Computers and Independent Study

Handbook of Research on E-Learning Methodologies for Language Acquisition ◽

10.4018/978-1-59904-994-6.ch023 ◽

2011 ◽

pp. 367-386

Author(s):

Huw Jarvis

Keyword(s):

Second Language ◽

Language Learners ◽

Quantitative Study ◽

Independent Study ◽

Asian Students ◽

Language Studies ◽

Language Resource ◽

Wide Range ◽

Self Study ◽

Computer Based

This chapter reports on a quantitative study that examines how language students make use of an extensive range of computer-based materials (CBMs) in a language resource centre (LRC) and elsewhere for self-study purposes. Students were asked to indicate the extent to which they make use of CBMs in and outside of an LRC and whether such materials help with their language studies. The study suggests that an LRC offers more than the sum of its parts and therefore should not be put under threat on the basis that materials can and are being accessed anywhere and anytime. The data also reveal that many students, particularly Asian students of English as a Second Language (primarily from China), view a wide range of CBMs as helping with their language studies, and it is suggested that the practices and perceptions of these students may offer insights for all language learners and providers.

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Critical Media Analysis in Teacher Education: Exploring Language-Learners’ Identity Through Mediated Images of a Non-Native Speaker of English

TESL Canada Journal ◽

10.18806/tesl.v29i2.1099 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 29 (2) ◽

pp. 42 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Carla Chamberlin-Quinlisk

Keyword(s):

Second Language ◽

Language Learning ◽

Language Learners ◽

Teacher Educators ◽

Native Speaker ◽

Lower Class ◽

Media Analysis ◽

Language Studies ◽

Critical Media ◽

Political Landscapes

Media literacy education has become increasingly present in curricular initiatives around the world as media saturate our cultural environments. For second-language teachers and teacher educators whose practice centers on language, communication, and culture, the need to address media as a pedagogical site of critique is imperative. In this article, I introduce critical media analysis (CMA) as a tool that cultivates discussion of language-learners’ identities as they are shaped by popular media. I present CMA in the context of critical language studies and communication theories that situate language in social and political landscapes. I describe a hybrid (quantitative/qualitative) approach to CMA as I apply it to a non-native speaker of English (NNSE) character from an internationally successful Hollywood film. I describe representations that “symbolically colonize” (Molina-Guzmán, 2010) the NNSE as lower class, lower status, and comfortably positioned as subordinate to his native-speaker counterparts. I then share examples of how students use CMA to further explore media cultivation of social attitudes toward language-learning, language policies, and NNSE identity. Overall, this article offers second-language teacher educators a theoretically informed model of analysis that engages TESL professionals as active participants in their media-saturated environments.

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Research in Second Language Studies at Michigan State University

Language Teaching ◽

10.1017/s0261444812000559 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 46 (2) ◽

pp. 272-277 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Solène Inceoglu ◽

Le Anne Spino

Keyword(s):

Second Language ◽

Doctoral Students ◽

The United States ◽

Faculty Members ◽

Michigan State University ◽

State University ◽

New Faculty ◽

Core Faculty ◽

Language Studies ◽

Wide Range

Since its inception seven years ago, Michigan State University's vibrant Second Language Studies (SLS) Program has grown quickly under the direction of Dr. Susan Gass. Thus far, twelve students have graduated from the program and now hold academic positions in various universities in the United States and elsewhere. In 2011, the department welcomed two new faculty members, Dr. Aline Godfroid and Dr. Bill VanPatten, making a total of eleven core faculty members, and in Spring 2012, Dr. Rod Ellis joined the department as affiliated faculty. The program currently includes 30 doctoral students working on a wide range of research topics.

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Factoring out the parallelism effect in VP-ellipsis: English vs. Dutch contrasts

Second language Research ◽

10.1177/0267658309349425 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 25 (4) ◽

pp. 427-467 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Nigel Duffield ◽

Ayumi Matsuo ◽

Leah Roberts

Keyword(s):

Second Language ◽

Second Language Acquisition ◽

Language Learners ◽

Second Language Learners ◽

Native Speakers ◽

Qualitative Difference ◽

Japanese Learners Of English ◽

Vp Ellipsis ◽

Computer Based ◽

Japanese Learners

Previous studies, including Duffield and Matsuo (2001; 2002; 2009), have demonstrated second language learners’ overall sensitivity to a parallelism constraint governing English VP-ellipsis constructions: like native speakers (NS), advanced Dutch, Spanish and Japanese learners of English reliably prefer ellipsis clauses with structurally parallel antecedents over those with non-parallel antecedents. However, these studies also suggest that, in contrast to English native speakers, L2 learners’ sensitivity to parallelism is strongly influenced by other non-syntactic formal factors, such that the constraint applies in a comparatively restricted range of construction-specific contexts. This article reports a set of follow-up experiments — from both computer-based as well as more traditional acceptability judgement tasks — that systematically manipulates these other factors. Convergent results from these tasks confirm a qualitative difference in the judgement patterns of the two groups, as well as important differences between theoreticians’ judgements and those of typical native speakers. We consider the implications of these findings for theories of ultimate attainment in second language acquisition (SLA), as well as for current theoretical accounts of ellipsis.

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Teaching young English language learners in East Asian cultural contexts: Application of current English as a Second Language (ESL) best practices for academic success

10.31219/osf.io/cwpjz ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Matthew Turner

Keyword(s):

English Language Learners ◽

Second Language ◽

Academic Success ◽

Language Learners ◽

English Language ◽

East Asian ◽

Asian Students ◽

Outreach Programs ◽

East Asian Students ◽

Language Growth

This secondary research project examines the research and literature surrounding current English as a Second Language (ESL) practices for East Asian students. In particular, it examines the role that these practices have in affecting academic and linguistic aptitude of young learners. It also explores the role of outreach programs and acculturation in English language growth. An empiric study of culturally relevant outreach programs on East Asian learners is proposed to help determine the effect of such programs on meeting student and familial need. This study would help to fill a gap in the research and provide guidance for instructors looking to better serve Asian heritage learners.

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Reading strategies used by Grade 9 English Second Language learners in a selected school

Reading & Writing ◽

10.4102/rw.v5i1.42 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 5 (1) ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Madoda Cekiso ◽

Nophawu Madikiza

Keyword(s):

Second Language ◽

Reading Comprehension ◽

Language Learners ◽

Reading Strategies ◽

Second Language Learners ◽

Strategy Use ◽

Wide Range ◽

Significant Difference ◽

English Second Language ◽

Esl Learners

Knowledge of the reading strategies used by English Second Language learners can help teachers to plan appropriate lessons and apply relevant methods of teaching reading in order to enhance learners’ reading comprehension. The main objective of this study was to investigate the reading strategies used by Grade 9 English Second Language (ESL) learners and also to establish if there was any significant difference between perceived strategy use and gender. The respondents (192) were all ESL learners in Grade 9 in 2011 in a selected school. The study employed a quantitative research method. The study used convenience sampling on a group of 192 Grade 9 learners. The data collected through questionnaires was analysed by means of the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) software. The findings revealed that the learners did not employ a wide range of reading strategies. The results further indicated that there was no significant difference between boys and girls in terms of strategy use. Based on the above findings several suggestions were made to help teachers improve their teaching and help learners improve their reading comprehension and also about possible areas for future research.

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