English Major Students' Attitudes towards Movies and Series as Language Learning Resources

2015 ◽  
pp. 276-295
Author(s):  
Buğra Zengin ◽  
Duygu Doğan ◽  
Feryal Çubukçu
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
English Language ◽  
Foreign Language Learning ◽  
English Language Teaching ◽  
Learning Resources ◽  
Original Language ◽  
English Major ◽  
Students Attitudes ◽  
Low Exposure

This chapter focuses on the attitudes of the fourth-year English Language Teaching (ELT) students towards strategies related to using movies and series as foreign language learning resources. The subjects were teacher candidates (at a state university in the west of Turkey). The current study demonstrates that foreign-language majors are not immune to downsides of a low-exposure EFL setting. The participants also state that only their family members - but not friends - are likely to cause a shift to the dubbed version of movie/series they want to view in the original language and with L2 captions (intralingual captions / in the source language) otherwise. This study suggests that backseat TV systems on buses can provide solutions. The backseat TV systems are welcome by most of the participants, in particular by those whose intercity travelling habits are found to be quite high.

scholarly journals English Language Teaching within the New Educational Policy of Turkey: Views of Stakeholders

2017 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 18 ◽  
Author(s):  
Esim Gursoy ◽  
Sule C. Korkmaz ◽  
Ebru A. Damar
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Educational Policy ◽  
Prospective Teachers ◽  
English Language ◽  
Language Teaching ◽  
Foreign Language Learning ◽  
Language Education ◽  
English Language Teaching ◽  
Second Grade

Teaching English to young learners has gained speed in the past twenty years. Many countries in Europe are offering English at the primary level as advised by the EU. The efforts to lower the age for foreign language learning have echoed in countries in Asia as well. Turkey as one of these countries has changed its educational policy in 2012 and launched the new English Language Teaching Program for grades 2-8 in 2013. Along with many changes, the new system offers EFL in the second grade. The present study not only aims to investigate the views of prospective ELT teachers towards this change, but also to compare their views with those of trainers, and English teachers who were investigated in the earlier phases of the study. The results indicate that although all three groups of participants favor an earlier start in foreign language education, there are significant differences between groups in terms of the appropriate starting time and teaching methodologies used. Teachers were indecisive as they favored both the first and second tiers to introduce a foreign language. The results have implications for policy makers, teachers, teacher trainers, and prospective teachers.

scholarly journals Analyzing the Relationship of English Language Learning Anxiety and English Language Learning Strategy Use Among English Major Undergraduates in Shi Jiazhuang, China

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 ◽  
pp. 1569-1575
Author(s):  
Wang Fei
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
English Language ◽  
Learning Strategy ◽  
Foreign Language Learning ◽  
Learning Anxiety ◽  
Language Learning Strategy ◽  
English Major ◽  
Language Learning Anxiety ◽  
The Relationship

The study investigated the general state of foreign language learning anxiety and the relationship between foreign language learning anxiety and foreign language learning strategy among English major college students in Shi Jiazhuang, China. The quantitative research method was adopted in this study. The instruments were Foreign Language Class Anxiety Scale and Strategy Inventory Language Learning. The subjects were 400 English major students from Shi Jiazhuang College. The results showed that there exists a negative relationship between foreign language learning anxiety and the use of foreign language learning strategy. According to the findings of this study, it is necessary to reduce learners’ foreign language learning anxiety so as to apply more types of foreign language learning strategies efficiently, especially for those foreign language learners with high-level learning anxiety. Some suggestions were put forward for pedagogical implications, which will make Chinese learners be more successful during the process for foreign language acquisition.

scholarly journals Use of L1 in the Iranian EFL Classroom

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 34-45
Author(s):  
Setareh Masoumi Mayni ◽  
Shamala Paramasivam
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
English Language ◽  
First Language ◽  
Negative Attitude ◽  
Foreign Language Learning ◽  
English Language Teaching ◽  
Elementary Level ◽  
Teaching Methodology ◽  
Institute Of Technology

By reviewing the literature on the development of English language teaching methods in the last three decades, it is obvious that the idea of using the first language (L1) in the second language (L2) classroom has always been controversial. The history of language pedagogy and the role of the first language in foreign language learning generate debates in English as a foreign language. The teaching of English as a foreign language is growing every day in Iran, and as a result, the need for informing the best policy is getting more urgent. The principal intent of the current study, that investigates the use of L1 in the English classroom, is to determine teachers, students and policymakers’ beliefs and attitudes towards the use of L1 in L2 classroom. The L1, in this case, is Farsi language and all the participants are native speakers of Farsi. One hundred and fifty students of the English Language Department at the elementary level at Tehran Institute of Technology are the participants of the study. They are all female and in their late teens or early twenties. The students and the teachers were surveyed by questionnaires and the researcher observed 10 classes and interviewed 3 teachers and 3 policymakers. The information gathered from the questionnaire was submitted to SPSS for analyzing the data, and the information gathered from the interview. Class observation check-list was used to triangulate the findings of the questionnaire. The results of this study indicate that teachers and students have different attitudes towards using L1 in the EFL classes. While students have a positive attitude, teachers have a negative attitude. The main reason mentioned by students for not being against the limited use of Farsi in their English class is that they believe using Farsi even in a limited sense can help them to understand difficult concepts. However, teachers believe in an English-only policy to be more exposed to the English language. Another finding of this study is that the functions of using Farsi by students or teachers in EFL classroom are: for explaining difficult parts, for managing the classroom, for explaining exam instructions, for explaining the two language differences, for checking comprehension, for seeking help from others, for joking with others, for making students relaxed and for presenting the meaning of new words. Given these findings, to match the student’s and teachers’/policymakers’ ideas about using L1 at the elementary level, an EFL teaching methodology that considers the use of Farsi, even in a limited way, is suggested.

scholarly journals The Relationship Between Chinese English Major Students' Learning Anxiety and Enjoyment in an English Language Classroom: A Positive Psychology Perspective

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fan Fang ◽  
Xiaofei Tang
Keyword(s):  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
English Language ◽  
Foreign Language Learning ◽  
Negative Evaluation ◽  
Language Classroom ◽  
English Major ◽  
Psychology Perspective

Many studies have explored learner psychology in relation to second language acquisition (SLA) in order to understand the effectiveness and difficulties of language learning. In the last two decades, emotional factors in students' language learning have garnered much attention in the field of SLA. However, more recently, studies have begun to focus on enjoyment and its relationship with anxiety. By collecting data at a provincial key university in southeast China, the study discussed in this paper investigated English major university students' emotions related to learning English. By collecting questionnaire responses from 140 English major undergraduates and conducting interviews with six students, the findings revealed that the participants' levels of foreign language enjoyment (FLE) were significantly higher than their levels of foreign language classroom anxiety (FLCA) and that they experienced FLE more frequently than FLCA. It was also found that the participants' FLE was more related to their teachers and peers and their FLCA was more related to their emotions, such as fear of a negative evaluation and speaking without sufficient preparation. In addition, this study also provides a few pedagogical implications for improving foreign language learning outcomes and teaching efficiency in English teaching and learning.

scholarly journals Meaningful Learning and Its Implications for Language Education in Vietnam

2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 98-102
Author(s):  
Bui Phu Hung
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Cognitive Processing ◽  
English Language ◽  
Language Use ◽  
Language Teaching ◽  
Meaningful Learning ◽  
Foreign Language Learning ◽  
Language Education ◽  
English Language Teaching

This paper attempts to make an argument for meaningful learning as an essential factor in the teaching of English as a foreign language. Meaningful learning rests its theories against cognitive processing. While contemporary literature shows knowledge of language in general is essential for second language use, this research is mainly concerned with ways of improving students’ language use. It has proved that meaningful learning facilitates the retention of knowledge as it makes learners organize their knowledge logically. In the classroom, the teacher should offer activities that relate the new input to learners’ existing knowledge, for which cognitive engagement is required. In English language teaching, it is important for teachers to know that learner-centeredness should be applied because they are the ones who process knowledge. This paper begins with an overview of different approaches of foreign language teaching, then presents theories in which meaningful learning is grounded and rooted. The discussion of how one’s knowledge of a first language is essential for foreign language learning is given prior to giving implications of meaningful learning in the Vietnamese context.

scholarly journals FILTERING CULTURAL INFLUENCES IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE LEARNING IN THE INDONESIAN CONTEXT: THE CONTROVERSY AND SUGGESTED ACTIONS

2017 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
pp. 34
Author(s):  
Ari Purnawan
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
English Language ◽  
Cultural Influences ◽  
Foreign Language Learning ◽  
English Language Teaching ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Learning Needs ◽  
Learning Approaches

There has been a prolonging controversy on why teachers need to filter the cultural load in foreign language learning. Some educators guarantee that the best way of learning a new language is by presenting the target language situations in the classroom, which usually includes the values, culture, habits, or ways of behaving and thinking of the target language users; however, some others believe that, for the sake of nation’s future and pride, they have to filter and block any influences that come from the value loads. Throughout the long history of foreign language learning approaches and methods, this issue has been one of their hot flavors. In fact, cultural contents are unavoidable in foreign language learning. Therefore, the type of culture to be included in the materials and the goal of study are two important aspects to consider (Kramsch, 2013). The paper aims to present ways that teachers can do to deal with the above issue. Involving culture in a selective manner may become a moderate compromise, and cautious actions in selecting the values to be loaded in the process of teaching and learning needs to be formulated and carefully listed. Some suggested items based on some intensive observations and teacher interviews are presented in the paper. It is expected that the culture issue in English language teaching settings develops into a good awareness of the importance of culture in language learning on the one hand, and of the preservation of own national identity and  values on the other hand.

English Students’ Attitudes towards English Language Teaching and Learning at IAIN Padangsidimpuan

2016 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ida Royani ◽  
T. Silvana Sinar
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
Role Models ◽  
English Language ◽  
Language Teaching ◽  
English Language Teaching ◽  
English Learning ◽  
Learner Centered ◽  
Students Attitudes ◽  
English Students

This study investigated the English students’ attitudes of IAIN Padangsidimpuan towards both English language teaching in terms of (a) language-centered, (b) learner-centered, and (c) learning-centered method; and learning English in terms of scales (a) attitudes toward long-term English learning, (b) interest in culture and communication, (c) perception about studying in school context, (d) images associated with English, (e) English learning activities, (f) exposure to English outside school, (g) self-rated four English skills, (h) self-reported academic English grade, and (i) identification of English role models. The data were obtained by questionnaire and interview from 10 selected students in which 4 male and 6 female students in 7th semester and were analyzed by steps provided by Gay, L.R and Airasian (1996). The result showed:  first, English students’ attitudes towards English language teaching had been found highly onlearning-centered method, followed by learner-centered method in second range, and almost negative view in language-centered method.Second, English students’ attitudes towards English language learningwere positivein scales; long-term English learning, interest in communication, and images associated with English.  Third, role of students’ gender on English language learning were not found. Reasons for this statement are (i) status of English as international language and (ii) equalization of getting education for male and female. Keywords: attitude, language teaching, language learning, and gender

Machine Translation for EFL

Relay Journal ◽  
2019 ◽  
pp. 228-235
Author(s):  
Paul J. Moore ◽  
Phil Murphy ◽  
Luann Pascucci ◽  
Scott Sustenance
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Machine Translation ◽  
English Language ◽  
Foreign Language Learning ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
Technical Developments ◽  
English Language Institute ◽  
Changing Role

This paper reports on an ongoing study into the affordances of free online machine translation for students learning English as a foreign language (EFL) at the tertiary level in Japan. The researchers are currently collecting data from a questionnaire, task performance, and interviews with 10-15 EFL learners in an English Language Institute in a university in Japan. The paper provides some background on the changing role of translation in language learning theory and pedagogy, before focusing literature related to technical developments in machine translation technology, and its application to foreign language learning. An overview of the research methodology is provided, along with some insights into potential findings. Findings will be presented in subsequent publications.

scholarly journals Foreign Language Learning Gamification Using Virtual Reality—A Systematic Review of Empirical Research

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 222
Author(s):  
Rafael Darque Pinto ◽  
Bruno Peixoto ◽  
Miguel Melo ◽  
Luciana Cabral ◽  
Maximino Bessa
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Virtual Reality ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Empirical Research ◽  
Second Language Learning ◽  
English Language ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Foreign Language Learning ◽  
Traditional Approaches

Virtual reality has shown to have great potential as an educational tool when it comes to new learning methods. With the growth and dissemination of this technology, there is a massive opportunity for teachers to add this technology to their methods of teaching a second/foreign language, since students keep showing a growing interest in new technologies. This systematic review of empirical research aims at understanding whether the use of gaming strategies in virtual reality is beneficial for the learning of a second/foreign language or not. Results show that more than half of the articles proved that virtual reality technologies with gaming strategies can be used to learn a foreign language. It was also found that “learning” was the most evaluated dependent variable among the chosen records, augmented reality was the leading technology used, primary education and lower secondary was the most researched school stages, and the most used language to evaluate the use of gamified technology was by far the English language. Given the lack of directed investigation, it is recommended to use these technologies to support second language learning and not entirely replace traditional approaches. A research agenda is also proposed by the authors.

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