Extensive reading in a second language : literature review and pedagogical implications

textThis Report explores the importance of including extensive reading (ER) program in English as a second language (ESL) or English as a foreign language (EFL) context. To find benefits and implications of L2 extensive reading, the Report reviews comprehensive literature on L2 extensive reading. Research has found that extensive reading enables L2 learners to achieve both cognitive and affective gains. Based on these findings, the report provides some pedagogical implications for an L2 program in ESL/EFL contexts. The suggestions include practical tips such as materials, useful ER activities, and a discussion of teacher roles in an extensive reading program.Foreign Language Educatio

Assessing the effect of topic interest on two measures of incidental vocabulary learning : can dictionary look-up behavior be a factor?

Tesis (Profesor de Inglés para la Enseñanza Básica y Media y al grado académico de Licenciado en Educación)Throughout the years, several studies have been conducted in order to analyze the effect of topic interest on incidental vocabulary learning. It has been stated that being interested in a topic is a mental resource that enhances learning, which then leads to better performance and achievement (Hidi, 1990). This type of interest has been classified as individual, situational and topic interest (Renninger, Hidi and Krapp, 1992; Schiefele, 1999; Hidi, 1990; Ainley, Hidi and Berndorff, 2002). In order to provide more insights regarding topic interest and incidental vocabulary learning, the purpose of the present study is to explore the effect of topic interest on incidental vocabulary learning in two topic interest conditions, high and low, as well as the effect of topic interest on dictionary look-up behavior. For this purpose, a quantitative study was conducted. The study was divided into two main sessions, and the participants were 23 intermediate level students at a private university in Santiago. These participants were asked to read two texts with topics previously identified by them as having high and low topic interest. Twenty target words in the texts were selected in order to assess vocabulary depth and quantitative gains in both conditions, by means of a vocabulary knowledge scale (Paribakht & Wesche, 1993, 1996) and a passive recognition (Laufer & Goldstein, 2004) respectively. Results suggest that topic interest had a significant effect on the incidental vocabulary learning achieved by the participants in terms of vocabulary depth, and also in terms of quantitative gains. In addition, when dictionary look-up behavior was taken into account, vocabulary gains were kept. Discussion of the results, conclusions and implications for pedagogy are presented in the corresponding chapters.A través de los años, se han realizado diferentes estudios con el fin de analizar el efecto de interés de tópico en el aprendizaje incidental de vocabulario. Se ha dicho que estar interesado en un tema realza el aprendizaje, lo cual conduce a un mejor desempeño académico (Hidi, 1990). Este tipo de interés ha sido clasificado como interés de tópico, situacional e individual (Renninger, Hidi and Krapp, 1992; Schiefele, 1999; Hidi, 1990; Ainley, Hidi and Berndorff, 2002). A fin de proporcionar más información con respecto al interés de tópico y al comportamiento de búsqueda en un diccionario, el propósito de este estudio es explorar el efecto del interés de tópico en el aprendizaje incidental de vocabulario en dos condiciones (Alta y Baja), así como también el efecto del interés de tópico en el comportamiento de búsqueda en un diccionario. Para conseguir dicho propósito, se realizó un estudio cuantitativo. El estudio se dividió principalmente en dos sesiones, y los participantes fueron 23 estudiantes de una Universidad privada de Santiago con un nivel de Inglés intermedio. Dichos participantes tuvieron que leer dos textos que habían sido identificados por ellos previamente como el más y menos interesante. Veinte palabras fueron seleccionadas de los textos con el fin de evaluar el progreso en la profundidad del vocabulario y ganancias cuantitativas de vocabulario en las dos condiciones, por medio de una escala de conocimiento de vocabulario (Paribakht & Wesche, 1993, 1996), y una prueba de reconocimiento pasivo (Laufer & Goldstein, 2004) respectivamente. Los resultados indican que el interés de tópico tuvo un efecto significativo en el aprendizaje incidental de vocabulario logrado por los participantes en relación al progreso en la profundidad del vocabulario, y en relación a las ganancias cuantitativas de vocabulario. Además, cuando el comportamiento de búsqueda en el diccionario es tomado en cuenta, las ganancias cuantitativas de vocabulario se mantienen. La discusión de los resultados, conclusiones e implicancias para la pedagogía están presentadas en sus capítulos correspondiente

The Impact of Task-Based Interactive Storytelling on EFL Learners’ Motivation

Designing engaging writing activities can be a challenge for English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers since students generally show little motivation towards writing in English. For this reason, a didactic proposal based on writing and presenting an interactive fantasy story was designed. This didactic proposal was implemented in a secondary school with L2 English learners aged 15-16 for four weeks over 7 sessions of 50 minutes. Four groups consisting of 14, 21, 21 and 22 students, respectively, took part in this study. Data was collected through a survey, and conclusions were that the use of interactive storytelling in the EFL classroom did motivate the participants of this study. Factors that decreased their motivation were related to stress and time management problems, lack of imagination, linguistic issues, and a perceived lack of freedom.El profesorado de Inglés como Lengua Extranjera (ILE) suele encontrar dificultades a la hora de diseñar actividades relacionadas con la escritura debido a la falta de motivación generalizada hacia el desarrollo de dicha habilidad. Por ello, se ha diseñado una unidad didáctica basada en la redacción y posterior presentación interactiva de una historia de fantasía en la asignatura de ILE en un Instituto de Educación Secundaria con estudiantes de L2 inglés de entre 15 y 16 años durante cuatro semanas con un total de 7 sesiones de 50 minutos. La propuesta didáctica se implementó en 4 grupos, conformados por 14, 21, 21 y 22 alumnos, respectivamente. Los datos se recogieron mediante un cuestionario, del que se concluyó que el uso de la narración interactiva en el aula de ILE motivaba a los participantes de este estudio. Los factores que disminuían su motivación estaban relacionados con el estrés y los problemas de gestión del tiempo, la falta de imaginación, los problemas lingüísticos y la percepción de falta de libertad.Departamento de Didáctica de la Lengua y LiteraturaMáster en Profesor de Educación Secundaria Obligatoria y Bachillerato, Formación Profesional y Enseñanzas de Idioma

Children’s comprehension of informational text: Reading, engaging, and learning

The Reading, Engaging, and Learning project (REAL) investigated whether a classroom intervention that enhanced young children's experience with informational books would increase reading achievement and engagement. Participants attended schools serving low income neighborhoods with 86% African American enrollment. The longitudinal study spanned second through fourth grades. Treatment conditions were: (1) Text Infusion/Reading for Learning Instruction -- students were given greater access to informational books in their classroom libraries and in reading instruction; (2) Text Infusion Alone -- the same books were provided but teachers were not asked to alter their instruction; (3) Traditional Instruction -- students experienced business as usual in the classroom. Children were assessed each year on measures of reading and reading engagement, and classroom instructional practices were observed. On most measures, the informational text infusion intervention did not yield differential growth over time. However, the results inform efforts to increase children’s facility with informational text in the early years in order to improve reading comprehension

High School Science and Social Studies Teachers\u27 Self-Efficacy Regarding Literacy Instruction: A Transcendental Phenomenological Study

The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological study was to explore high school teachers’ self-efficacy regarding the incorporation of literacy instruction in high school science and social studies classes in a rural, public school district. In this qualitative research study, self-efficacy was generally defined as the teachers’ belief in how well they succeed at the task of including literacy instruction into their content area lessons. Albert Bandura’s (1997) self-efficacy theory and Shulman\u27s (1986) pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) theory guided this study as it explored the teachers’ beliefs in their teaching abilities. Literacy instruction was defined as explicit instruction in word study, fluency, vocabulary, comprehension, and motivation techniques. The study used a self-efficacy questionnaire to explore the teachers’ beliefs about their ability to include literacy strategies in their content area subjects. The study also included in-depth personal interviews with teachers and a review of participants’ lesson reflection journals. Because the study was based on a phenomenological design, the information was analyzed for significant statements that are then turned into themes. From the themes, an essence of the phenomenon was described

ダイニゲンゴシュウトクニオケルタドクトメタニンチテキキヅキ

　 Building off encouraging data collected concerning ego permeability and smartphone audio/visual recording technology as a means to second language acquisition [Fallon/Baker, 2016; Keeley, 2014], this research explores the impact of extensive level-appropriate reading in combination with classroom recording and transcribing activities as a means to nourish language acquisition through self-reflective awareness and L2 identity development. This research will elaborate on the efficacy of continuous L2 reading assignments outside of class, verbal summarization of a story narrative, and L2 identity cultivation though metacognitive awareness. Data yielded from surveyed students found this approach to benefit intrinsic motivation and L2 ability. The same survey data also found metacognitive learning experiences to nourish L2 acquisition

A Multiple-Case Study on How Fifth Grade Students Experience Reading

The research from this study provides information for teachers, leaders, and administrators to review and analyze how fifth grade students experience reading. It will be important to adjust or change the strategies to promote reading and / or the curriculum for fifth grade students. Fullan (2011), a noted change theorist, identified five characteristics of effective leadership for change: (a) moral purpose, (b) understanding the change process, (c) strong relationships, (d) knowledge sharing, and (e) coherence, or connecting new knowledge with existing knowledge that served as the theoretical framework from which the data was viewed. The information from this study is instrumental for teachers, leaders, and administrators to begin the process of change by connecting new knowledge with existing knowledge to create the most appropriate reading opportunities fifth grade students

Tutoring Chinese English-as-Foreign-Language Learners to Read: An Exploratory Research of Customized Reading Scaffolding Instruction

Given the status quo that Chinese English-as-foreign-language (EFL) learners’ reading practice is mainly confined to teach-to-test pedagogy, many of them who are struggling in reading have neither the interest nor the ability to comprehend authentic texts for the purpose of acquiring information rather than answering tests. The creation of Customized Reading Scaffolding Instruction (CRSI) was designed based on the Engagement Reading model (Guthrie, 2000) and aims to solve these students’ primary reading problems. This longitudinal study examined the effectiveness of tutoring Chinese EFL students struggling with reading in English by using the CRSI on their reading experience, reading amount and reading comprehension and contributed to a deeper understanding of participants’ learning processes and their reflections. Qualitative data showed that reading materials according to individual’s topic interest, prior knowledge, and inter-cultural awareness effectively improved participants’ reading experience, but CRSI remained less effective for forming a stable reading habit for some participants. Quantitative data showed that participants’ amount of reading time increased in varied degrees during the intervention period compared with their previous reading behavior. Accompanying the increasing of their reading amount, participants’ reading comprehension moderately developed during and after the CRSI training

Improving Secondary Students’ Reading Comprehension Through the Use of Advance Organizers.

This study examined an instructional method that combined scaffolding and Schema Theory to address the reading comprehension of 105 urban high school students. Participants in the treatment condition read a pair of advance organizers and were asked to paraphrase them in writing to stimulate durable memory representation prior to reading the main passages. Students were assessed on their comprehension of both a narrative and an essay to measure treatment effects across text genres. Low level readers were expected to show greater benefits. Both high and low level readers from the treatment group benefited from the advance information on both passages. The results suggest that comprehension may be readily addressed via schema activation through advance organizers paired with cognitive strategies designed to assist with the encoding of information into long term memory

Expectations eclipsed in foreign language education: learners and educators on an ongoing journey / edited by Hülya Görür-Atabaş, Sharon Turner.

Between June 2-4, 2011 Sabancı University School of Languages welcomed colleagues from 21 different countries to a collaborative exploration of the challenging and inspiring journey of learners and educators in the field of language education.\ud \ud The conference provided an opportunity for all stakeholders to share their views on language education. Colleagues met with world-renowned experts and authors in the fields of education and psychology, faculty and administrators from various universities and institutions, teachers from secondary educational backgrounds and higher education, as well as learners whose voices are often not directly shared but usually reported.\ud \ud The conference name, Eclipsing Expectations, was inspired by two natural phenomena, a solar eclipse directly before the conference, and a lunar eclipse, immediately after. Learners and educators were hereby invited to join a journey to observe, learn and exchange ideas in orde