scholarly journals ‘Learning This Way Is Like Piecing a Puzzle Together’: Bringing My Autoethnography as a Self-Directed Learner of French to a Conclusion

2021 ◽  
pp. 92-117
Author(s):  
Robert J. Werner
Keyword(s):  
Intercultural Communication ◽  
Cultural Awareness ◽  
Writing Process ◽  
French Language ◽  
Learning Cycle ◽  
Linguistic Knowledge ◽  
Listening Skills ◽  
Lexical Frequency ◽  
Frequency Profile ◽  
Learning Plan

This is the fourth and final part of an autoethnography about how I tried to enrich my vocabulary and improve my listening skills through French language songs. I made a learning plan and followed the same Study Use Review Evaluate (SURE) learning cycle as my students in a self-directed English course at a university in Japan, over a period of six weeks. Throughout the project and in the course of writing it up, I made comparisons and identified connections between my learning and that of my students. In this installment, I first compare the difficulty levels of the vocabulary in the three songs I studied by finding the lexical frequency profile of each. Next, in revisiting my trouble with understanding spoken French while in France, I discuss how cultural awareness, in addition to linguistic knowledge, is necessary for intercultural communication. After that, I briefly explore empathy as a factor in advising students, and particularly how learning in the same way as them (as in this project) can assist a teacher/advisor in better understanding and helping their students/advisees. Finally, I discuss the writing process as a method of inquiry. I feel that writing this autoethnography has transformed me into a better learner, teacher/advisor, writer, and researcher, and in this way, I hope to help others benefit from this method too.

scholarly journals ‘Things Will Look Up Because They Always Do’: The Continuation of My Autoethnography as a Self-Directed Learner of French

2020 ◽  
pp. 271-293
Author(s):  
Robert J. Werner
Keyword(s):  
Intrinsic Motivation ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
French Language ◽  
Learning Cycle ◽  
Second Step ◽  
Listening Skills ◽  
New Words ◽  
Self Confidence ◽  
English Class

This is the second part of an autoethnography about trying to enrich my vocabulary and improve my listening skills as a self-directed learner through French language songs. I followed the same Study Use Review Evaluate (SURE) learning cycle as my students in a self-access English class, and my work occurred at the same time as theirs, over a period of six weeks. Throughout the project and in the course of writing it up, I was making comparisons and identifying connections between my learning and that of my students. This installment covers the second and third weeks of the project, and part of the fourth. First, it discusses vocabulary, describes how I adjusted a strategy, ways I enlisted help from native French speakers, and a problem that arose with using new words (the second step of SURE). Next, it details how I reviewed grammar through Duolingo, a language learning app, and the unexpected benefits I derived from using this app. Finally, this paper examines fluctuations in motivation and affect, which many learners experience at some point, and this initially led to anxiety and self-doubts about my purpose in conducting this project. Stepping into the learner’s experience was valuable, however, in helping me to rediscover intrinsic motivation and regain my self-confidence as I headed into the final weeks of the project.

MEDIA BERBASIS ADOBE FLASH UNTUK PEMBELAJARAN KETERAMPILAN MENYIMAK DI PROGRAM STUDI PGSD

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Biya Ebi Praheto ◽  
Andayani Andayani ◽  
Muhammad Rohmadi ◽  
Nugraheni Eko Wardani
Keyword(s):  
School Teacher ◽  
Learning Material ◽  
Listening Skills ◽  
Study Program ◽  
Learning Plan ◽  
Adobe Flash ◽  
Education Study ◽  
Technological Developments ◽  
The Media ◽  
Cognitive Knowledge

Learning media always develops the following technological developments. Likewise, the media in learning is listening to Indonesian. The development of learning media is important. Adobe Flash-based media developed to facilitate lecturers and students in learning Indonesian listening skills in the Elementary School Teacher Education Study Program. Media that are designed to be interesting may not only train cognitive knowledge but also practice practical listening skills. Adobe Flash-based media for listening are designed by displaying several menus, namely the home menu, RPS (Semester Learning Plan), materials, practices, games, music, profiles, and references, as well as close menus appearing in accordance with the cross (x) to be used using the application. The hope media developed was able to assist lecturers in delivering learning material, as well as helping students learn well in the classroom and outside the classroom.

Productive Vocabulary Knowledge of ESL Learners

2018 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 32-41 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abdulmalik Usman ◽  
Dahiru Musa Abdullahi
Keyword(s):  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
English Language ◽  
Vocabulary Knowledge ◽  
Writing Quality ◽  
Lexical Frequency ◽  
Frequency Profile ◽  
Esl Learners ◽  
The Relationship

The paper seeks to investigate the level of productive knowledge of ESL learners, the writing quality and the relationship between the vocabulary knowledge and the writing quality. 150 final year students of English language in a university in Nigeria were randomly selected as respondents. The respondents were asked to write an essay of 300 words within one hour. The essays were typed into Vocab Profiler of Cobb (2002) and analyzed the Lexical Frequency Profile of the respondents. The essays were also assessed by independent examiners using a standard rubric. The findings reveal that the level of productive vocabulary knowledge of the respondents is limited. The writing quality of the majority of the respondent is fair and there is a significant correlation between vocabulary and the witting quality of the subjects. The researchers posit that productive vocabulary is the predictor of writing quality and recommend various techniques through which teaching and learning of vocabulary can be improved.

scholarly journals Politeness of Vietnamese Students in Writing Request Email in English: a Course-based and Socio-pragmatic Study

2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 109-128
Author(s):  
Thi Minh Trang Pham ◽  
Aiden Yeh
Keyword(s):  
Critical Discourse Analysis ◽  
Cultural Awareness ◽  
Critical Discourse ◽  
Linguistic Knowledge ◽  
Learning And Teaching ◽  
Politeness Strategies ◽  
High Level ◽  
Pragmatic Knowledge ◽  
Determining Factor

This exploratory study investigates politeness strategies employed by Vietnamese EFL learners when writing English request emails sent to foreign and Vietnamese professors and school staff. A corpus-based critical discourse analysis is used to analyze sub-elements of politeness including the degree of imposition, terms of address, request-giving strategy and lexicon-syntactic modifier. The results support the assumption that Vietnamese language pragmatic knowledge is deeply ingrained and has tremendous influence on students’ L2 email writing skills. The study also reveals that Vietnamese students applied a high level of imposition with formal term of address and salutation, directness strategies with the overuse of “please” and other hedges. While gender is not a determining factor, the inflexible adoption of fixed phrases and syntactic-lexical devices were attributed to the lack of sociopragmatic competence. Thus, apart from linguistic knowledge, the role of cultural awareness and socio-pragmatic knowledge should be highlighted in communicative English learning and teaching.

scholarly journals Vocabulary size and use: Lexical richness in L2 written production

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
B Laufer ◽  
Paul Nation
Keyword(s):  
High Frequency ◽  
Close Correspondence ◽  
Vocabulary Size ◽  
Reliable Measure ◽  
Lexical Frequency ◽  
Frequency Profile ◽  
Oxford University ◽  
Lexical Richness ◽  
Vocabulary Growth ◽  
General Service

This article shows that if there is some control over genre then there will be a close correspondence between the vocabulary size of intermediate learners as reflected in their writing and a more direct measure of vocabulary size The study proposes a new measure of lexical richness, the Lexical Frequency Profile, which looks at the proportion of high frequency general service and academic words in learners' writing The study shows that it is possible to obtain a reliable measure of lexical richness which is stable across two pieces of writing by the same learners It also discriminates between learners of different proficiency levels For learners of English as a second language, the Lexical Frequency Profile is seen as being a measure of how vocabulary size is reflected in use In this study, it was found that the Lexical Frequency Profile correlates well with an independent measure of vocabulary size This reliable and valid measure of lexical richness in writing will be useful for determining the factors that affect judgements of quality in writing and will be useful for examining how vocabulary growth is related to vocabulary use. © 1995 Oxford University Press.

scholarly journals Vocabulary size and use: Lexical richness in L2 written production

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
B Laufer ◽  
Paul Nation
Keyword(s):  
High Frequency ◽  
Close Correspondence ◽  
Vocabulary Size ◽  
Reliable Measure ◽  
Lexical Frequency ◽  
Frequency Profile ◽  
Oxford University ◽  
Lexical Richness ◽  
Vocabulary Growth ◽  
General Service

This article shows that if there is some control over genre then there will be a close correspondence between the vocabulary size of intermediate learners as reflected in their writing and a more direct measure of vocabulary size The study proposes a new measure of lexical richness, the Lexical Frequency Profile, which looks at the proportion of high frequency general service and academic words in learners' writing The study shows that it is possible to obtain a reliable measure of lexical richness which is stable across two pieces of writing by the same learners It also discriminates between learners of different proficiency levels For learners of English as a second language, the Lexical Frequency Profile is seen as being a measure of how vocabulary size is reflected in use In this study, it was found that the Lexical Frequency Profile correlates well with an independent measure of vocabulary size This reliable and valid measure of lexical richness in writing will be useful for determining the factors that affect judgements of quality in writing and will be useful for examining how vocabulary growth is related to vocabulary use. © 1995 Oxford University Press.

scholarly journals DEVELOPING INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION AND INTERCULTURAL AWARENESS IN THE EFL CLASSROOM

2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (65) ◽  
pp. 30
Author(s):  
Lili Cavalheiro
Keyword(s):  
Student Teachers ◽  
Intercultural Communication ◽  
Cultural Awareness ◽  
English Language ◽  
English Language Teaching ◽  
Safe Place ◽  
Language And Culture ◽  
Intercultural Awareness ◽  
The World ◽  
International Role

<span lang="EN-US">Throughout multiples regions around the world, waves of migrants and refugees search for better and safer living conditions. As a result, classrooms are becoming increasingly multicultural and multilingual, with many teachers feeling challenged when faced with this ‘new’ reality. Being English the most commonly shared language around the world, the English as a Foreign Language (EFL) classroom can be a ‘safe’ place where dialogue and intercultural communication are fomented. Not only can it facilitate the integration of migrant/refugee students, but it can also contribute to expanding learners’ (inter)cultural awareness and knowledge of how English may be used by multiple speakers (native and non-native) in diverse settings. In light of this, it is imperative that educators develop more inclusive English-language lessons that help break down barriers and taboos, in terms of language and culture. In order to achieve this, however, it is vital that these issues be developed at the beginning of any teacher training. Bearing this in mind, this paper begins by presenting the concept of English as a Lingua Franca and intercultural communication and follows up by reflecting upon how the traditional EFL classroom should to be reconsidered in light of today’s international role of English. Taking into account the specific growing multicultural/multilingual Portuguese context, the last section of this paper presents how these issues are developed in two pre-service MA programs in English Language Teaching at the University of Lisbon, and also how student teachers have integrated ELF-related activities/resources in their practicum, along with a commentary on their learners’ reactions.</span>

Simulation Rhetoric and Activity Theory: Experiential Learning in Intercultural Simulations

2019 ◽  
Vol 49 (2) ◽  
pp. 213-231 ◽  
Author(s):  
Junhua Wang
Keyword(s):  
Activity Theory ◽  
Intercultural Communication ◽  
Intercultural Competence ◽  
Technical Communication ◽  
Cultural Awareness ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Teaching Approaches ◽  
Classroom Context ◽  
Study Abroad Programs ◽  
Theoretical Understanding

In the field of intercultural business and technical communication, intercultural communication has been a regular topic in curriculum for decades; various teaching approaches exist for developing students’ cultural awareness and helping them achieve a theoretical understanding about the concept of culture, cultural differences, and cultural conflict. But quite often teaching and learning are limited in the classroom context, although it is true that study abroad programs are available for a small group of students. As a result, students do not have enough opportunities to interact with members of other cultures, which limits students’ potentials for gaining intercultural competence. This study explores the rhetorical nature of simulations, defines the perspective of using activity theory as a framework to understand the learning process occurring in simulations, and provides an intercultural simulation example to explain how instructors can incorporate simulations into the business and technical communication curriculum.

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