Is EFL Worth Studying at Japanese Colleges? Readers Theatre Provides an Answer

2012 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 4
Keyword(s):  
College Students ◽  
Second Language ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Social Growth ◽  
Japanese Speakers ◽  
Readers Theatre ◽  
Efl Classrooms ◽  
Almost All

This paper discusses issues, insights, and considerations concerning Readers Theatre and its applications to Japanese EFL classrooms based on the author’s experiences in taking part in a Readers Theatre (RT) workshop. Although RT is of great use when teaching Japanese college students, the application of its techniques should be introduced within the framework of the EFL settings where almost all of the directors, performers, and audience consist of Japanese speakers who study English as a foreign language, not as a first or a second language. Elements related to the students’ social growth such as cooperation, responsibility, and sense of fulfillment should be considered more when RT is taught in college EFL classroom settings.

scholarly journals Causes of Vocational College Students’ Reticence in EFL Classrooms of Mainland China – based on Panxi Vocational College

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (6) ◽  
pp. 26-30
Author(s):  
Jun Fu
Keyword(s):  
College Students ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Social Factors ◽  
Mainland China ◽  
General Tendency ◽  
Classroom Behaviors ◽  
Vocational College ◽  
Item Questionnaire ◽  
Long Time ◽  
Efl Classrooms

This article reports on a study of students’ reticence in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) classrooms in Panxi Vocational College in Sichuan Province of Mainland China. Forty-one students answered a 28-item questionnaire. The students’ reticence levels, general tendency of unwillingness-to-speak, and their learning behaviors were identified. Individual and social factors contributing to the reticence phenomenon in the vocational college’s EFL classrooms were also determined. The results suggested that culture have strong influences on Chinese vocational college students’ reticence. However, their habitual classroom behaviors that have been established for a long time should be taken into account in regard to their reticence.

First and second language use in English medium instruction contexts

2018 ◽  
Vol 24 (3) ◽  
pp. 382-402 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ernesto Macaro ◽  
Lili Tian ◽  
Lingmin Chu
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Use ◽  
First Language ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Academic Disciplines ◽  
Chinese University ◽  
English Medium Instruction ◽  
Efl Classrooms ◽  
Academic Content

Although there is a wealth of research on the use of the first language (L1) in English as a foreign language (EFL) classrooms, there is as yet very little research of this kind in classrooms where the prime pedagogical objective is to teach academic content through English as a second language (English medium instruction; EMI). It is important to begin filling this gap because a purported aim of content-based programs is to expose students to large quantities of the target language. We investigated the practices of five EMI teachers in a Chinese university and measured the reactions of their students both quantitatively and qualitatively. Our findings show that these teachers switched to the L1 rarely (although with considerable differences among the teachers) and mostly to explain both simple and complex concepts in their academic disciplines. Although students were unperturbed by the switches to the L1, some felt that the teacher could have made more of an effort to explain it in L2 first.

Monolingual versus multilingual foreign language teaching: French and Arabic at beginning levels

2021 ◽  
pp. 136216882199034
Author(s):  
Amanda Brown
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Language Teaching ◽  
Empirical Work ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Quasi Experimental ◽  
Almost All ◽  
Quiz Scores

Macaro has stated that the choice between a monolingual, immersive, target language-only pedagogy versus a non-immersive, multilingual pedagogy is ‘probably the most fundamental question facing second language acquisition (SLA) researchers, language teachers, and policymakers’. Recognizing that prior empirical work on monolingual versus multilingual approaches has primarily been (1) descriptive, (2) in the context of English as a second or foreign language, and (3) very short term, often with one brief treatment, this intervention study examines the effectiveness of use of the L1/non-target language in the L2 classroom in a quasi-experimental, 10-week study examining French, a commonly learned foreign language, and Arabic, a less commonly learned foreign language, at beginning levels of proficiency in a community-based setting with 25 hours of instruction. Groups experiencing multilingual instruction outperformed those experiencing monolingual instruction in both languages with different instructors at almost all time periods and in almost all skill areas. Moderate to large effect sizes were found in inferential analyses of aggregated weekly progress quiz scores and scores in writing and vocabulary, and statistically significant differences between groups in Arabic were obtained in analyses of aggregated quiz scores overall and scores for writing. These findings support theoretical position statements and a growing body of empirical research arguing for the potential benefits of inclusion of non-target languages in second language teaching and learning.

scholarly journals Effects and users’ reactions to the use of CAPT and HVPT on Japanese EFL learners’ segmental perception and production

2020 ◽  
pp. 107-113
Author(s):  
Atsushi Iino ◽  
Yukiko Yabuta ◽  
Brian Wistner
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Explicit Instruction ◽  
High Variability ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
Acoustic Images ◽  
Efl Classrooms

High Variability Phonetic Training (HVPT) is a perception-based pronunciation training which has brought about progress in both perception and production in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) classrooms. This could be due to the increased exposure to second language sound varieties presented at random, which is unique to HVPT. Progress in production, however, was usually slower than in perception. One explanation for this is that, in EFL contexts, the learners have fewer chances to find clues on how to articulate the target sounds, such as /r/, since HVPT only provides acoustic images. This study examines the effect of explicit instruction before and during HVPT training. The participants were shown a video on how to articulate the target sounds, and were asked to repeat the sounds after the stimuli during HVPT. The results showed significant increases, particularly in production. On a follow-up questionnaire, a majority of the participants expressed that they benefited from the inclusion of explicit instruction.

The Direct Method

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Purwarno
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Direct Method ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Translation Method ◽  
Grammar Translation Method

The Direct Method was the outcome of a reaction against the Grammar Translation Method. It was based on the assumption that the learner of a foreign language should think directly in the target language. According to this method, English is taught through English. The learner learns the target language through discussion, conversation and reading in the second language. It does not take recourse to translation and foreign grammar.

FIRST AND SECOND LANGUAGE LEARNING THROUGH TEXTBOOKS IN ALBANIAN SCHOOLS (COMPARATIVE OVERVIEW OF ALBANIAN AND ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEXTBOOKS)

2018 ◽  
Vol 28 (7) ◽  
pp. 2319-2324
Author(s):  
Rina Muka ◽  
Irida Hoti
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Second Language Learning ◽  
English Language ◽  
Mother Tongue ◽  
First Language ◽  
Grammatical Knowledge ◽  
Level Of Education ◽  
The Third

The language acquired from the childhood is the language spoken in the family and in the place of living. This language is different from one pupil to another, because of their social, economical conditions. By starting the school the pupil faces first the ABC book and then in the second grade Albanian language learning through the Albanian language textbook. By learning Albanian language step by step focused on Reading, Writing, Speaking and Grammar the pupil is able to start learning the second language on the next years of schooling. So, the second language learning in Albanian schools is related to the first language learning (mother tongue), since the early years in primary school. In our schools, the second language (English, Italian) starts in the third grade of the elementary class. On the third grade isn’t taught grammar but the pupil is directed toward the correct usage of the language. The textbooks are structured in developing the pupil’s critical thinking. The textbooks are fully illustrated and with attractive and educative lessons adequate to the age of the pupils. This comparative study will reflect some important aspects of language learning in Albanian schools (focused on Albanian language - first language and English language - second language), grade 3-6. Our point of view in this paper will show not only the diversity of the themes, the lines and the sub-lines but also the level of language knowledge acquired at each level of education. First, the study will focus on some important issues in comparing Albanian and English language texts as well as those which make them different: chronology and topics retaken from one level of education to another, so by conception of linear and chronological order will be shown comparatively two learned languages (mother tongue and second language). By knowing and learning well mother tongue will be easier for the pupil the foreign language learning. The foreign language (as a learning curriculum) aims to provide students with the skills of using foreign language written and spoken to enable the literature to recognize the achievements of advanced world science and technology that are in the interest of developing our technique. Secondly, the study will be based on the extent of grammatical knowledge, their integration with 'Listening, Reading, Speaking and Writing' as well as the inclusion of language games and their role in language learning. The first and second language learning in Albanian schools (grade III-VI) is based on similar principles for the linearity and chronology of grammatical knowledge integrated with listening, reading, writing and speaking. The different structure of both books help the pupils integrate and use correctly both languages. In the end of the sixth grade, the pupils have good knowledge of mother tongue and the second language and are able to write and speak well both languages.

Learners’ attitudes to first, second and third languages pronunciation in structuring multilingual identity

2020 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Magdalena Szyszka
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Foreign Languages ◽  
Foreign Language Acquisition ◽  
Negative Relationships ◽  
Insight Into

AbstractThis paper investigates multilingual learners’ attitudes to native (L1 – Ukrainian), second (L2 – Polish) and foreign (L3 – English) languages’ pronunciation, and discusses them from the perspective of structuring multilingual identity. In the study, the choice of the sample has been controlled in terms of the participants’ nationality and the context in which they acquire their second and foreign languages – variables that are interwoven in shaping identities. More specifically, the 40 Ukrainian individuals, taking part in the study, are in the process of a foreign language acquisition, English, embedded in the context of their second language, Polish. The attitudes to L1, L2 and L3 pronunciation of the 40 multilinguals have been measured quantitatively and analysed with the aim of providing more insight into understanding how individuals construe their multilingual identities. Negative relationships were found between those who reported an L1 accent as an important factor involved in the perception of their selves and the desire to sound native-like in L2 – Polish (r = −0.37, p < 0.05), and L3 – English (r = −0.43, p < 0.05). The latter variable, however, correlated positively with having native-like pronunciation as a goal in learning Polish (r = 0.75, p < 0.05) and English (r = 0.89, p < 0.05).

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