Teacher Beliefs and Practices in Advanced Spanish Classrooms

2005 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 83-107
Author(s):  
Manel Lacorte ◽  
Evelyn Canabal
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Classroom Environment ◽  
Latino Students ◽  
Advanced Level ◽  
Beliefs And Practices ◽  
Teacher Beliefs And Practices ◽  
Proficiency Level ◽  
Language Classroom ◽  
University Instructors ◽  
Large Research

The growing presence of Latino students in U.S. colleges and universities is evident in foreign language (FL) classrooms. Latino students with a high proficiency level in Spanish are usually placed in advanced language or content-based courses along with other non-Latino students. This paper examines university instructors’ beliefs and practices concerning interaction in advanced Spanish courses with heritage and nonheritage students. The participants were 15 instructors of diverse academic and professional backgrounds teaching advanced Spanish courses at a large research-oriented public university. Following a process of selection, verification, and generalization of linguistic metaphors used to talk about the topic, this qualitative study analyzes data collected through a questionnaire, interviews, and non-participant observations. The discussion addresses the instructors’ beliefs and perceptions with regard to: (1) the classroom environment; (2) their role as teachers of advanced-level courses; (3) the students enrolled in these courses; and (4) the contrast between what teachers consider to be the desired interaction in an advanced language classroom, and what actually happens.

scholarly journals Recasts versus clarification requests: The relevance of linguistic target, proficiency, and communicative ability

2020 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nadia Mifka-Profozic
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Proficiency ◽  
Corrective Feedback ◽  
Communicative Ability ◽  
Proficiency Level ◽  
Language Classroom ◽  
Linguistic Structures ◽  
Grammatical Structures ◽  
Communicative Skill ◽  
Passe Compose

AbstractThis paper compares the effects of recasts and clarification requests as two implicit types of corrective feedback (CF) on learning two linguistic structures denoting past aspectual distinction in French, the passé composé and the imparfait. The participants in this classroom-based study are 52 high-school learners of French FL at a pre-intermediate level of proficiency (level B1 of CEFR). A distinctive feature of this study is the use of focused, context constrained communicative tasks in both treatment and tests. The paper specifically highlights the advantages of feedback using recasts for the acquisition of morpho-syntactically complex grammatical structures such as is the French passé composé. The study points to the participants’ communicative ability as an essential aspect of language proficiency, which seems to be crucial to bringing about the benefits of recasts. Oral communicative skill in a foreign language classroom is seen as a prerequisite for an appropriate interpretation and recognition of the corrective nature of recasts.

scholarly journals Teachers’ Strategies for Decreasing Students’ Anxiety Levels to Improve Their Communicative Skills

2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 32
Author(s):  
Takako Inada
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Classroom Management ◽  
Group Dynamics ◽  
Classroom Environment ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Language Performance ◽  
Communicative Skills ◽  
Individual Interviews ◽  
Language Classroom

Students’ high levels of foreign-language classroom anxiety (FLCA) are reported to have a negative impact on their target language performance in classrooms. There are some anxiety studies from the students' perspective in the existing literature, but few from the teachers' perspective, particularly in Japan. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate how teachers managed students' levels of anxiety, which may lead to an improvement in their communication skills. Semi-structured individual interviews were conducted with six teachers. Various strategies that teachers could use to decrease students’ levels of anxiety were introduced. In communicative lessons, students need to practice speaking and listening in class as much as possible to improve these skills in an English as a foreign language (EFL) context. Therefore, teachers should use various methods to increase the opportunities for students to speak a target language in class, and to create an unthreatening classroom environment in which students can speak without hesitation. In addition, teachers could use group dynamics effectively to ensure seamless classroom management.

scholarly journals University Students’ Attitudes towards the Use of YouTube in the EFL Classroom

HOW ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 141-158
Author(s):  
María Victoria Fernández-Carballo
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Proficiency ◽  
Quantitative Methods ◽  
English Language ◽  
Qualitative And Quantitative Methods ◽  
Proficiency Level ◽  
Language Classroom ◽  
Education Degree ◽  
Students Attitudes ◽  
Method Approach

Noticing the generally lower-than-desirable English language proficiency level with which Spanish students start university, I considered trying a different approach in which the use of a familiar application would be introduced in the classroom. The main objective of this work is to explore Primary Education degree programme students’ attitudes towards the integration of YouTube in the English language classroom. To this end, 46 third-year intermediate-level students participated in the study. It adopted a mixed-method approach, using a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods. The results show that, although participants mentioned some drawbacks, they reacted positively to the use of the platform. Given these results and the benefits offered, the integration of YouTube in the foreign language classroom is highly recommended.

scholarly journals AGE AND PROFICIENCY IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE ANXIETY

2020 ◽  
pp. 209
Author(s):  
Rafael Dutra ◽  
Ingrid Finger
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Significant Positive Correlation ◽  
Significant Negative Correlation ◽  
Anxiety Level ◽  
Language Anxiety ◽  
Foreign Language Anxiety ◽  
Language History ◽  
Proficiency Level ◽  
Language Classroom ◽  
Different Levels

This study aimed to investigate how proficiency and age are related to Foreign Language Anxiety (FLA). A total of 88 teenagers and adults with different levels of proficiency answered the Language History Questionnaire and the Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale. The analyses revealed (1) a significant negative correlation between the participants’ mean self-assessed proficiency and their level of FLA; and (2) a significant positive correlation between the participants’ age and their level of FLA. In other words, the lower the proficiency level, the higher the participants’ anxiety level. In addition to that, the older the participant, the higher his anxiety level. The results of the study suggest that Foreign Language Anxiety seems to be related to both proficiency level and learner age. Such results are discussed in light of previous investigations in the field of Applied Linguistics.Keywords: Foreign language anxiety; proficiency; age.

scholarly journals Foreign Language Virtual Class Room: Anxiety Creator or Healer?

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (11) ◽  
pp. 130
Author(s):  
Mohammad Tanvir Kaisar ◽  
Sabrina Yasmin Chowdhury
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Classroom Environment ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Group Discussion ◽  
Virtual Classroom ◽  
Language Anxiety ◽  
Foreign Language Anxiety ◽  
Language Classroom ◽  
E Learning ◽  
Real Picture

Virtual classroom using technology is a novel dimension in distance learning and teaching pedagogy during the pandemic situation across the globe. Researchers regard e-learning as an opportunity for future teaching and learning approach. Therefore, recent pieces of literature on Foreign Language Anxiety, Technological anxiety and E-learning using virtual classroom inspires the current researchers to foster a real picture of Bangladeshi educational institutions. The study aims at investigating whether the virtual classroom situation creates anything new in Foreign Language Anxiety or heals the learners from anxiety experienced in the physical classroom. A self-made Foreign Language Virtual Classroom Anxiety Scale (FLVCAS) was conducted through 104 students’ participation from three public and three private universities of Bangladesh. Through the tertiary level learners’ physical language classroom and virtual language classroom participation, the quantitative data has been collected. In-depth interview and focus group discussion have also been conducted to collect qualitative data. The study also shows findings and important recommendations for the concerned so that virtual language classroom environment and anxiety-free ‘Foreign Language Virtual Classroom’ can be implemented.

scholarly journals Motivation to Study a Second Foreign Language: A Case of Chinese University Learners of German

2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
pp. 10
Author(s):  
Meihua Liu
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Foreign Language Learning ◽  
Further Education ◽  
Learning Motivation ◽  
Career Interest ◽  
Advanced Level ◽  
Proficiency Levels ◽  
Proficiency Level ◽  
Chinese University

Not much research has been done on motivation to study a second, third or even fourth foreign language though learners of such languages have been increasing. To contribute to this, the present study examined German learning motivation of Chinese university students at different proficiency levels. A total of 297 German learners at three different proficiency levels at a university in Beijing filled in the questionnaires, of whom 191 answered the open-ended question and 50 were informally interviewed. Analyses of the data revealed the following major findings: (1) most respondents at each proficiency level had limited access to and little chance to use German, liked the language, studied it (very) hard and did not think the language was difficult, (2) students at different proficiency levels studied German for similar reasons such as major study/research, further education, future career, interest in foreign language learning and German, and (3)students at higher proficiency levels perceived German to be more difficult and worked harder on it. Students at higher proficiency levels were both integratively and instrumentally more motivated to study German and had greater motivation intensity as well. It is clear that students at different proficiency levels were motivated to study German and that students at the advanced level tended to be more integratively motivated than those at the beginning level. Based on these findings, some suggestions are discussed.

scholarly journals Sources and Levels of Foreign Language Speaking Anxiety of English as a Foreign Language University Students with regard to Language Proficiency and Gender

2015 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 49 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emre Debreli ◽  
Seren Demirkan
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Proficiency ◽  
Foreign Language Anxiety ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Speaking Anxiety ◽  
Proficiency Level ◽  
Language Classroom ◽  
Efl Students ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Turkish Cypriot

<p>Although foreign language anxiety is a widely explored subject in the area of English as a Foreign Language (EFL), studies that focus on the speaking anxiety in EFL, as well as the gender and language proficiency level–anxiety relationship, are rare. The present study investigates the phenomenon in an EFL context and analyzes the levels of EFL students’ speaking anxiety and the sources that make them anxious. It also explores whether there is any relationship between anxiety and students’ language proficiency level and gender. Data were gathered from 196 Turkish and Turkish Cypriot students through questionnaires (Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale), as well as through semi-structured interviews with 10 students who participated in the questionnaires. The findings indicated that the students generally had low level of speaking anxiety, although students with a higher level of language proficiency had a higher level of anxiety compared with that for students with a lower level of language proficiency. No statistically meaningful difference was observed with regard to students’ gender and anxiety levels. Factors that caused anxiety—such as difficulty in pronunciation, being asked immediate questions by the teacher, not understanding the question asked by the teacher—not found in the current literature also emerged from the present study. Implications for teacher education are also discussed.</p>

scholarly journals An Investigation Of Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety And Its Relationship With Students Achievement

2010 ◽  
Vol 7 (11) ◽  
Author(s):  
Riffat-un-Nisa Awan ◽  
Musarrat Azher ◽  
Muhammad Nadeem Anwar ◽  
Anjum Naz
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Classroom Environment ◽  
Language Anxiety ◽  
Male Students ◽  
English Classes ◽  
Language Classroom ◽  
Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety ◽  
Foreign Language Classroom ◽  
Classroom Anxiety ◽  
Learning English

The present study examines anxiety in English undergraduate classes with regard to the type of situations that provoke anxiety during different stages of the learning process and the relationship of anxiety with learners’ achievement. Participants of the study include 149 undergraduates enrolled in second and sixth semester of different departments of University of Sargodha who are learning English as a foreign language. The questionnaire used in this study is the abbreviated form of Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (FLCAS). An inventory is also used to determine different situations that provoke anxiety. Finally, students’ GPA in English classes is taken to find its relationship with language anxiety. The results show that language anxiety and achievement are negatively related to each other. It is also found that female students are lessanxious in learning English as a foreign language than male students. ‘Speaking in front of others’ is rated as the biggest cause of anxiety followed by ‘worries about grammatical mistakes’, ‘pronunciation’ and ‘being unable to talk spontaneously’. It is suggested that the classroom environment should be encouraging and motivating. Moreover, teachers need to deal with anxiety-provoking situations carefully.

scholarly journals Problems and challenges in teaching and learning speaking at advanced level

2011 ◽  
Vol 37 ◽  
pp. 37-48 ◽  
Author(s):  
Magdalena Aleksandrzak
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Language Proficiency ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Complex Nature ◽  
Advanced Level ◽  
Spoken Discourse ◽  
Language Classroom ◽  
Oral Skills ◽  
Theoretical Considerations

The article deals with the problems of teaching and learning speaking, in particular those which are most relevant in the context of developing oral skills at the advanced level of foreign language proficiency. The complex nature of spoken discourse must be taken into account and reflected at each stage of the learning process. Thus, the article examines the difficulties connected with choosing the appropriate framework and approach and discusses the typical patterns of interaction in the foreign language classroom. It also examines forms of control and evaluation and suggests some speaking activities which seem most suitable for advanced language learners in the light of the above theoretical considerations.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document