scholarly journals The Roles of English Language and Imagined Communities of a Facebook Group

2015 ◽  
Vol 10 (6) ◽  
pp. 21 ◽  
Author(s):  
Latisha Asmaak Shafie ◽  
Aizan Yaacob ◽  
Paramjit Kaur Karpal Singh
Keyword(s):  
Social Network ◽  
University Students ◽  
English Language ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Imagined Communities ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Electronic File ◽  
L2 Learners ◽  
Global And Local ◽  
Esl Learners

Social network sites are the networked public places for university students. The most famous social network site in Malaysia for university students is Facebook. University students spend a lot of their time navigating collapsed contexts with global and local audience. Thus, Facebook is the most appropriate site to investigate ESL learning acquisition through L2 learners’ interactions and digital footprints. The study investigates the roles of English language and the types of imagined communities of ten L2 learners at a public university. Transcripts of a Facebook group’s online discussion and semi-structured interviews were analysed using qualitative data software Atlas.ti 7. The findings reveal that the key informants are invested to learn English due to its roles in Malaysia. English language has four dominant roles such as the language for their future employment, the language of instruction, the lingua franca and a tool of empowerment. The research also indicates the imagined communities of the key participants are fluent local speakers, fluent non-native speakers and native speakers. The results of the study provide present needs of ESL learners that will enable insights to language instructors, course designers and curriculum designers in facilitating effective language acquisition. instructions give you basic guidelines for preparing camera-ready papers for conference proceedings. Use this document as a template if you are using Microsoft Word 6.0 or later. Otherwise, use this document as an instruction set. The electronic file of your paper will be formatted further. Define all symbols used in the abstract. Do not cite references in the abstract.

scholarly journals Cross-Cultural Classroom Interaction between Native and Non-native Speakers of English

2018 ◽  
pp. 85-101
Author(s):  
Hanaa Alzalouk ◽  
Keyword(s):  
English Language ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Classroom Interaction ◽  
Real Life ◽  
English Language Teaching ◽  
Primary Data ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Native Speakers Of English ◽  
Esl Learners

The purpose of this study was to investigate the interactional conversations between the native speakers (NSs) of English and the non-native speakers (NNSs) of English in a culturally mixed classroom. ESL learners need to be exposed to the second language through authentic and face to face interaction when they have opportunities to interact with NSs outside of the classroom (in real-life situations) and inside the classroom (through group work and pair work activities). Data were collected through conducting an ethnographic research in which classroom observation and semi-structured interviews were the primary data collection tools. Participants were eight MA students in the field of English Language Teaching (ELT) in Nottingham Trent University.

scholarly journals Lurking and L2 Learners on a Facebook Group: The Voices of the Invisibles

2016 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
Latisha Asmaak Shafie ◽  
Aizan Yaacob ◽  
Paramjit Kaur Karpal Singh
Keyword(s):  
Language Proficiency ◽  
English Language ◽  
Group Discussion ◽  
Online Communication ◽  
Online Discussions ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Group Discussions ◽  
L2 Learners ◽  
Esl Learners

<p>This qualitative research investigates the practice of lurking among English as a second language (ESL) learners in a Facebook group discussion. Lurking is a term used to describe the activity of following and observing any online discussions or activities without contributing to the discussions. Lurkers are often accused of being invisible and passive participants. Facebook groups with international members usually uses English as the medium of communication in their group discussions. It is a norm for L2 learners to lurk in the group. These L2 learners often do not have the required English language proficiency and the confidence to participate actively in the group they join. This study explores lurking behaviours of three participants in learning English in informal Facebook contexts. This study uses a qualitative case study. The study involved three L2 learners who were university students and members of a Facebook group. The study involved online observation and semi-structured interviews with these three participants. Their Facebook accounts and a common Facebook group were observed for 14 weeks, and after the online observation, the participants were interviewed. Data collected from online observation and semi-structured interviewed were analysed and managed using Atlas.ti 7. The study reveals five emerging themes such as that lurkers have poor online communication skills, lack of confidence, learning by lurking, lack of a sense of belonging and lurking is the norm of Facebook groups.</p>

Description, acquisition and teaching of polysemous verbs: The case of quedar

2019 ◽  
Vol 57 (1) ◽  
pp. 21-44
Author(s):  
Lucía Gómez Vicente
Keyword(s):  
Cost Effectiveness ◽  
University Students ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Semantic Network ◽  
Spanish Speakers ◽  
L2 Learners ◽  
Adults And Children ◽  
Conventional Manner

Abstract This paper analyzes the usage of frequent polysemous verbs by native speakers and by L2 learners and it makes several pedagogical suggestions on how to teach polysemous verbs in a L2 classroom. To achieve these objectives, we have examined the case of the Spanish verb quedar, which means “to remain”, “to stay”, “to be left”, “to make an appointment”, etc. A methodology based on narratives and sentence elicitation has been created. The experiences were accomplished by Spanish speakers (adults and children), and French university students of Spanish, who performed productions in Spanish (L2) and in French (L1). The results of this study seem to confirm that adult native speakers used the semantic network of polysemous verbs in a very conventional manner. Meanings appear to have been acquired thanks to usage, by storing linguistic experiences as patterns, and operating mostly by analogy process. Children seem to have primarily elicited quedar in conventional situations (for instance, to fix an appointment) and depending on a cost-effectiveness criteria (only if this verb adds a pragmatic gain compared to simpler options). The acquisition path of quedar by children (L1) seems to be driven by different factors than for L2 learners. French learners of Spanish used quedar meanings differently from native speakers and they were highly influenced by their L1, both semantically and syntactically.

Italian Undergraduates Join Facebook, but Keep a Critical Distance

2013 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 13-24
Author(s):  
Paolo Ferri ◽  
Nicola Cavalli ◽  
Andrea Mangiatordi ◽  
Marina Micheli ◽  
Andrea Pozzali ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Network ◽  
University Students ◽  
Survey Data ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Qualitative Methodology ◽  
Critical Distance ◽  
Educational Tool ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Critical Attitude ◽  
Privacy Issues

Facebook is the most popular social network site in Italy, and its usage is particularly spread among younger generations. This paper explores how undergraduate students use Facebook, and what meanings they attach to it. Research was performed in 2008 and in 2009 at a Italian university, with a triangulation of quantitative and qualitative methodology. The authors’ survey data show the quick adoption of Facebook. In 2008 half of the students were completely unfamiliar with Facebook, while in 2009 59% of them were using it on a regular basis. Evidence coming from semi-structured interviews with randomly selected university students show that the massive adoption of Facebook goes hand in hand with a general critical attitude. Concerns about privacy issues were common, and they can also lead to a kind of detachment from this site. Implications on the perspective use of Facebook as an educational tool are discussed in the paper.

Processing of English Sentences Consisting of Frequency Adverbs by Japanese EFL Learners

2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (11) ◽  
pp. 952
Author(s):  
Prabath B. Kanduboda
Keyword(s):  
University Students ◽  
Information Flow ◽  
Repeated Measures ◽  
Information Structure ◽  
English Language ◽  
Decision Task ◽  
Parts Of Speech ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
L2 Learners

Previous studies suggest that, adverbs can have comparatively free positioning to that of other parts of speech in English language. This study focused on frequency adverbs which represent number of occurrences of an action or a condition. Since different positioning may produce relatively different meaning (or focus) of given sentences, processing of such sentences is assumed to be complex especially for L2 learners. Therefore, this study investigated how L2 learners process English sentences consisting of adverbs in different positions. The main goal of this study is to reveal which information-structure is mostly identified among Japanese EFL learners. A sentence-correctness-decision task was conducted with a group of university students (n=30). Stimuli were selected via a free-production written task. The data were analyzed using SPSS statistics with repeated measures (i.e., ANOVAs). A simple comparison between alternative ordering showed that, the sentences consisting of adverbs in between-positioning were processed faster to that of initial-positioning, assumable due to the different information flow. Thus, according to this study, English sentences consisting of frequency adverbs with the between-positioning [S (A (VO))] is likely to possess a high acceptability among Japanese EFL learners to that of initial-positioning sentences [A (S (VO))].

THE ROLE OF LEARNER SUBJECTIVITY AND KOREAN ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNERS’ PRAGMATIC CHOICES

2014 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Zohreh R. Eslami ◽  
Heekyoung Kim ◽  
Katherine L. Wright ◽  
Lynn M. Burlbaw
Keyword(s):  
English Language Learners ◽  
English Language ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Pragmatic Language ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Advanced Learners ◽  
Pragmatic Transfer ◽  
Cross Cultural Comparison ◽  
Esl Learners ◽  
The Impact

AbstractThe main goal of this study was to identify factors motivating pragmatic transfer in advanced learners of English. Based on a cross-cultural comparison of requesting behavior between Koreans and Americans, this study determined the impact of individual subjective motives on pragmatic language choice. Two different groups of subjects participated in this study: 30 Korean participants (KK) and 30 American college students (AE). Data were collected by using a Discourse Completion Task (DCT). Korean (KK) participants provided the data for Korean (KK) and English versions of DCT (KE). Semi-structured interviews were also conducted with 13 Korean ESL learners who showed the most and least amount of pragmatic transfer. Findings showed evidence of pragmatic transfer in the request responses given by Korean ESL learners in their requestive strategies, level of directness, and perspectives of head acts. The interview data revealed that Korean students were conscious of differing rules for making requests. Learners’ judgment of L2 pragmatic norms, perception of their own language, and their attitudes of the target language influence language use. Furthermore, findings showed that purpose of learning English, different types of motivation, and the length of intended residence contribute to the extent of pragmatic transfer

scholarly journals Kuwaiti Parents’ Perceptions towards Introducing a Foreign Culture into Their Children’s EFL Textbooks in Public Elementary Schools

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 45
Author(s):  
Mohammad Almutairi
Keyword(s):  
Elementary Schools ◽  
Public Schools ◽  
English Language ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
English Language Teaching ◽  
Depth Information ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Public Elementary Schools ◽  
Cultural Content ◽  
The Government

This study aims to investigate Kuwaiti parents' views and opinions towards introducing native speakers' and international cultures into their children's' EFL textbooks in public schools in the light of recent debates that discuss the relationship between culture and English language teaching. It also intends to explore and discover their perceptions towards the current cultural content being taught in Kuwait public elementary schools. For this purpose, questionnaires were distributed among Kuwaiti parents whom their children study in the government public schools followed by semi-structured interviews to get more detailed and in-depth information about the topic discussed. The findings of this study show that the vast majority had negative opinions and views towards exposing their children to native speaker's cultures for social and religious reasons. One of which is their underlying concern about the negative impacts of native speakers' content on their children's cultural and national identity. However, most of them agreed their children learn EFL through the prism of the international multicultural cultural content to prepare them use the language in different cultural contexts when they grow up. The results also showed that most of them preferred to keep the current ELT syllabus which uses the host cultural content rather than replacing it with the native speakers' one for the same reasons and also in view of growing awareness of the role played by culture in the EFL classroom which propound the nature of the Kuwaiti society of being conservative and cautious.

scholarly journals Getting to the Nitty-Gritty of Grit: A Descriptive Characterization of Gritty L2 Learners from Thailand, Malaysia, Taiwan and Japan

2021 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 133-155
Author(s):  
Mark R. Freiermuth ◽  
Chomraj Patanasorn ◽  
Latha Ravindran ◽  
Hsin-chou Huang
Keyword(s):  
English Language Learners ◽  
Grounded Theory ◽  
University Students ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Classroom Practice ◽  
English Language ◽  
Willingness To Communicate ◽  
Interview Data ◽  
L2 Learners

Understanding the make-up of gritty L2 students has garnered quite a lot of attention recently. In this descriptive narrative-based study, we looked at the interview data of eight English language learners who recorded high scores on a nine-item grit questionnaire. Specifically, two female university students each from Taiwan, Malaysia, Thailand and Japan were interviewed and their interview scripts were transcribed and then coded looking for common threads to emerge from the data by applying the tenets of Charmaz’s (2006) Grounded Theory. The data show that beyond perseverance, gritty L2 students enjoy learning the L2, are consistently curious about the L2, are generally not bored by the L2, are confident using the L2 (not letting anxiety dissuade them), are extraverted—encompassing a strong willingness to communicate, have focused L2 vision and have had experiences and/or encounters that bolstered their L2 grittiness. As for encouraging L2 grit development, we suggest that good L2 classroom practice include frequent communicative activities so that students can see the practical side of learning a L2 with the hopes of strengthening their L2 vision.

scholarly journals A descriptive study on ESL learners’ vocabulary knowledge through cognitive and metacognitive strategies

2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 142
Author(s):  
Aravind B R ◽  
Rajasekaran V
Keyword(s):  
Learning Strategies ◽  
English Language ◽  
Vocabulary Learning ◽  
Metacognitive Strategies ◽  
Vocabulary Knowledge ◽  
English Language Teaching ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Vocabulary Learning Strategies ◽  
Esl Learners ◽  
Cognitive And Metacognitive Strategies

The present research was carried out to study the cognitive and metacognitive vocabulary learning strategies of 36 ESL learners’. Schmitt’s Vocabulary Learning Strategies questionnaire was used to conduct the study. The study revealed the subsequent array of cognitive and metacognitive strategies employed by ESL learners. Additionally, semi-structured interviews were also conducted with 10 ESL learners’ who completed the questionnaire to get more reliable information about learners’ strategies with vocabulary learning. The findings indicated that ‘Using English Language Media’, ‘Verbal repetition’, ‘Take notes in class’ were the most popular strategies, whereas ‘Skip or pass new word’ and ‘Put English labels on physical objects’ were least used. The results of this paper provide many implications for English language teaching. Detailed explanations of the participants’ cognitive and metacognitive strategies were given in the discussion.

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