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

2014 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
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.

scholarly journals Reading comprehension and strategy awareness of Grade 11 English second language learners

2012 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Madoda Cekiso
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Reading Comprehension ◽  
Reading Instruction ◽  
Reading Strategies ◽  
Second Language Learners ◽  
Strategy Instruction ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Control Group Design ◽  
English Second Language ◽  
Grade 11

The aim of this study was to examine the reading strategies used by Grade 11 English Second Language (ESL) learners and the possible effects of reading instruction on their reading comprehension and strategy awareness. A quasi-experimental pre-test and post-test control group design was used. The participants included a total of 60 Grade 11 learners from a high school. The results of this study indicate that (1) learners who received reading strategy instruction scored both statistically and practically significantly higher marks on the reading comprehension test than those in the control group and (2) explicit instruction in the use of reading strategies was essential to bring about the increased use of reading strategies of learners in the experimental group. The study has implications for learners, teachers, university students and lecturers.

scholarly journals Voicing up in Debate Competition: Oral Development of Two Malaysian ESL Learners

2016 ◽  
Vol 12 (12) ◽  
pp. 90
Author(s):  
Farzaneh Amiri ◽  
Moomala Othman ◽  
Maryam Jahedi
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Second Language Learners ◽  
Qualitative Approach ◽  
Linguistic Resources ◽  
Communicative Strategies ◽  
English Second Language ◽  
Oral Development ◽  
Esl Learners ◽  
The Impact

This research used a qualitative approach to focus on the classroom debate between Malaysian English second language learners (ESL). Since debate has been often perceived as not a suitable activity for low proficiency students due to their limited linguistic resources, there has not been much emphasis on the impact of debate on incompetent ESL learners; however, this study was an attempt to concentrate on two students who were not competent in English to investigate their oral development via debate. The study observed the communicative strategies employed in this challenging task during the five debate rounds. Although the progress made was quite limited, the study showed that debate competition can be a relevant and meaningful practice for speaking activity among low proficiency students. Moreover, it showed that debate can be used to scaffold students’ practice in speaking.

scholarly journals Recognition and Application of Reading Strategies : Case of Tunisian University Learners

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 14-24
Author(s):  
Maha Dallagi
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Reading Strategies ◽  
Second Language Learners ◽  
Strategy Use ◽  
Statistical Analyses ◽  
Tertiary Level ◽  
Hard Science ◽  
Proficiency Level ◽  
And Gender

Reading is perhaps the most important skill for second language learners in academic contexts (Grabe, 2014; Lynch & Hudson, 1991).  The need to be able to read in English is especially felt at the tertiary level where most of the academic sources are in English.  Yet, Reading is one of the skills that learners often find extremely difficult (Littlewood & Liu, 1996). One major reason for these difficulties is the use of reading strategies and importance of lower-level processes in reading. This study investigated to the choice and frequency of reading strategies by Tunisian tertiary level students (N=147).  It aimed to point out whether variables such as Specialty, Proficiency and Gender correlated with the broad categories of Reading strategies identified by Mokhtari and Sheorey (2002).  Results unveiled little difference between Hard Science and Soft Science majors in their use of Reading strategies.  Statistical analyses demonstrated no relationship between proficiency level, gender, and strategy use.

The neural timecourse of American English vowel discrimination by Japanese, Russian and Spanish second-language learners of English

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-14
Author(s):  
Valerie L. Shafer ◽  
Sarah Kresh ◽  
Kikuyo Ito ◽  
Miwako Hisagi ◽  
Nancy Vidal ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Adult Learners ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Second Language Learners ◽  
American English ◽  
First Language ◽  
Perceptual Task ◽  
Temporal Contrast ◽  
Asymmetrical Pattern ◽  
Significant Difference

Abstract This study investigated the influence of first language (L1) phoneme features and phonetic salience on discrimination of second language (L2) American English (AE) vowels. On a perceptual task, L2 adult learners of English with Spanish, Japanese or Russian as an L1 showed poorer discrimination of the spectral-only difference between /æ:/ as the oddball (deviant) among frequent /ɑ:/ stimuli compared to AE controls. The Spanish listeners showed a significant difference from the controls for the spectral-temporal contrast between /ɑ:/ and /ʌ/ for both perception and the neural Mismatch Negativity (MMN), but only for deviant /ɑ:/ versus /ʌ/ (duration decrement). For deviant /ʌ/ versus /ɑ:/, and for deviant /æ:/ versus /ʌ/ or /ɑ:/, all participants showed equivalent MMN amplitude. The asymmetrical pattern for /ɑ:/ and /ʌ/ suggested that L2 phonetic detail was maintained only for the deviant. These findings indicated that discrimination was more strongly influenced by L1 phonology than phonetic salience.

scholarly journals “Reduced Forms” Influence on Second Language Learners’ Listening Input-Intake Conversion

2021 ◽  
Vol 3 (5) ◽  
pp. 194-199
Author(s):  
Yueyang Zhao
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Empirical Study ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Listening Comprehension ◽  
Second Language Learners ◽  
Factors Influencing ◽  
Comprehension Ability ◽  
Input Hypothesis ◽  
Esl Learners ◽  
Reduced Forms

This article analyses the factors influencing the process of input-intake conversion and focuses on the effect of “reduced forms” on English as a Second Language (ESL) learners’ listening comprehension. The Input Hypothesis, the Noticing Hypothesis, the input-intake relationship, and the factors influencing the input-intake relationship are critically reviewed and analyzed. The empirical study of Brown and Hilferty [1] is reviewed and discussed to show reduced forms’ influence on ESL learners’ listening comprehension. The results prove that integrating reduced forms into ESL lessons is both necessary and meaningful for improving students’ listening comprehension ability.

The effect of degrees of bilingualism on metacognitive linguistic skills

2018 ◽  
Vol 23 (5) ◽  
pp. 1064-1086
Author(s):  
Salim Abu Rabia
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Reading Comprehension ◽  
Reading Strategies ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Research Question ◽  
Significant Variable ◽  
Comprehension Task ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Linguistic Skills ◽  
Metacognitive Reading Strategies

Purpose and research question: The present study investigated whether there was any significant difference between balanced bilinguals, dominant bilinguals, limited bilinguals and monolinguals in the application of metacognitive linguistic skills while doing a reading comprehension task in the additional (English) language. Namely, how do different degrees of bilingualism affect metacognitive linguistic skills? Methodology: The present study examined three domains of metacognitive reading process (planning, monitoring and evaluating), as well as the overall use of metacognitive reading strategies. Four groups of participants (30 seventh grade students in each group) completed a Metacognitive Reading Strategies Questionnaire, aimed at measuring their metacognitive awareness in each domain after fulfilling a reading comprehension task in English. Data analysis: A multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) was used in order to test the differences within groups and between groups. Findings and conclusions: Level of metacognitive reading awareness was affected by the degree of bilingualism. There was a positive influence of balanced (reading and writing skills in the second language) and imbalanced (oral skills in the second language) degrees of bilingualism on metacognitive linguistic abilities. A balanced degree of bilingualism exerted the greatest influence on most of the metacognitive reading domains (planning, monitoring and the total use of metacognitive strategies). Significance: A significant advantage of balanced bilinguals over all other groups was revealed. Level of metacognitive reading awareness was affected by the degree of bilingualism. Thus, bilingual education should be taken seriously due to its positive effect on all aspects of thinking and learning. Results provided additional support to the notion that bilingualism had a positive impact on the metacognitive linguistic skills. Moreover, the balance between the languages appeared to be a significant variable. Thus, balanced bilinguals, who possessed the highest competence in the second language, showed the best performance in the domains of planning, monitoring and overall use of metacognitive reading strategies. Limited bilinguals, on the contrary, demonstrated the lowest scores in the mentioned domains. The findings also revealed the absence of any considerable difference between the groups in the domain of evaluating.

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