The needs and perceptions of South African Grade 4 educators,teaching English second-language (ESL) learners

Abstract

Although mother tongue education is recommended by policymakers, researchers and language learning authorities, the reality in South Africa is that many parents/caregivers and learners believe that English is the best choice as Language of Learning and Teaching. Many English second-language (ESL) learners experience barriers to learning, because of a limited English proficiency. An empirical study was conducted to identify the needs and perceptions of Grade 4 educators regarding ESL learners with a limited English proficiency. The following factors were targeted in the study: demographic factors; language issues; educators' perception of learners with language barriers; and teaching of ESL learners who have limited English proficiency. The findings suggest that educators teaching ESL learners are in need of support.     

大学英语专业学生习语加工实证研究

英语习语一直被认为是ESL／EFL学生在英语学习中的一大障碍,因为学习英语习语的过程是一个复杂而又艰辛的过程。文章考察了高等水平和中等水平的中国英语专业学习者在加工不熟悉英语习语时运用加工策略的情况,对双方在加工策略使用上的差异进行了探讨,指出了对英语习语学习过程进行研究的必要性,并就英语习语的学习方法和教学方法提出了建议。     

Learning Strategies in Chinese ESL Learners' Acquisition of Spoken English

As for Chinese ESL (English as a second language) learners, one of the major problems in English learning is their poor performance of spoken English. Among various factors that improve spoken English skills, it is believed, learning strategies play an important role in acquisition of oral English. Beginning with the learning purpose and style of spoken English, this paper discusses the application of socioaffecrive, cognitive and metacognitive learning strategies in Chinese ESL learners' acquisition of spoken English.     

交际策略与大学英语口语教学探析

交际策略的运用对口语教学具有重要作用,将交际策略应用到大学英语口语教学中,不仅能帮助学习者提高交际能力,而且能同时提高语言学习能力。调查和分析大学英语口语课堂交际策略,对丰富和完善交际策略研究、提高外语口语教学和学习效率具有重要意义。     

Predictors of English spelling in bilingual and monolingual children in Grade 1: the case of Cantonese and Tagalog

In order to examine the effect of the home language on the spelling development in English in children who are learning English as a second language (ESL learners), it is best to directly compare groups of ESL learners from various home language backgrounds. This study compared the oral language, phonological awareness, reading, and spelling performance of Tagalog–English bilingual, Cantonese–English bilingual, and monolingual English-speaking children in Grade 1. The bilingual children had lower scores than the monolinguals on measures of oral proficiency, but demonstrated similar or better performance on most phonological awareness, reading, and spelling tasks after controlling for vocabulary size in English. A series of moderated regression analysis revealed that although phonological awareness was associated with English spelling performance regardless of language background, the associations between specific spelling tasks and related underlying skills seemed to differ across language groups.     

Exploring relationships between oral reading fluency and reading comprehension amongst English second language readers in South Africa

Most analyses of oral reading fluency (ORF) are based on L1 reading, and the norms that have been developed in English are based on first language reading data. This is problematic for developing countries where many children are learning in English as a second language. The aim of the present study is to model the relationship between English reading fluency and comprehension among rural English-second-language learners (ESL) in South Africa. We use data collected in 2013 by the National Education and Evaluation Development Unit in South Africa. This survey tested 4697 Grade 5 students from 214 schools across rural areas in South Africa. A sub-sample—1772 students—were selected for an ORF test. For these students there exist data on both reading comprehension and reading fluency. Although a number of studies have analyzed the relationship between fluency and comprehension, none have been conducted on a large-scale for ESL learners in a developing country such as South Africa. The present research contributes to the literature by analysing the size, significance and uniformity of this relationship for ESL learners in South Africa. Preliminary findings indicate a threshold at 70 words-read-correct-per-minute which is lower than the typically used threshold of 90 words-read-correct-per-minute of English first language readers.     

Learning to teach writing through tutoring and journal writing

Structured reflection on practical teaching experiences may help pre‐service teachers to integrate their learning and analyze their actions to become more effective learners and teachers. This study reports on 12 pre‐service English as a second language (ESL) teachers’ individual tutoring of learners of English language writing. The data of the study are the writing journal entries that the pre‐service ESL teachers maintained during their tutoring experience. These journals had common elements: all were used by the pre‐service teachers to consider what funds of knowledge they bring to their teaching of ESL learners, to evaluate their roles as writers, learners and teachers and to reflect on the educational, social and cultural implications of teaching writing in English to speakers of other languages. This article describes ways in which both native and non‐native English speaking pre‐service teachers adapted their instruction to meet the particular needs of individual ESL writers and what they learned in the process. It provides insight regarding the value of using tutoring and reflection generally in teacher education and specifically in the preparation of teachers of ESL.     

Contemporary Development in English Listening Instruction

Listening is an essential communication skill which occupies a significant position in most language tests in China which are intended for EFL(English as foreign language) learners,from children to adults.Consequently,how to make people in ESL(English as a second language) or EFL context be active learners especially for the language beginners is not always an easy work.This paper is an attempt at introducing a new development in listening instruction along with evaluating whether this new approach can be applied in daily teaching in China.     

基于CLEC的中国大学英语学习者“Noun+Noun”研究

"Noun+Noun"结构是英语中非常重要的一种搭配,在CLEC(中国学习者英语语料库)中,学习者使用"Noun+Noun"出现的错误在所有词语搭配错误中占11.8%,因此,对中国学习者"Noun+Noun"使用情况进行深入探析是非常有必要的。基于CLEC,并参考本族语语料库LOB和BROWN,本研究旨在分析中国学习者使用"名词+名词"结构错误类型及原因,从而为学习者及教师提供参考。     

英语专业学生英语阅读自主性调查

近年来,国内外许多学者对自主性外语学习进行了大量探讨,但大多是从整体上对二语和外语学习进行的,并没有针对外语阅读,且大多数研究都是站在教师和课程设计者的角度进行的。文章从学习者的角度出发,通过问卷和访谈对英语专业学生英语阅读中的自主性整体现状、不同程度的学习者之间的差异及其影响因素进行了调查。研究结果对英语教学有一定的启示。     

元认知意识与英语阅读

基于对60名英语学习者的日记分析,发现许多学习者在英语阅读过程中学习者的主体知识、任务知识和策略知识。三个方面的元认知知识均有所认识。讨论了这些发现对英语教学的启示,认为教师应该帮助学习者提高英语阅读方面的元认知意识,从而达到培养学习者自主学习能力的目的。     

Emergent Target Language Identities Among Latino English Language Learners

During 2nd language acquisition, a learner’s identity is consigned, juxtaposed, coconstructed, and reified through various affective positions and mitigating linguistic behaviors. Our study of adult Latino ESL students in Dallas, Texas, shows how language socialization experiences are shaped by the learners’ affective stances toward the project of learning and using the English language. Students reflected on how their specific social barriers created conditions that impeded interaction with interlocutors who could potentially aid their socialization process in English.     

Stress typicality effect in Chinese advanced and intermediate ESL learners

In English, positions of lexical stress in disyllabic words are associated with word categories; that is, nouns tend to be stressed more often on the first syllable, whereas verbs are more likely to be stressed on the second syllable (i.e. subject (noun) vs. subject (verb)). This phenomenon, which is called the stress typicality effect, has been shown to facilitate word recognition to native English speakers. However, there is little research on whether it also facilitates word recognition to non-native speakers of English, in particular, to English learners with a tonal first language. To fill this research gap, the present study investigated whether the stress typicality effect modulated word recognition in native speakers of Chinese who learned English as a second language. Both visual grammatical classification and lexical decision tasks were administered to ESL learners with intermediate and advanced English proficiency. The results revealed that Chinese intermediate ESL learners were not sensitive to stress typicality in English; however, the advanced learners were. The findings suggest that different performances in stress assignment among Chinese ESL learners were influenced by their English proficiency levels.     

汉语语音意识和英语听说能力的关系

本研究旨在实验研究探讨汉语（第一语言）的语音意识和成人英语（第二语言）的听、说能力之间的关系。实验任务为汉语语音意识测量和英语假词快速朗读。其中汉语语音意识的测量包括4个维度：听觉声母意识、听觉韵母意识、听觉声调意识以及视觉音节意识。实验结果显示汉语的声母意识、韵母意识和音节意识分别对英语口语、英语听力和英语语音加工能力有一定的预测作用。这说明汉语的语音意识迁移到英语中并对英语的听说能力发展起着相当重要的作用。     

语音教学与口语流利性的培养

口语流利性与语音教学有密切的关系,但传统语音教学偏重理论知识的教授,对实践训练重视不够,而口语流利性是第二语音学习和第二语言习得的最终目标。目前,国内外对口语流利的研究有进一步的发展,语音学作为口语流利性培养的基础课程,必须进行必要调整,与口语教学相辅相成,增强实用性,加强实践,重视口语流利性的培养,注重理论与实践的密切结合,实现重点转移。文章从口语流利性与语音教学关系及对语音学教学课程培养目标的调整及口语流利性培养途径等各方面进行了论述。     

Effects of Bilingual and English as a Second Language Adaptations of Success for All on the Reading Achievement of Students Acquiring English

Two adaptations of Success for All, a comprehensive reform program for elementary schools, have been used with students acquiring English. One is a Spanish bilingual version, called Exito Para Todos, in which students are taught to read in Spanish and then transitioned to English reading, usually in third or fourth grade. The other integrates English as a Second Language (ESL) strategies with English reading instruction. This paper summarizes the results of both of these adaptations for students acquiring English. The effects of Success for All on the achievement of English language learners are, in general, substantially positive. In all schools implementing Exito Para Todos, effect sizes for first graders on Spanish assessments were very positive, especially when schools were implementing most of the program's elements. Even after transitioning to English-only instruction, Exito Para Todos third graders performed better on English assessments than control students who were primarily taught in English. For students acquiring English receiving ESL instruction, effect sizes for all comparisons were also positive.     

湖北方言与英语语音教学

作为汉语的一种地域变体,湖北方言具有结构系统上的自身特点。本文着重从元音、辅音、声调三个角度探讨湖北方言的语音体系对英语语音子系统习得的负面影响,提出教学实践中帮助学生克服方言语音的负向迁移,获得正确发音,提高语音教学质量的若干方法。     

Toward a set of design principles for decoding training: A systematic review of studies of English as a foreign/second language listening education

Listening is a major challenge for many English as a foreign language (EFL)/English as a second language (ESL) learners. Many learners find it difficult to immediately process and segment an ongoing stream of sounds. Decoding training is one of interventions that have been used to assist EFL/ESL learners. This paper reviewed empirical studies of the effectiveness of decoding training in developing EFL/ESL learners' listening. We examined the following four major factors: (a) the types of instructional activities used; (b) the effects of decoding training on student listening outcomes; (c) the main instructional enablers of decoding training; and (d) the main instructional barriers to decoding training. The two activities most frequently used for decoding training were dictation and pronunciation instruction. A meta-analysis of 13 intervention studies showed an overall significant effect in favor of decoding training over non-decoding instruction for listening education (Hedges's g = 0.553, CI = 0.348–0.759, 95% confidence interval, p = 0.000), with no evidence of publication bias. Two theoretical frameworks, cognitive learning theory and the attention, relevance, confidence, and satisfaction model, were used to synthesize 33 studies to analyze the common elements that promote and hinder the development of learners' decoding skills. We proposed a set of design principles for decoding training that are expected to enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of decoding training in EFL/ESL listening education.     

二语习得之英语听力有效提升法探索

如何听英语？在听的过程中应该注意什么？能获得什么？对于一个成人二语学习者来说至关重要,因为这将大大提高听的有效性.文章重点讨论影响听力的因素;解析听力的过程;举出一些进行听力练习和提升听力的例子.在成人二语学习课堂中通过解析听力过程而制定关键的教学大纲能有效改善学习者在各种场合的听力能力,如在学校里,工作中,或者社区交流中.     

Using the known to chart the unknown: A review of first-language influence on the development of English-as-a-second-language spelling skill

Currently, there is a practical demand and necessity for research on how English-as-a-second language (ESL) learners acquire literacy skills, such as spelling. One important issue of this research agenda is how ESL learners apply first-language knowledge to learning to spell in English. Twenty-seven studies were reviewed that investigated the influence of the first language on ESL learners’ development of English spelling skill. Evidence was found for both positive and negative transfer of first-language knowledge and processes to ESL learners’ English spelling. These results are in agreement with theoretical propositions about the interdependence between first- and second-language academic skills [e.g., Cummins, J. (1981). In California State Department of Education (Ed.), Schooling and language minority students: A theoretical framework (pp. 3–49). Los Angeles: Evaluation, Dissemination, and Assessment Center, California State University, Los Angeles]. The findings are discussed in relation to the ESL learner’s first-language proficiency level and distance between first language and English. Comparisons are drawn between ESL learners’ and English monolinguals’ spelling development and suggestions for future research are provided.