scholarly journals Managing large foreign language classes at university

2004 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 41-55
Author(s):  
B. McCarthy ◽  

The rationalisation of class sizes and subject offerings in majors, and the implementation of workloads models establishing parity in teaching hours and in student load per staff member across Faculty have created considerable challenges for tertiary foreign-language teaching over the past decade. This paper presents one way of responding to the imperatives of the new order, involving the adaptation and management of traditional class activities so that they remain valid in a group of 60 or more students, and the development and delivery of computer-based activities to allow students to receive as much (or as little) individualised instruction as they need outside of class. It reflects on principles and practices which, although not new, have assumed particular importance in the new environment, and analyses the impact of the changes on the dynamic of the class.

2018 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 44-56 ◽  
Author(s):  
Balčiūnaitienė Asta ◽  
Teresevičienė Margarita

Abstract The article aims to emphasize the role of foreign language teaching in fostering sustainable development competence in higher education. Foreign language classes enable students to analyze actual topics about sustainable development, to discuss problems, to share personal emotions and experiences. English as a foreign language curriculum aims to build students’ basic language communicative skills with the focus on sustainability, communication for the enhancement of sustainable development competence. The present paper aims to analyze the correlation of sustainable development competence between English as a foreign language studies in the system of higher education. The article overviews the importance of the sustainable development competence development on the theoretical level as well as introduces the practices of the importance of sustainable development competence elements in foreign language classes on the empirical level. The research was planned and performed in 5 universities of Lithuania, in which the respondents studying English (average age of participants was 22 years old) expressed their opinions on the sustainable development topics and usefulness of sustainable development competence. The results of the research demonstrate that students are more engaged in topics and materials on sustainable development and it is challenging for pedagogues to constantly update their materials, to apply innovative English as a foreign language teaching strategies related to sustainable development in foreign language classroom. Therefore, the research findings with the embedded elements for sustainable development competence development encourage educators to search for innovative ways of English as a foreign language teaching in higher education.


Author(s):  
Van Huynh Ha Le ◽  
Huy Ngoc Nguyen

Foreign language anxiety (FLA) has a debilitating influence on the oral performance of EFL speakers. Over the past decade, most research in MALL has emphasized the use of mobile applications on improving language skills, but little research has explored the impact of using video recording tool to decrease foreign language speaking anxiety (FLSA). Hence, this study examines the effect of using video recording tool on students' EFL speaking anxiety. Twenty-eight pre-intermediate freshmen at Van Lang University, Vietnam, participated in a seven-week project. In this research, mixed method was used in combination with three data collection instruments: questionnaire, observation notes, semi-structured interview. The results indicated that video recording tool significantly lowers EFL speaking anxiety. Therefore, this study makes a major contribution to research on FLA by exploring freshmen's anxiety causes and its impacts on learners' oral performance and offering a technique to help them overcome that phobia: mobile phone video recording.


2008 ◽  
Vol 41 (3) ◽  
pp. 349-366 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sally Sieloff Magnan

The National Standards for Foreign Language Education offer goals for student learning. During the past decade, they have been used increasingly as objectives for foreign language teaching. In the Standards document, the five Standards are presented in a hierarchical order: 1. Communication, 2. Cultures, 3. Connections, 4. Comparisons, and 5. Communities. Looking to Dell Hymes's portrayal of communicative competence and building on notions from sociocultural theory and the concept communities of practice, this paper questions this hierarchical ordering especially in terms of the primacy of Communication over Cultures and Communities. It is suggested that, of the five Cs, Communities should be considered the most fundamental.


Author(s):  
Araigul Kozhakhmetova ◽  
Lyazzat Beisenbayeva

New approaches, methods, and tools are necessary for the implementation of the modern management system in educational organizations. The main purpose of this chapter is to determine using the lean method in foreign language teaching. The lean method is new in educational systems, but it is used in different spheres of industries all over the world. This chapter shows the history, its implementation, experiments, and how it can be used and developed further. Lean in education will create a clear understanding of its importance on lean process and increase the motivations of administrations, teachers, and students.


Author(s):  
Sue E. Kase ◽  
Frank E. Ritter

Because of their ability to enhance productivity, computers have become ubiquitous in the workplace. By the early 1990s the use of computers in the workplace reached a per capita penetration that the telephone took 75 years to achieve (Webster & Martocchio, 1992). During the past several decades, there has been both speculation and hard research related to the psychological effects of computer technology. More recently the role of attitudes towards computers in influencing the acceptance and use of computer-based management information systems (MIS) has been highlighted by a growing number of MIS researchers. Generally, these studies focus on the negative attitudes towards computers and concerns about the impact of MIS on individual performance in the workplace.


Author(s):  
U. Ovezova ◽  
M.-N.L. Vagner

The aim of the research is to analyze the possibilities of mobile learning in the formation of foreign language lexical competence of students of non-linguistic specialties. Research objectives: to explore the possibilities of mobile learning in the formation of foreign language communicative competence of students of higher education institutions in general and lexical competence in particular; to determine the theoretical and methodological conditions for the formation of foreign language lexical competence of students using mobile devices; to carry out an experimental test of the effectiveness of the use of mobile applications in foreign language classes; provide recommendations on the creation of mobile applications focused on the specifics of the future professional activities of students. The research results can be used in practice when creating mobile foreign language teaching tools for students of non-linguistic specialties.


2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Haiyan Li

The paper aims to review and synthesize the research literature relating to the use and effectiveness of motivational strategies in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teaching. First, an overview is presented of the prestigious empirical studies (10) across the world that provided evidence for the impact of motivational strategies on enhancing students’ English learning motivations. Then, different research methodologies are assessed, effective motivational strategies both across different cultural contexts and culture-dependent are identified and the outcomes of the applications of motivational strategies are discussed. Finally, the limitations of the related research are explored and implications for future motivational strategies research are provided.


2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 9-52 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sergio Conti

IT In seguito allo spostamento delle attività didattiche online al fine di contenere la diffusione della malattia da nuovo Coronavirus, il Gruppo di Ricerca e azione sull’Apprendimento delle Lingue ha diffuso un questionario volto a valutare l’impatto della didattica a distanza sull’insegnamento delle lingue straniere durante. All’indagine hanno partecipato 136 docenti e 241 studenti, sia universitari che di scuola secondaria. Scopo del presente contributo è quello di descrivere la composizione del questionario e del campione dei rispondenti, e di riportare i principali risultati. In particolare, dall’indagine sono emersi: (i) una mancanza di chiare direttive da parte delle istituzioni scolastiche, sintomo del carattere emergenziale delle misure intraprese; (ii) una generale resistenza a sperimentare formati didattici inediti e più adeguati al mezzo digitale; (iii) il maggiore svantaggio nello sviluppo delle abilità interazionali e di produzione orale; (iv) un alto grado di criticità nel garantire l’affidabilità e l’integrità delle prove di valutazione. Parole chiave: DIDATTICA A DISTANZA; COVID-19; DIDATTICA DELLE LINGUE STRANIERE EN The shift to online teaching aimed at containing the spread of Coronavirus has led the group of Research and Action on Foreign Language Teaching to release a survey with the purpose of assessing the impact of remote instruction on foreign language teaching. 136 teachers and 241 students at both the university and secondary level have participated in this survey. The aim of this article is to describe the content of the survey and the make-up of the participants and to present the main findings. Of particular note from this survey is (i) the lack of clear directives from their educational institutions, which is a symptom of the immediate nature of the measures put into place; (ii) a generalized resistance to experiment with new pedagogical resources that are better suited for the digital format; (iii) the greatest challenge in developing the ability to interact and to communicate orally; (iv) a high level of difficulty in guaranteeing the trustworthiness and the integrity of the assessments. Key words: REMOTE TEACHING; COVID-19; FOREIGN LANGUAGE TEACHING ES El cambio a la enseñanza en línea que se ha producido para contener la propagación del Coronavirus ha llevado al Grupo de Investigación y Acción sobre la Enseñanza de Lenguas Extranjeras a publicar una encuesta con el objetivo de evaluar el impacto de la instrucción a distancia en la enseñanza de lenguas extranjeras. En dicha encuesta participaron 136 profesores y 241 estudiantes de nivel universitario y secundario. El objetivo de este artículo es describir el contenido de la encuesta y la composición de la muestra, así como presentar los principales hallazgos. De esta encuesta cabe destacar (i) la falta de directrices claras por parte de las instituciones educativas, lo que es un síntoma del carácter contingente de las medidas implementadas; (ii) una resistencia generalizada a experimentar con nuevos recursos pedagógicos mejor adaptados al formato digital; (iii) una gran desventaja en el desarrollo de la capacidad de interacción y comunicación orales; (iv) un alto nivel de dificultad para garantizar la fiabilidad y la integridad de las evaluaciones. Palabras clave: ENSEÑANZA A DISTANCIA; COVID-19; ENSEÑANZA DE LENGUAS EXTRANJERAS


2016 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 56
Author(s):  
Evis Kapurani

Theoretically Communicative Language Teaching Method (CLT) claims to be one of the best available foreign language teaching methods in teaching and learning foreign language in communication because it improves effectively not only communicative competence of students but also their language acquisition and its use in Albanian schools is an innovation. The purpose of this study is to analyze the results that the use of a contemporary interactive student-centered method has when it is used in learning a foreign language compared with traditional methods. This is an empirical study which includes control groups where traditional methods are used and experimental groups where CLT method is used based on a comparison between these methods for a period of 6 months. It is mainly focused on the implementation of CLT in Albanian 9-year elementary schools in learning English as a foreign language through communication and interaction compared with other traditional methods used. The study analyzes the impact, results and advantages of the use in practice of CLT method in Albanian 9-year elementary schools on sixth, seventh, eighth and ninth grades, its efficacy in learning, in foreign language acquisition and students performance in four language skills. It contains an analysis of theory versus practice use of CLT as a foreign language teaching method. The data about the implementation of CLT method in practice are collected from teachers and students in Albanian 9-year elementary schools through classroom observation and tests. Classroom observations are focused on finding how the teacher develops the lessons and if it is based on CLT principles on experimental groups and how students react during the lesson in comparison with control groups. Tests are used to compare students’ results on learning based on their grades in both groups. All results are converted into percentages. Findings are analyzed based on theoretical issues. The results show that using CLT is a successful method in both learning and teaching compared with other traditional methods.


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