The Adaptation of a Linguistic Risk-Taking Passport Initiative: A Summary of a Research Project in Progress

Relay Journal ◽  
2019 ◽  
pp. 415-436
Author(s):  
Ewen MacDonald ◽  
Nicholas Thompson
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Risk Taking ◽  
Second Language Learning ◽  
Willingness To Communicate ◽  
International Studies ◽  
Learning Center ◽  
Research Project ◽  
Confidence Levels ◽  
Language Classroom

This article outlines the rationale, background and preliminary findings of an ongoing linguistic risk-taking passport initiative at Kanda University of International Studies (KUIS) in Japan. The aim of the initiative is to encourage students to take various risks to build their confidence during their language learning journeys and help them to effectively utilise extra opportunities available for second language learning both inside and outside of the language classroom. The level, nature and frequency of linguistic risks taken, as well as students’ anxiety and confidence levels, willingness to communicate and their strategies for managing emotions are currently under investigation. Initial findings of the initiative indicated that many students felt comfortable and confident using English and taking risks, enjoyed the risk-taking process, and were able to discover new opportunities for practicing English, particularly those available in KUIS’s Self-Access Learning Center.

scholarly journals Teachers’ Perception of Motivational Strategies in the Language Classroom

EL LE ◽  
2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giacomo Cucinotta
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Learning Process ◽  
Classroom Climate ◽  
Second Language Learning ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
Motivational Strategies ◽  
Language Classroom

Motivation can determine success or failure in second language learning process, however there is a limited number of published investigations dedicated to motivational strategies in a European context. The purpose of the present study is to replicate Cheng’s and Dörnyei’s (2007) research to test the validity of their findings in a different cultural milieu. 101 foreign language (FL) and second language (L2) teachers were asked to rate a list of 47 motivational strategies according based on the degree of importance they perceived. In addition, they were also invited to specify how they acquainted with each strategy. The results of the study suggest that, even though the use of motivational strategies is decidedly context-dependent, the prevailing importance of some strategies might be cross-cultural. In particular, strategies related to classroom climate could also be considered as preconditions to employ further strategies. The highest-rated strategies are also indicated as acquired mostly through experience, which highlights the far too little attention that motivational strategies have so far received in education programmes for the formation of language teachers.

World CALL: Are We Connected?

2019 ◽  
Vol 39 ◽  
pp. 59-73
Author(s):  
Mike Levy
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Digital Literacy ◽  
Second Language Learning ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Authentic Materials ◽  
Input And Output ◽  
Language Classroom ◽  
The World

AbstractIn the last 20 years we have moved from a somewhat idealistic vision of the internet to one that is far more nuanced and complex. Disruption and change now surround us in a more uncertain and unpredictable world (Foer, 2017; Greenfield, 2017; Lanier, 2018; O'Neil, 2016). This article examines some of the key changes in the wider world and how they may relate to the use of new technologies in second language learning. This topic is approached from three perspectives that have thus far been relatively unexplored. First, the article looks at digital literacy, a cognate field that has long been motivated by issues and concerns relating to educational technology and the classroom–world connection. Second, it considers the role and use of authentic materials and texts. Third, it contrasts notions of input and output as these terms apply to humans and machines, and as they are used in research on second language learning.The goal throughout is to highlight the benefits of increased connectivity between the wider world and the world of the language classroom. Through increased awareness and informed debate, it is hoped this will place us in a stronger position to understand and plan for the changes ahead.

scholarly journals The Anxiety of Language Learning and Language Skills: Conceptual Problems and Helpful Ideas to the Study of English as a Foreign Language

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Asti Gumartifa
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Second Language Learning ◽  
English Language ◽  
Language Skills ◽  
Study Finding ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
Language Classroom

Ignoring the fact of anxiety as second language learning is a new issue in the process of acquiring an international language. Teachers seldom recognize anxious students and instead assign a lack of other factor discussions of students’ low accomplishments. in acquiring the English language.  This research intends to assist literature completely on the classification of second language and language skills anxiety. The overviews of decreasing or giving solutions about students’ anxiety in various potential aspects occur. Further items of the questionnaire in measuring students’ anxiety in terms of the Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale mentioned. Utilizing qualitative study presents a review in the classroom that aimed to investigate the variations of anxious students. This study finding and solution also describe analysis approaches and examines the educational effects of the result.

Effects Of Technology On Second Language Learning

2006 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Deborah Gill
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Second Language Learning ◽  
Language Classroom ◽  
Foreign Language Classroom

The purpose of this paper is to present preliminary findings regarding the implementation of technology in the foreign language classroom and the effects of this technology on second language learning.  This paper will first discuss the implementation of a technology-enhanced syllabus and then will focus on the effects of technology on writing using a number of different methods. 

scholarly journals Teaching Pragmatic Competence: A Journey from Teaching Cultural Facts to Teaching Cultural Awareness

2014 ◽  
Vol 30 (7) ◽  
pp. 82 ◽  
Author(s):  
Iryna Lenchuk ◽  
Amer Ahmed
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Cultural Awareness ◽  
Second Language Learning ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Pragmatic Competence ◽  
Federally Funded ◽  
Esl Teachers ◽  
Language Classroom ◽  
Esl Learners

Pragmatic competence is one of the essential competences taught in the second language classroom. The Canadian Language Benchmarks (CCLB, 2012a), the standard document referred to in any federally funded program of ESL teach- ing in Canada, acknowledges the importance of this competence, yet at the same time notes the limited resources available to help ESL teachers address it in the classroom. Informed by the theoretical construct of communicative competence and its application to second language learning, the article offers an exemplar of the whats and hows of teaching pragmatics in the ESL classroom. The article stresses the importance of making explicit to the learners the sociolinguistic and sociocultural variables that underlie native speakers’ linguistic choices. It is hoped that ESL learners will thus develop a better understanding of the reasons that make native speakers choose one linguistic expression rather than others when performing a certain linguistic act. The speech act of complimenting is used here as an exemplar.

Corpus Research Applications in Second Language Teaching

2011 ◽  
Vol 31 ◽  
pp. 205-225 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ute Römer
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Corpus Linguistics ◽  
Second Language Learning ◽  
Language Teaching ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Learning And Teaching ◽  
Language Pedagogy ◽  
Language Classroom ◽  
Specialized Language

Over the past few decades, corpora have not only revolutionized linguistic research but have also had an impact on second language learning and teaching. In the field of applied linguistics, more and more researchers and practitioners treasure what corpus linguistics has to offer to language pedagogy. Still, corpora and corpus tools have yet to be widely implemented in pedagogical contexts. The aim of this article is to provide an overview of pedagogical corpus applications and to review recent publications in the area of corpus linguistics and language teaching. It covers indirect corpus applications, such as in syllabus or materials design, as well as direct applications of corpora in the second language classroom. The article aims to illustrate how both general and specialized language corpora can be used in these applications and discusses directions for future research in applied corpus linguistics.

scholarly journals German discourse particles in the second language classroom

2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 184-210
Author(s):  
Andreas Trotzke ◽  
Ermenegildo Bidese ◽  
Manuela Caterina Moroni
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Second Language Learning ◽  
Second Language Learners ◽  
Proficiency Levels ◽  
Modal Particles ◽  
Discourse Particles ◽  
Cohesive Devices ◽  
Language Classroom

Abstract One of the main pedagogical objectives for language learners at high proficiency levels is to use ‘cohesive devices’ when writing a text or conducting a conversation. Usually, curricula stress the importance of clause-internal cohesion (by means such as connectives: and, but, when, because, etc.). By contrast, we stress the importance of cohesion at the level of the dialogue and in this context focus on discourse (aka ‘modal’) particles as a means to yield cohesion at that level. In this domain, German discourse particles represent a challenging learning objective for second language learners of German. This paper explores some production patterns of German discourse particles in L2 German by L1 Italian learners. We show that looking at those elements can provide new insights because these elements allow us to tease apart problems within syntax as compared to the lexicon-pragmatics interface in second language learning.

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