The internet as a tool to learn a second language in a technical environment

Second language acquisition is a hard task for teachers, since to achieve the motivation from students to practice a language simulating a real context is very difficult. On the one hand, students are often influenced by their mother tongue and more when they are practising a second language with a partner from the same nationality. On the other, technology is part of our lives and teachers should use all the tools in order to motivate students to learn any topic. So, if we integrate technology in the methodology we use when teaching a second language and students can practise with international partners, the results can be surprising. Chats, scanning texts, games, filling forms, etc. are just some of the activities our students can do in order to improve their command of a second language and also these activities can be used by content teachers in order to complement content learning. In the present paper, we provide some examples of activities designed by collaborating with content teachers based on websites, and then we analyse the effect they produced on students. We contrast the methodology used to propose tasks based on websites and those based on texts, and finally, evaluate their effect on the motivation of students.     

Improving second language skills of immigrant students: A field trial study evaluating the effects of a summer learning program

Immigrant students’ school success is often hampered by limited second language (L2) proficiency, yet the effectiveness of different approaches to L2 support is unclear. Using a summer camp setting, we tested effects of (1) implicit support focusing on meaning of language by engaging students in language-intensive activities without drawing their attention to rules (operationalization: theatre program) and (2) combined implicit and explicit support focusing students’ attention on both meaning and form of language (operationalization: theatre program and instruction in German as L2). A baseline group received no support. N = 149 third-graders with German as L2 participated. There was no effect for the implicit condition on L2, yet children in the combined condition performed significantly better in grammar and reading after the treatment than the baseline group. The difference for vocabulary did not reach significance. Three months later, a significant effect for the combined condition was only found for reading.     

The effects of first language orthographic features on word recognition processing in English as a second language

This study investigated the possible effects of first language (L1) orthographic characteristics on word recognition in English as a second language (ESL). Case alternation was used to examine the impact of visually distorted words of different types on fluent ESL readers' word recognition in naming. Visual distortion of word shape (i.e., cAsE aLtErNaTiOn) was utilized because, although visually distorted words have lost word-shape cues, they preserve the cue value of words (i.e., spelling patterns). It, therefore, was hypothesized that if one is sensitive to alphabetic orthography, or if one's inner mechanism of processing an alphabetic word is efficient, then the visual disruption of word-shape cues should not affect one's sensitivity to sequences of letters in words. In other words, this study focused on the magnitude of the effect of case alternation in word recognition as an index of the sensitivity to alphabetic words. Results showed that the magnitude of the case alternation effect in a naming task was significantly larger for the ESL participants whose L1 is not alphabetic (i.e., Chinese and Japanese) than the ESL participants whose L1 is alphabetic (i.e., Iranians -- Persian as L1). This result seems to indicate that the Persian speakers, due to the facilitating influence of their L1 orthography, were less influenced by case alternation than the Chinese and Japanese speakers, whose L1 orthographies are not alphabetic. This finding suggests that the first language orthographic features affect the orthographic coding mechanisms (i.e., word recognition mechanisms) in a second language.     

Enhancing English among second language learners: the pre‐school years

Informed by knowledge of linguistics, research findings in the areas of monolingual and bilingual acquisition, dyslexia and speech therapy clinical practice, five factors are proposed to argue that the acquisition of English by young non‐native learners can be enhanced by learning activities which take into account factors of developmental sequence in language acquisition, language‐specific properties, the relationship between oral and written language, the what‐to‐learn‐first issue and the quality of the language input. Proper language goals can be set and appropriate activities designed, only if the language input provider interacts with a learner in a concrete activity while being sensitive to the developmental trajectory of monolingual speaking children, the development of the less dominant language in a bilingual child, the prosodic and phonological differences between the learner's mother tongue and the target language, the importance of phonological awareness which defines dyslexia, the use of non‐abstract language structures grounded in concrete lexical items in the early stage of language acquisition and the strategy of expanding learners' utterance by one element as used in speech therapy.     

Reading in two orthographies: A cross-linguistic study of Dutch average and poor readers who learn English as a second language

The present study investigated the reading of secondary school students in their first and second language (L1, L2). Twenty-six average and twenty-six poor readers matched on age, gender, listening and reading comprehension participated. They were native Dutch speakers who started learning English at secondary school (grade 7). We examined whether differences in L2 between the two groups reflect differences in L1 with regard to reading and relevant subskills. In addition, the relationship between reading and its predictors within and across the two languages was investigated. Between group differences were similar in L1 and L2 when task conditions involved high levels of phonological and orthographic complexity or demanded speeded processing. Furthermore, serial rapid naming predicted speeded word reading in both languages and L2 text reading accuracy, while L2 phoneme awareness and orthographic knowledge explained unique variance in L2 text reading accuracy. Cross-linguistic prediction revealed that speeded word reading predicted its counterpart from L1 to L2 and vice versa. Serial rapid naming explained additional variance in the prediction of L2 from L1. After exclusion of the reading predictor from the model, serial rapid naming was the most consistent cross-linguistic predictor, while L2 orthographic knowledge explained a small amount of unique variance in L1 speeded word reading.     

Not so silent after all: Examination and analysis of the silent stage in childhood second language acquisition

A period of silence has been advanced as a characteristic feature of childhood second language acquisition. Evidence is presented to document that the presumption of silence as the second of four typical stages of second language acquisition has influenced policy and practice in preschool classrooms. A narrative review examines the extent and quality of the evidence for a silent stage in second language acquisition in young children. Twelve studies meeting inclusion criteria were reviewed and evaluated. Evidence of a silent, non-verbal, pre-production, or receptive language stage was limited. Significant conceptual and methodological limitations within the largely qualitative studies were found. Four major issues raised by the studies are elaborated upon: the theoretical clarity and operational definitions of silence and stage, phase, or period; the psychological meaning and consequences of silence; the cross-context consistency of individual patterns of silence; and how adult language elicitation and support techniques may modulate silence. Recommendations based on contemporary evidence of language acquisition processes are made for the future study of (1) second language acquisition in preschool children and (2) pedagogical practice within preschool settings to promote second language acquisition. Finally, historical, theoretical, empirical, and contextual influences likely to have given rise to the appeal and ready endorsement of silence as a consistent and typical characteristic of childhood second language acquisition are presented.     

Reasoning as a scientist: ways of helping children to use language to learn science

Sociocultural researchers have claimed that students' learning of science is a discursive process, with scientific concepts and ways of reasoning being learned through engagement in practical enquiry and social interaction as well as individualized activity. It is also often claimed that interacting with partners while carrying out scientific investigations is beneficial to students' learning and the development of their understanding. The research we describe investigated the validity of these claims and explored their educational implications. An experimental teaching programme was designed to enable children in British primary schools to talk and reason together and to apply these skills in their study of science. The results obtained indicate that (a) children can be enabled to use talk more effectively as a tool for reasoning and (b) talk‐based activities can have a useful function in scaffolding the development of reasoning and scientific understanding. The implications of the findings for educational policy and practice are discussed.     

Learning to learn in higher education: developing a modus vivendi

This paper examines the ways in which learning in higher education can influence a person’s modus vivendi or way of life. The cases of three individuals following transition to higher education from an apprenticeship in England are presented. Data from individual interviews were analysed according to approaches to reflexivity. In all three cases, the findings show changes to practice in various areas of life and work, which in turn prompted them to revisit their initial concerns. The modus vivendi was influenced by different approaches to reflexivity in addition to new concerns or tensions that arose. Also permeating lived experiences were the role of networks (both personal and at work) and the enjoyment of higher level learning that could act as pivotal enablements or constraints.     

Teacher beliefs and approaches to linguistic diversity. Spanish as a second language in the inclusion of immigrant students

This study examines teachers’ beliefs regarding linguistic diversity and their approaches to teaching Spanish as a second language (SSL) in the inclusion of immigrant students whose first language is not Spanish. Grounded in a qualitative study in multicultural schools in Andalusia (Spain), we compared the voices of two groups of teachers: regular teachers and specialist language teachers. Teachers reflected monolingual beliefs -from assimilationist to deficit approaches- and attached great importance to the role that SSL has for immigrant students. Results indicated the need for professional development for teachers to promote multilingualism based on beliefs of language-as-resource or language-as-right.     

Investigating video as a means to promote vocabulary for at-risk children

Two studies on the role of video on vocabulary learning were conducted in kindergarten classrooms with substantial numbers of children from low-income and Dual Language Learning (DLL) backgrounds. In the first study (n = 78), the effect of video viewing was compared with the effect of book reading on vocabulary learning. In the second study (n = 89), the effect of repeated viewing of video was compared with the effect of single viewing of video on vocabulary learning. Pre-test and post-test receptive and expressive vocabulary measures, which were aligned with the content in the studies, were administered. Analysis of Variance was used to test the effect of condition (i.e., video viewing versus book reading and single versus repeated reading) on children’s word knowledge. Results showed no difference in vocabulary learning between the video viewing and book reading conditions. Findings showed that there was no difference in vocabulary learning between children in the single and repeated viewing condition on the receptive measure, but children in the repeated viewing condition showed higher gains in vocabulary on the expressive measure. No differences were found in either study between children with higher and lower vocabulary knowledge.     

从语言教学到以教学为核心的语言使用——以应用语言学为例

近年来,应用语言学作为独立的一门学科而收到了丰硕的研究成果。本文以应用语言教学为例,阐述其从语言教学到以教学为核心的语言使用的相关内容。     

From an immigrant to a citizen: language as a hindrance or a key to citizenship

The starting point for this paper is a question that has provoked a recent parliamentary election debate in Sweden: whether fluency in Swedish should be regarded as a requirement when applying for Swedish citizenship. Two main issues have been discussed: the different levels and meanings of citizenship, and language acquisition by adult immigrants as a hindrance or a key to citizenship based on recent research and scholarship.¹ The Swedish policy of integration, being trapped between demos and ethnos, between universality and diversity, has profound consequences for forming Swedish language policy for immigrants. Yet learning a new language is connected with learning a new culture and society. For immigrants the new language is not only a means of survival, but an important step in reconstructing identities. It seems quite natural that a good command of the language is a key to becoming a full and active citizen, i.e. to acquire a citizenship. Comprehension of the language and knowledge of culture of the (new) country helps one to be aware of one's rights and duties and exercise them, to be involved in society and to participate actively in it. The new language and culture can enrich one's identity and make it more complex.     

跨语言迁移研究:母语对第二语言学习的预测作用

在中国既有英语热又同时存在着学习汉语的热潮,围绕这些现象的一个核心是第二语言学习及其影响因素问题。研究者从跨语言迁移的角度出发,考察不同语言系统间的差异性以及一致性特征,并在此基础之上探讨母语经验以及相关语言因素如何影响学习者第二语言的学习与发展,取得不少有价值的研究成果。     

Teachers’ strategies of teaching primary school mathematics in a second language: A case of Botswana

This paper reports the results of a study of primary school mathematics teaching in northern Botswana in order to highlight the strategies teachers use in bi/multilingual classrooms. Questionnaire and interview data collection procedures were used. The findings, which are based on responses of randomly selected primary school teachers, confirmed that monolingual classes were fewer than bilingual and multilingual classes in those parts of Botswana. Furthermore, syllabus analysis confirmed the abstract nature of mathematical concepts. Teachers report to have devised strategies to overcome the difficulties imposed by this classroom situation.     

Motivating adults to learn mathematics in the workplace: a trade union approach

ABSTRACT

The aim of this qualitative study is to explore adults’ motivation to learn mathematics in the workplace and the role that the trade union education approach promoted in the United Kingdom plays in that motivation. The findings draw on data from 20 semi-structured in-depth interviews with adults learning mathematics, organised through their trade union representatives. Trade unions promote education which uses teaching and learning approaches based on collectivist and activist principles, which is different from mainstream education, so the research explores what might be learnt from this approach. The findings show that the trade union-led approach enables even long-held negative feelings towards mathematics to become positive. The research finds a strong link between supportive social networks, including Union Learning Representative, as well as positive social and emotional encounters in the classroom that develop adult learners’ confidence, increasing their motivation to both learn and use mathematics in their everyday lives. This change in feelings and motivation is termed an Affective Mathematical Journey. These findings, while taking place in a non-traditional context, nevertheless are relevant to practitioners working with adults in both traditional (school and college) and non-traditional (workplace and community) settings. There are also indications of the positive influence this learning has on the relationship between individual members and their trade union organisations.     

严肃游戏在尼日利亚小学非母语英语课程教学中的应用研究

该研究旨在探讨在尼日利亚拉各斯市的小学里将在线严肃游戏《Mingoville》与英语作为第二语言的教与学的整合应用。研究采用个案研究法,对202位小学生和9位教师进行采访、观察、记录和录像。研究发现：学生认为将严肃游戏运用于自己的学习能够激发自己的学习兴趣;严肃游戏增强了学生的英语语言技能;应用严肃游戏的课堂上不同的因素可能会使学生受激励或失去动力;教师是游戏整合于教学的关键角色等。研究结论为严肃游戏进入课堂教学的相关实践提供借鉴。     

From autopsy to biopsy: A metacognitive view of lesson planning and teacher trainees in ELT

Lesson planning and implementation of those plans are complex and cognitively demanding for English Language Teacher trainees preparing for the profession. Many find it difficult to develop a lesson holistically and to maintain alignment across aims, procedural steps, and evaluation when planning and implementing a lesson. We attempted to address this problem by establishing a model of trainees’ action that included their deliberate metacognitive structuring of a lesson both in planning and review phases. Data from a first exploration of student thinking elicited by the model indicate positive shifts in trainees’ holistic thinking and a student-centeredness in the critical perspectives they took in both planning and review.     

Building the bridge as you walk on it: Didactic behaviors of elementary teachers in a dual language program

While there is evidence that the dual language model has the potential to raise the academic achievement of English language learners (ELLs), the policies mandated through the No Child Left Behind Act do not support maintenance of the student's heritage language which is an integral part of the model. Using symbolic interactionism as a framework, this study explored the experiences of dual language elementary teachers as they operate under the authority of current educational policy. The findings, presented as a concept model, reveal the didactic behaviors exhibited by teachers and suggest a dynamic process of negotiation is at work which informs their professional identities.     

Is performance in English as a second language a relevant criterion for admission to an English medium university?

Since colonial times, many English-medium universities in developing countries require applicants to give proof of a high degree of proficiency in English language. Applicants with (very) good school results, but without the required score in school English are not admitted. This study focuses on the efficacy of such an entry requirement, using the performance of students at the National University of Lesotho. The results show that performance in school-level English is hardly correlated with academic performance, when controlling for the overall school performance. At the same time, overall school performance is a good predictor of performance. The study makes an attempt to quantify the implications of the current emphasis on performance in school English, and concludes that this emphasis cannot be justified, since it actually works to keep a number of very promising students outside the university. Finally, some reasons are suggested for the apparent lack of correlation between performance in school English and performance at university.     

Relationships between learning motivations and practices as influenced by a high-stakes language test: The mechanism of washback on learning

This study investigated the statistical relationships between four motivational variables (i.e., intrinsic and extrinsic goal orientations, self-efficacy and perceived task value) and three types of learning practices (test drilling, rote learning and normal learning activities) based on the self-reported data of 258 undergraduate English majors preparing for a high-stakes English language test in China. Consistent with previous findings conducted in both washback and non-washback contexts, extrinsic goals geared towards the test significantly positively contributed to students’ test drilling and rote learning activities, while intrinsic goals positively affected their normal learning activities overall. Unexpectedly, intrinsic goals were also found to have a statistically positive, though indirect, effect on test drilling; meanwhile, both intrinsic and extrinsic goal orientations exerted positive influence, through the mediation of perceived task value, on rote learning activities. These findings would help us pinpoint how motivational factors interact with test impact in shaping washback on learning, and thus constitute evidence to underpin possible claims about washback from the target test (Messick, 1996). Implications of these findings for how to address negative washback are also discussed at the end of paper.