scholarly journals Learning Attitudes and Resistance to Learning Language in Engineering Students

This paper a part of a larger study on the effects of blended learning, it describes classroom experiences from a teacher and learner and details the action research on 250 students who were administered a course on Communication Skills & Personality Development to the Third Year Engineering Students at HITS Chennai, India. The regular parameters of conducting a course such as {a} attendance, {b} performance based results {c} on time submission of tasks and {d}engaging them in class activities became more challenging to the researcher because of the attitude that the scholars presented towards language learning. This ranges from non-acceptance of any new format of teaching, unwillingness to put in extra effort, inhibition stemming from the perception of their peers. To that end the teaching method and assessment were developed that included constructivism, social constructivism and problem-based learning as pedagogy. The programme designed also integrated flipped learning, peer and self-reviews, consistent marking structures based on the Vygotsky Activity Theory. The results confirm initial and strong resistance towards the methodology, lack of physical, emotional and mental input, initial fear and shyness towards the perception of others. Post the initial block what followed was an environment of support, continuous motivation that stemmed from their own activity and creation of learning resources by the scholars

2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 536
Author(s):  
Chandrasena Mandalasamy Rajeswaran

The effectiveness of task, formulaic language, and role play in facilitating uninhibited communication of ESL learners is beyond doubt. This quantitative empirical research employed a role play communicative assessment and a writing assessment to assess the efficacy of the combination of task, formulaic language, and role play, as a language learning strategy to teach cognitive academic language in English for Specific Purpose classroom of a university. The language ability acquired through brainstorming and reading sessions equipped the students for the task of describing a two-wheeler. The task which made use of the formulaic language led the engineering students to interact meaningfully and know the content for describing a two-wheeler and write the description in a coherent paragraph. The stimulated usage of academic language in a role play could scaffold the content and language learnt for successful retention for effective Oral Academic Presentation (OAP). Although the results cannot be generalised, students joining higher education in universities in ESL/EFL countries would be immensely benefitted by this kind of teaching method.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 19
Author(s):  
Gulsum Asiksoy ◽  
Serhat Canbolat

The flipped learning is a widely-used teaching method that increases the interaction between the instructor and the students by changing the in-class instructional time and the out-of-class practices. In this method, if students come to the class without studying the pre-course materials, this might lead to failures in its application. Besides, the gamified flipped learning environment was obtained by integrating the gamification elements in the pre-class phase of the flipped learning. The effects of teaching in this environment on students’ online behaviors and achievements were investigated. The participants were fourth-year undergraduate petroleum and natural gas engineering students enrolled in a natural gas engineering course. A true-experimental design was used in the study. Data were collected from a natural gas concept test, weekly quizzes, and data logs from Moodle. The research results indicated that teaching in the gamified flipped learning method showed a significant increase in the students’ participation in the pre-class activities of the flipped learning compared to the control group. Moreover, there was a significant increase in the achievement levels of the experimental group as compared to the control group. Based on these findings, the use of gamification elements in the pre-class phase of the flipped learning method can have a positive effect on the pre-course online behavior engagements of students. Furthermore, it was determined that it has a positive effect on the achievements of students who completed the method.


2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (10) ◽  
pp. 21087-21095
Author(s):  
Ni Putu Nita Anggraini ◽  
Ni Luh Gede Yogi Arthani ◽  
I Putu Yuria Mendra

The group of foreign language instructors and Indonesian language instructors for foreigners initially had problems in the fields of HR, legality, marketing and management. The implementation of the community partnership program (PKM) funded by the Ministry of Research and Technology's Research and Development Program aims to solve partner problems through entrepreneurship building. The method applied is in the form of knowledge transfer in the form of counseling, training, simulation and diffusion of science and technology about teaching methods, mentoring financial management and marketing and managing agency permits. The teaching method quality improvement program is carried out through workshops and workshops with the theme of teaching Indonesian and multimedia-based foreign languages. The resulting output is in the form of certificates and the quality of teaching increases. The problem of business management and enlargement has been solved through mentoring by management experts so that partners know the tips of building a small business. To build a language teaching business, the team helped partners manage the Business Course and Training (LKP) business license in a notary and operational permits in the Badung District Education Office. From the marketing aspect, the team has helped partner market course service products through the creation of signboards, business cards and websites with the domain www.gepbali.com . The implementation of all these activities has been running 70% while the draft article and seminar papers are still in draft form. This activity has had a positive impact on providing employment for language teachers and improving language skills for the community.


Multilingua ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan Beth Rottmann ◽  
Maissam Nimer

AbstractThis paper sheds light on Syrian refugee women’s negotiation strategies in language learning classrooms and in their broader social contexts from an intersectional perspective. Drawing on in-depth interviews and focus groups complemented by participatory observation in language classes, we use a post-structuralist approach to examine gendered language socialization. Our research combines an intersectional framework and a Bourdieusian perspective on symbolic capital to show how women perform gender and negotiate their roles in classrooms, within families and vis-à-vis the host society. The findings demonstrate that being a woman and a migrant presents particular challenges in learning language. At the same time, learning language allows for the re-negotiation of gender relations and power dynamics. We find that gender structures women’s access to linguistic resources and interactional opportunities as they perform language under social pressure to conform to prescribed roles as mothers, wives and virtuous, and shy women. Yet, these roles are not static: gender roles are also reconstituted in the process of language learning and gaining symbolic capital.


2004 ◽  
Vol 27 (4) ◽  
pp. 505-506 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heather Bortfeld

Although motherese may facilitate language acquisition, recent findings indicate that not all aspects of motherese are necessary for word recognition and speech segmentation, the building blocks of language learning. Rather, exposure to input that has prosodic, phonological, and statistical consistencies is sufficient to jump-start the learning process. In light of this, the infant-directedness of the input might be considered superfluous, at least insofar as language acquisition is concerned.


Author(s):  
Norkhairi Ahmad ◽  
◽  
Ahmad Mazli Muhammad ◽  
Syafini Ismail ◽  
Harmi Izzuan Baharom ◽  
...  

Running English for Specific Academic Purposes (ESAP) courses at tertiary institutions is becoming more challenging due to a number of factors and it leaves impact on lecturers’ emotions. Emotional dimension is among the aspects that significantly influences the way lecturers view assessments and their choice of assessment practices. This paper specifically looks at empathy as one emotional aspects present within lecturers as they undertake tasks of developing assessment materials and mitigate the challenges that they encounter. Six senior ESAP lecturers teaching engineering students at two engineering related universities reflected on this scenario via interviews and self-reflections. Their empathy in planning and developing assessment materials were elicited and scrutinised via qualitative approaches. All the lecturers exuded empathy based on professional grounds and directed towards essential learner factors and the intended ESAP course outcomes attainment. Empathy was found to be consistently demonstrated towards language learner factors and their language learning context that comprise aspects like background of students, language proficiency level, familiarity with language materials, current knowledge and skills required for test-taking. Such empathy for the best interest of the learners have induced careful and selective practices among the lecturers when preparing assessment materials. The presence of empathy in assessment practices appeared to be second nature to the lecturers and it helps to complement assessment best practices and upholds quality delivery of the ESAP courses. Empathy at a positive level has enabled the lecturers to embrace the spirit of assessment for learning where more time and efforts were devoted towards planning suitable assessments that promote understanding and mastery of the language, before going for the assessment of learning or summative assessments.


Author(s):  
Faiz Ushbah Mubarok ◽  
Atiqah Nurul Asri

Due to the pandemic condition, we rely more on the technology usage. Technology presents us plentiful advantages and features in the teaching and learning. Specifically in smart phones, android nowadays offer numerous applications of language learning in Play Store. This article shows the benefits of Android applications namely Duolingo, Busuu, Rosetta Store, and Memrise in learning English language. These apps enhance the user’s four language skills mastery using games, riddles and other various ways. By learning language independently, students may also their cognitive, meta-cognitive and affective skills. It aids learners to gain their goals in a fun and enjoyable ways. Further, it is also beneficial in terms of improving students’ motivation and confidence, easy and simple, practical and entertaining, and sustainability. 


2017 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 100 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jorge Cevallos Bravo ◽  
Eder A. Intriago ◽  
Jhonny Villafuerte Holguin ◽  
Gustavo Molina Garzon ◽  
Luis Ortega Arcia

This quantitative research aims to examine how different levels of motivation relate to frequency of occurrence of autonomous language learning activities undertaken by undergraduate students. Eight hundred and sixty-two college students from 10 vocational training programs of a public university located in Ecuador, South America, participated in this study. Spratt’s questionnaire that regards ‘autonomy and motivation’ as a cyclical interaction in the language learning process, was updated by the researchers, adding digital education elements. The data were analyzed using the program SPSS v24.0.0 The results showed that there was a significant relationship between: the language learning stimulation generated by professors and the participants’ learning attitudes. In addition, it was determined that the most frequent language practices in which the participants showed greatest autonomy were: listening to songs in English language, worrying about the correct pronunciation, and noting down interesting words or expressions in English.


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