Oral corrective feedback in the foreign language classroom: how it affects interaction in analytic foreign language teaching

The discussion on the role of corrective feedback is part of a larger discussion on the role of ‘focusing on form’ in foreign language teaching (Focus on form in classroom second language acquisition, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1998). Studies conducted in communicative and content-based foreign language teaching (FLT) settings have shown that some focus on form seems to be required for learners to ‘notice the gap’ (in: R. Day (Ed.), Talking to Learn, Newbury House, Rowley, MA, pp. 237–326) between their erroneous utterances and the target language.This article discusses the role of different types of oral corrective feedback in analytic FLT. Stern (in: B. Harley, P. Allen, J. Cummins, M. Swain (Eds.), The Development of Second Language Proficiency, Cambridge University Press, New York, pp. 93–109; Issues and options in language teaching, Oxford University Press, Oxford) refers to FLT as analytic when the focus of instruction is on the form of the foreign language as opposed to more content-based approaches where the focus is on meaning and content. Typical for analytic FLT are discrete point presentation along with feedback on formal error. This type of FLT is still common practice in Belgian secondary schools.The study explores the role of different kinds of corrective feedback in an analytic setting (German as a foreign language in Flanders, Belgium). The frequency and distribution of several corrective feedback types together with the frequency and distribution of different types of learner uptake following each feedback type (see Stud. Second Language Acquisit. 19 (1997) 37) are discussed. The question then is which strategy is to be preferred in terms of noticing the feedback.     

汉语史知识在对外汉语教学中的应用

语言是具有继承性的,汉语史知识是对外汉语教师知识结构的重要组成部分,在对外汉语的教学实践中有着举足轻重的作用,我们从汉字、语音、词汇教学几个方面探讨汉语史知识在对外汉语教学中的应用。     

Reading skills in extended discourse in English as a foreign language

Are there different reading skills (Davis, 1944; 1968; 1972) or is there just one‘basic’(Spearitt, 1972) or‘common’(Thorndike, 173) reading skill? Tests designed to measure some posited reading comprehension skills were given to advanced students of English as a Foreign Language. There were five tests: I) Vocabulary Recognition as measured by a multiple-choice test, 2) Extraction of Meaning during reading as measured by open-end questions, 3) Extraction of Meaning during and after reading as measured by a question-cued recall test, 4) Fast and accurate reading as measured by a Word Intrusion Test, and 5)‘Overall reading proficiency’as measured by a modified cloze test. Results indicate the existence of two factors: Factor I which is connected with‘receptive’reading skills, and Factor 2 which is connected with‘productive’reading skills. It is suggested that reading comprehension tests of extended discourse in English as a Foreign Language which do not tap‘productive’reading skills, such as are required in recall (and in real life), are only partial tests of reading comprehension.     

Reading medical English abstracts: a genre study of the interaction between structural variables and the reader's linguistico-conceptual competence (L2)

Study Objective: To investigate how structural variables influence readers’ construction of meaning from short-text samples of expository prose across different levels of background knowledge, text familiarity and L2 competence. Subjects: 36 Spanish-speaking medical graduates of different L2 proficiency—18 High Intermediate (HI) and 18 Advanced subjects (AD)—were randomly divided into 2 sub-groups of 9 subjects. Design: Rhetorical manipulations were performed on the published versions of three semantically different medical English abstracts (familiar and relatively unfamiliar topics). Each sub-group received one of either version and completed a reading test. A questionnaire elicited background information on the subjects. Self-generated comments on the abstracts were optional. Statistical Treatment of Data: The number of correct answers for each abstract was recorded. Between-group one- and two-way ANOVAs were applied. The questionnaires and self-generated comments were both qualitatively and quantitatively analyzed. Results: Both groups differed in their background knowledge and in their intensity of English reading. The AD subjects outperformed the HI ones in reading performance for all three abstracts together, and for the two relatively unfamiliar abstracts only. No difference was observed for the familiar abstract. In the well structured but relatively unfamiliar abstract, only L2 competence affected reading performance. In the relatively unfamiliar and poorly structured abstract, text structure, L2 competence and the interaction between both variables affected reading comprehension. Conclusions: Textual variables operate differently depending on the extent of the readers’ background knowledge and linguistic competence. Variables such as exposure to reading materials (in L1 and L2), background knowledge and L2 competence seem to outweigh the importance of structural variables.     

Code-switching: L1-coded mediation in a kindergarten foreign language classroom

This paper is based on a qualitative inquiry that investigated the role of teachers' mediation in three different modes of coding in a kindergarten foreign language classroom in China (i.e. L2-coded intralinguistic mediation, L1-coded cross-lingual mediation, and L2-and-L1-mixed mediation). Through an exploratory examination of the varying effects of the three kinds of mediation on activating children's noticing and prior knowledge in learning a designated language game, the study shows that the L2-and-L1-mixed mediation optimises not only the children's exposure to the target L2, but also capitalises on the efficiency and effectiveness of mediation. The study also calls attention to the dynamic, interactive and mutually reflexive relationships among the factors involved, that is, although L2-coded mediation is a preferred choice in the setting, its effects are dependent on the realisations of five factors: the activation of learners' noticing, that of prior knowledge, the teacher's proficiency in the L2, the delivery of mediation, and the engagement of learners' interest.     

Reading comprehension of informative texts in secondary school: A focus on direct and indirect effects of reader's prior knowledge

Text comprehension plays a fundamental role in the processes of acquisition, sharing, and construction of knowledge. Most definitions share the focus on the interaction between text and reader's prior knowledge. In this paper both direct and indirect effects of prior knowledge on reading comprehension have been analyzed, along with other components. Participants were 149 7-graders. Data showed that comprehension of different texts is predicted by different sets of components. Prior knowledge plays a central role, influencing comprehension both, directly and indirectly through the mediation of inferences.     

谈如何调动对外汉语教学课堂气氛

对外汉语教学良好的课堂教学气氛对激发学生的学习兴趣和提高教学效果都有着重要作用。结合教学实践探讨如何活跃对外汉语课堂教学气氛,提出有针对性的方式方法,对提高课堂教学效果,增加学生自信心有不可小觑的作用。     

Gender differences in academic achievement among Turkish prospective teachers of English as a foreign language

This study seeks to explain prevalent gender differences in academic achievement of 84 third‐year students enrolled in a pre‐service ELT (English Language Teaching) teacher training department. The study collected both qualitative and quantitative data through semi‐structured interviews from a sample of 38 students. A content analysis of the data indicated that male and female trainee teachers had differentiating perceptions of social roles and, as an artefact of these roles, they differed in the quality and quantity of time and effort allocated for their academic studies. Girls reported both longer periods of time and more efficient metacognitive disposition than their male peers. Another important factor for the observed differences appeared to be the perception of teaching as a profession. Female trainee teachers reported more intrinsic orientations towards the profession whereas male trainee teachers mentioned more extrinsic orientations, which seemed to directly influence the participants' engagement with their academic endeavour.     

Identifying native language difficulties among foreign language learners in college: a "foreign" language learning disability?

The present study compared successful and unsuccessful college foreign language learners on measures of intelligence, foreign language aptitude, native oral and written language, and math. Unsuccessful students had received petitions to waive the foreign language requirement. No significant differences between groups were found on intelligence and reading comprehension. Significant differences were found on the Modern Language Aptitude Test, on tests of written and oral language in the syntactic and phonological domains, and on math calculation. Authors suggest that students with foreign language learning difficulties may have underlying native language problems manifested especially in the areas of syntax and phonology. Suggestions for diagnosing a foreign language disability are made.     

Pedagogical content knowledge of French as a foreign language: differences between pre-service and in-service teachers

Pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) is an important predictor of educational quality. PCK develops from various sources, such as teaching experience. Studies investigating the effects of teaching experience on PCK development mainly focus on the question whether experienced teachers differ from novices in the amount of PCK. In a mixed methods study, we study both quantitative and qualitative differences between pre-service and in-service teachers’ PCK. Total scores on a paper-and-pencil instrument are used as a measure of French PCK. To analyse the participants’ PCK in a qualitative way, answers are coded in four categories and the prevalence of answers in each category is compared between groups. Furthermore, the nature of answers is studied. No differences on our quantitative PCK measure are observed. The qualitative analysis shows that in-service teachers have more difficulties with conceptual knowledge, while showing more practical knowledge of students’ understanding than pre-service teachers.     

Sometimes more is better: Agent gestures,procedural knowledge and the foreign language learner

Pedagogical agents in multimedia learning environments have frequently been designed to produce pointing gestures (deictic) to direct spatial awareness. Although this might be beneficial for native English-speaking students who possess high levels of comprehension, only using pointing gestures with foreign language students learning English is problematic because these students need more assistance with language comprehension than just directing spatial awareness. The purpose of this study was to explore how gesture type and gesture frequency help foreign language students perceive the agent’s persona and the ability to recall procedural information. The results found one significant interaction between average gestures and no gesture in terms of facilitation, but all other conditions and persona subscales were not significant. For learning outcomes, the enhanced gesture condition significantly recalled more information than the no gesture condition (p = 0.017), and was approaching significance with the conversational gesture condition (p = 0.059). The findings suggest that when the learning population consists of foreign language students, pedagogical agents should use representational and beat gestures to help students comprehend more of the language, and the gesture frequency needs to be increased to account for the lack of verbal listening skills with this population.     

外语教学中非语言交际导入存在的问题及解决方案

本文结合外语教学非语言交际导入的现状,指出外语教学非语言交际导入存在的几个问题。并提出了相应的解决方案。实践证明这些方法取得了不错的教学效果．     

Action control,L2 motivational self system,and motivated learning behavior in a foreign language learning context

European Journal of Psychology of Education - Theoretical developments in second or foreign language motivation research have led to a better understanding of the convoluted nature of motivation in...     

对外汉语教学中的偏误现象

偏误分析是对外汉语教学中不可缺少的研究领域,它的研究成果对于我们认识中介语,理解语言习得的过程起重要作用,同时对语言教学实践有着深刻的影响。本文主要从偏误分析的定义,对外汉语教学中偏误现象,偏误产生的原因,以及偏误分析对对外汉语教学的启示等四部分展开论述。     

Phonological attainment and foreign language anxiety in distance language learning: a quantitative approach

Learning a language through distance means is becoming increasingly widespread. The investigation reported in this paper was part of a large study (n = 590) carried out in 2011, which examined the experience of English-speaking students learning French pronunciation in a distance setting. This paper explores the hypothesis that there is a link between foreign language anxiety (FLA) and phonological attainment when learning in a distance setting. Quantitative methods included a questionnaire which explored FLA and learning pronunciation of English-speaking students learning French in a distance setting (n = 590). Pronunciation competence and FLA were measured using two instruments: an adapted version of the Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale, which was part of the questionnaire, and a phonological attainment rating table, assessed through a reading activity. A significant correlation was found between good pronunciation skills and low levels of FLA.     

Teacher support,growth language mindset,and academic engagement: The mediating role of L2 grit

Engagement as an essential factor for active and meaningful learning of English-as-a-Foreign-Language (EFL) is affected by both learner external (e.g., teacher support) and internal (e.g., growth language mindset and L2 grit) factors. This study examined the relationship between perceived teacher support, growth language mindset, and academic engagement by considering the mediating role of L2 grit. The participants were 295 Iranian EFL learners selected via multi-stage cluster sampling. The SEM results indicated that perceived teacher support and growth language mindset directly and positively predicted academic engagement. Additionally, L2 grit mediated the relationships ‘between perceived teacher support and academic engagement’ and ‘between growth language mindset and academic engagement’. EFL learners receiving more teacher support and endorsing higher levels of growth language mindset can successfully overcome failures and difficulties in their learning process by showing more persistence in dealing with challenges and sustaining their interest, which could considerably enhance their engagement in learning.