scholarly journals TEACHING ALPAHBET FOR NON NATIVE ENGLISH LEARNERS: A CASE STUDY OF FIRST GRADERS

2019 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 27-32
Author(s):  
Agnes Widyaningrum ◽  
Vinna Octavia

Non-native English learners need time to learn English language since they just heard without knowing how to pronounce it correctly. This condition occurs in common Primary Schools because the students do not have foreign language background, at school as well as at home. The hidden curriculum focusing on students’ soft skills are not well administered as the school managements think that what they have to do in running the academic atmosphere is teaching well for their students. The first step in teaching English for young learners especially those who are non-native English learners is introducing English by getting to know it. Piaget’s child’s development contributes in helping teachers to know their student’s growth physically and mentally in order to help them learn better while they play different teacher’s roles. Piaget proves that cognitivism gives insight that is children’s develop through stages since they were born. First graders at their age is on the stage called preoperational with one of characteristics that is language development with the goal to create symbolic thought. One way to achieve this goal is by teaching alphabet for first graders.

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (8) ◽  
pp. 127
Author(s):  
Francesco Pierini

The teaching of soft skills in EFL postgraduate courses is increasingly part of the Italian university curricula, albeit with some delay compared to foreign universities. Postgraduate English language courses need to focus on the use of language in foreseeable situations by creating opportunities to use the language in public contexts. Meetings, presentations, debates are the activities that young people will increasingly be called upon to engage in. Rather than solely on theoretical knowledge learned previously, these activities develop the practical use of language, in front of an audience, with a structured discourse and with some emphasis on the non-verbal elements of communication. Although these aspects may appear daunting to students, more often than not, they have been able to overcome their anxiety, not only in relation to the embarrassment of speaking a foreign language in public, but even to the mere act of speaking in public, which represents an obstacle in itself. In this study a case of Italian postgraduate students of Political Science was carried out and analysed.


2018 ◽  
Vol 28 (7) ◽  
pp. 2245-2249
Author(s):  
Suzana Ejupi ◽  
Lindita Skenderi

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.


2021 ◽  
pp. 136700692199681
Author(s):  
Teresa Kieseier

Aims and Objectives: We compared speech accuracy and pronunciation patterns between early learners of English as a foreign language (EFL) with different language backgrounds. We asked (1) whether linguistic background predicts pronunciation outcomes, and (2) if error sources and substitution patterns differ between monolinguals and heterogeneous bilinguals. Methodology: Monolingual and bilingual 4th-graders ( N = 183) at German public primary schools participated in an English picture-naming task. We further collected linguistic, cognitive and social background measures to control for individual differences. Data and Analysis: Productions were transcribed and rated for accuracy and error types by three independent raters. We compared monolingual and bilingual pronunciation accuracy in a linear mixed-effects regression analysis controlling for background factors at the individual and institutional level. We further categorized all error types and compared their relative frequency as well as substitution patterns between different language groups. Findings: After background factors were controlled for, bilinguals (irrespective of specific L1) significantly outperformed their monolingual peers on overall pronunciation accuracy. Irrespective of language background, the most frequent error sources overlapped, affecting English sounds which are considered marked, are absent from the German phoneme inventory, or differ phonetically from a German equivalent. Originality: This study extends previous work on bilingual advantages in other domains of EFL to less researched phonological skills. It focuses on overall productive skills in young FL learners with limited proficiency and provides an overview over the most common error sources and substitution patterns in connection to language background. Significance/Implications: The study highlights that bilingual learners may deploy additional resources in the acquisition of target language phonology that should be addressed in the foreign language classroom.


2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 218-225
Author(s):  
Sri Setyarini ◽  
Bachrudin Musthafa ◽  
Ahmad Bukhori Muslim

Preserving Indonesian as a national identity and institutional readiness to perform the national curriculum 2013 instruction has become a critical factor in the exclusion of English as a compulsory subject at the elementary school level. This leaves rooms for teachers’ confusion and creativity, leading to various practices at different school clusters, depending on parental demands and school readiness. This study thus tries to cast light on the social agency demand and inter-school readiness for young learners in the Indonesian EFL pedagogical contexts. This instrumental case study portrays the practices of English language teaching at three clusters of Indonesian primary schools; local, national, and independent, as well as responses of parents and students to these practices. Involving 4-6 grade students and English teachers of six primary schools, the data were garnered through classroom observation, interviews, and document analysis. The findings revealed that although teaching English to young learners is somehow communicative and fun, it more emphasises  literacy skills (reading, writing, and grammar), particularly at local schools as the majority cluster across the country. Since English is a non-phonetic language, this literacy-focused practice is rather contradictory to what parents as social agencies expect, that is, to develop their children’s English oral proficiency. The study also offers ways by which teachers and schools can accommodate this social agency’s needs for speaking skills by focusing more on student-centred and oral English proficiency activities and assessment.


English Today ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 28 (3) ◽  
pp. 10-14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rining Wei ◽  
Jinzhi Su

In the mid-1980s, Crystal (1985) lamented that there were no reliable figures available for the number of learners to whom English is taught as a foreign language in many regions of the world, and that ‘China has always been excluded from the statistical reviews, because of the shortage of information from inside the country’ (Crystal, 1985: 9). More recently, Bolton (2008: 6) similarly notes that because of ‘the absence of accurate language surveys’ academics have to make educated guesses regarding the total number of those learning/knowing English. The figure of the total English learners/users in China has been estimated to be somewhere between 200 and 350 million (cf. Bolton, 2003: 48; Kachru, 1997; McArthur, 2003; Zhao & Campbell, 1995; Graddol, 2006: 95). Fortunately, a national language survey in China conducted at the turn of the century does provide some hard statistics on the number of English language learners/users in the world's most populous country, and also sheds some light on the realities of use of English and English proficiency among the Chinese people.


2020 ◽  
Vol 36 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tran Quoc Thao ◽  
Nguyen Chau Hoang Long

Self-regulation of learning plays a vital role in improving second/foreign language learning as it can encourage the development of autonomous learners. It is seen that, nevertheless, ESL/EFL learners in different contexts are not fully aware of the importance of self-regulated language learning (SRLL) strategies in their English language learning. The present study, therefore, aims at investigating the use of SRLL strategies by English-majored students at a university in Bac Lieu province, Vietnam. This study involved 100 English-majored freshmen in answering a closed-ended questionnaire. The results showed that students sometimes used SRLL strategies, and they used SRLL strategies for keeping and monitoring records and seeking social assistance more often than for other purposes. The findings imply that students lacked knowledge of how to use SRLL strategies and get engaged in using SRLL strategies. This study recommends that students’ awareness of SRLL strategies should be seriously taken into account in order to facilitate their learner autonomy.


Author(s):  
Michael Wayne Hendershot ◽  
Nutprapha K. Dennis ◽  
Suchada Chaiwiwattrakul ◽  
Ratirot Phiphitphakdee

Inasmuch as the goal of teaching English to non-native English speakers should be focused on enhancing English learners’ ability to develop skills necessary for efficient and effective use of the English language in communication within their daily lives as well as within the context of educational, employment, governmental, and business related issues, the materials and resources used by the teacher to provide said English learners with enhanced ability to develop necessary skills for the use of the English language for efficient and effective communication are of paramount importance. This study was designed as a comparison of English language curriculums between select schools in an effort to determine the effectiveness of the curriculum to enhance students’ abilities to develop skills to be able to effectively and efficiently communicate using the English language. Participants in the study were presented with questions relating to activities of daily life, and conversation thereof, using the English language. The resultant responses to the questions were assessed as to an indication of the participants’ ability to effectively and efficiently communicate using the English language. The comparison involved six grade levels of students from two primary schools and one secondary school. The tabulated results indicated a significant difference in the abilities of the participants to effectively and efficiently communicate using the English language related to curriculums used in schools in which the participants were enrolled at the time of the study.


2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 82-91
Author(s):  
ERLY MULFIAS YULI

This study is a case study to investigate students’ perceptions toward teacher’s talk in EFL (English as a Foreign Language) classrooms. It is conducted for two months on a single entity as the research subject, ie on 35 Eleventh-graders with varying English language skills and an English teacher. Since it focuses only on a certain entity, the results of the study cannot be generalized to the broader context. This study uses a qualitative approach by showing data from the results of questionnaires, observations and interviews with research samples. The study focuses on a research question on how Eleventh graders' perception on a teacher’s talk in EFL classrooms. Regarding to the research question, it aims to determine the thoughts of students on teacher’s talk, so that the teacher can organize and modify the class based on the perceptions that can implicate the learning process by reducing students’ anxiety. It provides students opportunities to be able to process information or lessons learned more comfortably, thus it reduces obstacles in learning. The findings of the study show that the majority of students of Eleventh-grade want to fully use English although they still have difficulties in understanding and feel less confident in using English.


2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
Rina Wahyu Setyaningrum ◽  
Kharisma Naidi Warnanda Sabgini ◽  
Slamet Setiawan

For any different objectives of teaching EYL at primary schools in Indonesia, qualified EYL teachers are urgently needed. Pre-service teaching program is expected to provide experience of using proper English language in classroom setting. This case study aimed at describing the first language (L1) instruction used by the pre-service teachers of English for Young Learners (EYL) at the Universitas Muhammadiyah Malang (UMM). The findings depicted that L1 was used as a language of instruction to explain the materials and to clarify the instruction given in L2. It is recommended for the pre-service teachers of EYL to use L2 with demonstration, L2 Context Clues, and L1 translation. Ultimately, the use of L1 in L2 teaching is mandatory to communicate the topic and enhance the students - pre-service teacher interactions. As for meeting the purpose of interaction, the use of L1 should involve actional, conversational, and non-verbal competences. In the long run, the impact of L1 in L2 learning in earlier levels can be recognized from good interpersonal communication in English.


SEEU Review ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 113-125
Author(s):  
Arta Toçi

Abstract Everybody who has learned English as a second or foreign language knows that for reaching intermediate levels, English is an easy language regarding grammar and vocabulary; however, when reaching advanced levels, the learners are faced with complex forms of morphology, syntax, and most obviously, they are faced with the difficulties that pronunciation presents. These are mainly the problems that occur with the English students whose native language is other than English. An experienced teacher of non-native speakers of English can easily recognize the causes of mispronunciation, which in most cases are lack of vocabulary, lack of practice, bad teaching experiences, lack of direct contact with the language, and lack of self-confidence. There are quite a lot of words in English, which are often mispronounced. Those who have just started to learn English as a foreign language, students at primary schools, adults using English as a means of communication and as a working tool, such as businessmen, politicians, administrators, doctors, accountants, and those studying English for teaching purposes, even the teachers of English are faced with the problems of proper pronunciation of words in English. The aim of this research is to identify the problems that the students in the Department of English Language and Literature in the Faculty of Languages, Cultures and Communication face with when they deal with pronunciation of lexical words.


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