scholarly journals The Advantages and Limitations of Translanguaging in Teaching Third of Additional Languages at the University Level

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (1(17)) ◽  
pp. 135-169
Author(s):  
Teresa Maria Wlosowicz

The purpose of the paper is an analysis of the advantages and limitations of the use of translanguaging, or the mobilisation of students’ whole multilingual repertoires to facilitate understanding and learning (Lewis, Jones, Baker, 2012, p. 655), in the teaching of third or additional languages (De Angelis’s (2007) term) at the university level. The paper is based on two studies by the [name deleted to maintain the integrity of the review process], on the use of translanguaging in the teaching of Spanish [name deleted to maintain the integrity of the review process] and French [name deleted to maintain the integrity of the review process]. It analyses the use of translanguaging for the purposes of explanation and awareness-raising, taking into consideration the increased language learning experience and awareness of multilingual students (cf. Hufeisen, 2018), and its perception by the students. However, despite its advantages, it also has limitations related to students’ lack of experience with translanguaging and unwillingness to use their multilingual repertoires in learning particular languages.

2021 ◽  
pp. 136216882110565
Author(s):  
Nina Woll ◽  
Pierre-Luc Paquet

If maximal exposure were the key to success in language learning, then adult learners at the university level would be doomed to fail. Not only are they presumably too old to learn additional languages effectively, but target language (TL) input appears to be insufficient, especially when other languages are allowed in class. Nevertheless, learners were shown to build on knowledge of previously acquired languages, to rely on language learning experience and to develop metalinguistic awareness. This study explores the perceived usefulness of a plurilingual consciousness-raising task that aims at helping learners make and strengthen connections between the TL and other previously acquired languages. Two university-level language courses were targeted: Spanish in Quebec and French in Mexico. Two customized tasks were implemented and recorded in each course throughout the semester. Each task included an input-based (discovery) phase, a reflective (metalinguistic) phase during which participants were asked to make assumptions on underlying patterns and correspondences across languages, and a validation phase where they presented their assumptions until reaching a consensus as a group. While tasks were generally perceived as useful, analyses of post-task questionnaires also revealed mixed feelings regarding its inductive stance. However, the verbal data collected demonstrated that the collaborative and metalinguistic reflective nature of the task permitted learners to find correspondences between languages and to engage in knowledge construction. Moreover, the various reflections collected indicate that learners benefitted from the task as groups engaged in metalinguistic reflections, activated their plurilingual repertoire and were able to create accurate assumptions regarding the targeted structure.


2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (40) ◽  
pp. 631-654
Author(s):  
Khaldoon Waleed Husam Al-Mofti

For Iraqi EFL learners who are studying English pronunciation in a traditional instruction method often requires more effort and hard work. Thus, using new methods of teaching such as the flipped classroom model (FCM) is necessary to facilitate learning and improve performance. Hence, this study reports on explanatory research that investigates the effect of using the FCM in the teaching of English pronunciation for Iraqi EFL learners at the university level. The study implemented mixed research methods for data collection in a quasi-experimental analysis. Therefore, two tests were conducted on the assigned groups to measure the effect of the FCM before and after the intervention. Besides, a questionnaire and interviews were used on the experiment group students to collect data about their perceptions of the FCM. The study length (lasted)  was 15 weeks and is comprised of 60 students from the department of English, College of Arts at the University of Anbar. The students were divided into two groups, experimental, and control with 30 students in each group. The findings revealed that there was a significant statistical difference between the two groups in favour of the experimental group with better performance, indicating that the FCM has considerably assisted the Iraqi EFL learners to improve their English pronunciation. Moreover, the students expressed their positive feedback and satisfaction on the use of the FCM in their responses to the questionnaire and the interviews. As such, the current study recommends further research to study the effect of applying the FCM in areas and disciplines other than language learning.


2017 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 107 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Sullivan

Do asynchronous online evaluations, designed and delivered to engage the testing effect, moderate test anxiety? To answer this question, we surveyed 353 undergraduate and graduate students, drawn from 12 courses, hybrid and online, asking whether the option to take and retake a quiz lessened their text anxiety. Students, no matter the course or level, indicate yes, with more than 90% of the sample agreeing that the option to retake a quiz reduced test anxiety. We also consider this result with regards to the issues of metacognitive accuracy, student engagement, and learning effectiveness. Nearly 95% saw the “anytime, anyplace” test-retest option increasing understanding, improving class engagement, and supporting a more effective learning experience. Our findings profile a promising path to reset traditional as well as refine online evaluation pedagogies.


ReCALL ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 25 (3) ◽  
pp. 306-320 ◽  
Author(s):  
Caroline H Steel ◽  
Mike Levy

AbstractThis paper has two key objectives. Firstly, it seeks to record the technologies in current use by learners of a range of languages at an Australian university in 2011. Data was collected via a large-scale survey of 587 foreign language students across ten languages at The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia. Notably the data differentiates between those technologies that students used inside and outside of formal classrooms as well as recording particular technologies and applications that students perceived as beneficial to their language learning. Secondly, this study aims to compare and contrast its findings with those from two previous studies that collected data on students’ use of technologies five years earlier, in 2006, in the UK and Canada. The intention is to chart major developments and changes that have occurred during the intervening five-year period, between 2006 and 2011. The data reported in two studies, one by Conole (2008) and one by Peters, Weinberg and Sarma (2008) are used as points of reference for the comparison with the present study.The findings of the current study point to the autonomy and independence of the language learners in this cohort and the re-emergence of CALL tools, both for in-class and out-of-class learning activities. According to this data set, learners appear to have become more autonomous and independent and much more able to shape and resource their personal language learning experience in a blended learning setting. The students also demonstrate a measure of sophistication in their use of online tools, such that they are able to work around known limitations and constraints. In other words, the students have a keen awareness of the affordances of the technologies they are using.


2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alina Andreea Dragoescu Urlica ◽  
◽  
Lulzime Kamberi ◽  
Marta Boguslawska-Tafelska ◽  
◽  
...  

The paper explores the interface between the new theoretical approach of ecolinguistics and language educational practices in the new digital environments that we have plunged into during 2020-2021. From the standpoint of ecological communication and eco-semiotics, the exploration highlights its impact on language learning and education in general, as re-contextualized in the new digital spaces we have all been experiencing as educators and learners. The theoretical input from semiotics and conceptual linguistics on the one hand, and educational ecology on the other hand, is paired with a direct empirical analysis of the students’ language learning experience at the USAMVBT University of Timisoara, Romania, the University of Tetova, North Macedonia, and Lomza State University from Poland. Our aim is to better understand how to sustain students’ communicational skills and their overall adaptation to the emerging digitalised educational environment across fields of study.


Author(s):  
Humaira Nazir

Among educational elements, the main element is study tours that are considered as a crucial instrument for learning. These tours are not only a source of providing valuable educational opportunities to the students but also give them pleasure. They benefit the entire life of students in different ways. The main focus of this research is to know how study tours are beneficial for students of architecture. This study explores the need and importance of study tours that add the learning experience throughout the life of students at the university level and in practical life. For collecting data, a qualitative research method is used. The study carried out by taking the architectural students of Sir Syed University of Engineering and Technology Karachi on study tours, because of being a part of the faculty of the Architecture department of this university. The research tool was a questionnaire that was filled online by the students who joined the tours, collected data was analyzed by a simple percentage method. The findings indicated that the majority of respondents get pleasure and knowledge from study tours. The tours provide education to students to explore things personally in an eloquent way. They not only boost collaboration among teachers and students but also support to cope with teaching problems that occurred in the classrooms. The study has demonstrated that study tours are essential in order to give practical tactics for the curriculum and are helpful in enhancing the learning experience and understanding of the students. Tours bring enjoyment and escapade to learning and trained students for getting success in the hardships of life.


EduLingua ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 23-39 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karina Dupák

The results of previous surveys carried out at the Department of English Language Teacher Education and Applied Linguistics of the University of Szeged show that the majority of English majors is not prepared enough for their studies, their level of proficiency and study skills are often not satisfactory, and they have difficulty in assessing their own strengths, weaknesses and the reasons for being unsuccessful (Doró, 2010). Arising from the previously mentioned conclusions, the present paper aims to find out more about first-year English majors’ study skills, strategies and self-perception in the form of five semi-structured group interviews. The students’ answers shed light on what aspects of studying students have problems with, how they monitor and adjust their own studying process, what their goals are and what methods they use to become more fluent speakers and better students.


Author(s):  
Maarit Mutta

This article addresses multilingual students’ lexical retrieval in L3 French at the university level. The aim was to study how Finnish L3 learners construct the meaning of cognate words that induce a high probability of cross-linguistic or intra-linguistic influence. The task was to orally translate 40 French words into L1 words (Finnish). These words were used to deliberately activate L3, L2 or L1 cognates. The corpus consisted of the productions of 12 first-year students (480 cases). The results show that participants gave the correct answer to a given word in 40% of cases. The results also show that intra-linguistic influence is the most probable source of both negative and positive effects and that cross-linguistic influence from L2 English was more important than that of L1. Nevertheless, well-learned common words seemed to resist this (combined) cross-linguistic influence. On the basis of the task, it can be concluded that cross-linguistic influence can vary considerably and that the source of the influence is not always clear. The analysis also revealed that on an oral translation task, the participants had recourse to different strategies based on form or form and meaning at various levels of success.


2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 1355-1365
Author(s):  
Irfan Ullah Khan ◽  
Mati Ullah ◽  
Khurshed Iqbal ◽  
Mahraban Alam ◽  
Iftikhar Ahmad

Purpose of the study: Social media and online social media sources play a vital role in our daily routine life. This study's main purpose was to highlight the role of Twitter in English language learning proficiency development at the university level. Methodology: In the study, the researcher analyzed the perception of EFL learners regarding the effectiveness of Twitter in English language learning proficiency at the university level by taking data from sampled respondents through a self-developed questionnaire on a 5-Points Likert scale. John Curry's (1984) sample size rule of thumb, convenient sampling technique, validity, and reliability of the research instrument were ensured in the study. Main Findings: The key findings of the current study revealed that in social media, Twitter has a high positive role in promoting, polishing, and developing English Language learning by using computers, laptops, or smartphones for the teaching-learning process in this regard. The study's main findings indicated that Twitter is very helpful to facilitate teachers and learners regarding the development of the English language as a second language. Applications of this study: The current study may be highly significant and effective for students, parents, teachers, the public, policymakers, and the government to apply it for developing language proficiency via the practical use of Twitter. Novelty/Originality of this study: The study will be a quite novel and original way of promoting and developing language proficiency by using media resources, especially Twitter, to attain the desired objectives, i.e., developing language proficiency via Twitter.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mufleh Salem M. Alqahtani ◽  
C. Vijaya Bhaskar ◽  
Kesavan Vadakalur Elumalai ◽  
May Abumelha

Technology has developed immensely and its role in the aspects of learning a language has grown bigger and bigger. Among the university level students, WhatsApp at present is getting into the frontline as one of the most widespread online social networking platforms concerning to language learning. The research work undertaken tries to understand if university level students consider WhatsApp as a significant learning platform that can develop and support their language learning skills. Moreover, , the research work focuses on the routine practices or use of WhatsApp by students. The outcome of the survey data reveals that students consider that WhatsApp may be utilized as a teaching cum learning online platform to assist them in the process of language learning. They also highlighted the necessity of imitating language courses associated with WhatsApp, integration of technology through WhatsApp for the access of class materials with a set of objectives and outcomes explicitly focused on learning language to create meaningful experiences for students. Pedagogically, the study concludes by emphasizing the efficacy and prospective role of WhatsApp in improving the capability of students with regard to learning a language at university level.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document