scholarly journals The Effect of Computer-Based Self-Access Learning on Weekly Vocabulary Test Scores

2014 ◽  
pp. 217-234 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jordan Dreyer
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
English Language Learners ◽  
High School Students ◽  
English Language ◽  
Urban High School ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Remedial Writing ◽  
School Students ◽  
Online Activity ◽  
Vocabulary Retention

This study sets out to clarify the effectiveness of using an online vocabulary study tool, Quizlet, in an urban high school language arts class. Previous similar studies have mostly dealt with English Language Learners in college settings (Chui, 2013), and were therefore not directed at the issue self-efficacy that is at the heart of the problem of urban high school students in America entering remedial writing programs (Rose, 1989). The study involves 95 students over the course of 14 weeks. Students were tested weekly and were asked to use the Quizlet program in their own free time. The result of this optional involvement was that many students did not participate in the treatment and therefore acted as an elective control group. The resultant data collected shows a strong correlation between the use of an online vocabulary review program and short-term vocabulary retention. The study also showed that students who paced themselves and spread out their study sessions outperformed those students who used the program only for last minute “cram sessions.” The implications of the study are that students who take advantage of tools outside of the classroom are able to out perform their peers. The results are also in line with the call to include technology in the Basic Writing classroom not simply as a tool, but as a “form of discourse” (Jonaitis, 2012). Weekly vocabulary tests, combined with the daily online activity as reported by Quizlet, show that: 1) utilizing the review software improved the scores of most students, 2) those students who used Quizlet to review more than a single time (i.e., several days before the test) outperformed those who only used the product once, and 3) students who professed proficiency with the “notebook” system of vocabulary learning appeared not to need the treatment.

scholarly journals SITUATED PERSPECTIVES ON THE MOTIVATIONAL TRAJECTORIES OF HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS LEARNING ENGLISH IN RURAL VIETNAM

2017 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 249-266
Author(s):  
Cuong Huy Pham
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
English Language Learners ◽  
High School Students ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Social Practice ◽  
English Language ◽  
School Students ◽  
Situated Perspective ◽  
Learning English

Despite the growing body of research on the complex and contextually contingent nature of language learning motivation, investigations into the motivation of English language learners in rural areas have remained limited. This study explores the motivational constructions of two high school students learning English in rural Southeast Vietnam from a situated perspective. The students, one female and one male, were in their first year at high school and had relatively low levels of English. Data gathering took approximately one and a half years and was based primarily on interviews drawing on a social practice approach and observations. Findings reveal that students developed diverse motivational trajectories resulting from a synergy of social and idiosyncratic elements pertinent to their own learning conditions, interpersonal relationships, and their agentive appraisals of language affordances and learning opportunities available within and across settings. The longitudinal and situated perspective of this study provides insights into the ways in which students’ appraisals of affordances were shaped and reshaped by on-going interactions with significant others as well as by the sociocultural values permeating their agentive practices.

scholarly journals Enhancing English Language Learners’ Conversation Abilities via CA-informed Sitcom Lessons

2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (12) ◽  
pp. 121
Author(s):  
Abdulloh Waedaoh ◽  
Kemtong Sinwongsuwat
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
English Language Learners ◽  
High School Students ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
English Language ◽  
Single Case ◽  
Role Play ◽  
Public High School ◽  
School Students ◽  
Leave Taking

The study investigated the effectiveness of Conversation Analysis (CA)-informed sitcom lessons in enhancing conversation abilities of Thai learners of English. The participants included 42 high school students enrolled in an English for Communication course at a public high school in Southern Thailand. Through 15-week sitcom lessons, they were taught how to construct conversation sequences to accomplish such sequential actions as greeting and leave-taking, dis/agreement, new announcement, compliment, invitation, and request, as well as to collaboratively analyze conversations from the sitcoms and role-play them at the end of each lesson. Before and after the series of lessons, the participants were engaged in role-play conversations that were videotaped for subsequent assessment of their conversation abilities. The findings from both comparative statistical and close single-case analyses revealed significant improvements in all the aspects assessed especially regarding grammar and appropriacy. Therefore, it is recommended that EFL teachers should apply CA principles to teaching English conversation, integrating conversations from authentic materials such as sitcoms to strengthen English language learners’ conversation abilities.

scholarly journals The effect of topic selection on writing fluency among Japanese high school students

2016 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 231 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah Lin Lubold ◽  
Sarah Forbes ◽  
Ian Stevenson
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
English Language Learners ◽  
High School Students ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
English Language ◽  
Engineering Students ◽  
Meaning Making ◽  
Writing Fluency ◽  
School Students ◽  
Student Meaning

Written fluency and fluency building activities have been shown to promote linguistic choice and student voice development, increased ability to express ideas using complex grammatical structures and greater intrinsic motivation in English language learners. Since the 1970’s, process-oriented writing has been emphasized, yielding an amplified focus on meaning of student content over linguistic form precision. Current research of writing fluency must delve deeper into questions of student ownership of topic and the outcomes for low-risk activities that support fluency practice and encourage confidence building in students. The purpose of this replication study is to further explore previous findings on the effects of topic selection on writing fluency for high school English as foreign language learners. Building off of the work of Bonzo (2008), this study focused on a timed, non-graded writing activity administered to groups of Japanese engineering students in three departments: mechanical, electrical, and global engineering. The six subsequent samples for each participating student were analyzed using online text-analysis for total and unique word counts, providing data used to perform a t-test. Responses to bi-lingual student questionnaires, with prompts on self-perceived written English ability, self-efficacy and strategies for success while writing, provided additional insight into the facets of fluency. The results of these writing sessions offer both confirmation of and contrast to Bonzo’s original work, demonstrate increased student meaning making, and support the use of free writing activities in English language classrooms as a means by which student written fluency may be improved.

scholarly journals Grammar Errors in the Writing of Iraqi English Language Learners

2017 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 122
Author(s):  
Yasir Bdaiwi Jasim Al-Shujairi ◽  
Helen Tan
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
English Language Learners ◽  
High School Students ◽  
University Students ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Academic Writing ◽  
English Language ◽  
Analysis Model ◽  
School Students ◽  
Grammatical Errors

Several studies have been conducted to investigate the grammatical errors of Iraqi postgraduates and undergraduates in their academic writing. However, few studies have focused on the writing challenges that Iraqi pre-university students face. This research aims at examining the written discourse of Iraqi high school students and the common grammatical errors they make in their writing. The study had a mixed methods design. Through convenience sampling method, 112 compositions were collected from Iraqi pre-university students. For purpose of triangulation, an interview was conducted. The data was analyzed using Corder’s (1967) error analysis model and James’ (1998) framework of grammatical errors. Furthermore, Brown’s (2000) taxonomy was adopted to classify the types of errors. The result showed that Iraqi high school students have serious problems with the usage of verb tenses, articles, and prepositions. Moreover, the most frequent types of errors were Omission and Addition. Furthermore, it was found that intralanguage was the dominant source of errors. These findings may enlighten Iraqi students on the importance of correct grammar use for writing efficacy. 

scholarly journals TECHNIQUE IN TEACHING GRAMMAR FOR THE FIRST GRADE OF JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT THROUGH GAMES

2018 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Muhammad Wahyu Widiyanto ◽  
Maria Yustina Rensi Dartani ◽  
Indri Kustantina
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
High School Students ◽  
Junior High School ◽  
English Language ◽  
Junior High ◽  
First Grade ◽  
Control Group ◽  
School Students ◽  
Teaching Grammar ◽  
Experimental Group

The purpose of this study is to find out the contribution of games in improving grammar acquisition of the Yoannes Junior High School students. In teaching Grammar, teachers should apply the appropriate technique and method. In this study, games are chosen to be used.  Participants are divided into treatment group, the experimental group and the control group. The experimental group is taught by using games and the control group is taught by using the memorizing method. Each group is assigned to do the same test, containing sections which involved grammar items. They attended the course, once a week for eight weeks. Each meeting lasted forty five minutes. The material is taken from textbook that applied at school. Pre- test is given before the experiment and post- test is held immediately after the experiment is over. The Null hypothesis of no significant differences are constructed and tested, and then one- tailed T- test is used to compare the score of the games and memorizing groups and to analyze the hypothesis. The alpha level is set. Teaching the arbitrary rules of grammar to students who cannot speak, understand of use the English language is an absolute waste of time, effort and money and is downright foolish. The practice is about as rational as teaching advanced race car skid control to someone who does not know how to drive. In English conversation, get them talking, get them comfortable using the language, then teach them by using rules of grammar once they understand the language.

scholarly journals Factors Associated with Non-Attendance at Dental Preventive Care in Slovak High School Students

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 1295
Author(s):  
Martin Samohyl ◽  
Jana Babjakova ◽  
Diana Vondrova ◽  
Jana Jurkovicova ◽  
Juraj Stofko ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
Young Adults ◽  
High School Students ◽  
Preventive Care ◽  
Parental Influence ◽  
Adolescents And Young Adults ◽  
Control Group ◽  
School Students ◽  
Factors Associated ◽  
Older Adolescents

This study aimed to determine the factors associated with the avoidance of dental preventive care in high school students and their parents in the framework of The Youth and Parents Risk Factor Behavior Survey in Slovakia, the ongoing cross-sectional school-based survey of students and their parents or legal representatives. The data were collected using two separate standardized questionnaires: (i) the questionnaire for students (n = 515) and (ii) the questionnaire for parents (n = 681). The study group included 57 high school students (54.4% males) who did not visit the dentist for preventive care in the previous year. The control group included 458 students (35.8% males) who visited a dentist for preventive care at least once in the previous year. A significantly higher number of males (54.4%), older adolescents, and young adults (21.8%; 20.0%) were not visiting dental preventive care regularly. Incomplete family (56.1%), stressful situations at home (17.5%), and feeling unwell were the factors contributing to the avoidance of dental preventive care. More than 34.5% of adolescents and young adults were not visiting either dental preventive care or pediatric preventive care (adjusted odds ratio (AOR) = 5.14; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 2.40, 10.99). Children of divorced mothers and mothers with household income lower than EUR 900 had significantly higher dental care avoidance in bivariate analysis. A significantly higher percentage of fathers from the exposed group were not visiting dental preventive care regularly (47.8%, p < 0.05). The results of the study can be used as an educational intervention step focusing on the parental influence on adolescent and young adults’ behavior and as a challenge for the improvement of dental preventive care in older adolescents and young adults.

scholarly journals Physical Computing Strategy to Support Students’ Coding Literacy: An Educational Experiment with Arduino Boards

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 1830
Author(s):  
Chih-Chao Chung ◽  
Shi-Jer Lou
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
High School Students ◽  
Qualitative Analysis ◽  
Program Design ◽  
Analysis Of Covariance ◽  
Control Group ◽  
School Students ◽  
Physical Computing ◽  
Technical High School ◽  
Experimental Group

The purpose of this study is to explore the influence of introduction of the physical computing strategy of Arduino Boards in a program design course on coding literacy and the effectiveness of the application in technical high school students. This study selected two classes of twelfth-grade students enrolled in a program design course at a technical high school in Southern Taiwan as the samples. One class was the control group (43 students), and the other was the experimental group (42 students). During the 18-week course, the control group carried out a DBL (design-based learning) programming project, and the experimental group carried out the DBL programming project using the physical computing strategy of Arduino boards. Pre- and posttests and a questionnaire survey were carried out, while ANCOVA (analysis of covariance) was used for evaluation purposes. In the course, students in the experimental group were randomly selected for semi-structured interviews to understand their learning status and to perform qualitative analysis and summarization. This study proposed the physical computing strategy of Arduino boards, featuring staged teaching content, practical teaching activities, and real themes and problem-solving tasks. The results show that the coding literacy of students in the different teaching strategy groups was significantly improved. However, in the Arduino course on DBL programming, the students in the experimental group had a significantly higher learning efficiency in coding literacy than those in the control group. Moreover, according to the qualitative analysis using student interviews, Arduino boards were found to improve students’ motivation to learn coding and to aid in systematically guiding students toward improving their coding literacy by combining their learning with DBL theory. Thus, Arduino technology can be effectively used to improve students’ programming abilities and their operational thinking in practically applying programming theories.

scholarly journals Assessing the Effects of Childhelp’s Speak Up be Safe Child Abuse Prevention Curriculum for High School Students

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marisol Juarez Diaz ◽  
Diane Moreland ◽  
Wendy Wolfersteig
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
Child Abuse ◽  
High School Students ◽  
Child Maltreatment ◽  
Child Abuse Prevention ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Abuse Prevention ◽  
School Students ◽  
Prevention Curriculum ◽  
Speak Up

Abstract Purpose This study examined the Childhelp Speak Up Be Safe (CHSUBS) child abuse prevention curriculum for high school students and addressed a gap in evidence-based child maltreatment prevention programs. CHSUBS is grounded in theory and was developed to 1) provide students with the skills they need to prevent or interrupt child abuse, bullying, and neglect, and 2) increase student knowledge about safety related to abuse. Methods Utilizing a cluster-randomized controlled trial design, the three high schools were randomly assigned to participate in the CHSUBS curriculum or the control group. Survey items measured the efficacy of the curriculum in grades 9 through 12. Surveys were implemented at baseline, immediately after the intervention, and after 6 months for a follow-up. Analyses included exploratory factor analyses and a paired samples t–test to determine whether increases in child maltreatment knowledge and resistance skills were gained. Results Findings showed positive significant results that child maltreatment knowledge and resistance skills were significantly different from pre to post for the CHSUBS group and showed no significant control group changes. Conclusions High school students in the CHSUBS group appeared to gain both child maltreatment knowledge and resistance skills. Future studies on prevention programming for high school students might show results that lead to a reduction in child maltreatment and an increase in better health outcomes for adolescents.

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