Advanced Students’ Oral Fluency: The Neglected Component in the CLT Classroom?

Udostępnienie publikacji Wydawnictwa Uniwersytetu Łódzkiego finansowane w ramach projektu „Doskonałość naukowa kluczem do doskonałości kształcenia”. Projekt realizowany jest ze środków Europejskiego Funduszu Społecznego w ramach Programu Operacyjnego Wiedza Edukacja Rozwój; nr umowy: POWER.03.05.00-00-Z092/17-00

Writing strategies employed by advanced learners of English - a questionnaire study

Udostępnienie publikacji Wydawnictwa Uniwersytetu Łódzkiego finansowane w ramach projektu „Doskonałość naukowa kluczem do doskonałości kształcenia”. Projekt realizowany jest ze środków Europejskiego Funduszu Społecznego w ramach Programu Operacyjnego Wiedza Edukacja Rozwój; nr umowy: POWER.03.05.00-00-Z092/17-00

Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) in EFL Context: Exploring Afghan EFL Lecturers’ Perceived Challenges in Implementing CLT

Many studies have been conducted to investigate the implementation of Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) in ESL and EFL contexts, but those conducted in EFL context, have reported that the application of CLT was challenging. Still, as far as the Afghan EFL context is concerned, there is a lack of empirical research investigating the issue. Hence, the purpose of this study is to explore afghan EFL lecturers’ perceived challenges in practicing CLT. The study also aims to examine if there is any significant relationship among teachers use of CLT, the perceived challenges, and their demographic profiles. This study uses a quantitative research approach in which a survey questionnaire was given to EFL lecturers teaching in a public university. The results of the study revealed that the EFL lecturers had positive perceptions of using CLT activities, as there were evidence of a number of major CLT activities conducted in their classrooms. The results also revealed that they faced certain challenges that prevented them from implementing CLT effectively. Furthermore, significant correlation was found between students’ related challenges and teachers’ perceptions of using CLT; however, no significant correlations were found among teachers’ demographic profiles and CLT perceived challenges. This research is significant since it could be used as a resource presenting a comprehensive picture of CLT implementation in EFL classrooms in Afghanistan

A Methodological Synthesis of Self-Paced Reading in Second Language Research : Methodological synthesis of SPR tests

Self-paced reading tests (SPRs) are being increasingly adopted by second language (L2) researchers. Using SPR with L2 populations presents specific challenges, and its use is still evolving in L2 research (as well as in first language research, in many respects). Although the topic of several narrative overviews (Keating & Jegerski, 2015; Roberts, 2016), we do not have a comprehensive picture of its usage in L2 research. Building on the growing body of systematic reviews of research practices in applied linguistics (e.g., Liu & Brown, 2015; Plonsky, 2013), we report a methodological synthesis of the rationales, study contexts, and methodological decision making in L2 SPR research. Our comprehensive search yielded 74 SPRs used in L2 research. Each instrument was coded along 121 parameters, including: reported rationales and study characteristics, indicating the scope and nature of L2 SPR research agendas; design and analysis features and reporting practices, determining instrument validity and reliability; and materials transparency, affecting reproducibility and systematicity of agendas. Our findings indicate an urgent need to standardize the use and reporting of this technique, requiring empirical investigation to inform methodological decision making. We also identify several areas (e.g., study design, sample demographics, instrument construction, data analysis, and transparency) where SPR research could be improved to enrich our understanding of L2 processing, reading, and learning

LANGUAGE CHOICE IN CODE-MIXING AND CODE-SWITCHING APPROACH, A CASE OF STUDY IN SOCIOLINGUISTICS REFERS TO THE EFFECTIVENESS OF USING MULTIPLE-LANGUAGE IN TEACHING METHODS

This study planned to undertaken in public which prescribes English as the medium of instruction for all courses taught. However, it has been observed that this policy has notbeen fully adhered to. Code-switching (CS) and code-mixing (CM) of English and any other language occur extensively in the speakers’ speech in the classroom. This paper attempts to highlight the frequency of this communicative behavior, and both the instructors’ andstudents’ attitudes towards it. Using self completed questionnaires and interviews asmethods of data collection. For example it reveals that instructors frequently code-switched and code-mixed between the two languages in the classroom. The analysis shows that the occurrence of these phenomena was related to the instructors’, as well as the students’ own linguisticcompetence, and the purpose of facilitating effective teaching and learning. There is,however, mixed attitudes towards CS/CM. While both instructors and students agreed thatCS/CM can promote better understanding, the latter, however, students with better Englishproficiency felt that such communicative behavior can be off-putting as it does not help inimproving their linguistic competence in English. The paper, thus, raises some legitimate concerns of the conflict between the policy and its actual implementation, which certainlyhas some implications on language development, teacher education and policy assessment

Language Flexibility: The Effects of Finnish-Swedish Bilingualism on EFL Acquisition

Tutkielmassa käsitellään vieraan kielen, ts. englannin, oppimista peruskoulussa. Hypoteesina oletetaan, että oppilaat, jotka jo hallitsevat kaksi kieltä, menestyvät paremmin vieraan kielen oppimisessa kuin yksikieliset oppilaat. Tutkielmassa vertaillaan kaksikielisten ja yksikielisten oppilaiden englannin kielen taitoja alakoulun kuudennen luokan päättyessä. Kaksikielisyys voidaan ymmärtää monella tavalla, ja tutkimustulokset kaksikielisyyden vaikutuksista ovat usein olleet ristiriitaisia. Siksi tutkielmassa ensin määritellään kaksikielisyys, sen lajit sekä siihen liittyvää terminologiaa. Lisäksi kuvaillaan Suomen sekä erityisesti Turun kaupungin kaksikielisen väestön tilaa ja oikeuksia sekä keskustellaan aikaisempien tutkimusten perusteella mahdollisista ongelmista ja hyödyistä, joita kaksikielisyyteen liittyy. Kaksikielisyyteen on perinteisesti liittynyt myös paljon ennakkoluuloja, kuten pelko puolikielisyydestä, jotka tieteellisten tutkimusten avulla pyritään kumoamaan. Mahdollisia muita ongelmia, kuten pienempi sanavarasto molemmissa kielissä verrattuna saman ikäisiin yksikielisiin sekä reaktioaikojen piteneminen, kuitenkin esiintyy. Kaksikielisyyden hyötyjä sen sijaan voivat olla mm. luovuus, kyky kielen analyyttiseen tarkasteluun, metalingvististen taitojen kehittyminen ja avoimuus muita kieliä ja kulttuureita kohtaan. Kaikki mainitut edut ja haitat myös vaikuttavat vieraan kielen opinnoissa menestymiseen. Myös mahdollinen positiivinen transferenssi otetaan huomioon. Tutkimuksen empiiristä osaa varten vierailtiin kahdessa turkulaisessa alakoulussa, joiden kuudennen luokan oppilaat suorittivat kaksi englannin kielen tehtävää. Toinen kouluista oli suomenkielinen, jonka oppilaat edustivat yksikielistä vertailuryhmää (n=31). Ruotsinkielinen koulu valittiin edustamaan kaksikielistä ryhmää (n=34), sillä yleensä Suomessa ja kaupungeissa kuten Turussa vähemmistökielen puhujat hallitsevat käytännössä usein myös suomen kielen. Ruotsinkielisen koulun oppilaiden kaksikielisyys varmistettiin kielitaustakyselyllä. Kaksikielisten oppilaiden tulokset molemmissa tehtävissä olivat hieman paremmat kuin yksikielisten. Yksikielisessä ryhmässä myös tulosten keskihajonta oli suurempi. Kaksikieliset näyttivät hallitsevan kielen analyyttisen tarkastelun paremmin sekä tekivät vähemmän kieliopillisia virheitä. Positiivisen transferenssin vaikutus oli myös nähtävissä. Toisaalta heillä oli enemmän oikeinkirjoitusvirheitä vastauksissaan.Merkittäviä eroja ei kuitenkaan englannin kielen oppimisessa voitu todentaa.Siirretty Doriast

Communicative Language Teaching: Practical Difficulties in the Rural EFL Classrooms in Taiwan

English education in Taiwan has experienced a number of modifications over the past decade. The Ministry of Education (MOE) has initiated several reforms since 1994 with a purpose of changing the pedagogy, focusing on grammar-translation, to a more communicative one aim at cultivating learners of greater communication proficiency for the demands resulting from internationalization and globalization. Although the outcome may be promising, the process has proven to be challenging. The studies regarding Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) in many EFL settings suggested that factors, associated with socio-culture, school administration, classroom dynamics and personnel, have negatively influenced teachers’ willingness to implement CLT. Notwithstanding the comprehensive discussion about the difficulties, rare were they related directly to rural teachers whose experiences might be different from their urban peers. Their distinct insight and impressions are necessary, and therefore worthy of the investigation in order to further understand the whole CLT-resulted phenomena. Using a multi-methodological approach of quantitative survey and qualitative interview, this study aims at uncovering the difficulties rural EFL teachers have encountered when implementing CLT in their classrooms. Seventy-five teachers were surveyed. Based on their participating willingness, 15 of them were further contacted for in-depth interviews. The result of the study revealed that besides the repeated issues, the teachers have faced problems, including students’ low L1 cognitive resources, parents’ indifferent attitudes toward communicative-English education, and the assortment of students of heterogeneous language skills into the same class, which are unique to the rural setting because of geographical and socio-economic confinement. Keywords: Communicative Language Teaching (CLT), multi-methodological approach, learning motivation, communicative competenc

The Effects of Visualization Training Techniques on Reading Comprehension Ability of Iranian Intermediate EFL Learners

The present study was conducted to investigate the impact of visualization on reading comprehension ability of Iranian intermediate EFL learners. To fulfill the purpose of the study, 40 out of 100 intermediate learners of an English language institute were chosen by means of administering a PET Test. Based on the results of the homogenizing test, two groups were formed, and learners were not randomly assigned to an experimental group and a control one. Then, both groups were provided with seven teaching sessions. A pretest was given to all examinees to capture the initial differences. Learners in the experimental group were taught to visualize the words using a variety of visualization strategies before, during, and after reading the text in class. However, students in the control group were provided with a conventional instruction in traditional classes like reading the text aloud, translating the text, and providing synonyms and antonyms, if it was needed. After teaching sessions, a posttest was given to students of both groups. The statistical analysis of obtained results using paired t-test and ANCOVA revealed that the participants in the experimental group outperformed the participants in the control group. The findings of this study showed that the effect of visualization as an instructional technology on Iranian EFL learners’ reading comprehension was extremely noticeable. The findings of the present study may have some theoretical and practical implications for both Iranian EFL teachers and students, as well as for curriculum designers and developers

Second-Language Curriculum Models and Program Design: Recent Trends in North America

The advent of “communicative” second-language teaching has implications not only for classroom methodology but also for curriculum development. In North America, models for program design are exemplified by the American Council for the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) Proficiency Guidelines and the Canadian National Core French Study. The American model is based on pre-established descriptions of language proficiency for different levels of a sequential program. The Canadian model adopts a multidimensional approach emphasizing content more than terminal outcomes, and envisages the integration of language and a cultural component. Despite similar didactic principles, the two models differ as products of their respective educational value systems. L’enseignement de type “communicatif” d’une langue seconde a des incidences non seulement sur la méthodologie employée dans la salle de cours, mais aussi sur le développement curriculaire. En Amérique du Nord, les modèles en matière de conception de programmes sont illustrés par les American Council for the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) Proficiency Guidelines et le Canadian National Core French Study/Étude nationale sur les programmes de français de base. Le modèle américain repose sur des descriptions préétablies de compétence linguistique pour les différents niveaux d’un programme séquentiel. Le modèle canadien adopte une approche multidimensionnelle qui privilégie davantage le contenu que les résultats finals et envisage l’intégration de la langue et d’une composante culturelle. En dépit de principes didactiques semblables, les deux modèles diffèrent et sont en cela des produits de leurs systèmes respectifs de valeurs en matière d’éducation.

Second-Language Curriculum Models and Program Design: Recent Trends in North America

The advent of “communicative” second-language teaching has implications not only for classroom methodology but also for curriculum development. In North America, models for program design are exemplified by the American Council for the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) Proficiency Guidelines and the Canadian National Core French Study. The American model is based on pre-established descriptions of language proficiency for different levels of a sequential program. The Canadian model adopts a multidimensional approach emphasizing content more than terminal outcomes, and envisages the integration of language and a cultural component. Despite similar didactic principles, the two models differ as products of their respective educational value systems. L’enseignement de type “communicatif” d’une langue seconde a des incidences non seulement sur la méthodologie employée dans la salle de cours, mais aussi sur le développement curriculaire. En Amérique du Nord, les modèles en matière de conception de programmes sont illustrés par les American Council for the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) Proficiency Guidelines et le Canadian National Core French Study/Étude nationale sur les programmes de français de base. Le modèle américain repose sur des descriptions préétablies de compétence linguistique pour les différents niveaux d’un programme séquentiel. Le modèle canadien adopte une approche multidimensionnelle qui privilégie davantage le contenu que les résultats finals et envisage l’intégration de la langue et d’une composante culturelle. En dépit de principes didactiques semblables, les deux modèles diffèrent et sont en cela des produits de leurs systèmes respectifs de valeurs en matière d’éducation.