Using Skype to Focus on Form in Japanese Telecollaboration

Author(s):  
Yuka Akiyama

This chapter examines the effects of lexical categories on Focus on Form (FonF) and the use of multimodal features of Skype for preemptive and reactive Language-Related Episodes (LREs) in a task-based language exchange via Skype (i.e. telecollaboration). Twelve pairs of Japanese-as-a-foreign-language learners and native speakers of Japanese engaged in two decision-making tasks. Each task prompt included target vocabulary of different lexical categories (nouns or onomatopoeia) that participants had to negotiate for task completion. The quantitative analysis of oral interaction revealed a significant effect of lexical categories on the total number and linguistic focus (i.e. morphological, lexical, and phonological items) of preemptive LREs, as well as the correction method, linguistic focus, and the uptake rate of reactive LREs. The analysis of multimodal interaction revealed that participants often used text chat, images, and webcams to carry out telecollaborative interaction and that the lexical categories affected which of these multimodal features of Skype are used for FonF.

Author(s):  
Yuka Akiyama

This chapter examines the effects of lexical categories on Focus on Form (FonF) and the use of multimodal features of Skype for preemptive and reactive Language-Related Episodes (LREs) in a task-based language exchange via Skype (i.e. telecollaboration). Twelve pairs of Japanese-as-a-foreign-language learners and native speakers of Japanese engaged in two decision-making tasks. Each task prompt included target vocabulary of different lexical categories (nouns or onomatopoeia) that participants had to negotiate for task completion. The quantitative analysis of oral interaction revealed a significant effect of lexical categories on the total number and linguistic focus (i.e. morphological, lexical, and phonological items) of preemptive LREs, as well as the correction method, linguistic focus, and the uptake rate of reactive LREs. The analysis of multimodal interaction revealed that participants often used text chat, images, and webcams to carry out telecollaborative interaction and that the lexical categories affected which of these multimodal features of Skype are used for FonF.


2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Moh. Rofid Fikroni

Bearing in mind that the learners’ speaking skill had become the main goal in learning language, grammatical competence is believed to have a big role within foreign language learners’ language production, especially in spoken form. Moreover, the learners’ grammatical competence is also closely related to the Monitor Hypothesis proposed by Krashen (1982) in which it says that the acquired system will function as monitor or editor to the language production. The students’ monitor performance will vary based on how they make use of their acquired system. They may use it optimally (monitor optimal user), overly (monitor over-user), or they may not use it at all (monitor under-user). Therefore, learners’ grammatical competence has its own role, which is very crucial, within learners’ language production, which is not only to produce the language, but also to monitor the language production itself. Because of this reason, focus on form instruction will give a great impact for students’ grammatical competence within their communicative competence. This paper aims to present ideas about the how crucial the role grammatical competence within learners’ L2 communication.


Author(s):  
Oneil N. Madden ◽  
Anne-Laure Foucher

The complexity surrounding the design of collaborative pedagogical scenarios can allow foreign language learners to develop intercultural and linguistic skills; however, careful consideration must be given when conceptualising telecollaborative projects. Many research studies have been conducted which led to significant discoveries, but only few studies examine the intricacies of developing pedagogical scenarios for online multimodal interaction and the outcomes of these complexities. This paper reports on a Franco-Jamaican telecollaborative project, ClerKing, which took place in two phases between Applied Foreign Languages (AFL) students of English from University Clermont Auvergne (UCA), France, and Modern Languages students of French from Shortwood Teachers’ College (STC), Jamaica. Each phase had a different pedagogical scenario, with the first being restricted and the second being more open. Using the exploratory method, various parameters of online pedagogical scenarios were identified and examined with varying degrees of granularity. Preliminary findings show that a less restricted and more flexible pedagogical scenario allowed for students to develop language and intercultural competencies, while strengthening negotiation skills.


2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 221-257
Author(s):  
Veronika Timpe-Laughlin ◽  
Judit Dombi

AbstractNew technology such as fully-automated interactive spoken dialogue systems (SDS), which allow learners to engage in multi-turn conversations with an automated agent, could provide a means for second and foreign language learners (L2) to practice form-function-context mappings in oral interaction. In this study, we investigated how learners interacted with an automated agent as they engaged in an SDS task that required them to make two requests. We examined the requests employed by 107 L2 learners, exploring in particular the request strategies and modifications used. We first transcribed verbatim all audio-recorded dialogues. Then, all turns were coded as to whether they contained a request or not. All turns that were identified as including requests were then coded for four categories adopted from Cross-cultural Speech Act Realization Patterns project: (1) Level of directness, (2) Request strategy, (3) External modifiers, and (4) Internal modifiers. Direct requests were most frequently used and learners’ preferred request strategies were want-statements and query preparatories. Additionally, they employed more internal than external modifications – a finding that seems contrary to most interlanguage studies on request realization. Moreover, we found distinct request realizations when comparing L1 Hungarian and L1 Japanese learners of English. We discuss the findings with regard to previous interlanguage studies on request realization, the potential impact of an automated agent, and ways automated spoken dialog systems might be used to implement individualized feedback to raise learners’ pragmatic awareness.


RELC Journal ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 003368822098691
Author(s):  
Joshua Gordon

Explicit pronunciation instruction enhances production of intelligible, comprehensible, and fluent second language (L2) speech. Additionally, task-based instruction (TBI) enhances the production of segmentals and suprasegmentals, and promotes awareness of L2 forms in pronunciation. Since most previous research on TBI in L2 pronunciation learning has been carried out in laboratory settings, it is necessary to investigate how the implementation of tasks that differ in complexity in actual classroom settings could benefit L2 pronunciation learners. This classroom-based study investigated the effects of combining focus on form and TBI in L2 pronunciation instruction in the production of comprehensible, fluent, and L2-accented speech in English-as-a-foreign-language learners. Although the results of the study present modest gains, they make a case for the inclusion of explicit pronunciation instruction and tasks that differ in complexity to help learners develop pronunciation skills. Responding to recent calls for more classroom-based research that demonstrates how pronunciation can be implemented in systematic and principled ways, the results of this study are discussed in terms of implications and pedagogical recommendations for L2 pronunciation teaching and learning.


2008 ◽  
Vol 63 (4) ◽  
pp. 115-139 ◽  
Author(s):  
Euen Hyuk Sarah Jung ◽  
Kim, Young Jae

Author(s):  
Choong Pow Yean ◽  
Sarinah Bt Sharif ◽  
Normah Bt Ahmad

The Nihongo Partner Program or “Japanese Language Partner” is a program that sends native speakers to support the teaching and learning of Japanese overseas. The program is fully sponsored by The Japan Foundation. The aim of this program is to create an environment that motivates the students to learn Japanese. This study is based on a survey of the Nihongo Partner Program conducted on students and language lecturers at UiTM, Shah Alam. This study aims to investigate if there is a necessity for native speakers to be involved in the teaching and learning of Japanese among foreign language learners. Analysis of the results showed that both students and lecturers are in dire need of the Nihongo Partner Program to navigate the learning of the Japanese language through a variety of language learning activities. The involvement of native speaker increases students’ confidence and motivation to converse in Japanese. The program also provides opportunities for students to increase their Japanese language proficiency and lexical density. In addition, with the opportunity to interact with the native speakers, students and lecturers will have a better understanding of Japanese culture as they are able to observe and ask the native speakers. Involvement of native speakers is essential in teaching and learning of Japanese in UiTM.


2014 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-29 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sabine De Knop ◽  
Julien Perrez

The article deals with the typological differences between the Romance language French and the Germanic languages German and Dutch for the linguistic expressions of posture and location. It describes how these typological differences can be problematic for French-speaking learners of German and Dutch. The main difference between both types of languages is that posture and location tend to be encoded by posture verbs in Germanic languages and by very general verbs in Romance languages (Talmy 2000). After a detailed description of the semantic networks of the German and Dutch posture verbs, the paper takes a critical look at how these expressions are dealt with in teaching manuals. It further presents strategies for the efficient teaching of posture verbs to foreign language learners. These strategies are among others awareness-raising exercises about the compulsory use of posture verbs in Germanic languages and the description of conceptual metaphors in different languages. These pedagogical avenues for the efficient teaching of the Dutch and German posture verbs constitute a first step towards the elaboration of an experimental set-up aiming at verifying them.


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