7 research outputs found

    Advanced EFL learners' beliefs about language learning and teaching: a comparison between grammar, pronunciation, and vocabulary

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    This paper reports on the results of a study exploring learners’ beliefs on the learning and teaching of English grammar, pronunciation and vocabulary at tertiary level. While the importance of learners’ beliefs on the acquisition process is generally recognized, few studies have focussed on and compared learners’ views on different components of the language system. A questionnaire containing semantic scale and Likert scale items probing learners’ views on grammar, pronunciation and vocabulary was designed and completed by 117 native speakers of Dutch in Flanders, who were studying English at university. The analysis of the responses revealed that (i) vocabulary was considered to be different from grammar and pronunciation, both in the extent to which an incorrect use could lead to communication breakdown and with respect to the learners’ language learning strategies, (ii) learners believed in the feasibility of achieving a native-like proficiency in all three components, and (iii) in-class grammar, pronunciation and vocabulary exercises were considered to be useful, even at tertiary level. The results are discussed in light of pedagogical approaches to language teaching

    Timed and untimed grammaticality judgments measure distinct types of knowledge: Evidence from eye-movement patterns

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    Copyright © 2015 Cambridge University Press. Grammaticality judgment tests (GJTs) have been used to elicit data reflecting second language (L2) speakers' knowledge of L2 grammar. However, the exact constructs measured by GJTs, whether primarily implicit or explicit knowledge, are disputed and have been argued to differ depending on test-related variables (i.e., time pressure and item grammaticality). Using eye-tracking, this study replicates the GJT results in R. Ellis (2005). Twenty native and 40 nonnative English speakers judged sentences with and without time pressure. Analyses revealed that time pressure suppressed regressions (right-to-left eye movements) in nonnative speakers only. Conversely, both groups regressed more on untimed, grammatical items. These findings suggest that timed and untimed GJTs measure different constructs, which could correspond to implicit and explicit knowledge, respectively. In particular, they point to a difference in the levels of automat ic and controlled processing involved in responding to the timed and untimed tests. Furthermore, untimed grammatical items may induce GJT-specific task effects

    Physics and technology of the Next Linear Collider: a report submitted to Snowmass '96

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    We present the current expectations for the design and physics program of an e+e- linear collider of center of mass energy 500 GeV -- 1 TeV. We review the experiments that would be carried out at this facility and demonstrate its key role in exploring physics beyond the Standard Model over the full range of theoretical possibilities. We then show the feasibility of constructing this machine, by reviewing the current status of linear collider technology and by presenting a precis of our `zeroth-order' design
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