Teaching learners to communicate effectively in the L2: Integrating body language in the students\u2019 syllabus

In communication a great deal of meaning is exchanged through body language, including gaze, posture, hand gestures and body movements. Body language is largely culture-specific, and rests, for its comprehension, on people\u2019s sharing socio-cultural and linguistic norms. In cross-cultural communication, L2 speakers\u2019 use of body language may convey meaning that is not understood or misinterpreted by the interlocutors, affecting the pragmatics of communication. In spite of its importance for cross-cultural communication, body language is neglected in ESL/EFL teaching. This paper argues that the study of body language should be integrated in the syllabus of ESL/EFL teaching and learning. This is done by: 1) reviewing literature showing the tight connection between language, speech and gestures and the problems that might arise in cross-cultural communication when speakers use and interpret body language according to different conventions; 2) reporting the data from two pilot studies showing that L2 learners transfer L1 gestures to the L2 and that these are not understood by native L2 speakers; 3) reporting an experience teaching body language in an ESL/EFL classroom. The paper suggests that in multicultural ESL/EFL classes teaching body language should be aimed primarily at raising the students\u2019 awareness of the differences existing across cultures

A Review of Two Decades of Research on Language in International Management (1997 - 2022) - Supplemental Material

This research reviews over two decades of research on language within international management. This comprehensive review codes and summarizes 263 articles, highlighting the impact of language in various strategic areas of management: language policy; HRM and organizational behavior; internationalization; HQ-subsidiary relationship; knowledge sharing; corporate reporting and governance; and mergers and acquisitions (M&A) and inter-firm strategic collaboration. This study also highlights two major needs within the discipline (internal vs. external focus of language and level of analysis – individual, group and organizational), and addressed the call for a broader future research agenda

Chinese International Students\u27 Informal Second Language (L2) Learning Through Technology for Enhancing Lived Experiences in Canada

An increasing amount of attention has been drawn to international students’ academic development in the context of studying abroad; however, few studies shed light on students’ studying and lived experiences outside of school. This thesis explores how technology can enhance Chinese international students’ informal acquisition of second language (L2) and their lived experiences in Canada. Through a qualitative case study, I describe what language difficulties newly arrived Chinese international students encounter, and how they cope with those language difficulties through technology-assisted informal L2 learning. Data sources include in-depth interviews and follow-up interviews, participants’ personal narratives, and researchers’ reflective journals. Theories of multiliteracies, basic interpersonal communicative skills and cognitive academic language proficiency distinction, as well as a communicative competence framework have been adopted as the theoretical frameworks for data analysis. The findings show that newly arrived Chinese international students’ major language difficulties includes lack of non-academic vocabulary, lack of understanding of sociocultural differences, and unfamiliarity with informal context embedded phrases. To overcome these language difficulties, they creatively design informal L2 learning experiences through the combinational use of technology tools. The results have significant implications for newly arrived Chinese international students’ informal L2 learning

Teaching Chinese as a Second Language: Exploring Teaching Methods, Identity Development, and Learner-Centered Education

This portfolio includes a collection of essays reflecting the writer’s beliefs about teaching and explorations of topics related to second language teaching, especially in the context of teaching Chinese as a foreign language. The first part of the portfolio consists of the writer’s teaching philosophy statement, professional environment, and reflections on her observations of other teachers’ classes. The second part consists of two papers focused on the interconnections between language and culture. The first explores refusal strategies in Chinese while the second addresses identity negotiation in Chinese Heritage Learners’ study abroad experiences. The third part is an annotated bibliography on collaborative writing

El uso de las sitcoms para el aprendizaje cultural en el aula de idiomas: Un seminario para universitarios

This article examines the perceptions of EFL university students regarding an intercultural workshop that uses a sitcom (Master of None) as an instructional tool. Prior to detailing the workshop and the students’ assessment, this paper deals with the evolving role of culture in the English language classroom. Concentrating on cultural facts about English-speaking countries has proven insufficient for today’s world, where the vast majority of interactions happen among non-native speakers. Students need to work on developing skills and attitudes in order to become intercultural citizens. Even though language teaching has evolved to accommodate this shift in cultural perspective, textbooks, the backbone of language teaching, have remained almost unaffected by this change of paradigm. In this context, TV shows can be a dependable cultural training tool. Data obtained via a Likert-scale questionnaire show the participants’ appreciation for the workshop, and their highly positive perception of the acquisition of cultural knowledge and the development of attitudes and skills using this type of workshop.Este trabajo analiza las percepciones de un grupo de alumnos universitarios tras participar en un seminario de formación intercultural en el que se ha usado como herramienta pedagógica un episodio de la serie Master of None. Como paso previo a la exposición de los contenidos del seminario y a la evaluación que los propios alumnos han hecho del mismo, este artículo ha profundizado en la evolución del concepto de cultura dentro del ámbito de la enseñanza de lenguas extranjeras. La enseñanza de contenidos culturales referentes a países de lengua extranjera ya no es suficiente en el mundo global que habitamos, donde la mayoría de las interacciones en inglés tienen lugar entre hablantes no nativos de esta lengua. Los alumnos han de desarrollar una serie de habilidades y actitudes que les permitan convertirse en ciudadanos interculturales. A pesar de que la enseñanza de idiomas está tratando de acomodarse a este cambio de perspectiva cultural, los libros de texto, que conforman su columna vertebral, no han experimentado dicho cambio. En este contexto, las series de televisión pueden ser una eficiente herramienta de formación cultural. Los resultados de la evaluación, extraídos de un cuestionario de escala Likert, muestran que los participantes muestran interés por este tipo de actividad y que su percepción es muy positiva en lo que se refiere a la adquisición de conocimientos y el desarrollo de actitudes y habilidades culturales

EL USO DE LAS "SITCOMS" PARA EL APRENDIZAJE CULTURAL EN EL AULA DE IDIOMAS: UN SEMINARIO PARA UNIVERSITARIOS

This article examines the perceptions of EFL university students regarding an intercultural workshop that uses a sitcom (Master of None) as an instructional tool. Prior to detailing the workshop and the students’ assessment, this paper deals with the evolving role of culture in the English language classroom. Concentrating on cultural facts about English-speaking countries has proven insufficient for today’s world, where the vast majority of interactions happen among non-native speakers. Students need to work on developing skills and attitudes in order to become intercultural citizens. Even though language teaching has evolved to accommodate this shift in cultural perspective, textbooks, the backbone of language teaching, have remained almost unaffected by this change of paradigm. In this context, TV shows can  be a dependable cultural training tool. Data obtained via a Likert-scale questionnaire show the participants’ appreciation for the workshop, and their highly positive perception of the acquisition of cultural knowledge and the development of attitudes and skills using this type of workshop.Este trabajo analiza las percepciones de un grupo de alumnos universitarios tras participar en un seminario de formación intercultural en el que se ha usado como herramienta pedagógica un episodio de la serie Master of None. Como paso previo a la exposición de los contenidos del seminario y a la evaluación que los propios alumnos han hecho del mismo, este artículo ha profundizado en la evolución del concepto de cultura dentro del ámbito de la enseñanza de lenguas extranjeras. La enseñanza de contenidos culturales referentes a países de lengua extranjera ya no es suficiente en el mundo global que habitamos, donde la mayoría de las interacciones en inglés tienen lugar entre hablantes no nativos de esta lengua. Los alumnos han de desarrollar una serie de habilidades y actitudes que les permitan convertirse en ciudadanos interculturales. A pesar de que la enseñanza de idiomas está tratando de acomodarse a este cambio de perspectiva cultural, los libros de texto, que conforman su columna vertebral, no han experimentado dicho cambio. En este contexto, las series de televisión pueden ser una eficiente herramienta de formación cultural. Los resultados de la evaluación, extraídos de un cuestionario de escala Likert, muestran que los participantes muestran interés por este tipo de actividad y que su percepción es muy positiva en lo que se refiere a la adquisición de conocimientos y el desarrollo de actitudes y habilidades culturales.This article examines the perceptions of EFL university students regarding an intercultural workshop that uses a sitcom (Master of None) as an instructional tool. Prior to detailing the workshop and the students’ assessment, this paper deals with the evolving role of culture in the English language classroom. Concentrating on cultural facts about English-speaking countries has proven insufficient for today’s world, where the vast majority of interactions happen among non-native speakers. Students need to work on developing skills and attitudes in order to become intercultural citizens. Even though language teaching has evolved to accommodate this shift in cultural perspective, textbooks, the backbone of language teaching, have remained almost unaffected by this change of paradigm. In this context, TV shows can  be a dependable cultural training tool. Data obtained via a Likert-scale questionnaire show the participants’ appreciation for the workshop, and their highly positive perception of the acquisition of cultural knowledge and the development of attitudes and skills using this type of workshop

Greek Mythology Vocabulary Building

The guiding question addressed in this Capstone is: How will the use of task-based vocabulary activities to support literacy development affect the vocabulary acquisition of elementary Korean English language learners? It documents one teacher’s curriculum development of two units that offer a new perspective to ELL vocabulary acquisition by building vocabulary using morphological training then access and build on background knowledge through practical applications which lead to higher comprehension. This project explores a) the role that task-based curriculum plays on literacy development focused on the development activities that supports the vocabulary development of elementary Korean English language learners using Greek root words and affixes beyond vocabulary word lists. b) Uses grapheme, phoneme, morpheme awareness, integrated in a way that helps students understand how words are built and takes the form of a unit plan adapted from Understanding by Design Backward (Tomlinson & McTighe, 2006). c) Activates student knowledge in the application phase through personalized communication practice

Socially situated consumer cognition: from oral kinematics to grounded marketing

Sensory Marketing has long been uncovering surprising relations between the senses and mental experience, that is, how sensorial inputs may influence information-processing. Grounded Cognition proposes, however, that sensory but also motor experiences play an instrumental role in cognitive functioning. To further explore and expand knowledge on how muscular contractions and motor simulations cue judgments, we focused on the oral-facial muscular apparatus and examined the recently discovered in-out effect and its potential applications to marketing. Departing from the biomechanical overlap between the alimentation and oral communication functionalities of the mouth, this effect documents a stable preference for words whose consonantal articulation simulates ingestion movements, as opposite to words mimicking expectoration movements. Eight articles featuring 14 experiments (NTotal=4879) successfully (a) established the universality of the effect, replicating it in different languages and writing systems; (b) examined the role of fluency in this motor-to-affect link, revealing the lack of support for a mere fluency explanation and the need to test alternative mechanisms; and, (c) tested potential applications and boundary conditions that could potentially threat the effectiveness of using the in-out preference in marketing contexts. Our main contributions may be drawn from the innovative replications, rigorous tests to the alternative accounts and from the inputs provided for future brand name design. Additionally, we believe that our work is relevant to endorse a promising, yet still unresearched, approach. Acknowledging that cognition may rely so deeply in motor simulations and body movements, calls for a critical shift, urging researchers and managers to move towards Grounded Marketing.O Marketing Sensorial tem vindo a desvendar relações surpreendentes entre experiências sensoriais e mentais, revelando como os estímulos sensoriais influenciam o processamento de informação. A Cognição Situada propõe, contudo, que o funcionamento cognitivo depende do sistema sensorial mas também do motor. Para incrementar o conhecimento sobre a forma como as contrações musculares e simulações motoras influenciam os julgamentos, selecionámos o aparelho muscular orofacial para examinar o recém-descoberto efeito In-Out e as suas potenciais aplicações ao marketing. Reconhecendo a sobreposição muscular entre as funções de alimentação e comunicação, o efeito in-out demonstra que palavras cuja articulação simula movimentos de ingestão, são preferidas a palavras que mimetizam o movimento oposto – expectoração. Os oito artigos apresentados neste trabalho e as 14 experiências que os compõem (NTotal=4879) (a) estabelecem a universalidade do efeito, através da sua replicação em novas línguas e sistemas de escrita; (b) examinam o papel da fluência nesta relação motoro-afetiva, concluindo que não existe evidência suficiente para a reconhecer como a única explicação; e (c) testam potenciais aplicações e condições-limite que possam ameaçar a capitalização desta preferência no marketing. Além do carácter inovador das replicações, do rigor dos exames às explicações alternativas e das sugestões para o design de nomes de marcas, acreditamos que o principal contributo deste trabalho é apoiar uma abordagem promissora, mas ainda pouco explorada. O reconhecimento da centralidade que simulações motoras e movimentos corporais podem ter na cognição, motiva a adoção de uma nova perspectiva, que impele investigadores e gestores a avançar na direção do Marketing Situado