scholarly journals Perceptions of Non-English Major College Students on Learning English Vocabulary with Gamified Apps

Author(s):  
Yang Fu ◽  
Luying Zhang ◽  
Shuang Zhao ◽  
Yang Chen

As gamified English vocabulary learning Apps are increasingly popular among Chinese English learners, this study explores how non-English major college students, who may lack initiatives in foreign language learning, perceive those Apps. Following a qualitative approach, this study analyzed interview data from fifty-three students who have used gamified English vocabulary learning Apps in latest 12 months. The major findings of this study include: (1) the preferred game settings included challenge, team, leaderboard, competition, coins, and badges; (2) students perceived the motivation activation effects of the apps by receiving instant feedback, enjoyment, and sense of achievement, and inactivation effects considering the attention distraction, additional competitive pressure, and imperfect words matching; and (3) students believed that the apps helped to form vocabulary learning habits because of its convenience, rewarding mechanism, and group setting, while others did not because they had fixed learning routines. Then, this study explained and discussed the findings considering factors from or related to both the gamified Apps and students. This study explored the potential of the popular vocabulary learning Apps in enhancing students’ English learning motivation and learning habits and extended the scopes of research on gamification in foreign language education.

Author(s):  
Buğra Zengin

Use of movies and TV shows for foreign language learning purposes pervades informal settings where viewers enjoy the multiplicity of soundtracks and of subtitles. However, this is not an integral part of formal language education policies. Hoping to inform policy making processes, this study aimed to investigate the most efficient use of audio/subtitle combinations for specific purposes. As a result, reversed subtitling was found to be effective for vocabulary learning whereas, generally, bimodal subtitling was considered to benefit accent-related problems. The participants self-reported preferrence for non-subtitled version in case of listening comprehension in general, which was due to the subtitle effect in the case of students at lower levels. Considering that mostly interlingual subtitled content is the only version in most platforms, these findings make it necessary to prefer a platform presenting a variety of alternative combinations in terms of soundtrack and subtitles.


2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (3.25) ◽  
pp. 21
Author(s):  
Jamilah Al-Harbi ◽  
Engku Haliza Engku Ibrahim

One of the major challenges that learners face during the process of foreign language learning is acquiring vocabulary. Thus, students need to employ various vocabulary learning strategies to acquire the vocabulary of a foreign language. The present study attempts to identify the vocabulary learning strategies employed by Saudi English major students. This study also aims to examine if there are differences between male and female students in the pattern and frequency of strategy use. Sixty-five first-year English major students of Majmaah University participated in the study. Their vocabulary learning strategies were measured using the Vocabulary Learning Strategy Survey. The results showed that students preferred cognitively less demanding strategies compared to the ones that required deeper cognitive processing. The most frequently used strategies were “I try to remember the word by repeating it for several times,” “I try to guess the meaning of the word from text/context” and “I learn new words when I interact with native speakers.” In general, social strategy is the most used strategy while memory strategy is the least used. The findings also showed that males preferred social strategy compared to females who preferred cognitive strategy and that two strategies (cognitive and memory strategies) showed significant differences between the two genders.  


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dao Thi Lai

Learning vocabulary is an important element of foreign language learning, since the meaning of new terms is emphasized often in books and classrooms. It is an important part of language learning. It is also essential in language education and for language students. Research recently shows that it is difficult to learn vocabulary. The most popular methods of learning and teaching in language classrooms around the world have been proposed by researchers, in which the use of illustrations is highly appreciated by them. Illustrations play an important role in teaching and learning vocabulary of the language. Images connect students and previous knowledge with a new story, thereby helping them learn new words. A word can be described with an illustration and an illustration can contain many words. The main objective of this study was to study the benefits of using illustrations (pictures) to help non-English majors at HUFI learn English vocabulary. Evaluation and analysis are the most important ways to make research more authentic. The findings show that the usage of illustrations has a lot of benefits to students' vocabulary learning.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Đào Thị Lài

Learning vocabulary is an important element of foreign language learning, since the meaning of new terms is emphasized often in books and classrooms. It is an important part of language learning. It is also essential in language education and for language students. Research recently shows that it is difficult to learn vocabulary. The most popular methods of learning and teaching in language classrooms around the world have been proposed by researchers, in which the use of illustrations is highly appreciated by them. Illustrations play an important role in teaching and learning vocabulary of the language. Images connect students and previous knowledge with a new story, thereby helping them learn new words. A word can be described with an illustration and an illustration can contain many words. The main objective of this study was to study the benefits of using illustrations (pictures) to help non-English majors at HUFI learn English vocabulary. Evaluation and analysis are the most important ways to make research more authentic. The findings show that the usage of illustrations has a lot of benefits to students' vocabulary learning.


2021 ◽  
Vol X (2) ◽  
pp. 71-83
Author(s):  
Nataliia Safonova ◽  
◽  
Alla Anisimova

The article deals with the issues where linguistic consciousness as a sociolinguistic phenomenon is successfully revealed in FLT, namely, in problematic questions of language learning. It covers the description of linguistic consciousness and some aspects of its influence on the process of development of students’ communicative competence. It is emphasized that the philosophy of lifelong learning has become a widespread phenomenon in modern society. Learning a foreign language can be considered an important means of forming linguistic consciousness and the ability to conduct intercultural dialogues. The correlation of two languages and cultures (Ukrainian and foreign ones) helps to outline their national specific features, which contribute to a deeper understanding of both the foreign and the native language and culture. Any education system is open and fairly stable. As for the methods and learning tools, they can vary depending on the applicable learning concept. The article gives a detailed description of the development of linguistic consciousness of Ukrainian students from different social groups while learning English. So linguistic consciousness is a reflection of the actual language sphere contributes to the development of both communicative and multilingual competences. The main aim of the use of modern educational technologies is to increase the level of the communicative competence and linguistic consciousness in students, their educational achievements, and to improve the quality of language education.


Author(s):  
Liudmila Vladimirovna Guseva ◽  
Evgenii Vladimirovich Plisov

The article defnes the role of digital means in foreign language learning, establishes the reasons for the effective use of digital means and digital technologies, identifes challenges in mastering a foreign language in an electronic environment, as well as the prospects for the digitalization of foreign language education. When studying the issues of emergency off-campus learning organization, the results of surveys of teachers and students conducted in April 2020 at Minin University were used. image/svg+xml


2014 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 85-111 ◽  
Author(s):  
Franziska Lys ◽  
Alison May ◽  
Jeanne Ravid

Abstract In order to enhance mobility, competitiveness, and opportunities for work, the European Union lists the ability to communicate in a foreign language and to understand another culture as an important objective in their language education policy. Knowledge of a foreign language is also an important objective for many American universities, which require students to study a foreign language as a prerequisite to graduate. Students with documented disabilities affecting the learning of a foreign language or students with poor foreign language learning skills, therefore, pose a significant challenge, since a foreign language requirement may prevent such students from graduating unless universities are willing to make special arrangements such as having students graduate without fulfilling the requirement or letting them take substitution classes. The question of what to do with such students is at the heart of this article. It describes how one mid-sized private university with a two-year language proficiency requirement has approached the problem to ensure that policies are implemented fairly. Rather than pulling students out of the foreign language classroom, the university succeeded in keeping students engaged with foreign language study through advising and mentoring across departments


2016 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 02 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tutku Basöz ◽  
Dilek Tüfekci Can

Semiotics in foreign language learning has recently achieved some prominence as a theoretical foundation for language teaching and learning. Although there have been a number of research on the semiotics in foreign language learning, the practical use of semiotics in preschool classroom environment still remains unanswered. What is more, the effectiveness of computers on vocabulary learning among preschool children is still an obscure area, which attracts the attentions of researchers, scholars and practitioners. Thus, the present study aims to investigate whether there is a significant difference in preschool children’s vocabulary gain depending upon the computer assisted vocabulary instruction or the traditional vocabulary instruction both adopting a semiotic approach. The sample group of the study included 35 preschool children (5-years) who are studying at Balıkesir University Necatibey Faculty of Education Kindergarten. In this quasi-experimental study, the children were assigned to computer assisted vocabulary instruction group (16) or traditional vocabulary instruction group (19), which were the experimental and control groups. Before the experiment, the children were given a pre-test, which measured the number of target vocabulary the children had already known. While the experimental group learned the target vocabulary through computer-assisted instruction, the control group was taught the same target vocabulary via traditional vocabulary instruction. After the experiment, the same test was given to the children as the post-test. The results of the study showed that both instruction types were successful in teaching vocabulary and there was no significant difference between the groups in terms of their vocabulary gain. Keywords: Vocabulary learning; semiotic approach; computer assisted vocabulary instruction; preschool children; foreign language learning 


Author(s):  
Phuong Ngoc Quynh Tran

There are many studies on English Language Teaching materials evaluation, but very few investigate the language input of reading materials though text input is considered a primary factor for successful foreign language learning. This research explored the language input of reading texts in a book series used in teaching reading for first-year English-major students at a foreign language university in central Vietnam. It aimed at investigating text topics, genres, length, language difficulty level and students’ as well as teachers’ perceptions of the studied texts in an attempt to facilitate students’ reading comprehension. Thirty-two reading texts were studied using a descriptive analytical approach. Individual and focus group interviews were implemented with 15 students and 7 lecturers. The findings showed the textbooks incorporated a wide variety of topics which are interesting and familiar to students. Article was the most popular text genre. The text length and language difficulty level proved to be appropriate to students’ levels. The lecturers’ and students’ perceptions of the texts also supported the textbook analysis findings. These findings implicated the selected textbooks should be kept in the curriculum but need further adaptation. Besides, some suggestions were made to help ELT lecturers modify the text input effectively.


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