THE CONTRIBUTION OF ACTIVE LEARNING STRATEGIES IN ACTIVATING STUDENTS’ ORAL COMMUNICATION

The paper is aimed at describing the procedures of three active learning strategies which can be used to design a learning situation for learners to speak English actively. The three active learning strategies are live interview, short conversation, and long talk. Specifically, the implementation of each strategy can give impact to the learners’ speaking performance in terms of accuracy, fluency, and comprehensibility. Each strategy promotes the learners’ self-confidence and thinking skills. The implementation of each strategy considers four aspects, namely: the roles of teacher, the classroom interaction, the material, and the learning process. Each strategy evokes variation in those aspects.

Research on the Spread Path and Evolution Causes of Oral Language in the Digital Era

Visual orientation seems to indicate the decline of oral communication, but oral communication has its own living space under the new media ecology. Research has found that in the digital media era, voice communication is manifested as a single-level feature that simulates current interaction and information communication. Although voice communication is a lie constructed by individuals, the interaction between the subject’s discourse and the actual field of interaction separate the emotional distance, but the situation is harmonious and inclusive. The following voice communication and new media technologies are still trustworthy. Aiming at multifactor evolutionary algorithm (MFEA), the most classical multifactor evolutionary algorithm in multitask computation, we theoretically analyze the inherent defects of MFEA in dealing with multitask optimization problems with different subfunction dimensions and propose an improved version of the multifactor evolutionary algorithm, called HD-MFEA. In HD-MFEA, we proposed heterodimensional selection crossover and adaptive elite replacement strategies, enabling HD-MFEA to better carry out gene migration in the heterodimensional multitask environment. At the same time, we propose a benchmark test problem of multitask optimization with different dimensions, and HD-MFEA is superior to MFEA and other improved algorithms in the test problem. Secondly, we extend the application scope of multitask evolutionary computation, and for the first time, the training problem of neural networks with different structures is equivalent to the multitask optimization problem with different dimensions. At the same time, according to the hierarchical characteristics of neural networks, a heterodimensional multifactor neural evolution algorithm HD-MFEA neuro-evolution is proposed to train multiple neural networks simultaneously. Through experiments on chaotic time series data sets, we find that HD-MFEA neuro-evolution algorithm is far superior to other evolutionary algorithms, and its convergence speed and accuracy are better than the gradient algorithm commonly used in neural network training.

THE CONTRIBUTION OF ACTIVE LEARNING STRATEGIES IN ACTIVATING STUDENTS’ ORAL COMMUNICATION

The paper is aimed at describing the procedures of three active learning strategies which can be used to design a learning situation for learners to speak English actively. The three active learning strategies are live interview, short conversation, and long talk. Specifically, the implementation of each strategy can give impact to the learners’ speaking performance in terms of accuracy, fluency, and comprehensibility. Each strategy promotes the learners’ self-confidence and thinking skills. The implementation of each strategy considers four aspects, namely: the roles of teacher, the classroom interaction, the material, and the learning process. Each strategy evokes variation in those aspects.

Mobile Experience in Teaching Chinese Pinyin

In New Zealand, for non-Chinese speaker learners aged 5-12, the Chinese courses provided by the Confucius Institute are usually based on the premise of increasing interest, with the main teaching goal of improving students' oral communication skills and increasing their understanding of Chinese and Asian culture. Therefore, it is an effective way to improve the quality of Chinese teaching by fully considering the students' cultural background and combining modern teaching techniques with traditional teaching content. Guided by N.S. Prabhu's task-based language teaching methods, this chapter uses a case study method to explore how to use the mobile applications and other multimedia technologies to improve the teaching effect of Chinese Pinyin in a New Zealand elementary school.

Phonodidactics is not so black as it is painted: traditions and trends in FL pronunciation teaching

By a curious paradox, the indispensability of intelligible, comprehensible and minimally accented foreign language (FL) speech in oral communication does not translate into intensive pronunciation practice in instructed settings. Teaching pronunciation usually poses a major challenge to language instructors both at the level of planning and implementation of pronunciation teaching activities, and is therefore frequently frowned upon to the advantage of the remaining language subsystems. However, underdeveloped FL pronunciation skills carry negative consequences every time learners enter into oral conversations. The problem takes on yet greater significance nowadays when the increased mobility of 21st century societies raises the likelihood of students making contacts with native and non-native speakers of the target language (TL). On having, firstly, enumerated some of the culprits responsible for the inferiority of pronunciation component in everyday language classroom routine and, secondly, demonstrated the importance of the subskill in establishing contacts with native and non-native speakers of the TL, we attempt to provide a general overview of the well-established traditions and main trends in the field of phonodidactics. In view of the above, our primary objective is to first and foremost overcome deep-rooted prejudices against including the pronunciation component in language classrooms by developing readers’ awareness on the fundamentals of pronunciation teaching.

An Interplay of Oral and Written Communication and Performance of Undergraduates

Students' proper use of oral and written communication plays a vital role in elevating their performance at the higher education level. Therefore, this study was conducted to explore the interplay of these communication types with the performance of undergraduates. A five point Likert-type scale was administered on a sample of 540 Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan enrolled in the BS program of three faculties (Social Sciences, Sciences, and Languages). Students' performance was assessed by their CGPA (Cumulative Grade Point Average) in previous semesters, further correlated with their communication skills. All respondents were selected from three semesters of the BS program from twelve departments whose total population was two thousand two hundred and twenty-nine. For the analysis of data, mean and standard deviation were used as descriptive statistics, while Pearson's Product Moment and one-way ANOVA were used as inferential statistics. After analysis, a statistically significant positive correlation between CGPA and written communication was revealed However, no statistically significant interplay was found between CGPA and oral communication. It was found that there is no statistically significant difference in mean scores of students of different faculties on oral and written communication. Keywords: Interplay, Oral, Written Communication, Performance, Undergraduates

Knowing Communication Strategy for Better Communication

Nowadays, the importance of communication is undeniable. In oral communication, the learners employ speaking skills which requires the mastery of communication strategies in order to solve the communication problems which they found during oral communication and to get across the communicative goals to the interlocutors. Unfortunately, speaking is still considered one of the most difficult skills to be acquired by English language learners. English learners need more practices and also strategies in communication. In addition, communication ability also influenced by some factors such as target language proficiency, learning and communicating contexts, task types, gender differences and learners’ personality. Driven by this condition, this paper is aimed to discuss theoretical framework about communication strategies and its development since firstly proposed by Tarone (1977). This paper is beneficial for English language practitioner and English language learners, ELT researcher as well.

Improving Students’ Oral Communication Skills in Public Speaking through Individual Presentation Task

This current study attempts to seek the answers of a question: how effective is the individual presentation method in improving students' oral communication skills, especially in public speaking? Designed as a qualitative research, this research was conducted at the Faculty of Tarbiyah and Teacher Training of IAIN Pekalongan in the academic year of 2019/2020. The research involved 100 of the second year students of the English Education Department of IAIN Pekalongan who took Public Speaking course. The data were collected through an open-ended questionnaire as the instruments of this study to get their perception after taking the course with performing an individual presentation as its main task. The research findings reveal despite the obstacles they encountered, the presentation task was effective to enhance students’ confidence as well as to give them experience to speak in front of a crowd. The task also gave them more awareness and self-evaluation on how to perform a good public speaking as they received direct feedback from the audience while performing the individual presentation.

Communication Skills Profile of Elementary Teacher Education Students in STEM-based Natural Science Online Learning

This study aimed to determine the communication skill profile of Elementary Teacher Education (ETE) students enrolled in natural science online learning-based STEM. Pre-experimental research with a one-shot case study design was used in this study. The study's sample consisted of 25 ETE students from a university in Cimahi. Observation and documentation were the techniques used in this study. The paired sample t-test was used to analyze the data. The descriptive analysis and hypothesis testing with the t-test were used to check the data validity. The findings of this study revealed that (1) there is an effect of STEM-based online science learning on ETE students' communication skills, (2) that most students are still in the Intermediate category for written communication and "does not meet the Standards" for oral communication skills, and (3) that students' communication skills in STEM-based science online learning still need to be optimized. The study's findings suggest that ETE lecturers in Indonesia should broaden their knowledge and perspectives in STEM-based learning and communication management. Second, ETE lecturers in Indonesia must take the assessment of communication skills more seriously. Last but not least, the government, with the help of researchers, must devise an excellent assessment system to overcome time constraints. The results of this study revealed that STEM-based online science learning is being implemented.