Can ICT reduce social exclusion? The case of an adults' English language learning programme

Strong claims are made for ICT‐based lifelong learning as an effective way of reducing the exclusion of various groups in society, yet, there is very little research to support these claims. Empirical research is needed, including qualitative studies of the experiences of socially excluded learners using ICT. This article reports the findings of such a study in relation to learners from one socially excluded group, adults from ethnic minority backgrounds, who are disproportionately deprived and often excluded by language. The article discusses the study of the experiences and perceptions of adults learning English for speakers of other languages (ESOL) through ICT in seven different learning centres in England. The findings show that technology is insufficient to overcome existing inequalities in access to learning, and to engage learners who would not otherwise undertake formal learning, but ICT‐based learning can reduce some aspects of social exclusion in terms of encouraging minority ethnic group learners to speak more within the host community. ICT‐based learning offers a space for language learning and practice, which is often absent in traditional ESOL classrooms and in the every day lives of these excluded groups. Learning is a social practice in which the level of commitment of tutors to encouraging the use of these media and creating a safe and private space for learning affects the range of learning activities with which learners engage and the impact of these on their everyday use of English.     

ICT与大学英语整合之现状调查

ICT与外语课程的整合代表了外语教学的发展趋势,它对推动外语教学改革和提高学生的语言运用能力具有重大意义。文章采用问卷方法,调查了重庆地区高校的硬件基础设施、ICT资源、教师ICT技能等与大学英语整合具有密切关系的部分因子的现状,并针对分析结论提出相关建议。     

大学英语学习者对情态动词can的语义习得——基于语料库的个案研究

为帮助我国大学英语教师讲授和学习者习得英语情态动词can的语义,在语料库的基础上,调查中国大学英语学习者对can的语义习得情况,发现英语学习者笔语中英语情态动词can的语义使用频率分布与英语本族语使用者的使用频率分布存在明显差异,即大学英语学习者对can的语义习得不地道。试图从学习者的语言输入（主要针对教材）和母语迁移两个方面分析其习得不地道的原因,结果显示,中国大学英语学习者对情态动词can的语义习得不地道的这一现象,受其使用的大学英语教材影响不大,而可能受其母语影响。     

少数民族大学生L2(汉语)水平对L3(英语)词汇学习策略的影响

L3(英语)学习会引起学习者语言系统质量的改进,促进学习者语言学习技能、语言管理技能以及语言维持技能的发展。通过对新疆三所高校214名少数民族大学生英语词汇学习策略使用情况的实证分析表明,L2(汉语)水平对学习者L3(英语)词汇学习策略的使用倾向有明显的影响,L3(英语)学习者作为有经验的学习者,更注重在L2(汉语)学习中提炼有效的学习经验。     

基于归纳法的大学英语写作纠错

大学英语写作一直以来被认为是大学英语教与学中比较薄弱的一个环节,而写作能力又是衡量学习者语言综合运用能力的一项重要指标。本文运用错误分析理论并结合实证调查与研究,提出在大学英语写作教学中使用归纳法帮助学生纠正语言错误以促进语言的学习。     

大学生英文新媒体素养的内涵与结构--兼论其与英语自我效能感的关系

大学生利用新媒体开展英语学习已成为常态,但其应用效果不完全一致。国内外关注英语学习者新媒体素养的研究较少,存在理论框架不完善、实证研究缺乏等问题。基于国际新媒体素养研究中最新的理论框架编制的大学生英文新媒体素养评价量表,包括功能性取用(取用技能、理解),功能性创用(创用技能、传播、生产),批判性取用(分析、整合、评价)和批判性创用(参与、反思、创造)4个一级维度和11个二级维度。经对486位大学生开展的实证研究显示:(1)改编后的大学生英文新媒体素养评价指标具有较好的信效度,有助于完善人们对新媒体素养内涵和结构的理解;(2)我国大学生的英文新媒体素养整体处于低阶水平,重功能性取用,轻批判性创用;(3)大学生英文新媒体素养与其英语自我效能感呈现高度相关,功能性媒体素养是英语自我效能感的重要预测因素。大学生在学习正确获取或应用网络资源的同时,应注重加强对新媒体来源信息的辨析采纳,提高批判性参与意识。高校应积极服务大学生多层次英文新媒体素养的提升,培养信息社会所需的高素质人才。     

高职英语专业学生英语写作策略实证研究

本文以135名高职英语专业学生为研究对象,采用问卷调查的方法调查高职英语专业学生英语写作策略使用情况。研究表明：补偿策略和记忆策略的使用频率最高,不同年级、性别的受试者在写作策略使用上没有显著性差异,高分组与中分组和低分组之间存在显著性差异,但其频率均在＂使用情况一般＂的范畴内,只有元认知写作策略进入回归方程,对英语成绩有一定的预测作用。因此,高职英语专业学生的英语写作策略亟待提高。     

Integrating ICT into College English: An implementation study of a national reform

This paper describes a mixed-methods case study of a national reform of College English teaching in China which called for the integration of ICT (information and communication technology) into English classroom teaching and self-access learning. The study examined ICT implementation of the national reform in a specific tertiary institution from the perspectives of ICT use in language education and ICT-related policies and practices for EFL (English as a Foreign Language) teachers. The findings indicated that the reform had represented a challenge for teachers, who were expected to adapt to technologically-enhanced teaching materials, embrace student-centred classroom teaching and guide students’ autonomous learning in ICT settings. Constraints included insufficient ICT facilities, teachers’ limited ICT skills and pedagogic expertise; and lack of effective communication networks and inadequate technical support and ICT-related training also hindered the smooth ICT implementation of the reform. Implications for national and institutional policy-making are discussed.     

A think‐aloud study of strategy use by EFL college readers reading Chinese and English texts

This study used a think‐aloud approach to compare reading strategy use in the first language (L1) and non‐native language (L2) among 36 English as a foreign language (EFL) college students at different reading levels. The participants took an English proficiency test and participated in two individual sessions in which a reading test and a think‐aloud task were administered separately in Chinese and English. Cross‐language transfer theory and the linguistic threshold hypothesis were used to conceptualise the similarities and differences in L1 and L2 reading strategies. This study found more frequent and diverse strategy use in English than in Chinese. Similar patterns of meta‐cognitive strategy use were evident in both languages. The applications of certain meta‐cognitive and support strategies served as indicators that differentiated more‐proficient from less‐proficient readers. The present study extended previous questionnaire studies and suggested that English reading instruction should be informed by this line of research to provide instruction on effective reading strategy use for EFL learners.     

Kenyan students’ perceptions of new technologies to improve access to education

The aim of this paper is to present the findings of a qualitative study carried out on perceptions of high school students on the use of ICT in learning in a secondary school in Mombasa, Kenya. The study involved 18 students in the 11th grade (form three). The students took part in three focus group discussions and six one-on-one interviews over a period of 2 weeks. Several themes on the learners’ understanding of and reaction to ICT were identified. It was revealed that learners had a sound understanding of the various types of ICT and could even define them while explaining the uses of these ICT tools. Findings showed that the learners were generally motivated about using ICT and that ICT encouraged student-centered learning leading to better understanding and performance in their studies. All in all, the findings from this study indicate that learners are aware of the importance of ICT in their learning and feel that at the moment the use of ICT in school is no longer a luxury but a necessity that has taken too long to materialize.     

大学英语口语错误分析和纠错策略

口语表达能力是外语学习者实现外语交际功能的重要指标,而大学英语教学的难点也是口语表达。错误分析理论是第二语言学习研究的一个重要组成部分,它对二语学习者所犯的错误进行全面系统的分析和研究,有利于我们有的放矢地开展并改进语言教学。因此,通过对学生口语表达中常见的错误进行分析并提出纠错策略,对提高大学英语口语教学质量,促进学生口语水平和交际能力的形成有重要意义。     

旅游英语教学中本土文化的渗透

英语是一种交际工具,英语教学的目的就是培养和发展学生使用这种交际工具的能力。交际策略是提高学生英语口语交际能力较快捷的方式,是英语学习者为了克服由于原有水平较低而造成的交流障碍而采用的手段。拟以我校2008级非英语专业一年级学生为研究对象,分析英语听说口语交际能力的交际策略使用、存在的问题、研究方法和改进措施     

大学英语主题写作名词搭配错误认知——基于小型音体美专业主题写作语料库

基于小型音体美专业主题写作语料库,名词为中心语的搭配结构错误可分为名字中心语错误和修饰语错误两大类。中英语法层面和语义层面的差异是造成这一错误的深层认知原因。英语教师应针对以上错误进行重点讲解,启发学生利用英文的语义表达习惯和特殊语法结构进行名词词组修饰,以减少此类错误的发生。     

浅析文体学在大学英语教学中的作用

传统英语教学法的种种弊端造成英语学习者在英语应用方面出现了不少问题。中国的大学英语教学过分强调语法知识的讲授,忽视了对学生语言交际能力的培养,学生由于缺乏识别不同文体的能力而造成语域误用的现象比比皆是。把文体学引入到大学英语口语、写作、阅读和翻译教学中,可以在一定程度上弥补中国英语教学缺乏真实语言环境的不足,帮助学生学会在适当的场合使用得体的语言进行交际,提高中国学生正确选择语域,把握语言合适性,使用得体英语交际的能力。     

英语教学中的文化渗透

伴随着英语语言教学研究的深入，文化对于英语教学的影响越来越受到人们的关注。本文围绕文化对语言学习所产生的影响，从大学英语新教材中的一段心理描写入手，通过大学英语新教材对于教学方法提出的新要求、以往对于语言教学的文化渗透和跨文化交际的相关研究以及本人在大学英语教学实践中的思考等几个方面，论述了文化渗透在英语语言教学与学习中占据的越来越重要的地位。进而提出，英语语言教学中除了要强调学生扎实掌握语言知识之外，更应该使其深入了解不同语言中渗透的文化因素，这样，使学生不但从表面而且从本质上真正了解和掌握所学的语言，从而减少语言交流的障碍，真正学好、用好英语。     

Using stimulated recall to investigate pupils' thinking about online bilingual communication: Code‐switching and pronominal address in L2 French

This article demonstrates how evidence related to performance in computer mediated communication (CMC) can be used as a vehicle for researching pupils' thinking about using and learning a foreign language. The analysis is based on a qualitative study of pupils from two contrasting schools who had taken part in a multinational CMC project involving learners of French and English as a foreign language. The analysis focuses on the pupils' explanations and intuitions about their decisions with regard to two areas of their interaction in particular: code‐switching and pronominal address. The findings suggest that the English learners of French had an implicit set of communicative priorities in which interpersonal objectives tended to dominate over ideational objectives. Evidence from the study indicates the need for further research‐informed educational development in two areas: a reappraisal of the framework for foreign language teaching in England on the basis of greater emphasis on second language (L2) use within the framework; and more developed theoretical understanding of pupil cognition in relation to foreign language learning.     

The self‐assessed portfolio: a case study

This paper reports on a successful attempt to use the portfolio as a sole assessment tool for an upper level language arts course at an English‐medium university in Lebanon. Over four consecutive years in the spring semester, the teacher/researcher devised a special syllabus based on the teaching/learning of text discourses and other language tasks emphasizing skills to improve the English language of the learners. Only students’ portfolios were used to evaluate students’ work. The learners, majoring in Education or English, worked on various language tasks. They presented and assessed their work according to rubrics. Learners had to self‐reflect on each task, have a one‐to‐one conference with the class teacher, and assign a letter grade to their work. Results indicated that though using only portfolios for assessment purposes was a rather difficult task, it was still more effective than traditional assessment. Working on self‐assessed portfolios actively engaged learners in the learning process.     

On Conquering Psychological Obstacles of Oral English Study in Higher Vocational Colleges

This paper aims to find better ways to conquer psychological obstacles in oral English learning for vocational college English learners.The approaches are based on the important fact that psychological obstacles have impeded the language learning seriously.This paper describes the status quo of oral English study in vocational colleges,presents the problems existing among college learners,and analyzes them to find subjective and objective reasons.Finally,the analysis of the survey results will help to conquer psychological obstacles of spoken English learning.     

大学英语教学输入方式探析

输入,即信息的接受、储存、加工和理解,是输出和语言学习的前提和基础。基于输入在语言学习中的重要作用,应培养学生的英语综合应用能力,大学英语教学应针对不同的学习个体和教学要求,正确选择并有机综合不同的输入方式,有效地提高输入效度。     

大学生英语学习的中介语问题研究--以被动语态习得为例

中介语是由于学习外语的人在学习过程中对于目的语规律所作的不正确的归纳与推论而产生的一个语言系统,其构建过程其实是一个语言重新创造的过程。本文从分析被动语态的误用出发,对大学生的被动语态习得情况进行分析和研究,剖析中介语的特点和规律,以期对英语教学有所帮助。