Sharpening Students' Critical Literacy Skills Through Corpus-Based Instruction

2020 ◽  
pp. 234-260
Author(s):  
Paschalia Patsala ◽  
Maria Michali
Keyword(s):  
Social Change ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Critical Literacy ◽  
Literacy Skills ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
The Past ◽  
Language Data ◽  
Based Instruction ◽  
Authentic Language ◽  
Tools And Techniques

In the past, corpora were primarily employed by linguists. Recently, there has been a growing interest from teachers and researchers in the pedagogical applications of corpora. However, literature of corpus-based instruction has little explored whether corpus-based instruction can reinforce English Foreign Language (EFL) learners' critical literacy. This chapter builds on research and practices that explore how corpus-based teaching may enhance learners' critical literacy skills, offering recommendations to teachers of English as a foreign language. The main features of critical literacy teaching are presented, and consideration is given to tools and techniques through which educators can encourage EFL learners to critically look at authentic language data and question both the language and the reality they are exposed to, affecting or enabling social change.

An exploration of target L2 morphemes in the oral production of young EFL learners in Croatia

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jelena O'Reilly ◽  
Eva Jakupčević
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Research Area ◽  
Simple Construction ◽  
L2 Acquisition ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
Oral Production ◽  
The Past ◽  
Base Form ◽  
Production Study ◽  
Efl Students

Although the second language (L2) acquisition of morphology by late L2 learners has been a popular research area over the past decades, comparatively little is known about the acquisition and development of morphology in children who learn English as a foreign language (EFL). Therefore, the current study presents the findings from a longitudinal oral production study with 9/10-year-old L1 Croatian EFL students who were followed up at the age of 11/12. Our results are largely in line with the limited research so far in this area: young EFL learners have few issues using the be copula and, eventually, the irregular past simple forms, but had considerable problems with accurately supplying the 3rd person singular -s at both data collection points. We also observed a be + base form structure, especially at the earlier stage, which appears to be an emergent past simple construction.

scholarly journals The Effects of a CLIL Programme on Linguistic Progress at Two Different Points in Time

2021 ◽  
pp. 173-191
Author(s):  
Marta Segura ◽  
Helena Roquet ◽  
Carmen Pérez-Vidal
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Reading Skills ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Integrated Learning ◽  
Older Students ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
The Past ◽  
Learning Contexts ◽  
Student Proficiency

In an attempt to explore the effects of different kinds of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learning contexts, content and language integrated learning (CLIL) have been at the centre of FL acquisition research over the past decade. Studies have focused on the features and gains this setting brings, whether content is learnt at the same level of success as when taught in the learners’ L1, and whether that L1 is negatively affected by CLIL. However, to our knowledge, very little attention has been brought to how the seniority of the programme affects learner progress in the target language. This study aims to fill such a gap in the understanding that the programme will have developed and improved in terms of quality of exposure and interaction, and that learners’ EFL performance will be higher. To do that, we measured the efficacy of a long-standing CLIL programme in Barcelona twelve years after it was launched and examined the reading, writing, and lexico-grammatical abilities of CLIL EFL learners aged 8, 11, and 14 compared with results obtained by learners measured at the onset of the programme in 2005. The results showed that the quality of the programme has increased over the last decade, guaranteeing a higher level of EFL student proficiency when raw scores are considered, but not in terms of linguistic gains, in which only improvement in older students’ grammar and reading skills can be observed.

scholarly journals Engaging English as a Foreign Language Students in Critical Literacy Practices: The Case of a Teacher at a Private University

2019 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 91-105 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Catalina Gómez Jiménez ◽  
Claudia Patricia Gutierrez
Keyword(s):  
Social Change ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
University Students ◽  
Focus Groups ◽  
Critical Literacy ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Literacy Practices ◽  
Language Teaching ◽  
Language Skills ◽  
Private University

This paper describes the process English as a foreign language university students and their teacher underwent when engaging in critical literacy practices. Interviews, focus groups, questionnaires, students’ artifacts, and the teacher’s journal were used to collect data in this study. Findings suggest that when students engage in critical literacy practices, they are prone to reflect on the power they have as agents of social change, while developing language skills. However, teachers should be ready to encounter some resistance from students and to struggle with the incorporation of critical perspectives in their lessons, which is understandable considering the emphasis grammar mastering has traditionally had on language teaching and learning.

The Impact of Clickers Use on Vocabulary Knowledge and Satisfaction in an EFL Class in China

2014 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 47-59 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yu Zhonggen
Keyword(s):  
Gender Differences ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Vocabulary Knowledge ◽  
Satisfaction Level ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
Using Data ◽  
Based Instruction ◽  
Knowledge Scale ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Students Satisfaction

Clickers are catching growing attention in education. This study, using data collected from a questionnaire, forty content words, and a vocabulary knowledge scale, aims to identify if clickers can enhance EFL (English as a foreign language) vocabulary knowledge and raise students' satisfaction level compared with the traditional multimedia-based instruction. Gender differences were also explored. Data from 115 EFL learners showed that: (1) Clickers-based instruction significantly increased participants' satisfaction level compared with traditional multimedia-based instruction in an EFL class; (2) Clickers-based instruction significantly enhanced participants' vocabulary knowledge compared with traditional multimedia-based instruction in an EFL class; (3) Males were significantly more satisfied with clickers-based instruction than females in an EFL class and there were no significant gender differences in satisfaction levels under multimedia-based instruction; (4) Males obtained significantly more vocabulary knowledge than females under clickers-based instruction, while females obtained significantly more vocabulary knowledge than males under multimedia-based instruction.

Backward Pragmatic Transfer: An Empirical Study on Compliment Responses among Chinese EFL Learners

2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (9) ◽  
pp. 1846
Author(s):  
Min Cao
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
First Language ◽  
L2 Proficiency ◽  
Written Discourse ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
Pragmatic Transfer ◽  
Response Strategies ◽  
The Past ◽  
Compliment Responses ◽  
Four Levels

This present study aims at investigating compliment response strategies used by different groups of Chinese English as a foreign language (EFL) learners in order to find out the evidence of the existence of backward transfer from foreign language (FL) or second language (L2) English to their first language (L1) Chinese at pragmatic level. The data is collected through a written Discourse Complete Task (DCT) among four levels of EFL learners in a university in China. The data suggests that backward transfer occurs in their L1 Chinese compliment response. Moreover, backward pragmatic transfer is enhanced by EFL learners’ L2 proficiency. The results of this study are compared with those of Qu & Wang (2005) to see the great changes in the past ten years. The results of this study point to the complexity of language transfer and its interaction with L2 proficiency.

scholarly journals Promoting Critical Literacy in the EFL Context: Implementing a Project to Young Learners

2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 107 ◽  
Author(s):  
Isaak Papadopoulos ◽  
Dr. Eleni Griva
Keyword(s):  
Critical Thinking ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Critical Literacy ◽  
Language Skills ◽  
Foreign Language Learning ◽  
Language Education ◽  
Pilot Project ◽  
Literacy Skills ◽  
Structured Interviews

In response to the continually growing demands of this era, the society needs active members who are able to cooperate with each other and show a critical stance in what they read, see, touch, smell or come across. Thus, modern language education should aim at developing critical readers and writers. As a result, the critical literacy programs in which students are turned into active participants of their learning process and accept something after they have already remarked it, are more than necessary in the education of the 21st century. This paper outlines the rational for and the purpose of designing and implementing a thematic pilot project aiming at developing students’ critical literacy in an EFL (English as a foreign language) classroom. This pilot project was implemented to 20 Greek-speaking students of the 5th primary school class (aged 11 years old) who had been learning English for 4 four years. It was initiated with the purpose to provide insights into developing students’ critical literacy skills as well as their four language skills in the foreign language. The project was carried out in 25 two hour sessions focused on the thematic area of the “Sports”. This topic was selected because of the nature of the sports and their popularity among the teenagers. Moreover, sports are a ‘controversial’ subject/concept that students can express different opinions and examine it from different perspectives. Special emphasis was placed on the creation of an environment promoting critical thinking and critical stance. Moreover, an attempt was made for a pleasant and creative foreign language learning environment to be developed, where students actually could enhance personal and interpersonal skills. In order to estimate the feasibility of this project, we used three basic tools a) a pre- and a post- test about the language assessment, b) journals kept by the teacher/researcher throughout the intervention and c) structured interviews conducted by the researcher with students individually to record the students’ different perspectives based on a text. The findings showed a significant improvement of the students’ language skills in EFL, as well as their critical thinking and ability to examine a text from different perspectives.

Drama for L2 Speaking and Language Anxiety: Evidence from Brazilian EFL Learners

RELC Journal ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 49 (3) ◽  
pp. 273-289 ◽  
Author(s):  
Angelica Galante
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Mixed Methods Study ◽  
Language Anxiety ◽  
Foreign Language Anxiety ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
The Past ◽  
Comfort Levels ◽  
L2 Speaking ◽  
Language Classroom ◽  
Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety

Anxiety is a dimension of L2 speaking that has been heavily investigated over the past several decades, but there is a paucity of research investigating instruction aiming at lowering anxiety. While research suggests drama lowers L2 learners’ anxiety, it is unclear to what extent anxiety is affected by drama. This article reports results from a mixed methods study examining whether drama impacts foreign language anxiety (FLA). The participants were 24 Brazilian adolescents who took part in two distinct four-month EFL programmes: a drama and a non-drama programme. An adapted version of the Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (FLCAS) was used as pre- and post measures. Analyses from FLCAS indicate a significant reduction in FLA levels among learners in both groups over time, with a slightly better improvement among learners in the drama group. Further analysis provides evidence that drama can enhance comfort levels when speaking the L2. Implications for research and language teaching are discussed.

Critical Literacy Programs: Can Business Literacy be a Catalyst for Economic and Social Change?

2011 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
pp. 184-198 ◽  
Author(s):  
Canan Corus ◽  
Julie L. Ozanne
Keyword(s):  
Social Change ◽  
Critical Literacy ◽  
Literacy Practices ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Literacy Skills ◽  
Literacy Programs ◽  
Actual Performance ◽  
Socially Constructed ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Status

While literacy is widely believed to be a driver of well-being and economic development, the actual performance of many literacy programs fails to deliver on these promises. Many existing literacy programs are based on an autonomous model of literacy, which assumes that literacy skills are ideologically neutral and can be easily applied, regardless of the social context. Yet literacy practices are socially constructed and can serve to reinforce the status quo and existing interests or these practices can be used to challenge inequities and inspire social change. An ideological model of literacy is used to critique a range of literacy programs that employ livelihood training and various forms of business literacy. Finally, the role of business literacy practices as an impetus for change is explored.

Foreign Language Tutoring - Implications for Software Development

1996 ◽  
Vol 40 (19) ◽  
pp. 962-966
Author(s):  
Susan G. Dahl ◽  
Beth Plott ◽  
Jonathan D. Kaplan
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Processing ◽  
Instructional Delivery ◽  
Research Unit ◽  
Training Needs ◽  
Training Methods ◽  
Language Training ◽  
The Past ◽  
Army Research Institute ◽  
Tools And Techniques

Over the past ten years, the Army Research Institute (ARI) Advanced Training Methods Research Unit (ATMRU) has developed tools and techniques to support the Army's language training needs. Most notably, a PC-based military language tutor (MILT) has been developed to teach Arabic and Spanish skills. One of the most powerful elements of this tool is its authoring component, in which an Arabic or Spanish instructor need not be a trained linguist to develop lessons that include a wide variety of exercise types (e.g., multiple choice, full discourse). This capability is possible through the MILT's graphical user interface and embedded natural language processing (NLP) component. This paper describes the process through which this tool was designed to provide a flexible authoring capability as well as a powerful instructional delivery system for a wide target audience.

Study of Consonant Pronunciations Errors Committed by EFL Learners

2019 ◽  
pp. 48-56
Author(s):  
Ali Akbar Khansir ◽  
Afsaneh Salehabadi
Keyword(s):  
English Language Learners ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
English Language ◽  
Age Group ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
Listening Skill ◽  
English Pronunciation ◽  
Efl Students ◽  
Knowledge Of Language

As the topic suggests, the research paper presents Study of Consonant Pronunciations Errors Committed by EFL Learners. Error analysis always tries to resolve language learners’ problems in acquiring second or foreign language setting. Learning to English pronunciation is perhaps as important as learning listening skill, speaking, and spelling. Errors in English pronunciation create several problems for English language learners in their works. In other words, most of the English language errors of pronunciation are due to the lack of knowledge of language learners. However, all the students in our sample are of age group (16-25) at Bushehr language institute and they are all Iranian nationals. In addition, all of them were female learners. An English pronunciation (consonant) test was used to get information about the knowledge of the learners in English pronunciation. Findings of this article indicated that the first and second hypotheses of this article were accepted, but the third hypothesis was rejected. However, the findings of this paper showed that the Iranian EFL students have problem to pronounce English sounds correctly.

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