2016 ◽  
Vol 55 (2) ◽  
pp. 31-43
Author(s):  
Jawaria Samiya Siddiqui

This paper investigates the factors that facilitate/hinder Second Language Learning. The two factors that the study focuses on are age and motivation. Role of motivation in relation to age is discussed of a deviant case using Qualitative Paradigm, and the data is analyzed using Narrative Inquiry, Case Study and Retrospective Longitudinal design to find out if motivation plays any significant role in terms of achieving successful second language competence. It is a common belief that people who start young to learn a Second Language perform better than the old learners. However, the results indicate that this is not true in many cases, as this study on a deviant case shows that motivation plays a very important role in achieving successful Second Language Acquisition. If the learners are intrinsically motivated and are motivated from the beginning of their learning journey irrespective of their age then learning becomes easier.


2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 457
Author(s):  
WMUSK Walisundara

<p><em>The focus of the current study was to investigate the perceptions of English as a second language learners on using computer assisted language learning (CALL) for improving academic writing skills. The study was conducted for thirteen weeks with 82 second year undergraduates from General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University in Sri Lanka. Switching Replication was used for the research design. The data were analyzed using mix method approach. The findings indicate that the participants preferred the in-class environment more than the CALL environment for academic writing skills.  Participants’ lack of experience in CALL, poor writing and vocabulary skills and the negative interference from the technical issues were some of the issues that had a negative effect on the participants in the CALL environment. Yet the success of the intervention both in the first and second phases indicates the effectiveness of CALL for developing academic writing skills</em></p>


Author(s):  
Scott Grant ◽  
Rosemary Clerehan

<span>For the second-language learner, the affordances of a virtual world have the potential to confer benefits conventionally aligned with real world experiences. However, little is known about the pedagogical benefits linked to the specific characteristics of the virtual world, let alone the issues arising for staff hoping to assess students' participation in these worlds. This case study is based on a two-part assignment in a first-year Chinese unit at an Australian university, exploring the virtual world assessment practices of one lecturer. The findings, while suggesting the strengths of the assessment regime with respect to many of the affordances and to alignment with policy, highlight deficient aspects of the design and implementation processes which can relatively easily be addressed. The case study reveals the critical importance of sufficient scaffolding and support, feedback and appropriate communication of students' achievement to them in order to promote further reflection.</span>


2021 ◽  
Vol 03 (05) ◽  
pp. 200-214
Author(s):  
Boukhmis SENOUBER ◽  
Chahrazed Bin YOUNES

The field of teaching language for non-native speakers is a rich field that has been addressed by various theories that tried to explain the process of acquiring a second language, as some of them pay great attention to the innate characteristics of the learner, and others focus on the role that the environment plays, especially in terms of providing contact with those who modify their language and patterns of interaction to suit the needs of the language learner, while other theories focus on the learner’s participation in the social contexts, or the so-called immersion in the target language environment, and the importance of research is highlighted in uncovering the mechanisms and curricula that these theories have adopted in order to achieve meaningful and distinct learning. The research aims to address this topic, trying to delve into the concepts and procedures of each theory separately in an attempt to clarify and present it to the Arab reader and student in an accessible and understandable form. We will try to rely in this study on a research plan that includes two main topics: A first topic, which we will devote to general theories in teaching language to non-native speakers; That is, theories that dealt with linguistic acquisition in general, whether related to the first or second language, and includes three main theories; They are the structural behavioral theory, the innate or Universal Grammar theory, and the functional theory. As for the second topic, we will devote it to the special theories, which are theories that dealt exclusively with teaching the language to non-native speakers, and it includes eight basic hypothesis. They are the Monitor hypothesis, the interaction hypothesis, the contrastive analysis hypothesis, the creative construction hypothesis, the fundamental difference hypothesis, Noticing hypothesis, the projection hypothesis, the competition model.In order to delve into this topic, we raise the following problems: How did cognitive theorizing for teaching a language to non-speakers of it contributed to addressing the difficulties and mistakes faced by the second language learner? How did these theories address the issue of second language teaching and acquisition?


1997 ◽  
Vol 81 (4) ◽  
pp. 518-526 ◽  
Author(s):  
ELAINE K. HORWITZ ◽  
MARY ELIZABETH MCLENDON ◽  
BARBARA BRESSLAU ◽  
JYU-FANG YU ◽  
MARIANNE DRYDEN

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