Testing foreign language impact on engineering students’ scientific problem-solving performance

This article investigates the influence of English as the examination language on the solution of physics and science problems by non-native speakers in tertiary engineering education. For that purpose, a statistically significant total number of 96 students in four year groups from freshman to senior level participated in a testing experiment in the Degree Programme of Aviation at the FH JOANNEUM University of Applied Sciences, Graz, Austria. Half of each test group were given a set of 12 physics problems described in German, the other half received the same set of problems described in English. It was the goal to test linguistic reading comprehension necessary for scientific problem solving instead of physics knowledge as such. The results imply that written undergraduate English-medium engineering tests and examinations may not require additional examination time or language-specific aids for students who have reached university-entrance proficiency in English as a foreign language.     

The effects of presenting different types of vocabulary clusters on very young learners’ foreign language learning

The main aim of this study was to find out which type of vocabulary cluster – semantic, thematic and unrelated – very young learners benefit from the most while learning foreign language vocabulary. The study also aimed at shedding light on the effects of these three vocabulary clusters on the immediate and delayed recall of foreign language vocabulary. In accordance with the aims, 51 very young English as a Foreign Language learners participated in the study. A pre-test was administered to determine the target words in the three clusters so that all target words were new to all participants. The participants received immediate recall tests immediately after the instruction of L2 words in each cluster. Delayed recall tests were also administered for each cluster after three days of reviews of the words in the clusters The analysis of the quantitative data results of the study revealed that the presenting L2 words in different type of clusters have a significant effect on very young EFL learners' L2 vocabulary retention, and the subjects remembered significantly more L2 words when the words were grouped in unrelated clusters.     

Tutors’ influence on distance language students’ learning motivation: voices from learners and tutors

Teachers’ influence on students’ learning motivation is a well-researched topic. Nevertheless, the majority of such studies are situated in the conventional learning context despite the rapid growth of distance language learning. This study set out to investigate tutors’ influence on students’ learning motivation in the Chinese distance language learning context. It attempted to gain a balanced picture of the issue under study by taking both student and tutor views into account. Findings from this study indicate that teaching competence, personal characteristics, subject matter expertise, and tutor–student relationship were four tutor-related factors which affected students’ learning motivation, reinforcing results of previous studies. Nevertheless, mismatches were found between students and tutors in relation to the influence of particular aspects of teaching competence, personal characteristics, and subject matter expertise. Implications from the study are considered in this article.     

Young learners’ interactional development in task-based paired-assessment in their first and foreign languages: a case of English learners in China

In response to the growing interest in evaluating young learners’ foreign language (FL) performance, this study aims to deepen our understanding of young learners’ developmental differences in interaction during task-based paired-language assessments. To examine age effects separately from the effect of general language proficiency, we analysed learners’ interaction in both their first language (L1) and FL. We observed the students as they engaged in an assessment consisting of a set of decision-making tasks with their peers. After each task, the students self-assessed their performance. We found differences in interactions across grade levels in both L1 and FL with respect to holistic interactional patterns, topic development, and turn-taking patterns. The students’ understanding of communicative interactive tasks also appeared to differ between grade levels, perhaps reflecting their experiential differences with communicative tasks in class. The paper concludes with implications for implementing task-based paired-language assessments for young learners.     

Understanding learners’ use of augmented reality in language learning: insights from a case study

The case study aimed to provide a deeper understanding of learners’ perception and experience of using augmented reality (AR) for language learning. Seven university students were recruited in this study, and they were provided access to an AR-based stroke-by-stroke animation guide for learning Japanese orthography with their own mobile computing devices. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and direct observations. Subsequent thematic analysis showed that, overall, learners had positive perception and attitude towards the immersive language learning experience afforded by the AR programme. However, challenges pertinent to technology and user experience were also revealed. The findings accentuate the role of teachers in the implementation process and point out possible directions for more effective uptake of AR in this field.     

The relationship between writers’ perceptions and their performance on a field-specific writing test

Writing performance is greatly affected by task-related elements such as topic familiarity, difficulty, task-type, and subject matter of the prompt, which are perceived differently by each individual writer. Yet, little has been reported on the direct relationship between writers’ perceptions of a prompt and their actual performance on the prompt. The present study explored possible associations between students’ perceptions of a writing prompt and their actual writing performance on a field-specific (FS) English for academic purposes (EAP) writing test, compared to those on a general-topic test. Each of the 124 students produced two writing samples, one on an assigned regular topic and the other on one chosen from the four FS prompts. The writers also responded to a survey of their perceptions of the FS prompts and the FS test in general. The subjects’ performances on the two tests were compared across the four prompt subgroups, and analyzed against their survey responses. It was found that students’ performances were not statistically different on the two different tests or across the prompts chosen on the FS EAP writing test. Further analysis revealed that student subgroups varied in their perceptions of the degree of prompt familiarity. Based on the results, future research implications are proposed for EAP testing and L2 writing research.     

Architecture students’ perceptions of their learning environment and their academic performance

Scholars have agreed that the way in which students perceive their learning environments influences their academic performance. Empirical studies that focus on architecture students, however, have been very scarce. This is the gap that an attempt is filled in this study. A questionnaire survey of 273 students in a school of architecture in Nigeria provided data for this pilot study. The perceptions of the students were best defined by the involvement of the students in their studies, the perceived support, and conduciveness of the learning environment. The students’ perceptions of their learning environment varied with their years of study, age and gender. Their perceptions of inflexibility of schedule, positive assessment, and fairness influenced the overall grades of students. The results suggests which aspects of learning environment that can be manipulated by architectural educators to improve the performance of their students. The study of the learning environment of architecture students still appears to be relatively unexplored. The value of this study therefore lies in its exploration of the perceptions of the learning environment from the point of view of students.     

Effects of creating digital stories on foreign language education pre-service teachers’ TPACK self-confidence

This study aimed to examine the effects of creating digital stories (DSs) on the self-confidence of foreign language education (FLE) pre-service teachers with regard to technological, pedagogical and content knowledge (TPACK). A one-group pretest/posttest experimental research design was applied, supported by a qualitative approach. A total of 71 FLE pre-service teachers created DSs on a topic from the national foreign language programme. Data were collected through a self-confidence TPACK scale, demographic questionnaire, open-ended question and observations. Results showed positive significant differences between TPACK self-confidence scores before and after DS creation. Specifically, scores on technological pedagogical knowledge and technological knowledge improved significantly. The mean scores of technological content knowledge also improved, but the change was not significant. Moreover, qualitative data showed that FLE pre-service teachers used TPACK-relevant adjectives to describe their DSs as instructive, consistent with aims, appropriate for target students, thought provoking and creative.     

Pre-service EFL teachers’ beliefs about foreign language learning

Beliefs are central constructs in every discipline which deals with human behaviour and learning. In addition to learner beliefs about language learning, language teachers themselves may hold certain beliefs about language learning that will have an impact on their instructional practices and that are likely to influence their students’ beliefs about language learning. This article reports on a study of beliefs held by 217 full-time undergraduate students (142 females and 75 males) enrolled in English Language Teaching (ELT) programmes at seven state universities in Turkey. Horwitz’ BALLI was used to collect data. The data reveal that where some of the results carried by pre-service teachers might surprise language teaching educators and teacher trainers, some others probably confirm their experiences and intuitions.     

A model of factors affecting independent learners’ engagement with feedback on language learning tasks

In independent learning contexts, the effectiveness of the feedback dialogue between student and tutor or, in the absence of a tutor, the quality of the learning materials, is essential to successful learning. Using the voices of participants as the prime source of data through a combination of data-driven and concept-driven approaches, this investigation attempts to gain deeper insights into the dynamics of the learning process as students express emotional reactions to the learning environment and in particular the written feedback from their tutors and the learning materials. To account for the different ways in which adult learners studying independently engage both cognitively and emotionally with external feedback, we propose a model based on four key drivers: goal relevance, knowledge, self-confidence, and roles. We conclude that only when these key drivers are aligned with each other can learners in independent settings engage with external feedback and learn from it.     

A review of empirical studies of social media on language learners’ willingness to communicate

Education and Information Technologies - Many studies have explored educational and pedagogical affordances of social media, but few studies have investigated their impact on emotional and...     

Does students’ heritage matter in their performance on and perceptions of historical reasoning tasks?

This mixed methods study explores how high school students (N = 35) enrolled in a US charter school with a high Latino/a population perform on and perceive (in terms of interest and relevance) document-based type historical reasoning tasks: one about the Dust Bowl in the 1930s and the other about the experiences of Mexicans and Mexican Americans in the 1920s. Students wrote essay responses and completed perception inventories about the tasks. We also interviewed 10 focal students to delve more deeply into students’ thinking regarding the tasks and their interest levels in the two topics. We scored students’ responses along the criteria of historical claims, substantiation of claims, use of evidence from documents, sourcing of documents and contextualization. Our hypotheses were that students would perform better on, and be more interested in, tasks that were culturally relevant to them. We found that although students did not perform differently on the two tasks overall, students’ perceptions of the tasks differed, with a significantly greater interest in the task about Mexicans and Mexican Americans. We address the complexity of these findings and discuss implications for curriculum and practise.     

The Relation between Students’ Epistemological Understanding of Computer Models and their Cognitive Processing on a Modelling Task

While many researchers in science education have argued that students’ epistemological understanding of models and of modelling processes would influence their cognitive processing on a modelling task, there has been little direct evidence for such an effect. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the relation between students’ epistemological understanding of models and modelling and their cognitive processing (i.e., deep versus surface processing) on a modelling task. Twenty‐six students, working in dyads, were observed while working on a computer‐based modelling task in the domain of physics. Students’ epistemological understanding was assessed on four dimensions (i.e., nature of models, purposes of models, process of modelling, and evaluation of models). Students’ cognitive processes were assessed based on their verbal protocols, using a coding scheme to classify their types of reasoning. The outcomes confirmed the expected positive correlation between students’ level of epistemological understanding and their deep processing (r = 0.40, p = .04), and the negative correlation between level of epistemological understanding and surface processing (r = ?0.51, p = .008). From these results, we emphasise the necessity of considering epistemological understanding in research as well as in educational practice.     

Understanding: ‘Knowledge’, ‘Belief’ and ‘Understanding’

The following paper is intended as an exercise in friendly criticism of one of Harvey Siegel's and Mike Smith's (Knowing, Believing and Understanding, this volume). I'm in substantial sympathy with the general thrust of their paper and my remarks merely provide some criticism of their discussion's conceptual coherence and clarity and a correspondingly slightly adjusted version of what they have to say. My focus is limited to the conceptions of knowledge, belief and understanding and their inter-relationships in terms of which they offer suggestions to science educators.     

Primary teachers’ self-assessment of their confidence in implementing digital technologies curriculum

Educational technology research and development - Technology has significantly impacted our work and leisure spaces, but education is still working to build a bridge between the technological...     

English Vocabulary Teaching Based on learners’Acquisition

Vocabulary is very important in language study, but it is not easy for students to learn efficiently. This essay first has a deep insight into the acquisition by learners, and then gives some ideas a...