Search results for: language learning strategy instruction

Authors: Ozlem Bozok, Yusuf Bozok

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The importance of using mother tongue and translation in foreign language classrooms cannot be ignored and translation can be utilized as a method in English Language Teaching courses. There exist researches advocating or objecting to the use of translation in foreign language learning but they all have a point in common: Translation should be used as an aid to teaching, not an end in itself. In this research, prospective English language teachers’ opinions about translation use and use of mother tongue in foreign language teaching are investigated and according to the findings, some explanations and recommendations are made.

Keywords: exposure to foreign language translation, foreign language learning, prospective teachers’ opinions, use of L1

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Authors: Ya-Ting Carolyn Yang, Ping-Han Cheng, Shi-Hui Gilbert Chang, Terry Yuan-Fang Chen, Chih-Chieh Li

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Nanotechnology is widely applied in various areas so professionals in the related fields have to know more than nano knowledge. In the study, we focus on adopting ICT-assisted PBL in college general education to foster professionals who possess multiple abilities. The research adopted a pretest and posttest quasi-experimental design. The control group received traditional instruction, and the experimental group received ICT-assisted PBL instruction. Descriptive statistics will be used to describe the means, standard deviations, and adjusted means for the tests between the two groups. Next, analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) will be used to compare the final results of the two research groups after 6 weeks of instruction. Statistics gathered in the end of the research can be used to make contrasts. Therefore, we will see how different teaching strategies can improve students’ understanding about nanotechnology and learning skills.

Keywords: nanotechnology, science education, project-based learning, information and communication technology

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Authors: Amina Babou

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Gender and language is a moot and miscellaneous arena in the sphere of socio-linguistics, which has been proliferated so widely and rapidly in recent years. The dawn of research on gender and foreign language education was against the feminist researchers who allowed space for the bustling concourse of voices and perspectives in the arena of gender and language differences, in the early to the mid-1970. The objective of this scrutiny is to explore to what extent teaching gender and language in the English as a Foreign Language (EFL) classroom plays a pivotal role in learning language information and skills. Moreover, the gist of this paper is to investigate how EFL students in Algeria conflate their gender identities with the linguistic practices and scholastic expertise. To grapple with the full range of issues about the EFL students’ awareness about the negotiation of meanings in the classroom, we opt for observing, interviewing, and questioning later to check using ‘how-do-you do’ procedure. The analysis of the EFL classroom discourse, from five Algerian universities, reveals that speaking strategies such as the manners students make an abrupt topic shifts, respond spontaneously to the teacher, ask more questions, interrupt others to seize control of conversations and monopolize the speaking floor through denying what others have said, do not sit very lightly on 80.4% of female students’ shoulders. The data indicate that female students display the assertive style as a strategy of learning to subvert the norms of femininity, especially in the speaking module.

Keywords: EFL students, gender identity, linguistic styles, foreign language

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Authors: Naseer Ahmad

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This research investigates the intricate dynamics of language policy, ideology, and the choice of educational language as a medium of instruction in rural Pakistan. Focused on addressing the complexities of language practices in underexplored educational contexts, the study employed a case study approach, analyzing interviews with education authorities, teachers, and students, alongside classroom observations in English-medium and Urdu-medium rural schools. The research underscores the significance of understanding linguistic diversity within rural communities. The analysis of interviews and classroom observations revealed that language policies in rural schools are influenced by multiple factors, including historical legacies, societal language ideologies, and government directives. The dominance of Urdu and English as the preferred languages of instruction reflected a broader language hierarchy, where regional languages are often marginalized. This language ideology perpetuates a sense of linguistic inferiority among students who primarily speak regional languages. The impact of language choices on students' learning experiences and outcomes is a central focus of the research. It became evident that while policies advocate for specific language practices, the implementation often diverges due to multifarious socio-cultural, economic, and institutional factors. This disparity significantly impacts the effectiveness of educational processes, influencing pedagogical approaches, student engagement, academic outcomes, social mobility, and language choices. Based on the findings, the study concluded that due to policy and practice gap, rural people have complex perceptions and language choices. They perceived Urdu as a national, lingua franca, cultural, easy, or low-status language. They perceived English as an international, lingua franca, modern, difficult, or high-status language. They perceived other languages as mother tongue, local, religious, or irrelevant languages. This research provided insights that are crucial for theory, policy, and practice, addressing educational inequities and inclusive language policies. It set the stage for further research and advocacy efforts in the realm of language policies in diverse educational settings.

Keywords: language-in-education policy, language ideology, educational language choice, pakistan

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Authors: Adrian Florin Busu

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The communicative approach, or communicative language teaching, used for enhancing communicative skills in students in automatics is a modern teaching approach based on the concept of learning a language through having to communicate real meaning. In the communicative approach, real communication is both the objective of learning and the means through which it takes place. This approach was initiated during the 1970’s and quickly became prominent, as it proposed an alternative to the previous systems-oriented approaches. In other words, instead of focusing on the acquisition of grammar and vocabulary, the communicative approach aims at developing students’ competence to communicate in the target language with an enhanced focus on real-life situations. To put it in an nutshell, CLT considers using the language to be just as important as actually learning the language.

Keywords: communication, approach, objective, learning

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Authors: Richard Ayobayowa Foyewa

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This work examined the application of ICT in the teaching and learning of English language in Nigerian secondary schools. The definition of ICT was given briefly before areas in which the ICT could be applied in teaching and learning of English language were observed. Teachers’ attitudes towards the use of the computer and Internet facilities were also observed. The conclusion drawn was that ICT is very relevant in the teaching and learning of English language in Nigerian secondary schools. It was therefore recommended that teachers who are not computer literate should go for the training without further delay; government should always employ English language teachers who are computer literates. Government should make fund available in schools for the training and re-training of English language teachers in various computer programmes and in making internet facilities available in secondary schools.

Keywords: ICT, Nigerian secondary schools, teaching and learning of English

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Authors: Kanika Sood, Sijie Shang

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A fundamental goal of education includes preparing students to become a part of the global workforce by making beneficial contributions to society. In this paper, we analyze student performance for multiple courses that involve different teaching pedagogies: a cooperative learning technique and an inquiry-based learning strategy. Student performance includes student engagement, grades, and attendance records. We perform this study in the Computer Science department for online and in-person courses for 450 students. We will perform correlation analysis to study the relationship between student scores and other parameters such as gender, mode of learning. We use natural language processing and machine learning to analyze student feedback data and performance data. We assess the learning outcomes of two teaching pedagogies for undergraduate and graduate courses to showcase the impact of pedagogical adoption and learning outcome as determinants of academic achievement. Early findings suggest that when using the specified pedagogies, students become experts on their topics and illustrate enhanced engagement with peers.

Keywords: bag-of-words, cooperative learning, education, inquiry-based learning, in-person learning, natural language processing, online learning, sentiment analysis, teaching pedagogy

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Authors: Mustafa Gultekin

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It is believed that drama can be used in language classes to create a positive atmosphere for students to use the target language in an interactive way. Thus, drama has been extensively used in many settings in language classes. Although happening has been generally used as a performance art of theatre, this new kind of performance has not been widely known in language teaching area. Therefore, it can be an innovative idea to use happening in language classes, and thus a positive environment can be created for students to use the language in an interactive way. Happening can be defined as an art performance that puts emphasis on interaction in an audience. Because of its interactive feature, happening can also be used in language classes to motivate students to use the language in an interactive environment. The present study aims to explain how a happening performance can be applied to a learning environment to teach vocabulary in English. In line with this purpose, a learning environment was designed for a vocabulary presentation lesson. At the end of the performance, students were asked to compare the traditional way of teaching and happening performance in terms of effectiveness. It was found that happening performance provided the students with a more creative and interactive environment to use the language. Therefore, happening can be used in language classrooms as an innovative tool for education.

Keywords: English, happening, language learning, vocabulary teaching

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Authors: Eisa M. Al-Balhan, Mamdouh M. Soliman

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This study introduced learning styles techniques into mathematics teaching to improve mathematics achievement and motivation among Kuwaiti fourth- and fifth-grade low achievers. The study consisted of two groups. The control group (N = 212) received traditional math tutoring based on a textbook and the tutor’s knowledge of math. The experimental group (N = 209) received math tutoring from instructors trained in the Learning Style™ approach. Three instruments were used: Motivation Scale towards Mathematics; Achievement in Mathematics Test; and the manual of learning style approach indicating the individual’s preferred learning style: AKV, AVK, KAV, KVA, VAK, or VKA. The participating teachers taught to the detected learning style of each student or group. The findings show significant improvement in achievement and motivation towards mathematics in the experimental group. The outcome offers information to variables affecting achievement and motivation towards mathematics and demonstrates the leading role of Kuwait in education within the region.

Keywords: elementary school, learning style, math low achievers, SmartWired™, math instruction, motivation

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Authors: Rendani Mercy Makhwathana

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This paper intends to explore teachers' encounters when teaching English First Additional Language in rural public schools. Teachers are pillars of any education system around the globe. Educational transformations hinge on them as critical role players in the education system. Thus, teachers' encounters are worth consideration, for they impact learners' learning and the well-being of education in general. An exploratory qualitative approach was used in this paper. The population for this paper comprised all Foundation Phase teachers in the district. A purposive sample of 15 Foundation Phase teachers from five rural-based schools was used. Data were collected through classroom observation and individual face-to-face interviews. Data were categorized, analyzed, and interpreted. Amongst the revealed teachers' encounters are learners' inability to read and write and learners' lack of English language background and learners' lack of the vocabulary to express themselves. This paper recommends the provision of relevant resources and support to effectively teach English First Additional Language to enable learners' engagement and effective use of the English language.

Keywords: first additional language, english second language, medium of instruction, teacher professional development

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Authors: Shazi Shah Jabeen, Ajay Jesse Thomas

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The study is aimed at understanding the learning trends of students who opt for online language courses and to assess the effectiveness of the same. Multiple factors including use of the latest available technology and the skills that are trained by these online methods have been assessed. An attempt has been made to answer how each of the various language skills is trained online and how effective the online methods are compared to the classroom methods when students interact with peers and instructor. A mixed method research design was followed for collecting information for the study where a survey by means of a questionnaire and in-depth interviews with a number of respondents were undertaken across the various institutes and study centers located in the United Arab Emirates. The questionnaire contained 19 questions which included 7 sub-questions. The study revealed that the students find learning with an instructor to be a lot more effective than learning alone in an online environment. They prefer classroom environment more than the online setting for language learning.

Keywords: effectiveness, language, online learning, skills

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Authors: Shamim Ali

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Researchers and teachers have begun developing digital games and model environments for educational purpose; therefore this study examines the effect of a videos game on secondary school students’ language learning motivation. Secondly, it tries to find out the opportunities to develop a decision making process and simultaneously it analyzes the solutions for further implementation in educational setting. Participants were 30 male students randomly assigned to one of the following three treatments: 10 students were assigned to read the game’s story; 10 students were players, who played video game; and, and the last 10 students acted as watchers and observers, their duty was to watch their classmates play the digital video game. A language learning motivation scale was developed and it was given to the participants as a pre- and post-test. Results indicated a significant language learning motivation and the participants were quite motivated in the end. It is, thus, concluded that the use of video games can help enhance high school students’ language learning motivation. It was suggested that video games should be used as a complementary activity not as a replacement for textbook since excessive use of video games can divert the original purpose of learning.

Keywords: EFL, English as a Foreign Language, motivation, video games, EFL learners

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Authors: Anjum Afrooze

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The curriculum at General Sciences department in Prince Sultan University includes ‘Physical science’ for Computer Science, Information Technology and Business courses. Students are apathetic towards Physical Science and question, as to, ‘How this course is related to their majors?’ English is not a native language for the students and also for many instructors. More than sixty percent of the students come from institutions where English is not the medium of instruction, which makes student learning and academic achievement challenging. After observing the less enthusiastic student cohort for two consecutive semesters, the instructor was keen to find effective strategies to enhance learning and further encourage deep learning by engaging students in different tasks to empower them with necessary skills and motivate them. This study is participatory action research, in which instructor designs effective tasks to engage students in their learning. The study is conducted through two semesters with a total of 200 students. The effectiveness of this approach is studied using questionnaire at the end of each semester and teacher observation. Major outcomes of this study were overall improvement in students attitude towards science learning, enhancement of multiple skills like note taking, problem solving, language proficiency and also fortifying confidence. This process transformed instructor into engaging and reflecting practitioner. Also, these strategies were implemented by other instructors teaching the course and proved effective in opening a path to changes in related areas of the course curriculum. However, refinement in the strategies could be done based on student evaluation and instructors observation.

Keywords: group activity, language proficiency, reasoning skills, science learning

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Authors: Soo Hyung Kim

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Two different learning approaches were suggested: focusing on factual knowledge or focusing on the embedded meaning in the statements. Each way of learning has positive effects on different question categories, where factual knowledge helps more with simple fact questions, and searching for meaning in given information helps learn causal relationship and the embedded meaning. To test this belief, two groups of learners (12 male and 39 female adults aged 18-37) watched a ten-minute long Youtube video about various factual events of American history, their meaning, and the causal relations of the events. The fact group was asked to focus on factual knowledge in the video, and the meaning group was asked to focus on the embedded meaning in the video. After watching the video, both groups took multiple-choice questions, which consisted of 10 questions asking the factual knowledge addressed in the video and 10 questions asking embedded meaning in the video, such as the causal relationship between historical events and the significance of the event. From ANCOVA analysis, it was found that the factual knowledge showed higher performance on the factual questions than the meaning group, although there was no group difference on the questions about the meaning between the two groups. The finding suggests that teacher instruction plays an important role in learners constructing a different type of knowledge in online learning.

Keywords: factual knowledge, instruction, meaning-based knowledge, online learning

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Authors: Sreekanth Reddy Ballarapu

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The perception of the whole process of teaching and learning is undergoing a drastic and radical change. More and more student-centered, pragmatic, and flexible approaches are gradually replacing teacher-centered lecturing and structural-syllabus instruction. The issue of teaching English as a Foreign language is no exception in this regard. The traditional Present-Practice-Produce (P-P-P) method of teaching English is overtaken by Task-Based Teaching which is a subsidiary branch of Communicative Language Teaching. At this juncture this article strongly tries to convey that - Task-based learning, has an advantage over other traditional methods of teaching. All teachers of English must try to customize their texts into productive tasks, apply them, and evaluate the students as well as themselves. Task Based Learning is a double edged tool which can enhance the performance of both the teacher and the taught. The sample for this case study is a class of 35 students from Semester III - Network branch at TVTC College of Technology, Adhum - Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The students are high school passed out and aged between 19-21years.For the present study the prescribed textbook Technical English 1 by David Bonamy was used and a number of language tasks were chalked out during the pre- task stage and the learners were made to participate voluntarily and actively. The Action Research methodology was adopted within the dual framework of Communicative Language Teaching and Task-Based Learning. The different tools such as questionnaires, feedback and interviews were used to collect data. This study provides information about various techniques of Communicative Language Teaching and Task Based Learning and focuses primarily on the advantages of using a Task Based Learning approach. This article presents in detail the objectives of the study, the planning and implementation of the action research, the challenges encountered during the execution of the plan, and the pedagogical outcome of this project. These research findings serve two purposes: first, it evaluates the effectiveness of Task Based Learning and, second, it empowers the teacher's professionalism in designing and implementing the tasks. In the end, the possibility of scope for further research is presented in brief.

Keywords: action research, communicative language teaching, task based learning, perception

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Authors: Aziz Soubai

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The primary issue is that English as foreign language learners don’t use English outside the classroom. The only little exposure is inside the classroom, and that’s not enough to make them good language learners! Edmodo, like the other Learning Management Systems, can be used to encourage students to collaborate with each other and with global classrooms on projects where English is used- Some examples of collaboration with different schools will be mentioned and how the Substitution Augmentation Modification Redefinition (SAMR) model and its stages can be applied in the activities, especially for teachers who are hesitant to introduce technology or don’t have a lot of technical knowledge. There will also be some focus on Edmodo groups and on how flipped and blended learning can be used as an extension for classroom time and to help the teacher address language problems and improve students’ language skills, especially writing, reading and communication. It is also equally important to use Edmodo badges and certificates for motivating and engaging learners and gamifying the lesson.

Keywords: EFL learners, language classroom-learning management system, edmodo, SAMR, language skills

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Authors: Subramaniam Chandran, A. Geetha

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This paper addresses three issues: how to prepare the instructional design for imparting English language skill from inter-disciplinary self-learning material; how the disadvantaged students are benefited from such kind of language skill imparted through m-learning; and how do m-learners perform better than the other learners. This paper examines these issues through an experimental study conducted among the distance learners enrolled in a preparatory program for bachelor’s degree. This program is designed for the disadvantaged learners especially for the school drop-outs to qualify to pursue graduate program through distant education. It also explains how mobile learning helps them to enhance their capacity in learning despite their rural background and other disadvantages. In India, nearly half of the students enrolled in schools do not complete their study. The pursuance of higher education is very low when compared with developed countries. This study finds a significant increase in their learning capacity and mobile learning seems to be a viable alternative where the conventional system could not reach the disadvantaged learners. Improving the English language skill is one of the reasons for such kind of performance. Exercises framed from the relevant self-learning material for enhancing English language skill not only improves language skill but also widens the subject-knowledge. This paper explains these issues out of the study conducted among the disadvantaged learners.

Keywords: English language skill, disadvantaged learners, distance education, m-learning

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Authors: Belkhadir Radouane

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In this study, author tried to explore the beliefs of some Moroccan teachers working in the delegations of Safi and Youcefia about the usefulness of first and second languages in learning the third language. More specifically, author attempted to see the extent to which these teachers believe that a first and second language can serve students in learning a third one. The first language in this context is Arabic, the second is French, and the third is English. The teachers’ beliefs were gathered through a questionnaire that was addressed via Google Forms. Then, the results were analyzed using the same application. It was found that teachers are positive about the usefulness of the first and second language in learning the third one, but most of them rarely use in a conscious way activities that serve this purpose.

Keywords: Bilinguilism, teachers beliefs, English as ESL, Morocco

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Authors: Kuei-Hao Li, Eden Huang

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Motivation suggests the willingness one person has towards taking action. Learners’ motivation has frequently been regarded as the most crucial factor in successful language acquisition. Without sufficient motivation, learners cannot achieve long-term learning goals despite remarkable abilities. Therefore, the study aims to investigate motivation of interaction tasks designed by the researchers for college EFL learners in Travel English class in virtual reality environment, integrating CUE model, Cognition, Usage and Expansion in the course. Thirty college learners were asked to join the virtual language learning website designed by the researchers. Data was collected via feedback questionnaire, interview, and learner interactions. The findings indicated that the course in the CUE model in language learning website of virtual reality environment was effective at motivating EFL learners and improving their oral communication and social interactions in the learning process. Some pedagogical implications are also provided in helping both language instructors and EFL learners in virtual reality environment.

Keywords: motivation, virtual reality, virtual language learning, second language acquisition

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Authors: Wichuda Kunnu, Aungkana Sukwises

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Audio-lingual method (ALM) is a teaching approach that is claimed that ineffective for teaching second/foreign languages. Because some linguists and second/foreign language teachers believe that ALM is a rote learning style. However, this study is done on a belief that ALM will be able to solve Thais’ English speaking problem. This paper aims to report the findings on teaching English speaking to adult learners with an “adapted ALM”, one distinction of which is to use Thai as the medium language of instruction. The participants are consisted of 9 adult learners. They were allowed to speak English more freely using both the materials presented in the class and their background knowledge of English. At the end of the course, they spoke English more fluently, more confidently, to the extent that they applied what they learnt both in and outside the class.

Keywords: teaching English, audio lingual method, cognitive science, psychology

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Authors: J. Knight, E. Barberà

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Language learning strategies have been defined as thoughts and actions, consciously chosen and operationalized by language learners, to help them in carrying out a multiplicity of tasks from the very outset of learning to the most advanced levels of target language performance. While research in the field of Second Language Acquisition has focused on ‘good’ language learners, the effectiveness of strategy-use and orchestration by effective learners in face-to-face classrooms much less research has attended to learner strategies in online contexts, particular strategies in relation to technological tool use which can be part of a task design. In addition, much research on learner strategies and strategy use has been explored focusing on cognitive, attitudinal and metacognitive behaviour with less research focusing on the social aspect of strategies. This study focuses on how learners mediate with a technological tool designed to support synchronous spoken interaction and how this shape their spoken interaction in the opening of their talk. A case study approach is used incorporating notions from communities of practice theory to analyse and understand learner strategies of dyads carrying out a role play task. The study employs analysis of transcripts of spoken interaction in the openings of the talk along with log files of tool use. The study draws on results of previous studies pertaining to the same tool as a form of triangulation. Findings show how learners gain pre-task planning time through technological tool control. The strategies involving learners’ choices to enter and exit the tool shape their spoken interaction qualitatively, with some cases demonstrating long silences whilst others appearing to start the pedagogical task immediately. Who/what learners orientate to in the openings of the talk: an audience (i.e. the teacher), each other and/or screen-based signifiers in the opening moments of the talk also becomes a focus. The study highlights how tool use as a social practice should be considered a learning strategy in online contexts whereby different usages may be understood in the light of the more usual asynchronous social practices of the online community. The teachers’ role in the community is also problematised as the evaluator of the practices of that community. Results are pertinent for task design for synchronous speaking tasks. The use of community of practice theory supports an understanding of strategy use that involves both metacognition alongside social context revealing how tool-use strategies may need to be orally (socially) negotiated by learners and may also differ from an online language community.

Keywords: learner strategy, tool use, community of practice, speaking task

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Authors: Subramaniam Chandran, A. Geetha

Abstract:

This paper addresses three issues: how to prepare instructional design for imparting English language skill from inter-disciplinary self-learning material; how the disadvantaged students are benefited from such kind of language skill imparted through m-learning; and how do the m-learners perform better than the other learners. This paper examines these issues through an experimental study conducted among the distance learners enrolled in preparatory program for bachelor’s degree. This program is designed for the disadvantage learners especially for the school drop-outs to qualify to pursue graduate program through distant education. It also explains how mobile learning helps them to enhance their capacity in learning despite their rural background and other disadvantages. In India nearly half of the students enrolled in schools do not complete their study. The pursuance of higher education is very low when compared with developed countries. This study finds a significant increase in their learning capacity and mobile learning seems to be a viable alternative where conventional system could not reach the disadvantaged learners. Improving the English language skill is one of the reasons for such kind of performance. Exercises framed from the relevant self-learning material for enhancing English language skill not only improves language skill but also widens the subject-knowledge. This paper explains these issues out of the study conducted among the disadvantaged learners.

Keywords: English language skill, disadvantaged learners, distance education, m-learning

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Authors: Bahia Braktia, Ana Marcela Montenegro Sanchez

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Social media, such as Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, has been used for teaching and learning for quite some time. These platforms have been proven to be a good tool to improve various language skills, students’ performance of the English language, motivation as well as trigger the authentic language interaction. However, little is known about the potential effects of social media usage on the learning performance of Arabic language learners. The present study explores the potential role that the social media technologies play in learning Arabic as a foreign language at a university in Southeast of United States. In order to investigate this issue, an online survey was administered to examine the perceptions and attitudes of American students learning Arabic. The research questions were: How does social media, specifically Facebook and Twitter, impact the students' Arabic language skills, and what is their attitude toward it? The preliminary findings of the study showed that students had a positive attitude toward the use of social media to enhance their Arabic language skills, and that they used a range of social media features to expose themselves to the Arabic language and communicate in Arabic with native Arabic speaking friends. More detailed findings will be shared in the light data analysis with the audience during the presentation.

Keywords: foreign language learning, social media, students’ perceptions, survey

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Authors: Olusegun Omoluwa, Kolawole Israel Anthony

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Pupils with learning disabilities are found in every classroom, but because learning disabilities cannot be seen, the condition is often too neglected. Unless these pupils are recognised and treated, they are likely to become educational discards. This study consequently attempted to determine effects of self-monitoring strategy on homework completion among pupils with learning disabilities. Ninety (90) participants were engaged in the study. Pre-test, post-test, control group quasi experimental design was adopted. Purposive sampling technique was used to select pupils with evidence of learning disabilities from three primary schools in Ondo State. Findings showed that self-monitoring strategy was significant in enhancing homework completion among pupils with learning disabilities. However, gender and self-esteem did not significantly contribute to homework completion. The study therefore recommended that measures such that would uncover unsettling academic, psychological and emotional deficiencies of these pupils through appropriate diagnosis should be undertaken by the parents and teachers, in order for them to have a sense of belonging in the society.

Keywords: self monitoring, home work completion, learning dissabilities, learning

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Authors: Rasha Alshaye

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Blended learning has become an innovative model that combines face-to-face with e-learning approaches. The Saudi Electronic University (SEU) has adopted blended learning as a flexible approach that provides instructors and learners with a motivating learning environment to stimulate the teaching and learning process. This study investigates the perceptions of English language instructors, teaching the four English language skills at Saudi Electronic University. Four main domains were examined in this study; challenges that the instructors encounter while implementing the blended learning approach, enhancing student-instructor interaction, flexibility in teaching, and the lack of technical skills. Furthermore, the study identifies and represents the instructors’ aspirations and plans to utilize this approach in enhancing the teaching and learning experience. Main findings indicate that instructors at Saudi Electronic University experience some challenges while teaching the four language skills. However, they find the blended learning approach motivating and flexible for them and their students. This study offers some important understandings into how instructors are applying the blended learning approach and how this process can be enriched.

Keywords: blended learning, English language skills, English teaching, instructors' perceptions

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Authors: Peizhu Liu

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Dual language education, also known as immersion education, differs from traditional language programs that teach a second or foreign language as a subject. Instead, dual language programs adopt a content-based approach, using both a majority language (e.g., English, in the case of the United States) and a minority language (e.g., Spanish or Chinese) as a medium of instruction to teach math, science, and social studies. By granting each language of instruction equal status, dual language education seeks to educate not only meaningfully but equitably and to foster tolerance and appreciation of diversity, making it essential for immigrants, refugees, indigenous peoples, and other marginalized students. Despite the cognitive and academic benefits of dual language education, recent literature has revealed that English is disproportionately privileged across dual language programs. Scholars have expressed concerns about the unbalanced status of majority and minority languages in dual language education, as favoring English in this context may inadvertently reaffirm its dominance and moreover fail to serve the needs of children whose primary language is not English. Through a year-long study of a Chinese-English dual language program, the extensively disproportionate use of English has also been observed by the researcher. However, despite the fact that Chinese-English dual language programs are the second-most popular program type after Spanish in the United States, this issue remains underexplored in the existing literature on Chinese-English dual language education. In fact, the number of Chinese-English dual language programs being offered in the U.S. has grown rapidly, from 8 in 1988 to 331 as of 2023. Using Norton and Darvin's investment model theory, the current study investigates teachers' language use and investment in teaching Chinese and English in a Chinese-English dual language program at an urban public school in New York City. The program caters to a significant number of minority children from working-class families. Adopting an ethnographic and discourse analytic approach, this study seeks to understand language use dynamics in the program and how micro- and macro-factors, such as students' identity construction, parents' and teachers' language ideologies, and the capital associated with each language, influence teachers' investment in teaching Chinese and English. The research will help educators and policymakers understand the obstacles that stand in the way of the goal of dual language education—that is, the creation of a more inclusive classroom, which is achieved by regarding both languages of instruction as equally valuable resources. The implications for how to balance the use of the majority and minority languages will also be discussed.

Keywords: dual language education, bilingual education, language immersion education, content-based language teaching

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Authors: Jonathan Bolduc

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Studies have demonstrated the effectiveness of music training approaches to help children with language disabilities. Because music is closely associated with a number of cognitive functions, including language, it has been hypothesized that musical skills transfer to other domains. Research suggests that music training strengthens basic auditory processing skills in dyslexic children and may ameliorate phonological deficits. Furthermore, music instruction has the particular advantage of being non-literacy-based, thus removing the frustrations that can be associated with reading and writing activities among children with specific learning disabilities. In this study, we assessed the effect of implementing an intensive music program on the development of language skills (phonological and reading) in 4- to 9-year-old children. Seventeen children (N=17) participated in the study. The experiment took place over 6 weeks in a controlled environment. Eighteen lessons of 40 minutes were offered during this period by two music specialists. The Dalcroze, Orff, and Kodaly approaches were used. A series of qualitative measures were implemented to document the contribution of music training to this population. Currently, the data is being analyzed. The first results show that learning music seems to significantly improve verbal memory. We already know that language disabilities are considered one of the main causes of school dropout as well as later professional and social failure. We aim to corroborate that an integrated music education program can provide children with language disabilities with the same opportunities to develop and succeed in school as their classmates. Scientifically, the results will contribute to advance the knowledge by identifying the more effective music education strategies to improve the overall development of children worldwide.

Keywords: music education, music, art education, language diasabilities

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Authors: J. H. Low, S. H. Hew, C. O. Wong

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This paper proposes an innovative approach to represent the pictogram Chinese characters. The advantage of this representation is using an extraordinary to represent the pictogram Chinese character. This extraordinary representation is created accordingly to the original pictogram Chinese characters revolution. The purpose of this innovative creation is to assistant the learner learning Chinese as second language (SCL) in Chinese language learning specifically on memorize Chinese characters. Commonly, the SCL will give up and frustrate easily while memorize the Chinese characters by rote. So, our innovative representation is able to help on memorize the Chinese character by the help of visually storytelling. This innovative representation enhances the Chinese language learning experience of SCL.

Keywords: Chinese e-learning, innovative Chinese character representation, knowledge management, language learning

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Authors: M. Hadavi, Z. Hashemi

Abstract:

Learning strategies play an important role in the development of language skills. Vocabulary learning strategies as the backbone of these strategies have become a major part of English language teaching. This study is a comparative analysis of Vocabulary Learning Strategies (VLS) use and preference among freshmen and senior EFL medical sciences students with different fields of study. 449 students (236 freshman and 213 seniors) participated in the study. 64.6% were female and 35.4% were male. The instrument utilized in this research was a questionnaire consisting of 41 items related to the students’ approach to vocabulary learning. The items were classified under eight sections as dictionary strategies, guessing strategies, study preferences, memory strategies, autonomy, note- taking strategies, selective attention, and social strategies. The participants were asked to answer each item with a 5-point Likert-style frequency scale as follows:1) I never or almost never do this, 2) I don’t usually do this, 3) I sometimes do this, 4) I usually do this, and 5)I always or almost always do this. The results indicated that freshmen students and particularly surgical technology students used more strategies compared to the seniors. Overall guessing and dictionary strategies were the most frequently used strategies among all the learners (p=0/000). The mean and standard deviation of using VLS in the students who had no previous history of participating in the private English language classes was less than the students who had attended these type of classes (p=0/000). Female students tended to use social and study preference strategies whereas male students used mostly guessing and dictionary strategies. It can be concluded that the senior students under instruction from the university have learned to rely on themselves and choose the autonomous strategies more, while freshmen students use more strategies that are related to the study preferences.

Keywords: vocabulary leaning strategies, medical sciences, students, linguistics

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Authors: A. Ishag, E. Witruk, C. Altmayer

Abstract:

Motivation and attitudes are considered as hypothetical psychological constructs in explaining the process of second language learning. Gardner (1985) – who first systematically investigated the motivational factors in second language acquisition – found that L2 achievement is related not only to the individual learner’s linguistic aptitude or general intelligence but also to the learner’s motivation and interest in learning the target language. Traditionally language learning motivation can be divided into two types: integrative motivation – the desire to integrate oneself with the target culture; and instrumental motivation – the desire to learn a language in order to meet a specific language requirement such as for employment. One of the Gardner’s main ideas is that the integrative motivation plays an important role in second language acquisition. It is directly and positively related to second language achievement more than instrumental motivation. However, the significance of integrative motivation reflects a rather controversial set of findings. On the other hand, Students’ attitudes towards the target language, its speakers and the learning context may all play some part in explaining their success in learning a language. Accordingly, the present study aims at exploring the significance of motivational and attitudinal factors in learning foreign languages, namely English and German among Sudanese undergraduate students from a psycholinguistic and interdisciplinary perspective. The sample composed of 221 students from the English and German language departments respectively at the University of Khartoum in Sudan. The results indicate that English language’s learners are instrumentally motivated and that German language’s learners have positive attitudes towards the German language community and culture. Furthermore, there are statistical significant differences in the attitudes toward the two languages due to gender; where female students have more positive attitudes than their male counterparts. However, there are no differences along the variables of academic grade and study level. Finally, the reasons of studying the English or German language have also been indicated.

Keywords: motivation and attitudes, foreign language learning, english language, german language

Procedia PDF Downloads 641