Engaging L2 Learners in Information-gap Tasks: How Task Type and Topic Familiarity Affect Learner Engagement

This study examines four learner engagement dimensions (behavioural, cognitive, emotional and social) in pedagogical task performance and provides insights into the effects of two task types (information-seeking and direction-giving) and topic familiarity on learner engagement in a semester-long English course. A total of 28 foreign language learners engaged in eight interactive tasks, and all played the roles of both information-receiver and information-provider alternately under familiar and unfamiliar conditions. Seven measures of engagement and an open-ended questionnaire were employed to understand the learners’ engagement in the tasks and their emotional responses to them. The results revealed that the information-providers produced more words and also spent more time on information-seeking tasks wherein they would exchange information than on direction-giving ones that required them to ask for and provide instructions or directions. This was the case for topics they were unfamiliar with; however, when they were faced with familiar topics, they produced significantly more words, spent more time, and spoke more elaboratively in direction-giving tasks. The information-seeking tasks elicited positive emotions, but the direction-giving tasks yielded mixed feelings, attaching positive emotions to familiar tasks but negative ones to unfamiliar tasks. The pedagogical implications of these findings are discussed.

The effects of topic familiarity on information completeness, fluency, and target language quality of student interpreters in Chinese–English consecutive interpreting

This study investigated the effects of topic familiarity on interpreting quality of eighteen Master of Translation and Interpreting (MTI) student interpreters in Chinese–English consecutive interpreting (CI) at a university in China. Data were collected from two interpreting tasks in a 2-hour interpreting course over a four-week period. The interpreting quality was assessed by using three analytic rating scales (i.e., information completeness, fluency of delivery, and target language quality) and a holistic rating. Semi-structured interviews with the students were conducted to gain some in-depth perceptions of the effects of topic familiarity on interpreting quality. The results showed that topic familiarity had significant effects on information completeness, fluency of delivery, target language quality, and holistic scores of the interpreting tasks. It was also found that topic familiarity strongly correlated with information completeness, fluency of delivery, target language quality, and holistic scores. The findings of the study indicate that topic familiarity should be included and highlighted in Chinese–English consecutive interpreting in classroom contexts. The study provides effective guidance for interpreting teaching, training, and research.

Influence of Vocalized Reading Practice on English Learning and Psychological Problems of Middle School Students

The purpose of this study is to improve the English learning anxiety and learning effect for middle school students. From the perspective of educational psychology, the influence of vocalized reading practice on the English learning of students is studied based on the self-efficacy theory and the schema theory. To encourage the students to practice English, the study might solve the problem of insufficient opportunities by applying the artificial intelligence (AI) chat system to the oral English practice of the students. Several research hypotheses are put forward, which concern the correlation between the English learning anxiety of the students with their self-efficacy, topic familiarity, and English grades under vocalized reading practice. Then, the hypotheses are verified through a controlled trial and a questionnaire survey (QS). Afterward, the experimental and QS data are statistically analyzed and tested with a regression model. The results show that the English grades, self-efficacy, and topic familiarity of the students have been significantly improved in the experimental group after the vocalized reading practice. The significance coefficient of the regression model is P = 0.000 < 0.05, which can be used to verify the proposed hypotheses. The English grades, self-efficacy, and topic familiarity can well-predict the English learning anxiety of the students. The computer simulation in educational communication (CSIEC) teaching system and AI can help create an interactive learning environment for the students to practice oral English by chatting with AI robots.

Using Online Texts to Build Independent Readers in ESL Classrooms

Studies with proficient users of English suggest that readers demonstrate deeper comprehension of texts when reading non-linear hypertexts than when reading linear texts. This is attributed to the networked nature of texts that helps readers exercise cognitive flexibility. An aspect that remains largely unresearched is the potential of linear online texts to facilitate comprehension in readers who are non-proficient users of English. Keeping in mind the fact that a majority of readers reading online texts in English can be hindered by three types of comprehension deficits – low levels of language proficiency, non-availability of prior knowledge, or both – this study investigated the interactive effects of two salient features of online texts, viz., non-linearity in the presentation of text and the availability of additional sources of information, on the reading comprehension of ESL readers. Two groups of readers with high and low levels of English proficiency read twelve texts on familiar and unfamiliar topics in print, linear online, and non-linear online modes. A comparison of readers’ responses to comprehension questions and free recalls showed that those with low linguistic competence and/or topic familiarity were able to achieve better comprehension of linear online texts than print texts or non-linear online texts. The findings indicate that text linearity when combined with the presence of multiple information resources (both provided by the author within the text and freely available on the internet) might have the potential to scaffold linguistic and content knowledge deficits in ESL readers and promote deep levels of comprehension.

Topic familiarity and story continuation in young English as a foreign language learners’ writing tasks

Prior research demonstrates that primary and secondary school teachers often find teaching young learners to write in a second language a slow and effortful process. Moreover, students in this age range lack the motivation to write. Therefore, it is important to explore the EFL writing pedagogy suitable for young learners. The present study investigated how story continuation (with or without reading input) under different topic familiarity conditions serves as a viable pedagogical means for secondary school students. Ninety-one Chinese students in four intact classes of comparable proficiency levels were assigned four writing task conditions in a 2 ⨉ 2 factorial design. Group 1 (Fam) was provided with the beginning of a familiar story in L1 Chinese and was required to complete the story in L2 English. Group 2 (UnFam) had the same task as Group 1, with an unfamiliar story. Group 3 (Fam+Input) was initially provided with the complete familiar story in Chinese (the same story as Group 1) as reading input and were then instructed to write the story in English with the reading material taken away. Group 4 (Unfam+Input) received the full unfamiliar story in Chinese (the same story as Group 2) as input before writing. Again they were not allowed to refer to the reading in the composing process. The results revealed that the young learners who wrote on familiar topics (Groups 1 and 3) produced longer texts and demonstrated greater lexical diversity than those with unfamiliar stories (Groups 2 and 4), although topic familiarity did not affect their writing quality or lexical sophistication. As for the story continuation conditions, students who completed writing the story without the L1 reading input on the topics (Groups 1 and 2) developed longer compositions and better writing quality than those with such input (Groups 3 and 4), although their lexical profiles (both lexical diversity and lexical sophistication) remained uninfluenced. Pedagogical implications for EFL writing among young learners were also discussed in the present study.

The effects of topic familiarity on emotionality and linguistic complexity in EAP writing

Focusing on the relationship between linguistic, cognitive, socioemotional factors in writing English for academic purposes (EAP), this study investigated whether topic familiarity as an important cognitive factor of task complexity influences different levels of emotionality and linguistic complexity in EAP writing and whether there are relationships between emotionality and linguistic complexity. To do so, 64 international graduate learners enrolled in EAP writing courses participated in the present study. Each wrote on familiar and unfamiliar topics determined via a questionnaire at the onset of the study. Their writings were then measured for textual emotionality and linguistic complexity using automatic assessment tools. Results showed that EAP writings differed systematically in terms of both emotionality and linguistic complexity due to the influence of topic familiarity. Unfamiliar topics led to writing performance with a significantly higher level of emotional negativity and significantly lower linguistic complexity levels as compared to familiar topics. A follow-up correlation analysis also revealed significant relationships between emotionality and linguistic complexity measures, indicating complex interactions between linguistic and socioemotional factors. Implications of these findings are discussed relative to deploying writing topics with varied levels of cognitive complexity for encouraging classroom engagement and improving L2 learners’ writing performance by effective task sequencing.

“Google and me together can read anything.” Online reading strategies to develop hypertext comprehension in ESL readers

If we are to build in our students, literacy skills relevant for the 21st century, reading classrooms need to take into account the changing nature of texts that our students are required to read in real-world contexts (Alexander & The Disciplined Reading and Learning Research Laboratory, 2012). This paper exhorts ESL teachers to use online texts or hypertexts, in addition to print textbooks, in the reading classroom. The use of hypertexts can increase the literacy participation of students by making reading authentic, and ensuring literacy skills they acquire more meaningful and productive (Coiro, Killi, & Castek, 2017). In the reading classroom where this research was located, it was observed that readers who scored low on reading comprehension tests based on print texts demonstrated higher levels of comprehension while performing on tests based on hypertexts. The study was conducted to identify the reading strategies used by these readers. It was found that ESL readers were able to overcome deficits in their prior knowledge (topic familiarity) and/or language proficiency by using specific reading and navigating strategies. This paper proposes that strategy training in the use of newer reading and navigating strategies might help develop online reading comprehension expertise and build independent reading habits in ESL readers.

The Effect of Topic Familiarity on Improving EFL Saudi Female Students` Reading Comprehension: تأثير النص المألوف لقطع القراءة في تطوير فهم الطالبات السعوديات الدارسات للغة الإنجليزية كلغة أجنبية

This study investigates the effect of topic familiarity on the reading comprehension performance of Saudi EFL students. Forty EFL Saudi female students on second year high school performed two tests: familiar versus unfamiliar topics in a multiple-choice format reading comprehension test each have 10 points with four texts two familiar and two unfamiliar texts. Quantitative analysis was undertaken in this study as a T test applied for both paired samples. The descriptive statistics shows that the arithmetic averages the students` performance on familiar topic larger than the arithmetic average on unfamiliar topic. The analytical statistics that identified the differences between both arithmetic averages shows that the differences among the students' performance on familiar and unfamiliar topic were large and have statistical significance in favor of their performance on familiar topic. Further replication of similar studies is necessary to determine the potential impact of topic familiarity on reading instructions and assessment design.