The effect of online exchanges via Skype on EFL learners’ achievements

[EN] This study examined whether direct communication with people from other countries using Skype or Line would affect students’ English test scores in listening and reading as well as the development of their curiosity concerning foreign cultures by comparing the data of an experimental group with that of a control group. The former group conducted online exchanges with foreign students, while the latter group did not. As many Japanese companies engaged in international business require high scores in the TOEIC test, which is one of the multiple-choice English tests of listening and reading often used to show each person’s English proficiency, universities in Japan are making efforts to improve their students’ scores in such an English test. Preparation classes for English tests have been offered. However, students have been likely to lose interest in learning English in the circumstances of this learning style. Results of the study indicated that although the aim of exchange activities is to foster students’ curiosity concerning intercultural matters, students experiencing online exchange with skype significantly raised their scores in TOEIC tests in listening and reading after a programme of synchronous exchanges with foreign students, compared with ones who did not experience such online exchanges.Furumura, Y.; Huang, H. (2019). The effect of online exchanges via Skype on EFL learners’ achievements. The EuroCALL Review. 27(2):13-27. https://doi.org/10.4995/eurocall.2019.11128OJS132727

Realism and imagination in the teaching of English

In the imagination of many of those establishing language policies, especially educational ones, English can be ordered and controlled. Intentions about the type of English to be taught may be expressed, and curriculum requirements may specify the variety of English required of learners. However, the imagined learner, the imagined teacher, and the imagined setting of use are often at odds with the reality of the learner's exposure to English, and of the learner's plausible occasions of use. This is one of many areas in which there is a failure to come to grips with the impact of the globalisation of English

Enhancing the pronunciation of problematic English consonants for Spanish learners through intralingual dubbing activities

En esta tesis doctoral se proporciona un estudio sobre el potencial de las actividades de doblaje intralingüístico en la mejora de la pronunciación de fonemas consonánticos problemáticos del inglés para estudiantes españoles, junto con otras consideraciones adicionales, como el grado en que esos fonemas resultan problemáticos para los participantes de la investigación (n=71) y un análisis pormenorizado de sus puntos de vista y opiniones sobre la actividad de doblaje.Para ello, un Grupo Experimental (GE; n=37) y un Grupo Control (GC; n=34) se grabaron en diferentes fases del estudio (GE: fase pre-test, doblajes, y fase post-test; GC: pre-test y post-test) con el fin de obtener datos relevantes y útiles sobre su pronunciación. Todos los datos recopilados han sido analizados con el Statistical Package for Social Sciences, (SPSS; v.25), aplicando el test de Wilcoxon para comparaciones intragrupales, y el U-test de Mann-Whitney para las comparaciones entre grupos. Además, los participantes de la investigación completaron dos cuestionarios para obtener información adicional al respecto.Como conclusión, la pronunciación general del GE mejoró significativamente en la mayoría de los fonemas consonánticos problemáticos durante y después de realizar las actividades de doblaje, mientras que el GC no mostró ninguna mejora significativa en su pronunciación. Además, la mayoría de los participantes del GE mostraron opiniones muy positivas hacia la actividad de doblaje, destacando su valor motivador e innovador en el aprendizaje de lenguas, así como su utilidad para mejorar las habilidades orales.<br /

Pronunciation Errors in Students’ Vlog Projects

This research explored the pronunciation errors produced by the students in their vlog projects and the linguistics factors that contributed to their errors. This study employed a descriptive qualitative method. The data were collected from the vlogs made by the students which were uploaded on Youtube channels. The participants were 30 students of the Air Transport Management study program in STTKD Yogyakarta. The data collection technique was done by observation and documentation. The data were analyzed by applying qualitative data analysis. The data were classified using the theory from Bonaventura, Herron, and Menzel (2000). The results showed that there were 67 pronunciation errors existed in the vlog projects. The mispronunciations could be categorized into three types of errors, namely: the problems of non-native sounds as many as 34%, the carry-over of pronunciation regularities from the mother tongue as many as 45%, and the over-generalization of target language (L2) regularities as many as 21%. It is expected that the findings can help students diagnose their errors and mistakes in English pronunciation and later can motivate them to improve their English proficiencies. Besides, it can help the teachers develop strategies to minimize students’ errors in pronunciation

Integration of Technology into Language Teaching: A Comparative Review Study

The purpose of this study was to monitor the effectiveness of earlier and contemporary practices in the application of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in language learning/teaching. It was revealed that current literature on the effectiveness of technology uses in language education is very narrow and there are three aspects that stand out: (1) The number of well-structured and comprehensive studies about the effects of technology uses on language education was very diminutive, (2) the settings where the studies were handled were restricted to higher education, (3) the experiments were often short-term and they mostly focused on only one or two aspects of language learning (e.g., vocabulary acquisition). However, the existing studies based mostly on experimental data showed a pattern of positive effects when compared to the conventional methods of language instruction. In terms of differences between the research done outside and in Turkey, the theme that was studied in international literature was based on technology use for providing opportunities for communication while in Turkey the studies concentrated on providing access to materials

Аудирование на занятиях английского языка как средство формирования профессиональной коммуникативной компетенции

У статті наголошується на важливості врахування у плануванні навчання іноземній мові такого важливого її аспекту як аудіювання, надаються поради щодо правильного підбору, адаптації та використання аудіо текстів на занятті та для самостійного опрацювання. Також підкреслюється нерозривність взаємозв’язку між соціокультурною складовою та практичним навчанням під час роботи з автентичним аудіо матеріалом. Автор пропонує ряд послідовних дій для покращення системи введення, опрацювання та засвоєння аудіо інформації іноземною мовою студентами технічних спеціальностей, позиціонуючи вміння чути іншомовний текст і відповідно реагувати на почуте в рамках соціокультурної мовної складової як один із засобів формування професійно-комунікативної компетенції майбутніх фахівців. Запропонована система навчання студентів сприйняттю іншомовного матеріалу, яка покликана реально надавати можливість покращити сприйняття аудіо інформації і спрямована на підвищення їх зацікавленості у засвоєнні іноземної мови.The paper stresses the importance of listening and provides advice on the proper selection, adaptation and use of audio texts in class teaching for students of technical universities. As well as the necessity of correlation between socio-cultural component and practical teaching of all language skills while dealing with authentic audio material is emphasized. The author proposes a series of progressive activities for students of technical specialties aimed at the improvement of the system introduction, training and practical use of audio information in the foreign language studying, emphasizing the ability to hear a foreign language text and responding to it properly as a vital part of the socio-cultural component of foreign language teaching and as a means of development of professional and communicative competence of future technical specialists. The proposed logical system of teaching listening to students of technical universities is designed to provide real opportunities to improve students’ learning abilities through the use of a wide range of general and professional audio information and intended to raise students’ interest in learning a foreign language.В статье подчеркивается важность планирования такого важного аспекта обучения иностранному языку как аудирование, даются советы по правильному подбору, адаптации и использованию аудио текстов на занятии и для самостоятельной работы. Также подчеркивается неразрывность взаимосвязи между социокультурной составляющей и практическим обучением при работе с аутентичным аудио материалом. Автор предлагает ряд последовательных действий для улучшения системы ввода, обработки и усвоения аудио информации на иностранном языке студентами технических специальностей, позиционируя умение слышать иноязычный текст и соответственно реагировать на услышанное в рамках социокультурной языковой составляющей как одно из средств формирования профессионально-коммуникативной компетенции будущих специалистов. Предложенная логическая система обучения студентов восприятию иноязычного материала, призвана реально предоставлять возможности улучшить восприятие аудио информации и направлена на повышение их заинтересованности в освоении иностранного языка

Teaching and learning English pronunciation in Finland

Abstract. The purpose of this Bachelor’s thesis is to review existing literature regarding the teaching and learning of English pronunciation with the perspective of Finnish education. As English has become a worldwide language, in the future, people will need to be more adaptable to the versatile front of international spoken English, leading to the need for English as foreign language students to be able to understand and speak a comprehensible variation of it. Most students in Finland start learning English in the beginning of elementary school, and by the time they finish comprehensive school, they will be expected to understand various accents, and speak an intelligible variation of English themselves. However, students do not need to become ‘perfect pronouncers’, but confident and comprehensive users of spoken English (Atli & Bergil, 2012). This, already, establishes the need for quality pronunciation education. In this thesis, schools’ explicit influence in the acquisition of pronunciation is looked through the general viewpoint of foreign language learning in Finland, before considering the importance and intelligibility issues of pronunciation teaching and learning. The aim of this literature review is to discover the methods and techniques used to teach English pronunciation to Finnish students, in addition to considering the various aspects affecting the optimization of the learning. Furthermore, it is found, that factors such as age, personal background and motivation affect the learning of English pronunciation. Also, the schools’ and teachers’ impact on the learning process are considered. Pronunciation remains an integral part of language learning, and it should be given its due recognition in foreign language teaching and learning, as it paves way for intelligibility and comprehensibility.Tiivistelmä. Tämän kandidaatintyön tarkoitus on tarkastella olemassa olevaa kirjallisuutta englannin lausumisen opettamisesta ja oppimisesta Suomen koulutuksen näkökulmasta. Koska englannista on tullut maailmanlaajuisesti käytetty kieli, ihmisten tulee tulevaisuudessa olla paremmin sopeutuvia sen monipuolisiin muotoihin. Tämä tarkoittaa, että englantia vieraana kielenä oppivan oppilaan tulee pystyä ymmärtämään ja puhumaan sitä ymmärrettävästi. Suurin osa suomalaisista oppilaista alkaa opiskelemaan englantia ala-asteen ensimmäisillä luokilla. Peruskoulun päättyessä heidän oletetaan myös ymmärtävän erilaisia englannin aksentteja ja puhesävyjä. Oppilaiden ei kuitenkaan tarvitse osata täydellistä englannin lausuntaa, mutta heidän toivotaan olevan itsevarmoja ja ymmärrettäviä englannin puhujia. Jo tämä vahvistaa englannin lausumisen opiskelun tarpeen. Tässä kandidaatintyössä käydään läpi koulun vaikutusta englannin lausumisen oppimiseen vieraan kielen opetuksen näkökulmasta ennen lausumisen opiskelun tärkeyden ja ymmärrettävyyden käsittelyä. Tämän kirjallisuuskatsauksen tarkoitus on tarkastella suomenkielisten oppilaiden englannin lausumisen oppimisen menetelmiä ja toteutumista, sekä sen oppimisen mahdollistamista. Koulussa tapahtuvan opetuksen lisäksi tarkastellaan muita englannin lausunnan oppimiseen vaikuttavia tekijöitä, kuten oppilaan ikää, kielellistä taustaa sekä motivaatiota. Myös koulun ja opettajan rooleja oppimisen optimoinnissa käsitellään. Lausunta on yksi kielen olennaisimmista osista, mikä tulee huomioida vieraan kielen opetuksessa ja oppimisessa, sillä se tukee oppilaan lausunnan ymmärrettävyyttä