Teaching and Learning Mandarin Chinese

Author(s):  
Francesca Pugh-Opher

The advancement of new technologies in K-12 educational settings has the potential for new learner experiences and outcomes. The integration of gamification and simulation into second language learning classrooms has the potential to support language learning for young learners. This chapter explores effective ways to introduce instructional models and technological tools for immersing early childhood learners in the second language learning process. In this chapter, the author describes the need for gamified and simulated virtual technologies to facilitate the learning of Mandarin Chinese in an early childhood setting.

2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 94
Author(s):  
Nnenna Gertrude Ezeh ◽  
Ojel Clara Anidi ◽  
Basil Okwudili Nwokolo

Second language learners especially in English language need further language support in view of the fact that they operate on the performance level of language use as against competence. Achieving success in the teaching and learning of a second language such as English is determined by a number of linguistic and nonlinguistic factors such as the attitude and language skills of the learners, the teacher’s innovativeness and competence, effective teaching methods and materials such as visual, audio-visual aids and media aids to language learning. This research is motivated by the problem inherent in the traditional teaching methods which is stereotypical, boring with little active students’ engagement in the learning process, which makes knowledge transfer an arduous task. The research represents a shift in language teaching and learning - from the known traditional to a more technological mode of learning- giving way to new technologies in which the media plays a prominent role. The work adopts a qualitative methodology in assessing the role of the media in language teaching and learning both on the part of the students as well the teacher, especially in terms of self-development and innovations. It was discovered that media aids in language learning, facilitates the overall learning process and helps the teacher to transcend his limitations in areas such as pronunciation, vocabulary to be able to guide the students aright. This makes learning an ongoing process rather than a product.


2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 87
Author(s):  
Aisha Bhatti ◽  
Habibullah Pathan ◽  
Syed Waqar Ali Shah

Nowadays English language plays a crucial role in every field of educational institutes in Pakistan. It is considered as the base of education because the entire scientific studies are in English. The topic of this research paper is impact of teacher-Learner rapport on L2 learning. In today’s civilization having positive teacher-student rapport is more vital than ever before. The purpose of my research paper is to know learners’ point of view about impact of teacher-learner rapport on second language learning. Total 209 participants were selected through random sampling. There are three main public sector universities in Jamshoro, Sindh and among those universities I have selected UoSJ and MUET. The data was conducted quantitatively thus Kendall's tau-b correlation coefficient a nonparametric test was applied to measure the correlation between impact of teacher-learner rapport on second language learning proficiency. The study findings clearly depict that there is strong positive relationship between rapports and second language learning. Undoubtedly for successful learning and teaching outcomes, it is very essential to create rapport for positive classroom environment which provides the enormous opportunities and appropriate conditions to enhance and improve students’ classroom performance in L2 learning. Therefore, at higher/ tertiary level education, teaching and learning environment requires more attention on teacher-learner rapport because at this level learners are more aware and mature enough to understand the ways teacher behaves that directly impacts on leaner’s psychological nurturing and willful leaning.


2019 ◽  
Vol 39 ◽  
pp. 59-73
Author(s):  
Mike Levy

AbstractIn the last 20 years we have moved from a somewhat idealistic vision of the internet to one that is far more nuanced and complex. Disruption and change now surround us in a more uncertain and unpredictable world (Foer, 2017; Greenfield, 2017; Lanier, 2018; O'Neil, 2016). This article examines some of the key changes in the wider world and how they may relate to the use of new technologies in second language learning. This topic is approached from three perspectives that have thus far been relatively unexplored. First, the article looks at digital literacy, a cognate field that has long been motivated by issues and concerns relating to educational technology and the classroom–world connection. Second, it considers the role and use of authentic materials and texts. Third, it contrasts notions of input and output as these terms apply to humans and machines, and as they are used in research on second language learning.The goal throughout is to highlight the benefits of increased connectivity between the wider world and the world of the language classroom. Through increased awareness and informed debate, it is hoped this will place us in a stronger position to understand and plan for the changes ahead.


2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (5) ◽  
pp. 972
Author(s):  
Xiaqing Li

As a relatively new discipline which raised in the 20th century Cognitive linguistics has gradually become the mainstream in the development of recent decades. In cognitive linguistics some major theories related with language teaching and learning are construal, categorization, encyclopedic knowledge, symbol, metaphor, and metonymy. In this paper being based on the theory of radial categories the author turns attention to second language learning to explore implications of performance of vocabulary, morphemes, grammar rules, phonology, and intonation in radial categories in the second language learning.


2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (7) ◽  
pp. 762
Author(s):  
Upul Priyantha Gamage ◽  
Wellman Kondowe

This paper presents a step by step approach of unpacking humour in joke stories from Udurawana in Sir-Lanka. The analysis has employed two theoretical models: Grice’s (1975) theory of Conversational Implicature, and Juckel, Bellman and Varan’s (2016) Taxonomy of Humour Techniques. The study has demonstrated that understanding humour involves going through different layers of language given that humour itself does not reside at the surface; but rather inside meanings of words and phrases. The paper appeals to language teachers to utilise humour as a teaching tool owing to the enormous joys it brings in facilitating the teaching and learning of the second language. We conclude that helping learners take baby-steps to decipher humour can lead them into better understanding and fluency of second language learning; an indication of advancement in language acquisition.


2015 ◽  
Vol 1 (4) ◽  
pp. 364
Author(s):  
Chalak Ghafoor Raouf ◽  
Ranjdar Hama Sharif

Nowadays, second language learning among young learners is considered to be one of the main subjects in the field of education around the world. A lot of researches dealt with this subject, and focused on the processes of second language learning among young learners. Researchers were trying to understand and diagnose young language learners’ strengths and weaknesses. They came up with some evidences which show that language aptitude, gender, age, creativity, and motivation are among the elements that make a young student be different from other students. Unlike the other researches, this paper investigated the role of social-emotional skills among young learners in second language learning. It examined the influences of these skills in the process of foreign language learning. For this study a kindergarten was chosen, and 20 children were randomly selected as representatives of the 60 children who applied for an English language course in this kindergarten. Thirteen of the selected children were male learners, while the rest were females, and the age of the participants were between 4-5 years old. At the beginning of the English course a group of socialworkers conducted a pretest to measure the young learners’ social and emotional skills, and after the English course a group of English language teachers conducted the second test to measure the learners’ language proficiency. After the data collection, the finding showed a significant relationship between social-emotional skills and foreign language learning. Those students who showed a high level of social-emotional skills were more active in learning the new language, and passed the test of English proficiency with high degrees, while those students who showed a low level of social-emotional skills couldn’t pass the English proficiency test or passed with low degrees.


2017 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kumaresen Mahalingam ◽  
Melor Md. Yunus

The Malaysian Education Blueprint is aimed to ensure every child is proficient in English Language besides Bahasa Malaysia. Thus the English Language syllabus is geared to mould learners to become successful language learners. However, not all learners are capable of being successful language learners despite years of schooling. Therefore, this study aims to investigate language learning strategies used by good language learners in learning English as their second language. To achieve the aim of the study, a questionnaire was used to collect the quantitative data. 30 pupils with good language ability from a rural primary school in Sabah were selected to participate in this study. The findings of the study indicated that different language learners prefer different learning strategies to improve their second language learning.  The learning strategies also vary based on the language skills they are learning. The findings of the study are hoped to provide significant impact to the pupils, teachers and curriculum planners to integrate language learning strategies in teaching and learning to assist successful language learning.


2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 49-57
Author(s):  
Magdolna Nemes

The flow of information in the digital age is facilitated not only by traditional media such as television, radio, and print but also by new media such as the internet, desktops, and integrated computers, tablets, and smartphones, etc. The presence of IT tools is quite common these days among kindergarten-aged children (3-6/7), and even toddlers can use them on a daily basis. Moreover, modern pedagogy is unthinkable without digital devices that have become integral parts of innovations such as game-based learning, media-based learning, and edutainment. There are several language schools and bilingual creches where they accept very young children and babies. It is said that parents know their child best and children spend a lot of time with their parents. In consequence, this provides an excellent opportunity for parents to raise a bilingual child even if it is not his/her first language. In our paper we are combining these two, currently, central issues: the use of English-language media and early childhood language-learning, as only limited research is available about it. We are going to present the results of empirical research carried out mainly in kindergartens in Debrecen, which focused on early second language learning and the children’s use of media. Our research has two goals, so the questionnaires asked parents about the use of foreign-language media, its content and the time children spend consuming English content. In addition, we were interested in the parents’ attitude to their children’s English-language media use. We analyzed our data in the framework of early second language learning. Our research was carried out within the Early Childhood Research Group run by the Faculty of Education for Children and Special Educational Needs of the University of Debrecen. The research was carried out between October 2016 and January 2017.


2013 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 5-47 ◽  
Author(s):  
Malcolm Ross

This paper addresses the questions, Do bilingually induced and shift-induced change have different outcomes? If they do, can these differences assist us in reconstructing the prehistoric past, specifically the linguistic prehistory of the (smallscale neolithic) societies of Melanesia. A key to better interpreting differences in the outputs of contact-induced change is to understand how such change in smallscale societies actually occurs. I argue that it is important to know the life-stage loci of change. I suggest that language shift has two life-stage loci, one in early childhood, where evidence of shift, if any, is restricted to specialist lexicon, and one in adulthood. Adult language shift appears to have been rare in Melanesia. I also suggest that bilingually induced change, which entails the syntactic restructuring of one’s heritage language on the model of a second language, takes place among preadolescent children–a claim which is supported by various kinds of evidence. This understanding helps us in turn to interpret the outcomes of contact-induced change and to infer prehistoric events, since adult second-language learning typically leads to simplification, whilst childhood language learning may lead to an increase in complexity.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document