The implementation of animated cartoons as an audio-visual aid to promote vocabulary learning in children from a CDI

Este proyecto tuvo como objetivo la implementación de dibujos animados como ayuda audiovisual y como estrategia en la enseñanza del inglés con el fin de promover el aprendizaje del vocabulario en inglés entre niños de 3 a 5 años. Este proyecto de aula se llevó a cabo en 9 sesiones en un centro de desarrollo de la primera infancia ubicado en Puerto Caldas, Risaralda, en un grupo de 22 niños. Por medio de la intervención de dos profesores pre-servicio del programa de enseñanza del idioma inglés de la Universidad Tecnológica de Pereira. La estrategia fue implementada para estimular sus procesos de aprendizaje de inglés. Al hacer esto, este proyecto señaló el reconocimiento de las respuestas de los alumnos cuando están expuestos a este tipo de estrategia y también, a los posibles resultados en términos del lenguaje que los alumnos podrían obtener a través de los dibujos animados

Animated cartoons through the mirroring technique to teach stress pronunciation.

This research project focused on analysing how by implementing animated cartoons in an EFL class with tenth graders at the public high school Robert Francis Kennedy, located in Bogota, through a mirroring technique, could help them to enhance their word and sentences stress performance. This idea arose from the lack of stress pronunciation skills noticed in these students, as they were not considering these pronunciation aspects when they were asked to express themselves communicatively in English, reason why their speech sounded not only unnatural, but at the same time, it was at certain point quite difficult to understand what they wanted to say. Hence, in order to try to help them to enhance their stress pronunciation performance and by doing so, their communicative skills; it came up the idea of using animated cartoons, as not only they could be appealing to the learners, but additionally, as in many of them; the characters tend to exaggerate their speech, making more evident stress pronunciation patterns. And combined them with the mirroring technique, so that, the learners could put these stress patterns into practice. In regards to the methodology, this research adopted a qualitative approach, and used as main sources to gather data: a pre and post-test, audio recordings, students‟ artifacts and field notes. Once analysed the data, it was found that after being exposed to the animated cartoons, most of the students were more aware of stress pronunciation patterns; reason why when conveying an idea, their speech sounded more natural and understandable. At the same time, it was evident that most of the students found the animated cartoons appealing, but in order for them to be applied as didactic material in EFL, they should be contextualised and accompanied by explicit input of the topic or skill to be practised

English Major Students’ Perceptions of Using Animated Cartoons on English Vocabulary Knowledge of Rare Words in Malaysia

The rapid developments throughout language technologies have catered tremendous chances for learning and teaching vocabulary in second language learning. The development of vocabulary knowledge does not merely oscillate in academic vocabulary, high frequency vocabulary and technical vocabulary, English major students should also need to learn low-frequency vocabulary or rare vocabulary which enhance their language proficiency. In order to accommodate students with vocabulary knowledge of rare words, it should come with the best resort of teaching technique that can help them to learn in a meaningful way. One of the rarely used multimedia tools is animated cartoons. This paper aims at exploring the students’ perceptions of using animated cartoons in improving their English vocabulary knowledge of rare words in Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin (UniSZA), Terengganu. Employing a semi-structured interview, the qualitative data collection method was conducted. Employing the qualitative data collection method, semi-structured interviews were conducted to six students who learned vocabulary using animated cartoons to obtain their perceptions towards these multimedia materials in improving the English vocabulary knowledge of rare words. The results of semi-structured interviews highlighted the positive responses from the students who preferred animated cartoons as these materials in improving their English vocabulary knowledge of rare words. In conclusion, this study contributes to the current literature on English vocabulary learning of rare words by exposing and underlining the impacts of animated cartoons which provide opportunities for students to encounter a conducive technological-based learning environment

Teaching Shakespeare to young ESL learners in Hong Kong

Teaching Shakespeare to young ESL learners can be one of the most challenging tasks for English teachers and parents. Because of the difficult vocabulary and unusual language, Shakespeare is often left unread and unexplored both in school and at home. With a view to helping children overcome reading obstacles and learn to appreciate Shakespeare and his plays, the Hong Kong Public Libraries and I co-hosted a weekly Shakespeare teens’ reading club for K12 learners from local grammar schools. Four Shakespearean plays were introduced to about twenty Cantonese child participants who had no or little experience reading or studying Shakespeare’s works. To enhance imagination and interactions among child readers, various learner-centred, interactive, and multimedia pedagogical activities such as the reader’s theatre, movie screenings, creative writing tasks, comics reading and drawing, etc. were used in the reading club. In this paper, I will share teaching ideas and reading activities that make Shakespeare understandable and enjoyable for ESL young readers

Introduction: The nexus of multimodality, multimodal literacy, and English language teaching in research and practice in higher education settings

The aims of this Special Issue are to (1) advance the current state of research-based knowledge about how multimodal and multimedia resources can be leveraged to enhance multimodal communication practices in English language teaching in higher education, and (2) to provide a platform for original research-based practical applications that incorporate innovative multisemiotic resources and techniques, thereby offering new perspectives on the benefits of the multimodal approach when teaching English for both general and specific purposes at the university level. In the following section, we discuss the role of multimodal literacy in the context of enhancing language proficiency as the underlying objective of English language practitioners

Examining the Impacts of Cartoons on Motivating EFL Beginner Students to Speak English Language in Beninese Secondary Schools: The Case Study of Some Secondary Schools in the Atlantic Region

In Benin, a French speaking country where English is taught and learnt as a foreign language, secondary school learners and their teachers encounter a variety of problems related to EFL learners’ poor oral performance. This research work investigates the impacts of cartoons on motivating EFL students to speak English in classrooms. Throughout this study, the motivating potentials of visual aids and of cartoons have been explored as a means to improve the teaching/learning of English as a Foreign Language in the Beninese context. This research work was carried in two secondary schools located in the Atlantic Region where two EFL classes have been selected. One representing the experimental group and the other the control group. Four (4) teachers and two hundred and thirty (230) EFL students were selected to participate in the study. Two types of questionnaires were designed and distributed to both EFL learners and teachers. The data collected were presented in forms of frequency, tables, and figures. The findings revealthat although students love games, movies, a large majority of Beninese EFL teachers rarely resort to them as a technique. Thefindings also reveal that cartoons when used appropriately yield positive impacts on EFL beginners’ listening, speaking, reading and writing abilities. 75% of  Beninese teachers recognize that  cartoons is  an efficient means for fighting anxiety  and motivating EFL beginners to develop their oral production. As a result, the study recommends that teachers should be trained on the practical strategies and techniques to use cartoons to motivate their learners to communicate fluently in English language and to create a less-stressful classroom atmosphere

SAUDI EFL LEARNERS’ ATTITUDE TOWARDS INTEGRATION OF VIDEO-PODCASTS IN LISTENING COMPREHENSION

The use of podcasts is growing in the instructions of listening comprehension. However, the success of computer technology generally depends on learners positive attitudes towards it. The present study explored attitudes of Saudi EFL undergraduates toward the use of video-podcasts integration in listening comprehension. Moreover, the study also examined students’ attitude from the perspective of the number of video-podcasts they received in their instructions. Samples included 90 English major male undergraduates divided into three groups. The three groups received five (5), ten (10) and 15 video-podcasts in their listening classes before they answered an attitude questionnaire. ANOVA results revealed that the students had positive attitudes towards the use of video-podcasts in listening. However, no significant difference was found between the attitudes of the three experimental groups who received varied number of video-podcasts in their instructions.   Article visualizations

Professional Learning Portfolios for Argumentation in School Science

This paper reports on the use of portfolios in a continuing professional development programme to advance teachers’ skills in their pedagogy of argumentation. The programme adopted a cyclical process of expert input- teacher practice- sharing practice, in order for professional learning to include reflective analysis of growing accomplishment. Accomplishment was initially defined according to previous research and development on the teaching of argumentation, but was redefined during the programme as teachers shared practice and discussed their achievements. Portfolios were used to help teachers apply their learning, collate evidence of their accomplishment and share reflective analysis of practice with other colleagues on the programme. The paper includes extracts of two teachers’ portfolios; these provide evidence of each teacher’s developing accomplishment in the teaching of argumentation. Portfolios are idiosyncratic and are constructed according to an individual teacher’s motivations, interpretations and situations. Teachers need structure and guidance in creating purposeful portfolios that enhance reflective practice

Professional Learning Portfolios for Argumentation in School Science

This paper reports on the use of portfolios in a continuing professional development programme to advance teachers’ skills in their pedagogy of argumentation. The programme adopted a cyclical process of expert input- teacher practice- sharing practice, in order for professional learning to include reflective analysis of growing accomplishment. Accomplishment was initially defined according to previous research and development on the teaching of argumentation, but was redefined during the programme as teachers shared practice and discussed their achievements. Portfolios were used to help teachers apply their learning, collate evidence of their accomplishment and share reflective analysis of practice with other colleagues on the programme. The paper includes extracts of two teachers’ portfolios; these provide evidence of each teacher’s developing accomplishment in the teaching of argumentation. Portfolios are idiosyncratic and are constructed according to an individual teacher’s motivations, interpretations and situations. Teachers need structure and guidance in creating purposeful portfolios that enhance reflective practice

Enhancing Student Vocabulary through the Use of the PowToon Application

Vocabulary mastery is crucial for effective language acquisition, enabling learners to comprehend spoken and written words and articulate their thoughts. The PowToon application, with its engaging animated videos, offers an immersive and clear learning experience. This is particularly beneficial for English learners, where proficiency in listening, speaking, reading, and writing is vital. This study investigates the impact of the PowToon application on enhancing students' vocabulary. Utilizing a quantitative approach with a Quasi-Experimental Design, data were gathered through observations and tests. The analysis was based on descriptive statistics. The sample comprised 52 tenth-grade students at Tunas Pelita High School. The experimental group, which used PowToon, had a pretest average of 36.19 compared to the control group's 38.40. However, post-tests revealed a score of 82.31 for the experimental group and 71.70 for the control group, indicating a more significant vocabulary improvement in the PowToon cohort. The findings confirm that the PowToon application positively affects vocabulary acquisition. The research underscores PowToon’s potential to enhance students' comprehension, spelling, and pronunciation of English vocabulary, ultimately bolstering their overall learning outcomes