Grammar Learning Strategies and Language Attainment: Seeking a Relationship

Despite major advances in research on language learning strategies, there are still areas that have received only scant attention, and one of them is undoubtedly learning grammar. The paper contributes to the paucity of empirical investigations in this domain by presenting the findings of a study which sought to investigate the relationship between the use of grammar learning strategies (GLS) reported by 142 English Department students and target language attainment, operationalized as their performance in a practical grammar course and the end-of-the-year examination. Information about GLS use was obtained by means of a tool that was designed on the basis of a theoretical scheme proposed by Oxford, Rang Lee and Park (2007) in which GLS are divided into three categories depending on whether they represent implicit learning with focus on form, explicit inductive learning and explicit deductive learning. The analysis failed to find a strong positive relationship between the use of GLS and achievement, irrespective of the level of the BA program, or statistically significant differences in this respect between lower-level and higher-level participants. The highest, albeit very weak, correlation was identified between the use of GLS associated with explicit deductive learning and grammar course grades, which testifies to the traditional nature of instruction the subjects receive. The findings serve as a basis for putting forward a handful of recommendations for learning, teaching and testing grammar as well as directions for future studies into grammar learning strategies

A comparative analysis of the effects of teaching writing in a foreign language with the application of the deductive and the inductive approach

The aim of this paper is to present and analyse the results of the study which focused on measuring the effectiveness of the deductive and inductive approach in teaching writing in a foreign language. The aim will be achieved through the introduction of a relevant theoretical background, the presentation of the research design, a brief description of the research and finally the presentation and analysis of the outcomes

Sharedthinking: a social identity approach to critical thinking

Could a group‐level approach to critical thinking offer advantages over individual‐level strategies? To explore such an idea, this paper offers a social‐psychological perspective on critical thinking. This is extended to provide guidelines towards the design of an ‘identity‐mediated practice.’ A case study from a School of Education is provided to show these ideas implemented in the group-relevant context of student‐teacher placements. Finally, an emergent identity‐mediated practice called SharedThinking is presented. This work was initially developed from doctoral research at the University of Glasgow and supported by the Kelvin‐Smith Scholarship Fund (Bowskill et al., 2010, Bowskill, 2009, Bowskill, 2013)

Metalinguistic Knowledge and Language Ability in University-Level L2 Learners

Existing research indicates that instructed learners' L2 proficiency and their metalinguistic knowledge are moderately correlated. However, the operationalization of the construct of metalinguistic knowledge has varied somewhat across studies. Metalinguistic knowledge has typically been operationalized as learners' ability to correct, describe, and explain L2 errors. More recently, this operationalization has been extended to additionally include learners' L1 language-analytic ability as measured by tests traditionally used to assess components of language learning aptitude. This article reports on a study which employed a narrowly focused measure of L2 proficiency and incorporated L2 language-analytic ability into a measure of metalinguistic knowledge. It was found that the linguistic and metalinguistic knowledge of advanced university-level L1 English learners of L2 German correlated strongly. Moreover, the outcome of a principal components analysis suggests that learners' ability to correct, describe, and explain highlighted L2 errors and their L2 language-analytic ability may constitute components of the same construct. The theoretical implications of these findings for the concept of metalinguistic knowledge in L2 learning are considered. © Oxford University Press 2007

Inquiry activities in a classroom: extra-logical processes of illumination vs logical process of deductive and inductive reasoning. A case study

The paper presents results of the research, which was focused on studying students’ inquiry work from a psychological point of view. Inquiry activities of students in a classroom were analysed through the evaluation of the character of these activities within learning process with respect to mathematician’s research practice. A process of learning mathematical discovery was considered in detail as a part of inquiry activities of students in a classroom

The place of grammar in the teaching of English in Portugal

La gramática siempre ha estado presente en diferentes métodos y enfoques de enseñanza. Sin embargo, el lugar de la gramática en estos métodos ha cambiado a través de los siglos, desde un lugar central en el enfoque de gramática y traducción a un enfoque más ecléctico e integrado. En Portugal, fue duro derrotar el peso de la tradición y liberar la enseñanza de las lenguas de los enfoques tradicionales y pasados de moda. Nuestro propósito es analizar a fondo los programas de 1995 y 1996, un hito en Portugal, que fueron emitidos por el Ministerio de Educación para orientación de la enseñanza de diferentes materias en Educación Básica y Secundaria y compararlos con los nuevos Objetivos Curriculares ("Metas Curriculares") que vieron la luz entre 2013 y 2015. Otra parte interesada en esta ecuación es el papel de las editoriales de libros de texto. Por lo tanto, pretendemos complementar nuestro trabajo con el análisis de varios libros de texto para la enseñanza del inglés, lo que nos permitirá llegar a una perspectiva general de la ecuación portuguesa de tres términos.Grammar has always been present in different teaching methods and approaches. However, the place of grammar in these methods has shifted throughout the centuries, from a central place in the grammar and translation approach to a more eclectic and integrated approach. In Portugal, it was harsh to overcome the weight of tradition and free the teaching of languages from traditional and old-fashioned approaches. Our purpose is to thoroughly analyse the 1995 and 1996 syllabi, which were issued by the Ministry of Education and oriented the teaching of different subjects in Basic and Secondary Education, and compare them to the new Curricular Targets that saw the light between 2013 and 2015. Another stakeholder in this equation is the role of publishing houses, which put out coursebooks for schools. We intend to complement our work with the micro- and macroanalysis of a sample of English coursebooks, which will enable us to reach an overall perspective of the Portuguese three-term equation

The place of grammar in the teaching of English in Portugal

La gramática siempre ha estado presente en diferentes métodos y enfoques de enseñanza. Sin embargo, el lugar de la gramática en estos métodos ha cambiado a través de los siglos, desde un lugar central en el enfoque de gramática y traducción a un enfoque más ecléctico e integrado. En Portugal, fue duro derrotar el peso de la tradición y liberar la enseñanza de las lenguas de los enfoques tradicionales y pasados de moda. Nuestro propósito es analizar a fondo los programas de 1995 y 1996, un hito en Portugal, que fueron emitidos por el Ministerio de Educación para orientación de la enseñanza de diferentes materias en Educación Básica y Secundaria y compararlos con los nuevos Objetivos Curriculares ("Metas Curriculares") que vieron la luz entre 2013 y 2015. Otra parte interesada en esta ecuación es el papel de las editoriales de libros de texto. Por lo tanto, pretendemos complementar nuestro trabajo con el análisis de varios libros de texto para la enseñanza del inglés, lo que nos permitirá llegar a una perspectiva general de la ecuación portuguesa de tres términos.Grammar has always been present in different teaching methods and approaches. However, the place of grammar in these methods has shifted throughout the centuries, from a central place in the grammar and translation approach to a more eclectic and integrated approach. In Portugal, it was harsh to overcome the weight of tradition and free the teaching of languages from traditional and old-fashioned approaches. Our purpose is to thoroughly analyse the 1995 and 1996 syllabi, which were issued by the Ministry of Education and oriented the teaching of different subjects in Basic and Secondary Education, and compare them to the new Curricular Targets that saw the light between 2013 and 2015. Another stakeholder in this equation is the role of publishing houses, which put out coursebooks for schools. We intend to complement our work with the micro- and macroanalysis of a sample of English coursebooks, which will enable us to reach an overall perspective of the Portuguese three-term equation

Reasoning on transition from manipulative strategies to general procedures in solving counting problems

We describe the procedures used by 11- to 12-year-old students for solving basic counting problems in order to analyse the transition from manipulative strategies involving direct counting to the use of the multiplication principle as a general procedure in combinatorial problems. In this transition, the students sometimes spontaneously use tree diagrams and sometimes use numerical thinking strategies. We relate the findings of our research to recent research on the representational formats on the learning of combinatorics, and reflect on the didactic implications of these investigations