Self-efficacy and Anxiety in Learning English as a Foreign Language: Singing in Class Helps Speaking Performance

Learning is a process that involves both cognitive and affective components and that requires appropriate educational strategies. The present study investigates the links between self-efficacy and anxiety in second language learning, and the effectiveness of the singing songs teaching strategy upon students’ speaking performance. In particular, we tested whether singing songs in class during English lessons affects the relationship between self-efficacy, anxiety and performance in a group of Italian high school students learning English as a second language (N = 132; age ranging 16-19 years). The data were collected through a production task in which the vocabulary extension, the number of words, and the fluency of speech were coded and calculated as a general indicator of students’ linguistic competence. In addition, students were asked about their use of singing as an educational activity during English lessons. Results of bootstrapping analyses confirmed our prediction that foreign language self-efficacy is correlated to performance, through the mediation of anxiety. Our results also showed that the use of a singing songs strategy moderates the association of low self-efficacy to anxiety and performance, thus suggesting its plausibility as a positive pedagogical tool in second language learning activities. The theoretical and practical implications are discussed

The research and application of the Narrative format model.

In the last 15 years many studies focused on the use of the Narrative Format model for language education, aiming at analysing the factors of its effectiveness and showing the possible outcomes in terms of language learning in children. The possibility of applying the NF in different contexts and for different aims is guaranteed by the psychological and psycholinguistic bases of the model. In fact, with the NF activities the learners are put in a situation where their cognitive, social, relational and linguistic processes can work as they work during the natural language acquisition or even better, as described in the chapter XX by Taeschner. In this perspective, learning to speak a new language at school, or in the family, when the learner is a 24 months old child or an adolescent, or improving language production in L1 in children with special needs at school or in specific clinical setting should be pursued using the same mental processes, and using strategies and activities that activate and facilitate these processes. Furthermore, a big effort has been done in the last decades to develop at the same time the theoretical thinking about (first, second, foreign) language learning, the experimentation of teaching methodologies, interactional strategies and the development of teaching material and evaluation tools in order to allow professionals of language education to fully profit from the model. In this chapter the main results of the studies on the NF model will be presented and discussed in the different domains of application. Further directions for research will also be presented and discussed

Изучаване на английски език в детската стая : ранно преподаване на чужд език с модел на наратиния в формат

Psycholinguistic and neurolinguistic research showed that languages are better learnt during infancy and early childhood (Fabbro et al., 2002; Fabbro, 2004). On the other hand, it can be difficult to provide a foreign language teaching activity in Early Childhood Education Centers (ECEC) due to organizational and teacher’s issues. The focus of the present research is foreign language (English) teaching during early childhood using the Narrative Format model ‘The adventures of Hocus and Lotus’. Our research goal is to verify the effectiveness of foreign teaching in ECEC with the Narrative Format and investigate the process of language learning in 1 to 3 years old children

La comunicazione tra insegnanti e bambini bilingui nella scuola dell’infanzia. Una ricerca pilota in Italia e a Malta.

Lo studio ha esaminato la comunicazione di insegnanti e bambini prescolari di lingua minoritaria. Hanno partecipato a Malta e in Italia 26 bambini e le loro insegnanti. I genitori e le docenti hanno completato un questionario sullo sviluppo, l’esposizione e la competenza linguistica dei bambini a casa e a scuola rispettivamente. Un’interazione insegnante-bambino è stata osservata per analizzare i comportamenti comunicativi di adulti e bambini. Il vocabolario ricettivo ed espressivo dei bambini è stato misurato in italiano in Italia e in maltese e inglese per i bambini a Malta. È emersa una relazione positiva tra lessico dei bambini e comportamenti comunicativi tutoriali degli insegnanti. I risultati preliminari incoraggiano lo studio della relazione tra ambiente comunicativo e competenza in L2 dei bambini con background migratorio, importante per il loro adattamento e benessere.The study examined the communication between teachers and minority language preschool children. 26 children participated in Malta and Italy with their teachers. Parents and teachers completed a questionnaire on children’s development, exposure and language proficiency at home and school respectively. A teacher-child interaction was observed to analyze the communicative behaviors of teachers and children. The receptive and expressive vocabulary of the children was measured in Italian in Italy and in Maltese and English in Malta. A positive relationship emerged between children’s L2 vocabulary and teachers’ tutoring communicative behaviors. The preliminary results encourage the study of the relationship between the communicative environment and the L2 competence of children with migratory backgrounds, which is important for their adjustment and well-being

Contact with nature in educational settings might help cognitive functioning and promote positive social behavior

This research investigates the positive effects that contact with nature in educational settings has on pre-school children. Several studies have shown that contact with nature promotes many beneficial outcomes. In a study conducted in Italy, we tested the hypotheses that exposure to nature in educational settings promotes psychological restoration, strengthens children’s cognitive and affective resources and increases the quality of children’s social interaction. Children’s performance in structured activities and behaviour in free play were assessed through systematic observation, after time spent in outdoor green versus indoor space, respectively. The participants were 39 children from four different childcare centres in the Rome area. Findings confirm the hypothesized pattern, suggesting that contact with outdoor green spaces positively influences children’s cognitive performance, affective states and social behaviour

Imparare una lingua straniera in famiglia e i vantaggi del bilinguismo: il progetto BilFam.

Conoscere più di una lingua è importante per i futuri cittadini europei e del mondo. La prima infanzia è il momento migliore per diventare bilingue, perché il cervello è particolarmente flessibile e l’interesse nell’apprendimento delle lingue è molto alto nei bambini. Questi possono imparare due o più lingue se hanno la possibilità di usufruire della giusta quantità di input e se viene stimolata la loro motivazione e il loro divertimento. Parlare due lingue apporta numerosi vantaggi sia di tipo sociale che di tipo cognitivo. Quando in una famiglia si parlano due lingue differenti o quando una famiglia parla una lingua diversa da quella parlata nell’ambiente sociale in cui è inserita, i bambini hanno l’opportunità di crescere bilingui, ma questa possibilità richiede qualche sforzo e l’utilizzo di strategie linguistiche sistematiche da parte dei genitori. Per la maggior parte dei genitori l’obiettivo di crescere i propri figli bilingui non si associa alla disponibilità né di una concreta base teorica di riferimento né di strumenti e materiali la cui efficacia sia provata sperimentalmente Questo è precisamente l’obiettivo del progetto Bilfam, fornire ai genitori uno strumento valido, il Modello del FN (Taeschner, 2005), per la conoscenza e l’utilizzo di due lingue da parte dei propri figli in famiglia e con gli amici. I risultati preliminari suggeriscono che i bambini apprezzano le attività del progetto Bilfam ed utilizzano la seconda lingua non solo durante le attività, ma anche nella vita quotidiana. Il supporto fornito dal tutor e dagli altri partecipanti attraverso il sito web risulta importante per le famiglie ai fini del proseguimento del progetto. Ogni famiglia ha adattato le strategie proposte alla propria situazione e la qualità di tali strategie influenza l’acquisizione della seconda lingua.The paper describes the foreign language teching and learning programme tested in the BILFAM project (funded within European LLP) where monolingual families were provided with training, teaching material and tutoring for introducing a new language in their daily routines. The paper discusses the results of the intervention in terms of learning and of families' use of the available resources