317
Author(s):  
Rustam Shadiev ◽  
Yu-Cheng Chien ◽  
Yueh-Min Huang
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Cognitive Load ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Language Translation ◽  
Foreign Language Learning ◽  
Language Ability ◽  
Text Recognition ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Medium Of Instruction ◽  
Experimental Group

Scholars suggest that not every student completely comprehends the content of a lecture in a foreign language as the medium of instruction, especially in the case of those with low language ability. To facilitate comprehension of lectures in a foreign language, learning content was presented to students in multiple modalities; that is, in addition to verbal (speech of the instructor) and visual (lecture slides) content, texts generated by speech-to-text recognition (STR) or speech-enabled language translation (SELT) were shown to the students. The goal was to compare how these two additional content modalities (i.e., STR-texts vs. SELT-texts) facilitate student comprehension of lecture content. Because processing multimodal content requires additional cognitive resources, another goal was to explore whether STR-texts versus SELT-texts impose any cognitive load on the students. To this end, two groups of students were recruited, where they attended two lectures at the intermediate and advanced levels. STR-texts were shown to a control group, and SELT-texts were shown to an experimental group. The posttest results and the cognitive load of the students in both groups after each lecture were compared. Four main findings were obtained: (a) The experimental group outperformed the control group on both posttests. However, when student language ability was considered, the difference was statistically significant for low ability students only; (b) there was not a significant between-group difference in cognitive load; however, if student language ability was considered, a significant between-group difference existed during the more difficult lecture; (c) between-group differences in self-efficacy were statistically insignificant; and (d) associations among some research variables were found. Based on these results, several implications were drawn for the teaching and research community.

scholarly journals Adapting Board Games to Stimulate Motivation in Vocabulary Learning in Six Year Old Learners - A Case Study

2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
Fotini Gerovasiliou ◽  
Makrina Zafiri
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Vocabulary Learning ◽  
Foreign Language Learning ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Beneficial Effects ◽  
Board Games ◽  
Language Level ◽  
Experimental Group

The particular study focuses on the use of board games and argues that they are a useful and practical tool in order to stimulate six year old students’ motivation in learning topic vocabulary in a foreign language classroom. It explains how a number of ready-made board games can be adapted, according to the educational aims, the students’ age and language level in order to maximize positive results in foreign language learning. Through playing board games, young students not only become much more active, but they also anticipate coming to the learning classroom more eagerly since they involve the elements of joy, interaction, cooperation and competition. Moreover, games place the teacher in a background role, acting more as a facilitator; therefore they allow students to take on more responsibility for their learning.To this end, an experimental study design, employing both qualitative and quantitative data research tools, was adopted. The participants, who were eight students of six year old age, were divided into two groups. In the experimental group, only board games were applied in order to give students the opportunity to practise the disseminated topic vocabulary while the control group practised their vocabulary through the activities proposed by the coursebook and the worksheets which were constructed by the researchers. A pre-test and post-tests were administered to students before and after the action research and semi-structured interviews with the students of the experimental group were conducted in order to probe into the students’ views concerning the proposed tool and method of instruction. The analysis of the tests indicated a difference in favor of the experimental group. Finally, the findings of the students’ responses revealed the beneficial effects of using board games to stimulate vocabulary learning to students of the specific age group and language level. 

scholarly journals Autonomous Learning for Proficiency Level İn Foreign Language Development of Graduate Students

2016 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Halil Küçükler
Keyword(s):  
Graduate Students ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Learning Styles ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Learning Style ◽  
Foreign Language Learning ◽  
Autonomous Learning ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Student Centred Learning ◽  
Experimental Group

Also called student-centred learning, autonomous learning is a multifaceted and self-motivated study skill that relates to a change in focus in the learning environment from the teacher to the student or from teaching to learning (Taylor 2000, p. 107). Its impact on linguistic competence has been investigated over time and the two have been found to be correlated. This survey was conducted in Balıkesir University in academic years of 2014-2015. The survey analyses graduate (Master of Arts) students’ foreign language learning styles and strategies to find out to what extent they are autonomous. The aim of the study is to investigate the impacts of graduate students’ proficiency attitudes on autonomous learning in foreign language learning. Two kinds of questionnaires were administered: the first one was learner autonomy survey questionnaire developed by Zhang and Li (2004), which was administered to investigate how autonomous the participants were in learning English as a foreign language. The second one was the perceptual learning style preference questionnaire (PLSPQ), developed by Reid (1987). The two questionnaires were administered to 600 graduate students enrolled in the Institutions of Social Sciences and the Institution of Health at Balıkesir University in the academic years of 2014-2015. Only 504 graduate students responded. Then it was announced that there would be two types of English YDS preparation courses for the participants enrolled at Balıkesir University, Institute of M.A programs. 30 participants applied to join the courses. The participants are assigned to two groups, as instructed and non-instructed on voluntary bases. The study involved the YDS test that measured the performance of the control and experimental groups to find out the differences. The study involved 15 sample YDS tests that were administered after every two weeks of instructions. Before the training commenced, there were some preliminaries that were being applied to determine the advancement in the level of proficiency and the level of trainees.  The results indicate that the male graduate students from both groups performed better than the female learners. The results also reveal that the control group scored a mean of 38, 86 while the experimental group recorded 38, 06 in the first test. Throughout all tests, the experimental group only scores a few points less. The ultimate YDS (The formal Proficiency Exam) score was (control group= 48; experimental group =47), which is almost the same. There is no meaningful difference between the control and experimental group.

scholarly journals Teach how to Listen: The Effect of Listening Strategy Instruction on Documentary Video Comprehension

2013 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
pp. 11-21 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fatemeh Hosseini
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Strategy Instruction ◽  
Foreign Language Learning ◽  
Comprehension Strategies ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Documentary Video ◽  
Efl Students ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Experimental Group

Developments in broadcast and multimedia technology have generated a readily available and vast supply of videos for use in second and foreign language learning contexts. However, without pedagogical direction learners are unlikely to be able to deal with the complexities of this authentic listening resource, and strategy instruction may be one route to augmenting comprehension (Cross, J, 2009). The essence of this experimental study was to investigate the impact of teaching listening strategy on comprehension of documentary videos. For the purpose of this study, 54 advanced EFL students, 27 in experimental group and 27 in control group, participated in this study procedure. In 10-week-period, the experimental group went through a well-scheduled instruction in listening strategy. On the other hand, the control group wasn’t received any instruction in listening strategy. The finding of this study has revealed that teaching listening comprehension strategies has significant influence on comprehension of authentic documentary videos

scholarly journals Analysis for finding the effect of mind mapping technique on the iranian English as Foreign Language learning’ writing skills

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 102-116
Author(s):  
Bita Naghmeh-Abbaspour ◽  
Vahideh Rastgoo
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Learning Strategies ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Foreign Language Learning ◽  
Mapping Technique ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Mind Mapping ◽  
English As Foreign Language ◽  
Experimental Group

Instructors are always interested in creating environments that motivate students to engage dynamically in their learning process. Mind mapping is one of the teaching and learning strategies that has emerged in this regard. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of mind mapping technique on the development of the organization of writing and learning of intermediate English as Foreign Language (EFL) language learners in Iran. Accordingly, thirty female intermediate English language learners were selected from a well-known institute in a small city as the participants of the study. They were randomly allocated to a control as well as an experimental group each consisting of 15 subjects. The control group was provided with the usual training, while the experimental group was presented with the intervention twice a week during the summer of 2019. Pretest and posttest were applied for both groups in this experimental study and the results were then compared. Based on the research findings application of mind mapping in teaching writing could improve the learners’ writing organization. However, it didn’t show any significant effects on their writing style. As the results of the statistical analyses indicated, an application of mind mapping in writing classes would help the learners to organize their writings in more effective ways..

scholarly journals The Effectiveness of Using Youtube for Vocabulary Mastery

2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Dwi Heriyanto
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Foreign Language Learning ◽  
Control Group ◽  
English As Foreign Language ◽  
Learning And Teaching ◽  
Vocabulary Comprehension ◽  
Youtube Videos ◽  
Reading Activities ◽  
Experimental Group

The study is to examine the improvement in vocabulary comprehension and maintenance of English as foreign language students at SMK Maárif 1 of Kebumen because of this of integrating YouTube in their reading classes. The study also investigated the perceptions of both students as well as teachers towards the inclusion of YouTube on the development of vocabulary. One hundred intermediate level learners aged between 14-17 years old participated in the study. Students were divided into two organizations: an experimental group who watched YouTube during the reading activities and a control group who was not exposed to the videos. Data were collected using pre-tests and post-tests in addition to questionnaires. The findings of the analysis reveal that the group who viewed the YouTube clips outperformed the group who was simply not subjected to YouTube videos in the posttest. The results clearly show that YouTube offered statistically significant effects on the students' vocabulary acquisition. The findings of the study indicate that the participants positively viewed the use of YouTube in their lessons. The findings also exposed significant improvement in the students’ vocabulary achievement. The implications of the findings are discussed within the context of foreign language learning and teaching

The Generalization of Instruction on Genitive Relative Clause in the Acquisition of English as a Foreign Language

2006 ◽  
Vol 151 ◽  
pp. 99-113
Author(s):  
Akihiro Ito
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Relative Clause ◽  
Relative Clauses ◽  
Foreign Language Learning ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Test Results ◽  
Japanese Learners Of English ◽  
Special Instruction ◽  
Japanese Learners

This study examines the generalization of instruction in foreign language learning. A group of Japanese learners of English served as participants and received special instruction in the structure of genitive relative clauses. The participants were given a pre-test on combining two sentences into one containing a genitive relative clause wherein the relativized noun phrase following the genitive marker "whose" is either the subject, direct object, or object of preposition. Based on the TOEFL and the pre-test results, four equal groups were formed; three of these served as experimental groups, and one as the control group. Each experimental group was given instruction on the formation of only one type of genitive relative clause. The participants were then given two post-tests. The results indicated that the generalization of learning begins from structures that are typologically more marked genitive relative clauses to those structures that are typologically less marked, and not vice versa.

scholarly journals Christopher Brumfit Award 2014

2015 ◽  
Vol 48 (4) ◽  
pp. 433-433
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Language Teaching ◽  
Foreign Language Learning ◽  
Learning And Teaching ◽  
Quality Of Presentation

The Editor and Board of Language Teaching are pleased to announce that the winner of the 2014 Christopher Brumfit thesis award is Dr Hilde van Zeeland. The thesis was selected by an external panel of judges based on its significance to the field of second language acquisition, second or foreign language learning and teaching, originality and creativity and quality of presentation.

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