scholarly journals Teachers' Perception of the Students' Foreign Language Learning and the Potential Role of ICT

Author(s):  
María del Carmen Horno Chéliz ◽  
Antonio Sarasa Cabezuelo

This article focuses on the learning problems that arise in the teaching of second languages. Nowadays, the introduction of new technologies in this field has had a relevant effect by offering new possibilities that did not exist in the analogue era. However, many of the learning problems persist, and one of the causes identified is the change in learning styles. The use of new technologies has fostered an experimental learning style among students. This style is incompatible with traditional classes of theory and practice, in which an intellectual effort is required to understand the theory and then put into practice what has been learned. The present work starts from this reality and tries to provide possible improvements. For this, an analysis of the main problems encountered by the learners in the various linguistic acquisition components (lexicon, grammar and processes of comprehension and production, both oral and written) has been carried out. The method used was a questionnaire answered by 113 active language teachers. After the analysis of the answers received, a series of specific problems of the teaching-learning process was enumerated and different IT applications and ICT resources were searched that could solve or at least minimize them.

2011 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 121-127
Author(s):  
Rusudan Gogokhia ◽  
Natela Imedadze

A Study of Foreign Language Learning Styles Used by Georgian Students The aim of the work was to research learning style distribution in Georgian university students to determine which styles or their complexes are optimal in foreign language learning in similar conditions of teaching. Learning style preferences of more and less successful students were compared using a standardized test (Ehrman, 1998). An analysis of frequencies does not reveal reliable differences between more successful and less successful students. A statistically reliable correlation between varieties of styles was detected only in more successful students, giving grounds to conclude that successful students use diverse and multiple styles, while less successful ones are mostly stuck with one style.


2014 ◽  
Vol 971-973 ◽  
pp. 2677-2680
Author(s):  
Di Jiao

Factors affecting students’ English learning performances are always debated among language researchers. This research is carried out in art colleges to figure out the students’ preferences in learning styles and learning strategies as well as the relationship between them. Questionnaires have been applied and data have been dealt with by SPSS. This research has shown that students in the art college tend to be visual and individual learners, and thus they prefer to adopt metacognitive, memory and affective strategies.


2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
AWEJ for Translation & Literary Studies ◽  
Youcef BENAMOR

Foregrounding the paramount role of translation to boost foreign language learning at all educational strata, this reflective paper investigates whether translation is deemed a means to teach foreign languages or an end to prepare foreign language learners as prospective professional translators. Precisely, this reflective analysis aims to discuss these two research questions: do foreign language teachers simply use some amateur translation activities to upgrade their learners’ linguistic proficiency? Or do they find it necessary to teach translation models and techniques proper, targeting translational proficiency along with linguistic ability? Drawing on the researcher’s experience and specialist authorship, translation approaches and techniques as related to foreign language teaching/learning and 2) translation pedagogy types that govern the appropriate selection of translation techniques are the foundational units of this analytic endeavour. This analysis revealed that the basics of most well-known translation approaches and techniques are genuinely present in diverse foreign language classes. Additionally, teaching these translation approaches and techniques for general linguistic aims and for specific professional purposes are two different contexts where the former is shaped by presenting some mere language-based translation techniques and the latter by teaching much more specialist and profession-related ones. This categorisation inescapably determines the quality and quantity of translation practice and the nature of the teacher-learner pedagogical contract, aiming at foreign language learning per se, translation proficiency or both. According to either context, teachers should be aware of translation basics or translation proper to avoid ad hoc instruction and ‘translationese.’


2020 ◽  
Vol 39 (2) ◽  
pp. 480-492
Author(s):  
Bonifasius Widharyanto ◽  
Heribertus Binawan

Learning styles, language learning strategies, and ethnicity are three important factors in language learning. The information about these three things is very useful for language teachers to prepare and implement effective language learning. This study was conducted to describe the students ' learning style and language learning strategy and to know the similarities/differences from the two elements of Java, Papua, Flores, Dayak, and Batak ethnics. A number of 175 participants were involved in the study. Research data were obtained through the Fleming's learning VARK questionnaire and a language learning strategy questionnaire from Oxford. The results of the two questionnaires were analyzed to determine the type of learning style and language learning strategy. The first finding suggests that the main learning styles of students from the five ethnics are variants [aural] and [kinesthetic] including variations in bimodal, and trimodal. The second finding shows that the major language learning strategy is metacognitive and affective. The third finding reveals some similarities and unique differences in their learning style and learning strategy.


2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (7) ◽  
pp. 142
Author(s):  
Halil Küçükler

The aim of the study is to investigate the strategy attitudes of graduate students’ proficiency attitudes on autonomous learning in foreign language learning. This survey was conducted in Balıkesir University in academic years of of 2014-2015. The survey analyses graduate (Master of Arts) students’ foreign language learning styles and strategies to find out to what extent they are autonomous. Two kinds of questionnaires were administered. The first one was learner autonomy survey questionnaire developed by Zhang and Li (2004), which was administered to investigate how autonomous the participants were in learning English as a foreign language. The second one was the perceptual learning style preference questionnaire (PLSPQ) developed by Reid (1987). The two questionnaires were administered to 600 graduate students enrolled in the Institutions of Social Sciences and the Institution of Health at Balıkesir University in the academic years of 2014-2015. Only 504 graduate students responded the questionnaires. Then it was announced that there would be two types of English YDS preparation courses for the participants enrolled at Balıkesir University, Institute of M.A programs. 30 participants applied to join the courses. The participants are assigned to two groups, as instructed and non-instructed on voluntary bases. The results of data analysis showed that most of the participants preferred to learn English in class. But few students believed that they would be successful by self-study. The learners did not use strategies in high level but they used them in medium level.


2016 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 47 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zohreh Jafarpanah ◽  
Majid Farahian

<p>Learning styles and strategies are among the important factors which affect the learners’ performance in foreign language learning. The present study investigated the relationship between learning styles and metacognitive reading strategy of Iranian EFL (English as Foreign language) learners. It has also made an attempt to discover which learning style has the strongest correlation with metacognitive reading strategy. Accordingly, a total sample of 128 students who studied EFL at university was asked to answer a proficiency test. The purpose of administrating the proficiency test was to have a homogenized group of intermediate EFL learners. As the next step, the participants were asked to answer two questionnaires which explored their metacognitive reading strategy and learning styles. The data analysis indicated that thirteen learning styles out of twenty-three ones have a significant, positive correlation with metacognitive strategy. Moreover, there was a significant correlation between visual, auditory, introvert, intuitive, concrete, closure-oriented, synthesizing, analytic, sharpener, deductive, field independent, metaphoric, and reflective styles with metacognitive reading strategy. In addition, among 23 learning styles, visual, closure- oriented and synthesizing styles had the strongest correlation with metacognitive strategy. The findings revealed that Iranian EFL learners with these three learning styles use more metacognitive reading strategy.</p><p><strong>Keywords</strong><strong>:</strong> Learning Styles, Metacognitive Reading Strategy, Foreign Language Reading</p>


2016 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Halil Küçükler

Also called student-centred learning, autonomous learning is a multifaceted and self-motivated study skill that relates to a change in focus in the learning environment from the teacher to the student or from teaching to learning (Taylor 2000, p. 107). Its impact on linguistic competence has been investigated over time and the two have been found to be correlated. This survey was conducted in Balıkesir University in academic years of 2014-2015. The survey analyses graduate (Master of Arts) students’ foreign language learning styles and strategies to find out to what extent they are autonomous. The aim of the study is to investigate the impacts of graduate students’ proficiency attitudes on autonomous learning in foreign language learning. Two kinds of questionnaires were administered: the first one was learner autonomy survey questionnaire developed by Zhang and Li (2004), which was administered to investigate how autonomous the participants were in learning English as a foreign language. The second one was the perceptual learning style preference questionnaire (PLSPQ), developed by Reid (1987). The two questionnaires were administered to 600 graduate students enrolled in the Institutions of Social Sciences and the Institution of Health at Balıkesir University in the academic years of 2014-2015. Only 504 graduate students responded. Then it was announced that there would be two types of English YDS preparation courses for the participants enrolled at Balıkesir University, Institute of M.A programs. 30 participants applied to join the courses. The participants are assigned to two groups, as instructed and non-instructed on voluntary bases. The study involved the YDS test that measured the performance of the control and experimental groups to find out the differences. The study involved 15 sample YDS tests that were administered after every two weeks of instructions. Before the training commenced, there were some preliminaries that were being applied to determine the advancement in the level of proficiency and the level of trainees.  The results indicate that the male graduate students from both groups performed better than the female learners. The results also reveal that the control group scored a mean of 38, 86 while the experimental group recorded 38, 06 in the first test. Throughout all tests, the experimental group only scores a few points less. The ultimate YDS (The formal Proficiency Exam) score was (control group= 48; experimental group =47), which is almost the same. There is no meaningful difference between the control and experimental group.


2010 ◽  
Vol 160 ◽  
pp. 100-111
Author(s):  
Mzwamadoda Phillip Cekiso

Abstract An awareness of individual differences in learning has made ESL/EFL educators and programme designers more sensitive to their roles in teaching and learning and has permitted them to match teaching and learning styles so as to develop students’ second and foreign language learning. The purpose of the present study is to (a) determine what the learning style profiles of College of Education (Eastern Cape) students look like as well as (b) to determine if there is a relationship between the learning styles of these students and their performance on selected ESL tasks. The results indicated that the ESL college learners in the Eastern Cape displayed a variety of learning styles and also performed differently on a variety of ESL tasks.


Author(s):  
Walkyria Magno e Silva

This article presents an innovative model for the enhancement of learner autonomy and shows some of its results and challenges. The model entails investigation of problematic areas of individual students' foreign language learning processes, identification of their privileged learning styles, use of technological tools to improve learning autonomy, development of a wider range of language learning strategies, and implementation of self-monitoring and self-evaluation routines. This model has been applied for the last three years with undergraduate students, earning a B.A. in Modern Languages (English, French or German), who will become foreign language teachers in elementary and high schools in Brazil. Results are threefold: first, the model has proven its efficiency in providing scaffolding for students autonomous language learning; second, autonomy developing experiences lived by subjects who are studying to be teachers can be mirrowed in their future professional lives with their own students; and thirdly, data derived from the participants in the study can shed some light into the variety of ways people learn in the local context.


2002 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 167

This study examined whether David A. Kolb’s (1984) Experiential Learning Theory (ELT) can be applied to Japanese. ELT has received particular attention in describing individual learning processes in English speaking countries where Learning Style Study is prosperous. ELT postulates two orthogonal bipolar dimensions of cognitive development: the active-reflective dimension and the abstract-concrete dimension. Kolb uses these polar extremes to define a four-stage cycle of learning. It begins with the acquisition of concrete experience (CE). This gives way to reflective observation (RO) on that experience. Next to that, theory building or abstract conceptualization (AC) occurs. The theory is then put to the test through active experimentation (AE). The cycle thus recommences since the experimentation itself yields new concrete experience. There are two questionnaires based on Kolb’s theory in wide use The Learning Style Inventory (LSI) and Learning Styles Questionnaire (LSQ). LSI is one of the most popular questionnaires in English speaking countries; however, some researchers have called into question its reliability and validity. LSQ was developed after considering LSI’s problems, but its reliability and validity also have not been examined sufficiently. The author translated LSI and LSQ into Japanese to apply them in a pilot study. Some problems ware reported, such as the method of answering LSI, the ambiguity of LSQ, and factors that are difficult to understand for English non-native speakers. The author accordingly developed a new questionnaire that was based on ELT but revised for Japanese. The questionnaire consisted of a set of 12 randomly arranged items on each of the four learning stages to be measured. The Likert-scaled 48 items ranged from Strongly Agree (6) to Strongly Disagree (0). The questionnaire was distributed at two national universities and 218 students completed it. The principal component analysis was carried out and promax rotation was used. Contrary to Kolb’ theory, which has two bipolar axes and four poles of learning, in this study five factors were found: Deliberative, Logical, Pragmatic, Challenge and Systematic. The Deliberative style means that when a learner has this ability, he or she makes decisions after deliberation and progresses step-by-step. The Logical style represents a learner who attaches importance to logic and correctness. The Pragmatic style stands for a learner who always thinks about using language in the real world. The Challenge style means a learner who is flexible to new things and solves problems actively. The Systematic style describes a learner who finds rules from a lot of information and learns systematically. The result of Cronbach’s alpha analysis indicated that all the five factors have a high degree of internal reliability from .77 to .65 and possess some degree of correlations from -.07 to .51. The result means that there are not two bipolar axes as Kolb supposed, but five factors that are independent with only factor one and two having a correlation with each other. Because the five factors are independent and have a high degree of internal reliability, Japanese university students have foreign language learning styles that are different from Kolb’s theory. Although the theory has received much attention and LSI and LSQ are widely used in English speaking countries, they cannot be applied directly to Japanese university students. Thus it is concluded that a new theory and questionnaire are needed in order to grasp the foreign language learning style of Japanese. 本稿ではまず、欧米で広く認められているKolb (1984) のExperiential Learning Theoryとそれに基づいて作成された2つの調査票The Learning Style Inventory(LSI)とLearning Styles Questionnaire (LSQ)の概略と問題点についてまとめた。次にその問題点を踏まえて筆者がKolbの理論に基づいて新たに外国語学習スタイル調査票を作成し、日本人大学生を対象に調査を行った。その結果、Kolbが想定した2つの軸や4つの学習能力を示す因子は抽出されず、「熟考」、「論理」、「実用」、「挑戦」、「秩序」の5因子が抽出された。この5因子はそれぞれ独立しており内的一貫性も認められるため、日本人大学生にはKolbの理論とは異なる外国語学習スタイルが存在する可能性が高い。このことはLSIやLSQを日本人大学生に使用し、結果をKolbの理論にそのまま当てはめて解釈するのは問題があることを示してい


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