WorldWideScience

Sample records for foreign language reading

  1. A Read-Aloud for Foreign Languages: Becoming a Language Master (Read It Aloud).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Richardson, Judy S.

    1998-01-01

    Describes the use of some read-alouds from Alexandre Dumas'"The Count of Monte Cristo" which helped to demonstrate some principles of learning foreign languages. Describes briefly the read aloud selection, discusses some specific activities that relate to foreign language learning, and discusses specific language arts activities. (SR)

  2. Effects of EFL Individual Learner Variables on Foreign Language Reading Anxiety and Metacognitive Reading Strategy Use.

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    Lien, Hsin-Yi

    2016-08-01

    Past research has shown an association between foreign language reading anxiety and reading strategy. However, individual variables tend to affect foreign language anxiety and strategy use. The present study examined a hypothesized model that specified direct and indirect effects among English and foreign languages readers' distinct variables, including academic level; self-perceived English level; and satisfaction with reading proficiency, reading anxiety, and metacognitive awareness of reading strategies. A total of 523 volunteer Taiwanese college students provided 372 valid responses to a written questionnaire (281 women and 91 men; M age = 19.7 years, SD = 1.1) containing the translated versions of Foreign Language Reading Anxiety Scale, Survey of Reading Strategies Inventory, and self-assessment background questionnaire. The results showed that self-evaluation of reading proficiency did not correlate with academic level and readers' perceptions. Satisfaction had a direct effect on foreign language reading anxiety but not on metacognitive awareness of reading strategies. Results of path analysis demonstrated that the perception learners who had their own reading proficiency predicted their foreign language reading anxiety and was a mediating variable for metacognitive reading strategy use. © The Author(s) 2016.

  3. Foreign Language Reading Anxiety among Yemeni Secondary School Students

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    Yehia Ahmed Y. Al-Sohbani

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available The aim of this study was to examine Foreign Language (FL reading anxiety level of Arabicspeaking Yemeni students learning English as a foreign language (n = 106. It utilized (a a background information questionnaire, (b the Foreign Language Reading Anxiety Scale (FLRAS, and (c students' English school marks. Results of the study showed that learners of English experienced an above moderate level of FL reading anxiety. There was no significant difference between students' FL reading anxiety and their gender. However, a statistically reliable difference between the means of public and private schools regarding their FL reading anxiety in favor of the private school. Moreover, a positive correlation was found between students' FL reading anxiety and their type of school. Difficulties of uncertainty, pronunciation of English words, unfamiliar topic, unknown vocabulary, reading aloud, using word by word translation, unfamiliar English culture and history, unfamiliar grammar, English letters and symbols were identified as the major sources of FL reading anxiety.

  4. An investigation of Chinese university EFL learner’s foreign language reading anxiety, reading strategy use and reading comprehension performance

    OpenAIRE

    Zhongshe Lu; Meihua Liu

    2015-01-01

    The present study explored the interrelations between foreign language (FL) reading anxiety, FL reading strategy use and their interactive effect on FL reading comprehension performance at the tertiary level in China. Analyses of the survey data collected from 1702 university students yielded the following results: (a) Both Foreign Language Reading Anxiety Scale (FLRAS) and Foreign Language Reading Strategy Use Scale (FLRSUS) had important subcomponents, (b) more than half of the stu...

  5. Predictors of Foreign Language Reading Comprehension in a Hypermedia Reading Environment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Akbulut, Yavuz

    2008-01-01

    This study investigated factors affecting second/foreign language (L2) reading comprehension in a hypermedia environment within the theoretical framework of dual coding and cognitive load theories, and interactive models of L2 reading. The independent variables were reading ability, topic interest, prior topical knowledge, and the number of times…

  6. Belles-Lettres Reading Strategies in the Process of Foreign Language Teaching

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    Alexander S. Komarov

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available The article is devoted to some of the teaching strategies based on the peculiarities of belles-lettres text. The author of the article analyses the peculiarities of the belles-lettres text which exert influence on the process of teaching reading skills and thus should be taken into account by foreign language teachers in their work with this type of text. The author argues that teaching belles-lettres reading skills should be centered on the five-level communication process between writer and reader. The teacher's aim is to create or adjust a system of reading instruction within the five levels so that he/she could improve students' reading skills. In the article, it is stated that the process of teaching reading skills should be congruent with the process of interpersonal communication between writer and reader. The author outlines the content of the teacher's approach to the work with this type of text within the process of foreign language instruction. The author describes two approaches to teaching belles-lettres reading skills as well as shows the prospects for the subjective approach. He also states high productivity and effectiveness of the subjective approach in teaching foreign languages. The article shows the importance of involving students who specialize in sciences into the process of belles-lettres reading while studying a foreign language for specific purposes.

  7. An investigation of Chinese university EFL learner’s foreign language reading anxiety, reading strategy use and reading comprehension performance

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    Zhongshe Lu

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available The present study explored the interrelations between foreign language (FL reading anxiety, FL reading strategy use and their interactive effect on FL reading comprehension performance at the tertiary level in China. Analyses of the survey data collected from 1702 university students yielded the following results: (a Both Foreign Language Reading Anxiety Scale (FLRAS and Foreign Language Reading Strategy Use Scale (FLRSUS had important subcomponents, (b more than half of the students generally did not feel anxious when reading English, and were confident in and satisfied with their English reading proficiency. Meanwhile, (c more than half of them moderately used different types of reading strategies such as planning, checking and confirming, predicting and assessing, when reading English, (d compared with their female peers, male students felt significantly more anxious when facing reading activities, less satisfied with their English reading proficiency, and used specific analyzing and planning strategies significantly less often during a reading activity, (e FLRAS was significantly inversely related to FLRSUS, and both were significantly correlated with the students’ FL reading comprehension performance, and (f FLRAS (overall FL reading anxiety, FLRAS1 (general anxiety about FL reading, and FLRSUS2 (predicting strategies were good predictors of FL reading comprehension performance. Based on the findings, some implications are discussed.

  8. Extensive Reading of Children’s Literature in First, Second, and Foreign Language Vocabulary Acquisition

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    Dominic Cheetham

    2015-11-01

    Full Text Available Extensive reading of children’s literature can be seen as one of the most powerful means to acquiring a large working vocabulary for both first language learners and second language learners. However, for foreign language learners, children’s literature has a less positive image. For foreign language learners the most commonly recommended reading is of graded readers. Corpus research has shown that work for children has a wide range of rare words, comparable to adult literature, and this leads to the argument that children’s literature puts too great a comprehension and memory strain on foreign language learners, and is an inefficient learning tool compared to graded readers. This paper reviews existing research and examines the arguments for children’s literature in language learning in terms of some features of naturalistic child reading behaviour, and the stylistic choices of writers for children. Replication of child reading behaviours in conjunction with the aid to comprehension and memory inherent in stylistic choices, combined with motivational and practical considerations, are argued to make children’s literature an equal, if not superior choice as extended reading material for foreign language learners.

  9. Exploring Metacognitive Strategies and Hypermedia Annotations on Foreign Language Reading

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    Shang, Hui-Fang

    2017-01-01

    The effective use of reading strategies has been recognized as an important way to increase reading comprehension in hypermedia environments. The purpose of the study was to explore whether metacognitive strategy use and access to hypermedia annotations facilitated reading comprehension based on English as a foreign language students' proficiency…

  10. The Potential Sources of Foreign Language Reading Anxiety in a Jordanian EFL Context: A Theoretical Framework

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ahmad, Ismail Sheikh; Al-Shboul, Murad M.; Nordin, Mohamad Sahari; Rahman, Zainurin Abdul; Burhan, Mohd; Madarsha, Kamal Basha

    2013-01-01

    The last decade has witnessed an increasing research trend on foreign language reading anxiety as a skill related to but distinct from foreign language anxiety. However, sources of foreign language reading anxiety have rarely been investigated. Thus, the current study responds to the study by (Saito, Horwitz, & Garza, 1999) and extends the…

  11. Reading, Writing, and Animation in Character Learning in Chinese as a Foreign Language

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    Xu, Yi; Chang, Li-Yun; Zhang, Juan; Perfetti, Charles A.

    2013-01-01

    Previous studies suggest that writing helps reading development in Chinese in both first and second language settings by enabling higher-quality orthographic representation of the characters. This study investigated the comparative effectiveness of reading, animation, and writing in developing foreign language learners' orthographic knowledge…

  12. Listening to Students: Modification of a Reading Program Based on the Sources of Foreign Language Reading Anxiety

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    Belgin Aydin

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper is concerned with the modifications implemented in a second year foreign language (FL reading program with respect to the problems students experience while reading in FL. This research draws on the sources of FL reading anxiety identified in the first year reading program with a motivation to re-design the second year program to help the students perceive reading positively free from the anxiety. This paper reports on the responses of students to the modifications implemented in the second year reading program

  13. Listening to Students: Modification of a Reading Program Based on the Sources of Foreign Language Reading Anxiety

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    Belgin Aydın

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper is concerned with the modifications implemented in a second year foreign language (FL reading program with respect to the problems students experience while reading in FL. This research draws on the sources of FL reading anxiety identified in the first year reading program with a motivation to re-design the second year program to help the students perceive reading positively free from the anxiety. This paper reports on the responses of students to the modifications implemented in the second year reading program. The participants of the study were 50 FL students who were in their second year at a state university in Turkey. All participants had already taken the first year reading course and were enrolled in the second year reading course. It was based on two qualitative research instruments. The first instrument was a semi-structured questionnaire administered to all participants. The second one was a semi-structured interview conducted with half of the participants to obtain more in depth information concerning the modifications that had been introduced. Both instruments revealed that students responded positively to the modifications introduced. The results of the study put forward that obtaining students’ opinions, giving them responsibility and involving them in decision making processes enhance their motivation, confidence and analytical skills while reading in a foreign language.

  14. Reading Dilemmas in a Foreign Language Reduces Both Deontological and Utilitarian Response Tendencies

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    Muda, Rafal; Niszczota, Pawel; Bialek, Michal; Conway, Paul

    2018-01-01

    Moral dilemmas entail deciding whether to cause harm to maximize overall outcomes, such as killing 1 person to save 5. Past work has demonstrated that people are more willing to accept causing such outcome-maximizing harm when they read dilemmas in a foreign language they speak rather than their native language. Presumably this effect is due to…

  15. How Many U.S. High School Students Have a Foreign Language Reading "Disability"? Reading without Meaning and the Simple View

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    Sparks, Richard L.; Luebbers, Julie

    2018-01-01

    Conventional wisdom suggests that students classified as learning disabled will exhibit difficulties with foreign language (FL) learning, but evidence has not supported a relationship between FL learning problems and learning disabilities. The simple view of reading model posits that reading comprehension is the product of word decoding and…

  16. READING BASED-CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES: AN EFFORT TOWARD THE INTEGRATION OF LANGUAGE SKILLS IN TEACHING ENGLISH AS A FOREIGN LANGUAGE IN INDONESIA

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    Hadi Hadi

    2006-01-01

    Full Text Available Abstract: This paper proposes the implementation of reading-based classroom activities for teaching English as a foreign language in Indonesia. Compared to other language skills, reading is viewed to provide a relatively stable foundation for Indonesian students to develop their communicative competence in English. It is argued that reading-focused activities stimulate confidence for Indonesian learners to get involved in listening, speaking, and writing related-activities in ways that are similar to normal daily life communication. The reasons for the proposed implementation of reading-based classroom activities in TEFLIN and the role of reading and its relation with other language skills are presented.

  17. Improving Reading Comprehension Skills through Reading Strategies Used by a Group of Foreign Language Learners

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    Nancy Gómez Torres

    2009-12-01

    Full Text Available A research study included the examination and implementation of a variety of strategies in order to improve students’ reading comprehension skills in a foreign language. Reading is the process of identification, interpretation and perception of written or printed material. Comprehension is the understanding of the meaning of written material and involves the conscious strategies that lead to understanding. The reading strategies are conscious techniques or unconscious processes employed by readers in their attempt to make sense of the written text (Barnett as cited by Gascoigne, 2005. Thus, the main goal of this piece of research was to implement some reading strategies in 2 elementary courses in EFL in order to obtain better results in the middle and long term in class and on ECAES, MICHIGAN, MELICET and PET tests.

  18. Metacognitive Online Reading Strategies in Foreign Language Learning Context at University

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    Vilhelmina Vaičiūnienė

    2014-03-01

    Full Text Available Purpose – this research is aimed to identify the metacognitive online reading strategies employed by MRU students and assess the interrelation between online reading strategies and metacognitive awareness.Design/methodology/approach – the authors present and evaluate the findings obtained by using Online Survey of Reading Strategies (OSORS, the survey, which helped to identify MRU students’ metacognitive online reading strategies in a foreign language learning context. The methods applied in the research were the following ones: literature review and descriptive analysis of the obtained quantitative data. The quantitative research and descriptive analysis of the data received from the survey was applied. The target group of the study conducted at MRU consisted of 89 full-time students having different online reading experience. The sample was composed of students from five Bachelor study programmes studying in the academic year of 2012-2013. The instrument of the research (OSORS was composed of 38 items.Findings – the findings obtained through the survey revealed that readers work directly with the text to solve problems while reading online. However, a low score on any of the subscales of the inventory (i.e. Support strategies use indicates that there may be strategies in these parts that students might want to learn about and consider using them when reading online. By focusing students’ attention on the metacognitive reading strategies identified in the OSORS language, teachers could help students improve their online reading ability. Teachers should include strategy awareness as training component in their students’ online learning tasks.Research limitations/implications – the research sample is rather limited (89 participants.Practical implications – seeking to develop students’ online reading capacity, it is valuable for teachers to discover students’ preferences for online reading strategies and identify encountered

  19. Psychological Attributes in Foreign Language Reading: An Explorative Study of Japanese College Students

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    Mikami, Hitoshi; Leung, Chi Yui; Yoshikawa, Lisa

    2016-01-01

    This study explores the internal structure of psychological attributes (i.e., motivation, belief and emotion) related to foreign language reading (FLR) (hereafter FLR attributes) and checks the utility of existing FLR attribute measurements for the specific learner group (i.e., Japanese university students studying English as their foreign…

  20. An Analysis of Simplification Strategies in a Reading Textbook of Japanese as a Foreign Language

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    Kristina HMELJAK SANGAWA

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available Reading is one of the bases of second language learning, and it can be most effective when the linguistic difficulty of the text matches the reader's level of language proficiency. The present paper reviews previous research on the readability and simplification of Japanese texts, and presents an analysis of a collection of simplified texts for learners of Japanese as a foreign language. The simplified texts are compared to their original versions to uncover different strategies used to make the texts more accessible to learners. The list of strategies thus obtained can serve as useful guidelines for assessing, selecting, and devising texts for learners of Japanese as a foreign language.

  1. Foreign language reading and spelling in gifted students with dyslexia in secondary education

    OpenAIRE

    van Viersen, Sietske; de Bree, Elise H.; Kalee, Lilian; Kroesbergen, Evelyn H.; de Jong, Peter F.

    2017-01-01

    A few studies suggest that gifted children with dyslexia have better literacy skills than averagely intelligent children with dyslexia. This finding aligns with the hypothesis that giftedness-related factors provide compensation for poor reading. The present study investigated whether, as in the native language (NL), the level of foreign language (FL) literacy of gifted students with dyslexia is higher than the literacy level of averagely intelligent students with dyslexia and whether this di...

  2. Foreign Language Reading and Spelling in Gifted Students with Dyslexia in Secondary Education

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    van Viersen, Sietske; de Bree, Elise H.; Kalee, Lilian; Kroesbergen, Evelyn H.; de Jong, Peter F.

    2017-01-01

    A few studies suggest that gifted children with dyslexia have better literacy skills than averagely intelligent children with dyslexia. This finding aligns with the hypothesis that giftedness-related factors provide compensation for poor reading. The present study investigated whether, as in the native language (NL), the level of foreign language…

  3. First Language Proficiency and Successful Foreign Language Learning: The Case of High School Students Learning French as a Foreign Language

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    Gnintedem, Antoine

    2014-01-01

    This study investigated whether there was a correlation between first language proficiency as measured by the Mississippi Curriculum Test (MCT II) Reading and Language Arts and foreign language proficiency as measured by the French Language Proficiency Test. Data for the independent variable, first language proficiency, was collected from the…

  4. A Corpus of Writing, Pronunciation, Reading, and Listening by Learners of English as a Foreign Language

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    Kotani, Katsunori; Yoshimi, Takehiko; Nanjo, Hiroaki; Isahara, Hitoshi

    2016-01-01

    In order to develop effective teaching methods and computer-assisted language teaching systems for learners of English as a foreign language who need to study the basic linguistic competences for writing, pronunciation, reading, and listening, it is necessary to first investigate which vocabulary and grammar they have or have not yet learned.…

  5. A Blended Learning Model for Teaching Reading in English as a Foreign Language

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    Karkour, Islam

    2014-01-01

    The aim of this paper is to describe a blended learning model to be used in Egyptian schools when teaching reading classes in English as a foreign language. This paper is divided into three parts. The first part outlines the Egyptian context and describes the target learners. The second part describes the suggested blended learning model, which is…

  6. Applicability of the Compensatory Encoding Model in Foreign Language Reading: An Investigation with Chinese College English Language Learners.

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    Han, Feifei

    2017-01-01

    While some first language (L1) reading models suggest that inefficient word recognition and small working memory tend to inhibit higher-level comprehension processes; the Compensatory Encoding Model maintains that slow word recognition and small working memory do not normally hinder reading comprehension, as readers are able to operate metacognitive strategies to compensate for inefficient word recognition and working memory limitation as long as readers process a reading task without time constraint. Although empirical evidence is accumulated for support of the Compensatory Encoding Model in L1 reading, there is lack of research for testing of the Compensatory Encoding Model in foreign language (FL) reading. This research empirically tested the Compensatory Encoding Model in English reading among Chinese college English language learners (ELLs). Two studies were conducted. Study one focused on testing whether reading condition varying time affects the relationship between word recognition, working memory, and reading comprehension. Students were tested on a computerized English word recognition test, a computerized Operation Span task, and reading comprehension in time constraint and non-time constraint reading. The correlation and regression analyses showed that the strength of association was much stronger between word recognition, working memory, and reading comprehension in time constraint than that in non-time constraint reading condition. Study two examined whether FL readers were able to operate metacognitive reading strategies as a compensatory way of reading comprehension for inefficient word recognition and working memory limitation in non-time constraint reading. The participants were tested on the same computerized English word recognition test and Operation Span test. They were required to think aloud while reading and to complete the comprehension questions. The think-aloud protocols were coded for concurrent use of reading strategies, classified

  7. Foreign language comprehension achievement: insights from the cognate facilitation effect

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    Aina eCasaponsa

    2015-05-01

    Full Text Available Numerous studies have shown that the native language influences foreign word recognition and that this influence is modulated by the proficiency in the nonnative language. Here we explored how the degree of reliance on cross-language similarity (as measured by the cognate facilitation effect together with other domain-general cognitive factors contribute to reading comprehension achievement in a nonnative language at different stages of the learning process. We tested two groups of native speakers of Spanish learning English at elementary and intermediate levels in an academic context. A regression model approach showed that domain-general cognitive skills are good predictors of second language reading achievement independently of the level of proficiency. Critically, we found that individual differences in the degree of reliance on the native language predicted foreign language reading achievement, showing a markedly different pattern between proficiency groups. At lower levels of proficiency the cognate facilitation effect was positively related with reading achievement, while this relation became negative at intermediate levels of foreign language learning. We conclude that the link between native- and foreign-language lexical representations helps participants at initial stages of the learning process, whereas it is no longer the case at intermediate levels of proficiency, when reliance on cross-language similarity is inversely related to successful nonnative reading achievement. Thus, at intermediate levels of proficiency strong and direct mappings from the nonnative lexical forms to semantic concepts are needed to achieve good nonnative reading comprehension, in line with the premises of current models of bilingual lexico-semantic organization.

  8. Teaching a foreign language using multisensory structured language techniques to at-risk learners: a review.

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    Sparks, R L; Miller, K S

    2000-01-01

    An overview of multisensory structured language (MSL) techniques used to teach a foreign language to at-risk students is outlined. Research supporting the use of MSL techniques is reviewed. Specific activities using the MSL approach to teach the phonology/orthography, grammar and vocabulary of the foreign language as well as reading and communicative activities in the foreign language are presented.

  9. Textual and Pictorial Glosses: Effectiveness on Incidental Vocabulary Growth When Reading in a Foreign Language.

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    Kost, Claudia R.; Foss, Pamelo; Lenzini, John J.

    1999-01-01

    Investigates the effects of pictorial and textual glosses and a combination thereof on incidental vocabulary growth of foreign language learners. Subjects from second-semester German classes read a narrative text passage under one of three marginal gloss conditions: textual gloss (English translation); pictorial gloss; and text and pictures in the…

  10. Relation of Native-Language Reading and Spelling Abilities to Attitudes toward Learning a Second Language

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    Scott, Katrinda Wills; Bell, Sherry Mee; McCallum, R. Steve

    2009-01-01

    The authors investigated the relation of foreign language attitudes and perceptions to reading and spelling skills for 278 English-speaking college students enrolled in 100- and 200- level foreign language classes, using the Foreign Language Attitudes and Perceptions Survey (R. Sparks & L. Ganschow, 1993b), the Test of Dyslexia-Rapid…

  11. English as a Foreign Language Learners' Major and Meta-Cognitive Reading Strategy Use at Al-Balqa Applied University

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    Abu-Snoubar, Tamador Khalaf

    2017-01-01

    This quantitative study aimed to investigate and compare the use of metacognitive reading Strategies among English as a foreign language students at Al-Balqa Applied University based on their academic field of study. The Survey of Reading Strategies (SORS) (Mokhtari & Sheory, 2002) was the instrument employed. This survey divides the…

  12. The effects of multisensory structured language instruction on native language and foreign language aptitude skills of at-risk high school foreign language learners: A replication and follow-up study.

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    Sparks, R L; Ganschow, L

    1993-12-01

    According to research findings, most students who experience foreign language learning problems are thought to have overt or subtle native language learning difficulties, primarily with phonological processing. A recent study by the authors showed that when a multisensory structured language approach to teaching Spanish was used with a group of at-risk high school students, the group's pre- and posttest scores on native language phonological processing, verbal memory and vocabulary, and foreign language aptitude measures significantly improved. In this replication and follow-up study, the authors compared pre- and posttest scores of a second group of students (Cohort 2) who received MSL instruction in Spanish on native language and foreign language aptitude measures. They also followed students from the first study (Cohort 1) over a second year of foreign language instruction. Findings showed that the second cohort made significant gains on three native language phonological measures and a test of foreign language aptitude. Follow-up testing on the first cohort showed that the group maintained its initial gains on all native language and foreign language aptitude measures. Implications for the authors' Linguistic Coding Deficit Hypothesis are discussed and linked with current reading research, in particular the concepts of the assumption of specificity and modularity.

  13. The Relationship between Gender and Iranian EFL Learners’ Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety (FLCA)

    OpenAIRE

    Fakhri Mesri

    2012-01-01

    Foreign language anxiety is widely used to describe the feeling of tension and apprehension, which is specifically associated with foreign language learning contexts, including listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Foreign language classroom anxiety (FLCA) is related to foreign language anxiety and language-skill-specific anxiety, and fairly recently identified as distinguished from other forms of anxiety. FLCA is a more general type of anxiety in learning a foreign language with a stron...

  14. Empirical study of the effects of discourse markers on the reading comprehension of Spanish students of English as a foreign language

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    Ana Cristina Lahuerta Martínez

    2009-12-01

    Full Text Available The aim of this work is to analyse how Spanish readers react to English discourse markers in a text. We carry out an empirical study in which we ask three research question: (a if there is any relationship between presence of discourse markers or absence of discourse markers and reading comprehension in English as a foreign language, (b if there is any relationship between the readers’ proficiency in English and the effect of the presence or absence of discourse markers on reading comprehension and, (c if there is any relationship between the readers’ age, sex, competence as learners and as learners of English, and the effect of the presence or absence of discourse markers on reading comprehension. The results obtained show that discourse markers enhance reading comprehension in foreign language reading, and that the more successful students tend to use discourse markers as aids to help their reading comprehension. This latter result is nevertheless limited by the possible effect of the readers’ familiarity with the topic of the text and points to a need for further investigation.

  15. Reading in Japanese as a Second Language : A Review of Empirical Research

    OpenAIRE

    堀場, 裕紀江; ホリバ, ユキエ; YUKIE, HORIBA

    2003-01-01

    During the past few decades the Japanese language has grown to be a popular second or foreign language (L2), and research on reading and learning of Japanese as L2 has started to appear in major academic journals and books in the fields of applied linguistics, second language acquisition, second/foreign language education, along with the more commonly researched languages such as English, Spanish and French. In this article. I will first describe theoretical assumptions used in L2 reading res...

  16. Metacognitive and language-specific knowledge in native and foreign language reading comprehension: an emprical study among Dutch students in grades 6, 8 and 10

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Schoonen, R.; Hulstijn, J.; Bossers, B.

    1998-01-01

    This article gives the results of a study among 685 students in grades 6, 8 and 10 in the Netherlands to whom we administered grade-appropriate measures of reading comprehension and vocabulary knowledge in their native language (NL), Dutch, as well as, in grades 8 and 10, in English as a foreign

  17. The Predictor Factor of Reading Comprehension Performance in English as a Foreign Language: Breadth or Depth

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    Shima Kameli

    2013-03-01

    Full Text Available The present study explored the association among vocabulary breadth/size, depth/quality of vocabulary knowledge, and reading comprehension in English as a foreign language. The main intention of this research was to  explore the association of vocabulary knowledge depth/quality and reading comprehension performance. This study was also intended to find out which aspects of vocabulary knowledge, breadth/size or depth/quality, has more significant association with determining EFL learners’ reading comprehension performance. The Vocabulary Level Test (VLT, Word Associates Test (WAT, and Reading Comprehension test (IELTS have been administered among all the respondents. The participants were 220 adult male and female EFL learners who were learning English in advanced level in BAHAR institute, Shiraz, Iran. The findings revealed that 1 test  scores on vocabulary size/ breadth, depth/ quality of vocabulary knowledge, and reading comprehension were  positively correlated, 2 vocabulary size/ breadth was a stronger predictor of reading comprehension than depth/ Quality of vocabulary knowledge.

  18. The Reading Comprehension Strategies of Second Language Learners: A Spanish-English Study

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    Acosta Caballero, Karen Anelice

    2012-01-01

    Reading comprehension of school-aged students is an important topic of research; however, research on the reading comprehension of adult foreign/second language learners whose first language is English is limited, especially studies investigating the reading comprehension strategies that readers of different proficiency levels use when they…

  19. Reading Logs and Literature Teaching Models in English Language Teacher Education

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    Ochoa Delarriva, Ornella; Basabe, Enrique Alejandro

    2016-01-01

    Reading logs are regularly used in foreign language education since they are not only critical in the development of reading comprehension but may also be instrumental in taking readers beyond the referential into the representational realms of language. In this paper we offer the results of a qualitative analysis of a series of reading logs…

  20. Effects of Multimedia Annotations on Incidental Vocabulary Learning and Reading Comprehension of Advanced Learners of English as a Foreign Language

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    Akbulut, Yavuz

    2007-01-01

    The study investigates immediate and delayed effects of different hypermedia glosses on incidental vocabulary learning and reading comprehension of advanced foreign language learners. Sixty-nine freshman TEFL students studying at a Turkish university were randomly assigned to three types of annotations: (a) definitions of words, (b) definitions…

  1. Video Dubbing Projects in the Foreign Language Curriculum

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    Burston, Jack

    2005-01-01

    The dubbing of muted video clips offers an excellent opportunity to develop the skills of foreign language learners at all linguistic levels. In addition to its motivational value, soundtrack dubbing provides a rich source of activities in all language skill areas: listening, reading, writing, speaking. With advanced students, it also lends itself…

  2. An Analysis on Reading Texts in Teaching Turkish to Foreigners

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    Adem İŞCAN

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available Being one of the four basic language skills, reading has a great importance in teaching Turkish to foreigners. It is required to develop reading skills to develop vocabulary. There have been some problems in teaching Turkish as second language. These problems are generally related to difference in alphabet, inadequacy of the sources used in teaching Turkish, methods and techniques used and the texts used. The basic sources used in teaching Turkish to foreigners are texts. This study aims at determination of the opinions of students in Gaziosmanpaşa University and Ondokuz Mayıs University Turkish Education and Application Center (TOMER concerning Turkish reading texts. General browsing method was used in the study. The questionnaire comprising of 24 items was applied to 25 students in beginner level and 7 students in advanced level. With this study, it is foreseen to arrange the texts being the key stone according to the wishes of and in compliance with the levels of students; giving importance to pre-reading, reading and post-reading activities and including questions with short-answer about the text as well as questions to develop high level skills.

  3. PROVIDING ENGLISH LANGUAGE INPUT: DECREASING STUDENTS’ ANXIETY IN READING COMPREHENSION PERFORMANCE

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Elva Yohana

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available The primary condition for successful in second or foreign language learning is providing an adequate environment. It is as a medium of increasing the students’ language exposure in order to be able to success in acquiring second or foreign language profciency. This study was designed to propose the adequate English language input that can decrease the students’ anxiety in reading comprehension performance. Of the four skills, somehow reading can be regarded as especially important because reading is assumed to be the central means for learning new information. Some students, however, still encounter many problems in reading. It is because of their anxiety when they are reading. Providing and creating an interesting-contextual reading material and gratifed teachers can make out this problem which occurs mostly in Indonesian’s classrooms. It revealed that the younger learners of English there do not received adequate amount of the target language input in their learning of English. Hence, it suggested the adoption of extensive reading programs as the most effective means in the creation of an input-rich environment in EFL learning contexts. Besides they also give suggestion to book writers and publisher to provide myriad books that appropriate and readable for their students.

  4. Reflections on foreign language study for students with language learning problems: research, issues and challenges.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ganschow, L; Sparks, R L

    2000-01-01

    The study of foreign language (FL) learning for individuals who have found learning to read and write in their first language extremely problematic has been an under-researched area throughout the world. Since the 1980s, Leonore Ganschow and Richard Sparks have conducted pioneering research into the nature of difficulties, why they are encountered and how they can be minimized. In this paper the authors trace the development of their research on foreign language difficulties for students with language learning problems. They provide a summary of their findings and suggest new questions and directions for the field.

  5. Development of adolescent reading comprehension in language 1 and language 2 : A longitudinal analysis of constituent components

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van Gelderen, Amos; Schoonen, Rob; Stoel, Reinoud D.; de Glopper, C.M.; Hulstijn, Jan

    This study investigated the relationship between reading comprehension development of 389 adolescents in their dominant language (Language 1 [L 1], Dutch) and a foreign language (Language 2 [L2], English). In each consecutive year from Grades 8 through 10, a number of measurements were taken.

  6. The Effects of Learning-Style Based Activities on Students' Reading Comprehension Skills and Self-Efficacy Perceptions in English Foreign Language Classes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Balci, Özgül

    2017-01-01

    This study investigated the effects of learning-style based activities on students' reading comprehension skills and self-efficacy perceptions in English foreign language classes. A quasi-experimental, matching-only pretest-posttest control group design was utilized. The study was conducted with freshmen university students majoring in Elementary…

  7. The Power of Students’ Subjectivity Processes in Foreign Language acquisition

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bojsen, Heidi

    2015-01-01

    of the students in reading and communicating in French and German as part of their academic learning process (Bojsen 2012). In this framework we are already on new ground within the established practice of FL teaching and learning in Denmark as this practice has traditionally been confined to language courses...... and degrees and diplomas in particular foreign languages. However in this case, the students are not inscribed as students of foreign languages. Their subjectivity process is thus not that of a student of French or German, but rather of pedagogy, cultural studies, economics, development studies or other...

  8. English as a Foreign Language in Bilingual Language-minority Children, Children with Dyslexia and Monolingual Typical Readers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bonifacci, Paola; Canducci, Elisa; Gravagna, Giulia; Palladino, Paola

    2017-05-01

    The present study was aimed at investigating literacy skills in English as a foreign language in three different groups of children: monolinguals with dyslexia (n = 19), typically developing bilinguals (language-minority) (n = 19) and a control group of monolinguals (Italian) (n = 76). Bilinguals were not expected to fail in English measures, and their gap with monolinguals would be expected to be limited to the instructional language, owing to underexposure. All participants were enrolled in Italian primary schools (fourth and fifth grades). A non-verbal reasoning task and Italian and English literacy tasks were administered. The Italian battery included word and non-word reading (speed and accuracy), word and non-word writing, and reading comprehension; the English battery included similar tasks, except for the non-word writing. Bilingual children performed similarly to typical readers in English tasks, whereas in Italian tasks, their performance was similar to that of typical readers in reading speed but not in reading accuracy and writing. Children with dyslexia underperformed compared with typically developing children in all English and Italian tasks, except for reading comprehension in Italian. Profile analysis and correlational analyses were further discussed. These results suggest that English as a foreign language might represent a challenge for students with dyslexia but a strength for bilingual language-minority children. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  9. Cognitive Neuroscience of Foreign Language Education: Myths and Realities

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ali Nouri

    2015-04-01

    Full Text Available This paper summarizes the educational implications of current research on cognitive neuroscience for foreign-language learning to provide an overview of myths and realities in this appealing area of research. Although the potential benefits of neuroscientific research into language acquisition are great, there are a number of popular myths that none of which are supported by scientific evidence. In this paper, three prominent examples of these myths are introduced and discussed how they are based on misinterpretation and misapplication from neuroscience research. The first pervasive example of such misconception is the prevalent belief of being the certain critical periods for learning a second language. It implies that the opportunity to acquire foreign languages is lost forever by missing these biological windows. In fact, however, extensive research shows that there are sensitive periods, but not critical periods, during which an individual can acquire certain aspects of language with greater ease than at other times. Another example of myths is a false conclusion implies that exposing children to a foreign language too early interrupts knowledge of their first language. The reality is that learning a second language not only improves language abilities in the first language, but also positively affects reading abilities and general literacy in school. Like the other myths, there is also a popular conception about ability to learn second language during sleep. It is demonstrated that previously acquired memories are consolidated and new association are learned during sleep, but learning a foreign language requires conscious effort and available data do not support this hypothesis that second language acquire during sleep. The main conclusion arising from this argument is that, while our understanding of the neural bases of language learning is continually evolving, our interpretation of the implications of these findings for foreign language

  10. Musical plus phonological input for young foreign language readers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fonseca-Mora, M C; Jara-Jiménez, Pilar; Gómez-Domínguez, María

    2015-01-01

    Based on previous studies showing that phonological awareness is related to reading abilities and that music training improves phonological processing, the aim of the present study was to test for the efficiency of a new method for teaching to read in a foreign language. Specifically, we tested the efficacy of a phonological training program, with and without musical support that aimed at improving early reading skills in 7-8-year-old Spanish children (n = 63) learning English as a foreign language. Of interest was also to explore the impact of this training program on working memory and decoding skills. To achieve these goals we tested three groups of children before and after training: a control group, an experimental group with phonological non-musical intervention (active control), and an experimental group with musical intervention. Results clearly point to the beneficial effects of the phonological teaching approach but the further impact of the music support was not demonstrated. Moreover, while children in the music group showed low musical aptitudes before training, they nevertheless performed better than the control group. Therefore, the phonological training program with and without music support seem to have significant effects on early reading skills.

  11. Musical plus phonological input for young foreign language readers

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M.C. eFonseca-Mora

    2015-03-01

    Full Text Available Based on previous studies showing that phonological awareness is related to reading abilities and that music training improves phonological processing, the aim of the present study was to test for the efficiency of a new method for teaching to read in a foreign language. Specifically, we tested the efficacy of a phonological training program, with and without musical support that aimed at improving early reading skills in 7-8-year-old Spanish children (n=63 learning English as a foreign language. Of interest was also to explore the impact of this training program on working memory and decoding skills. To achieve these goals we tested three groups of children before and after training: a control group, an experimental group with phonological non-musical intervention (active control, and an experimental group with musical intervention. Results clearly point to the beneficial effects of the phonological teaching approach but the further impact of the music support was not demonstrated. Moreover, while children in the music group showed low musical aptitudes before training, they nevertheless performed better than the control group. Therefore, the phonological training program with and without music support seem to have significant effects on early reading skills.

  12. The Iranian Foreign Language Practitioners‟ Perspectives about Iran‟s Foreign Language Education Policy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Naser Rashidi

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available The present study was conducted to identify the perceptions of the Iranian foreign language practitioners about Iran‟s foreign language education policy within a systemic functional linguistics approach. To this end, 8 Iranian male and female foreign language practitioners were interviewed and asked to talk about what they thought about Iran‟s foreign language policy. The findings obtained from analysing the process types and participants employed by the Iranian foreign language practitioners within a systemic functional linguistics approach point out that the FLEP document is heavily influenced by and draws on well entrenched ideological, historical, religious, economic, and political discourses. Further investigations within a systemic functional linguistics approach indicate that the Iranian teachers believed that while English is a tool for understanding cultural exchanges and transferring technological advances, achieving these goals through the teaching of English is sometimes problematic within an absolute Islamic framework. The findings obtained from a transitivity analysis for the Iranian foreign language practitioners by subjecting their responses to the questions on the interviews to a systemic functional linguistics approach are also indicative of the Iranian foreign language teachers‟ loyalty to the “the younger, the better” belief. Likewise, course content was a topic for controversy. Some of the practitioners believed that course content should be developed around a variety of topics. Whereas others asserted that the inclusion of different topics in the foreign language education policy document may increase the workload on the part of the teachers. Other issues such as culture, the Islamic ideology, and imperialism were identified as causes of different understandings among the Iranian foreign language practitioners as well.

  13. College students with dyslexia: persistent linguistic deficits and foreign language learning.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Downey, D M; Snyder, L E; Hill, B

    2000-01-01

    The first of these two studies compared college students with dyslexia enrolled in modified Latin and Spanish classes and non-dyslexic students enrolled in regular foreign language classes on measures of foreign language aptitude, word decoding, spelling, phonological awareness and word repetition. The groups did not differ on age or grade point average. Analyses indicated that students with dyslexia performed significantly poorer on the foreign language aptitude measures as well as on both phonological tasks, reading and spelling. In the second study, students with learning disabilities who were enrolled in a modified Latin class were not significantly different from their peers in a regular Latin class on grade point average or on performance on a proficiency examination at the end of the second semester. The data suggest that while phonological processing deficits persist into adulthood, students with dyslexia are able to acquire appropriate skills and information to successfully complete the University's foreign language requirement in classes modified to meet their needs.

  14. An Investigation into Emotional Intelligence, Foreign Language Anxiety and Empathy through a Cognitive-Affective Course in an EFL Context

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rouhani, Ali

    2008-01-01

    Full Text Available Emotional intelligence, as concerned with how an individual recognizes and regulates his or her emotions, has been in limelight quite recently. The present study seeks to fill a small gap in the literature on emotional intelligence, together with foreign language anxiety and empathy. To this end, short literary readings are used in a cognitive-affective reading-based course to see how emotional intelligence, foreign language anxiety and empathy are affected. Mayer, Salovey and Caruso (2002 Emotional Intelligence Test (MSCEIT, Cooper's (1996/1997 EQ-Map, Horwitz, Horwitz and Cope's (1986 Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Test (FLCAS and Caruso and Mayer's (1998 Multi-Dimensional Emotional Empathy Scale (MDEES were administered to 70 Iranian EFL undergraduate students in a pretest posttest quasi-experimental design. MANOVA and ANCOVA were conducted. The results revealed that the cognitive-affective reading-based course in which literary readings were used significantly improved the subjects' emotional intelligence scores from the MSCEIT measure as well as empathy (MDEES scores, but significantly decreased their foreign language anxiety (FLCAS scores. The pedagogical implications for learners, teachers, educators and materials developers are presented.

  15. Advertisements: An Overlooked Resource in the Foreign Language Classroom.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Deutsch, Rena

    The use of newspaper and magazine advertisements for teaching foreign language skills in listening, speaking, reading, and writing as well as vocabulary, idiomatic expressions, grammar, pronunciation, and culture is encouraged and discussed. Suggested lessons and classroom activities are presented in four categories: vocabulary, grammatical rules…

  16. A Multimedia-Based System for Foreign Language Listening and Reading Comprehension

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Lichtblau, Dale

    1999-01-01

    .... It describes how integrating existing and proven multimedia and artificial intelligence technology, and the World Wide Web may provide an innovative and effective approach to foreign language learning in DoD...

  17. Japanese attitudes towards foreign languages.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abe, Keiko

    2004-01-01

    The purpose of this study is to clarify Japanese attitudes towards foreign languages based on the kinds and changes of TV and radio programs that aired on the Japanese national broadcasting station (NHK) between 1955 and 2000. Foreign language programs are classified into three groups according to their content: 1) cultivation, 2) education, or 3) communication. For Japanese people, foreign languages are the measures of intelligence and intellect. Studying a foreign language is considered a sign of intelligence whether or not it is used for actual communication. The number of foreign language programs has increased tremendously since 1965 in part because the global economy has brought many countries in such close contact. Since 1990, programs for the purpose of communication have increased because of the necessity to communicate with foreign people. Japanese attitudes towards studying foreign languages have been changing gradually from an intellectual purpose to a communication purpose.

  18. Global Access through Languages. Dimension '96. Selected Proceedings of the Joint Conference of the Southern Conference on Language Teaching and the Alabama Association of Foreign Language Teachers (Mobile, Alabama, 1996).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Terry, Robert M., Ed.

    Six conference papers are presented in this volume. They include: "Living Civilization: a Theoretical Model for Using Task-Based Activities To Combine the Teaching of Language and Culture" (Sharon Gwinn Scinicariello); "Foreign Language Reading versus Understanding: Using Think-Aloud Protocols To Identify L2 Reading Problems"…

  19. Word Reading Efficiency, Text Reading Fluency, and Reading Comprehension among Chinese Learners of English

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jiang, Xiangying; Sawaki, Yasuyo; Sabatini, John

    2012-01-01

    This study examined the relationship among word reading efficiency, text reading fluency, and reading comprehension for adult English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners. Data from 185 adult Chinese EFL learners preparing to take the Test-of-English-as-a-Foreign-Language[TM] (TOEFL[R]) were analyzed in this study. The participants completed a…

  20. The effects of multisensory structured language instruction on native language and foreign language aptitude skills of at-risk high school foreign language learners.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sparks, R; Ganschow, L; Pohlman, J; Skinner, S; Artzer, M

    1992-12-01

    Research findings suggest that most students who have foreign language learning problems have language-based difficulties and, in particular, phonological processing problems. Authors of the present study examined pre- and posttest scores on native language and foreign language aptitude tests of three groups of at-risk high school students enrolled in special, self-contained sections of first-year Spanish. Two groups were instructed using a multisensory structured language (MSL) approach. One of the groups was taught in both English and Spanish (MSL/ES), the other only in Spanish (MSL/S). The third group (NO-MSL) was instructed using more traditional second language teaching methodologies. Significant gains were made by the MSL-ES group on measures of native language phonology, vocabulary, and verbal memory and on a test of foreign language aptitude; the MSL/S group made significant gains on the test of foreign language aptitude. No significant gains on the native language or foreign language aptitude measures were made by the NO-MSL group. Implications for foreign language classroom instruction of at-risk students are discussed.

  1. The Relationship of Korean Students' Age and Years of English-as-a-Foreign-Language Exposure with English-Reading Ability: A Cross-Age Study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fitzgerald, Jill; Stenner, A. Jackson; Sanford-Moore, Eleanor E.; Koons, Heather; Bowen, Kimberly; Kim, Kee Hyung

    2015-01-01

    The purpose of the present cross-age study with South Korean students was to investigate the relationship of age and years of English-as-a-foreign-language (EFL) exposure with English-reading ability. The main research question was, "Do individuals' age and number of years of English exposure interact in relation to English-reading…

  2. Understanding the centrality deficit: insight from foreign language learners.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miller, Amanda C; Keenan, Janice M

    2011-07-01

    This study replicated and extended a phenomenon in the text memory literature referred to as the centrality deficit Miller & Keenan (Annals of Dyslexia 59:99-113, 2009). It examined how reading in a foreign language (L2) affects one's text representation and ability to recall the most important information. Readers recalled a greater proportion of central than of peripheral ideas, regardless of whether reading in their native language (L1) or a foreign language (L2). Nonetheless, the greatest deficit in participants' L2 recalls, as compared with L1 recalls, was on the central, rather than the peripheral, information. This centrality deficit appears to stem from resources being diverted from comprehension when readers have to devote more cognitive resources to lower level processes (e.g., L2 word identification and syntactic processing), because the deficit was most evident among readers who had lower L2 proficiency. Prior knowledge (PK) of the passage topic helped compensate for the centrality deficit. Readers with less L2 proficiency who did not have PK of the topic displayed a centrality deficit, relative to their L1 recall, but this deficit dissipated when they did possess PK.

  3. Effects of audio-visual aids on foreign language test anxiety, reading and listening comprehension, and retention in EFL learners.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Shu-Ping; Lee, Shin-Da; Liao, Yuan-Lin; Wang, An-Chi

    2015-04-01

    This study examined the effects of audio-visual aids on anxiety, comprehension test scores, and retention in reading and listening to short stories in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) classrooms. Reading and listening tests, general and test anxiety, and retention were measured in English-major college students in an experimental group with audio-visual aids (n=83) and a control group without audio-visual aids (n=94) with similar general English proficiency. Lower reading test anxiety, unchanged reading comprehension scores, and better reading short-term and long-term retention after four weeks were evident in the audiovisual group relative to the control group. In addition, lower listening test anxiety, higher listening comprehension scores, and unchanged short-term and long-term retention were found in the audiovisual group relative to the control group after the intervention. Audio-visual aids may help to reduce EFL learners' listening test anxiety and enhance their listening comprehension scores without facilitating retention of such materials. Although audio-visual aids did not increase reading comprehension scores, they helped reduce EFL learners' reading test anxiety and facilitated retention of reading materials.

  4. Relationship among Iranian EFL Students' Foreign Language Anxiety, Foreign Language Listening Anxiety and Their Listening Comprehension

    Science.gov (United States)

    Serraj, Samaneh; Noordin, Noreen Bt.

    2013-01-01

    Anxiety is an influential factor in a foreign language learning domain and plays a crucial role in language learners' performance. The following study was conducted to explore the possible impact of Foreign Language Anxiety and Foreign Language Listening Anxiety on language learners' listening skill. The researcher was interested to know the…

  5. STORYLINE APPROACH AS ENHANCEMENT OF LEARNING FOREIGN LANGUAGE AND CHARACTER BUILDING AT ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Frimadhona Syafri

    2017-04-01

    Full Text Available Using stories in teaching foreign language, it forces the teacher to be crative and innovative to encourage the young learners to enjoy reading stories. The teacher has to be smart to select which one approaches or methods which can enhance learning foreign language and character building in the teaching foreign language process.The storyline approach was specifically designed for the use at primary schools. The storyline method (Storyline for teaching children at primary schools was mainly developed in 1967 by a team of teachers from Jordanhill College of Education (now known as University of Strathclyde in Glasgow, Scotland. The primary schools in Scotland use a curriculum that involves integration of new topics, such as environmental studies and expressive arts, in their teaching foreign language process. This method could be one of alternative method that be applied in teaching foreign language to Elementary School or English Courses for Children in Indonesia.

  6. Support for improving reading ability of a student, literate in a foreign language

    OpenAIRE

    Begić, Emina

    2014-01-01

    Many children are being educated in a foreign or second language due to the migration of their families, happening for different reasons. The acquisition of a second language at an early stage and literacy in a second language are paths to bilingualism. In Slovenia, children of immigrants, who decide to stay in the country permanently, are being educated in Slovene, which is the language of the environment and represents a second language to them. Children of immigrants, who stay in Slovenia...

  7. Multilingual Dyslexia in University Students: Reading and Writing Patterns in Three Languages

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lindgren, Signe-Anita; Laine, Matti

    2011-01-01

    We investigated reading and writing in two domestic languages (Swedish and Finnish) and one foreign language (English) among multilingual university students with (n = 20) versus without dyslexia (n = 20). Our analyses encompassed overall speed and accuracy measures and an in-depth analysis of grapheme-phoneme-grapheme errors and inflectional…

  8. Foreign Language Teachers' Language Proficiency and Their Language Teaching Practice

    Science.gov (United States)

    Richards, Heather; Conway, Clare; Roskvist, Annelies; Harvey, Sharon

    2013-01-01

    Teachers' subject knowledge is recognized as an essential component of effective teaching. In the foreign language context, teachers' subject knowledge includes language proficiency. In New Zealand high schools, foreign languages (e.g. Chinese, French, German, Japanese and Spanish) have recently been offered to learners earlier in their schooling,…

  9. Social Media: An Optimal Virtual Environment for Learning Foreign Languages

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rdouan Faizi

    2014-09-01

    Full Text Available The present paper aims at exploring the potential role that social media technologies play in learning foreign languages. For this purpose, a survey was carried out to examine students’ and language learners’ perceptions and attitudes about using these platforms. Results of the research study revealed that the great majority of the respondents actually use these web-based applications to enhance their language skills. Most importantly, they noted that social media contribute in improving their listening, reading, speaking and writing skills. Accordingly, we strongly recommend that instructors use these online tools in distant, blended, or face-to-face language learning settings.

  10. Bringing back the body into the mind: gestures enhance word learning in foreign language.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Macedonia, Manuela

    2014-01-01

    Foreign language education in the twenty-first century still teaches vocabulary mainly through reading and listening activities. This is due to the link between teaching practice and traditional philosophy of language, where language is considered to be an abstract phenomenon of the mind. However, a number of studies have shown that accompanying words or phrases of a foreign language with gestures leads to better memory results. In this paper, I review behavioral research on the positive effects of gestures on memory. Then I move to the factors that have been addressed as contributing to the effect, and I embed the reviewed evidence in the theoretical framework of embodiment. Finally, I argue that gestures accompanying foreign language vocabulary learning create embodied representations of those words. I conclude by advocating the use of gestures in future language education as a learning tool that enhances the mind.

  11. Bringing back the body into the mind: Gestures enhance word learning in foreign language

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Manuela eMacedonia

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available Foreign language education in the 21st century still teaches vocabulary mainly through reading and listening activities. This is due to the link between teaching practice and traditional philosophy of language, where language is considered to be an abstract phenomenon of the mind. However, a number of studies have shown that accompanying words or phrases of a foreign language with gestures leads to better memory results. In this paper, I review behavioral research on the positive effects of gestures on memory. Then I move to the factors that have been addressed as contributing to the effect, and I embed the reviewed evidence in the theoretical framework of embodiment. Finally, I argue that gestures accompanying foreign language vocabulary learning create embodied representations of those words. I conclude by advocating the use of gestures in future language education as a learning tool that enhances learning the mind.

  12. Enhancing student schematic knowledge of culture through literature circles in a foreign language classroom

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Graham-Marr Alastair

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Improving student understanding of a foreign language culture is anything but a peripheral issue in the teaching of a foreign language. This pilot study reports on a second year required English course in a university in Japan that took a Literature Circles approach, where students were asked to read short stories out of class and then discuss these stories in class. Although students reported that they did not gain any special insights into the target language culture presented, they did report that reading fiction as source material for classroom activity helps with the acquisition of a vocabulary set that is more closely associated with lifestyle and culture. The results suggest that further study is warranted. Procedures of this pilot study are described and interpreted in the context of the English education system in Japan.

  13. Neurology of foreign language aptitude

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Adriana Biedroń

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available This state-of-the art paper focuses on the poorly explored issue of foreign language aptitude, attempting to present the latest developments in this field and reconceptualizations of the construct from the perspective of neuroscience. In accordance with this goal, it first discusses general directions in neurolinguistic research on foreign language aptitude, starting with the earliest attempts to define the neurological substrate for talent, sources of difficulties in the neurolinguistic research on foreign language aptitude and modern research methods. This is followed by the discussion of the research on the phonology of foreign language aptitude with emphasis on functional and structural studies as well as their consequences for the knowledge of the concept. The subsequent section presents the studies which focus on lexical and morphosyntactic aspects of foreign language aptitude. The paper ends with a discussion of the limitations of contemporary research, the future directions of such research and selec ed methodological issues.

  14. Psycholinguistic determinants of reading comprehension in english as a foreign language

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Javier Vivaldo-Lima

    Full Text Available The purpose of this study was to analyze the contribution of linguistic and psychological variables in the explanation of the variance associated with reading comprehension in English (L2. Two hundred and eighty Mexican university students participated in the study. The variables analyzed within the linguistic dimension were: reading strategies in Spanish, linguistic competence in English, and ability to perceive lexical transparency between L1 and L2. The psychological dimension evaluated the influence of the reader’s cognitive style, locus of control, and action control orientation on reading comprehension in L2. Subjects were administered a battery of seven evaluation instruments. Multiple regression analyses suggested a two-stage explanatory model of reading in L2. Firstly, psychological variables accounted for 10.0% of the variance in reading comprehension in the first language. Secondly, reading comprehension in Spanish, linguistic competence in L2, and perception of lexical transparency, accounted for 35.5% of the variance in reading comprehension in English.

  15. PEER TUTORING IN LEARNING A FOREIGN LANGUAGE AS A NON-MAJOR

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    E. A. Makarova

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Introduction. The problems of stimulation cognitive activity and improvement of student learning motivation are of interest for many Russian and foreign researchers. One of the approaches to solve these problems, actively implemented in educational process abroad, is peer tutoring. Peer tutoring is a form of collaborative learning based on the models of student interactions organized in pairs or groups with shared roles «peer tutor- tutee».The aim of the study is to analyze effective models of peer tutoring used abroad, to develop alternate models and apply them while teaching reading and translation at foreign language lessons in non-linguistic university.Methodology and research methods. Peer tutoring is studied by using both qualitative and quantitative research methods such as data collection, analysis and generalizations along with the experiment and observation.Results and scientific novelty. As a result the peer tutoring models have been developed and implemented within the regular classroom settings while teaching reading and translation to students in non-linguistic university. The offered models of tutoring involve preparation realities of the Russian higher education institutions; meanwhile, there are no special centers of mentoring with separate teaching staff and psychologists in foreign universities. The advantages of peer tutoring over traditional forms of education and a group form of work when students solve a problem are designated, but their roles are not accurately distributed. The undertaken experiment lasted for two years, showed that peer tutoring advantages in foreign language training consist in the following: firstly, such way of lessons allows teachers to avoid time-losing monotonous reading and translations of texts discouraging students; secondly, exchanging opinions, students study each other and gain skills of estimation of personal and others' work; thirdly, interacting in pairs or small groups, pupils are more

  16. Helping students into, through, and beyond: reading strategies for english-as-a-foreign-language students Helping students into, through, and beyond: reading strategies for english-as-a-foreign-language students

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sandra Mano

    2008-04-01

    Full Text Available Reading and writing research indicates that students do both activities more successfully if the process that readers and writers engage in is consciously activated to aid in the production of products. In writing instruction, this has led to a focus on facilitating the composing process through the introduction of pre-writing, composing, revising, and editing activities. Currently the same types of strategies are available to facilitate the reading process. Many of these, developed by individual teachers or projects such as the California Literature Project, aim to help students read challenging materials in their first language. Reading and writing research indicates that students do both activities more successfully if the process that readers and writers engage in is consciously activated to aid in the production of products. In writing instruction, this has led to a focus on facilitating the composing process through the introduction of pre-writing, composing, revising, and editing activities. Currently the same types of strategies are available to facilitate the reading process. Many of these, developed by individual teachers or projects such as the California Literature Project, aim to help students read challenging materials in their first language.

  17. Foreign language interactive didactics

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Arnaldo Moisés Gómez

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available Foreign Language Interactive Didactics is intended for foreign language teachers and would-be teachers since it is an interpretation of the foreign language teaching-learning process is conceived from a reflexive social interaction. This interpretation declares learning based on interactive tasks that provide learners with opportunities to interact meaningfully among them, as a way to develop interactional competence as objective in itself and as a means to obtain communicative competence. Foreign language interactive didactics claims for the unity of reflection and action while learning the language system and using it to communicate, by means of solving problems presented in interactive tasks. It proposes a kind of teaching that is interactive, developmental, collaborative, holist, cognitive, problematizing, reflexive, student centered, humanist, and with a strong affective component that empower the influencing psychological factors in learning. This conception appears in the book: DIDÁCTICA INTERACTIVA DE LENGUAS (2007 y 2010. The book is used as a textbook for the subject of Didactics that is part of the curriculum in language teachers’ formation of all the pedagogical sciences universities, in Spanish teachers’ formation who are not Spanish speaking people at Havana University, and also as a reference book for postgraduate courses, master’s and doctorate’ s degrees.

  18. Teaching English as a Foreign Language to Dyslexic Young Learners: an Intervention Programme

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Panagiota Goudi

    2010-02-01

    Full Text Available The scope of this chapter is to study the stimulation of phonological awareness of the English language, in Greek dyslexic young learners, who present a specific reading disability in both their mother tongue as well as in the foreign language. According to scientific research, phonological awareness, i.e. the knowledge of the phonological structure of a language by its user, is intrinsically related to the reading process. At the same time, it has been confirmed that dyslexic learners experience difficulty in segmenting and blending speech sounds, due to insufficiently developed phonological awareness. For this reason, a well-founded intervention programme is designed and put into action, aiming at studying the reading development of dyslexic young learners. The findings have revealed that phonological awareness can be stimulated, resulting in the development of reading accuracy.

  19. Mastering Foreign Language Competence of Ecology and Environment Managers for Mining Industry of Kuzbass

    Science.gov (United States)

    Greenwald, Oksana; Islamov, Roman; Sergeychick, Tatyana

    2017-11-01

    The necessity to solve nature conservation problems of Kuzbass mining industry demands from postgraduate education institutions to train highly qualified specialists in ecology and environment management. As 21st century education is competence-based one, the article clarifies the concept of competence in education, focuses on key competences, namely foreign language competence and its relevance for specialists in ecology and environment management. Foreign language competence is acquired through the course of "Foreign Language" discipline which covers the following aspects: academic reading, academic writing and public speaking. The article also describes the experience of organizing students' individual work taking into account their motivation and specific conditions of the discipline as well. Thus, both the content of the discipline and the approach to organize students' learning contribute to mastering foreign language competence of ecology and environment managers as inherent condition of their professional efficiency for solving ecological problems of mining industry in Kuzbass region.

  20. THE HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF TEACHING RUSSIAN LANGUAGE AS A FOREIGN LANGUAGE

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zulfiya SAHIN

    2014-05-01

    Full Text Available The purpose of this research is to explicate teaching of Russian as a foreign language throughout history: to identify the main achievements of the field, to determine methods and materials used in this area, to trace the developing process from the very begging till present days, when teaching Russian language as a foreign language became a separate specific discipline. To achieve the set purposes mentioned above the known nowadays studies on the field of teaching and learning Russian as a foreign language were investigated. Basing on obtained sources, the history of teaching Russian language as a foreign language was divided into two periods: before and after becoming separate discipline. In the article not only the main features, such as theories, methods, sources of each period were studied, but also history of teaching Russian language as a foreign language was evaluated as a unified process. Keywords: Teaching-Learning activities, Russian as a Foreign Language, Historical linguistic process

  1. The development of English grammar and reading comprehension by majority and minority language children in a bilingual primary school

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anja K. Steinlen

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available Both for the first language (L1 and for all additional languages (L2 or L3, grammatical knowledge plays a vital role in understanding texts (e.g., Grabe, 2005. However, little is known about the development and interaction of grammar and reading comprehension in beginning foreign language learning, especially with respect to children with a minority language background. This longitudinal study, therefore, examined minority and majority language children’s English grammar and reading comprehension skills. The children attended a German-English partial immersion primary school and were tested at the end of Grades 3 and 4. As expected, we found grammar to affect reading comprehension but also reverse effects. Most importantly, the results did not reveal any differences between the two language groups, irrespective of the test. Therefore, immersion primary school programs seem to be suitable for minority language children, and these children do not automatically represent an at-risk group for foreign language learning.

  2. Revisiting Problems with Foreign Language Aptitude

    Science.gov (United States)

    Safar, Anna; Kormos, Judit

    2008-01-01

    This study investigated three of the issues recently raised in connection with the traditional concept of foreign language aptitude: the relationship between foreign language aptitude and working memory and phonological short-term memory capacity, the role of foreign language aptitude in predicting success in the framework of focus-on-form foreign…

  3. The foreign-language effect: thinking in a foreign tongue reduces decision biases.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Keysar, Boaz; Hayakawa, Sayuri L; An, Sun Gyu

    2012-06-01

    Would you make the same decisions in a foreign language as you would in your native tongue? It may be intuitive that people would make the same choices regardless of the language they are using, or that the difficulty of using a foreign language would make decisions less systematic. We discovered, however, that the opposite is true: Using a foreign language reduces decision-making biases. Four experiments show that the framing effect disappears when choices are presented in a foreign tongue. Whereas people were risk averse for gains and risk seeking for losses when choices were presented in their native tongue, they were not influenced by this framing manipulation in a foreign language. Two additional experiments show that using a foreign language reduces loss aversion, increasing the acceptance of both hypothetical and real bets with positive expected value. We propose that these effects arise because a foreign language provides greater cognitive and emotional distance than a native tongue does.

  4. Foreign Languages and Careers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Honig, Lucille J.; Brod, Richard I.

    1974-01-01

    Gives employment opportunity information in the following fields where foreign language can be used as an auxiliary skill: 1) Business, Industry, Commerce; 2) Civil Service; 3) Education; 4) Law; 5) Library Science; 6) Media; 7) Science; 8) Service; 9) Social Sciences; 10) Travel, Tourism. The fields of foreign language teaching and interpretation…

  5. Factors Influencing the Use of Captions by Foreign Language Learners: An Eye-Tracking Study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Winke, Paula; Gass, Susan; Sydorenko, Tetyana

    2013-01-01

    This study investigates caption-reading behavior by foreign language (L2) learners and, through eye-tracking methodology, explores the extent to which the relationship between the native and target language affects that behavior. Second-year (4th semester) English-speaking learners of Arabic, Chinese, Russian, and Spanish watched 2 videos…

  6. Effects of Stress and Working Memory Capacity on Foreign Language Readers' Inferential Processing during Comprehension

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rai, Manpreet K.; Loschky, Lester C.; Harris, Richard Jackson; Peck, Nicole R.; Cook, Lindsay G.

    2011-01-01

    Although stress is frequently claimed to impede foreign language (FL) reading comprehension, it is usually not explained how. We investigated the effects of stress, working memory (WM) capacity, and inferential complexity on Spanish FL readers' inferential processing during comprehension. Inferences, although necessary for reading comprehension,…

  7. Application of the Elements of Problem-Based Learning in Professional Foreign Language Studies at LUHS

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    Liudmila Kirikova

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available The increasing significance of science and the new ties with foreign countries affect the education and training of specialists. Continuous updating of specialty knowledge and the possibility to read the most recent scientific literature in a foreign language and to participate in joint conferences together with foreign partners require the education and training of specialists who would be capable of cooperating in scientific and professional activity while fluently communicating in a foreign language. The aim of the study was to reveal the peculiari- ties of the expression of problem-based learning (PBL elements in foreign language studies at Lithuanian University of Health Sciences (LUHS. The results of the pedagogical experiment conducted at LUHS when teaching the foreign language module showed that the application of PBL elements stimulated the formation of students’ deep approach to studies and skills of independent work. The use of group learning aim forma - tion, concept maps, problem solving, discussion, group work, and brainstorming techniques had a significant effect on the students, and allowed for their empowerment for successful studies.

  8. Purported use and self-awareness of cognitive and metacognitive foreign language reading strategies in tertiary education in Mozambique

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    Manuel Cabinda

    2016-02-01

    Full Text Available This paper explores the results of a Survey of Reading Strategies (SORS-based questionnaire administered to 28 university student participants. The study is carried out in a post-colonial multilingual context, Mozambique. The main aims of the paper are to assess the degree of purported use and awareness of participants own use of reading comprehension skills and strategies in a foreign language (English. The participants were tested for their reading text comprehension using an IELTS comprehension test (Cabinda, 2013. The results revealed low reading comprehension levels. Results contrast with results from the SORS-based questionnaire (Cabinda, 2013 which revealed claims of use of a wide range of cognitive, metacognitive and supply strategies – aspects of high level reading ability and text comprehension. Conclusions show that the participants used or claimed to chiefly use metacognitive and cognitive reading strategies equally, matching the behaviour of good readers, but they also reported a high degree of supply strate- gies to construe meaning from text, mainly code-switching, translation and cognates. The latter cofirms results from studies by Jimenez et al. (1995, 1996 and Zhang & Wu (2009, yet do not conclusively show a correlation between the participants’ degree of text comprehension and their effective use of reading skills and strategies to construe meaning. Further conclusions show that the reported high use of these L1 (Portuguese or other related supply strategies (not used by English L1 readers does not aid their reading comprehension. Key words : EFL, reading strategies, cognition, metacognition, awareness

  9. The Effects of Extensive Reading on Reading Comprehension, Reading Rate, and Vocabulary Acquisition

    Science.gov (United States)

    Suk, Namhee

    2017-01-01

    Several empirical studies and syntheses of extensive reading have concluded that extensive reading has positive impacts on language learning in second- and foreign-language settings. However, many of the studies contained methodological or curricular limitations, raising questions about the asserted positive effects of extensive reading. The…

  10. Pre-Service Preschool Teachers' Beliefs about Foreign Language Learning and Early Foreign Language Teaching in Slovenia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fojkar, Mateja Dagarin; Skubic, Darija

    2017-01-01

    The implementation of foreign languages in preschool education has prompted the need for qualified teachers. However, most recent studies report a gap between the supply of qualified foreign language teachers of young learners and the demand for such teachers as foreign languages are introduced earlier and earlier. The authors of this paper…

  11. Differential Influences of Parental Home Literacy Practices and Anxiety in English as a Foreign Language on Chinese Children's English Development

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chow, Bonnie Wing-Yin; Chui, Barbie Hiu-Tung; Lai, Michael Wei-Chun; Kwok, Sylvia Y. C. L.

    2017-01-01

    This study investigated the differential influences of maternal and paternal factors on Chinese children's English as a foreign language development. It took into account both behavioral (i.e. parental home literacy practices, HLP; and children's vocabulary knowledge) and emotional (i.e. parental and children's foreign language reading anxiety,…

  12. Foreign language aptitude of pupils with learning disabilities at the beginning of the foreign language acquisition at the elementary school

    OpenAIRE

    Špačková, Klára

    2011-01-01

    The dissertation is dealing with the issue of foreign language aptitude and foreign language abilities of pupils with learning disabilities at the beginning of the foreign language acquisition. The first part of the work describes general theories of the foreign language acquisition and introduces the current trends in education of pupils with learning disabilities in the process of foreign language learning. The second part of the work describes the research, which aim was to investigate the...

  13. Advanced learners’ foreign language-related emotions across the four skills

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    Katalin Piniel

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available Individual differences researchers have recently begun to investigate the concept of emotions and their role in language learning (MacIntyre, Gregersen, & Mercer, 2016. Our aim is to report on a project exploring English majors’ feelings related to their use of foreign languages. Using a qualitative research design, participants were asked to write a paragraph in their mother tongue (Hungarian describing their emotional experiences in connection with foreign languages and one of the four language skills. Our database comprised altogether 166 paragraphs from 31 male and 135 female students, with 43 texts on listening, 35 on speaking, 47 on reading, and 41 on writing. With the help of content analytical techniques, the texts were divided into thematic units and coded by the two authors. A framework of academically-relevant emotions (Pekrun, 2014 was used to guide our initial coding and the categories were modified where it was felt necessary. Results indicate that the two emotions most frequently experienced by English majors are predominantly related to enjoyment and language anxiety, and these emotions vary not only according to the skill involved but also depending on the context of language use (in class or outside class.

  14. TEACHING ENGLISH AS A FOREIGN LANGUAGE TO FOREIGNERS

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    Ioana Claudia Horea

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available Teaching English as a foreign language requires very different approaches if we consider the recipients of the didactic process. Concerning the practical aspects of the primary task of a language instructor, namely teaching, skills of all sorts are required in order to be able to use best methods and most appropriate resources and up to date materials and devices. Moreover, to teach students of your own mother tongue is one very distinct thing from teaching foreigners. These two categories, namely students of the same mother tongue as their teacher and foreigners, have two things in common, namely: first, they are the subjects on whom the activity of teaching English is to be applied and second, this language is not their native tongue. These facts can thus be reduced to one idea: addressing to recipients of EFL teaching. Still, there is a big difference between teaching the first category mentioned, those who have the same mother tongue as the teacher and teaching the second category, foreigners, to whom not even the vaguest hints can be provided in other language than English. There comes a new challenge, an extra endeavour for an even more special approach. This study undertakes to present some of the distinctions entailed at the level of teaching methods and to parallel the diverse methodological approaches for the two situations presented. Are the four skills that language acquisition assumes to be taught distinctly and shall the approaches in each particular situation differ from one case to the other or not too much? It takes some distinct features to be or, better saying, to become a teacher of languages; and to teach English as foreign language to foreigners is a new development within this typology, a diverse dimension. New levels of character traits are instinctively reached by instructors in order to better cope, unconsciously, psychologically and emotionally, with the upgraded’ challenges.

  15. Hacia una didáctica para la lectoescritura en el contexto universitario / Towards a didactics for reading and writing in the foreign language in the university context

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Orlando Alberteris Galbán

    2017-05-01

    Full Text Available Reading and writing in the university context need a coherent didactic direction that contributes to the students’ comprehensive education. The article offers some components for a didactics for reading and writing, based on the integration of the afore mentioned components of verbal activity, that share the base knowledge, taking into account the relations between comprehension and production stated as a constellation of interrelated processes. The methods used allowed the systematization of basic elements to structure the didactics. An operational model for reading and writing was also introduced. Its practical implementation evidenced higher levels in reading and writing performance of the students. Keywords: a, , , interrelated processes, foreign languages.

  16. [Union-Endicott Schools: Foreign Language Program.

    Science.gov (United States)

    O'Connell, Raymond S.

    This brochure describing language programs to both parents and prospective high school language students in Endicott, New York focuses on developing student motivation and interest. Topics discussed include: (1) reasons for studying foreign language, (2) stages of foreign language learning, (3) course offerings, (4) homework, and (5) examinations.…

  17. Foreign Language Planning in Saudi Arabia: Beyond English

    Science.gov (United States)

    Payne, Mark; Almansour, Maram

    2014-01-01

    This paper presents findings from an exploratory study of foreign language planning in Saudi Arabia. In terms of official policy, the sole foreign language taught in Saudi public schools is English. Therefore, researching foreign languages there is often limited to researching the area of English as a Foreign Language. However, evidence shows that…

  18. Foreign Language Education Levels in the Dutch Population.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oud-de Glas, Maria; Peels, Fons

    1991-01-01

    Reports on levels of foreign language education and foreign language competence among Dutch students, discussing the sharp decline in the teaching of French and German, a lack of foreign language training in technical education, where it is most needed, and the limitations of the data collected regarding foreign language attainment in the…

  19. Effective Reading in a Foreign Language: An Experimental Reading Course in English for Overseas Students.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hill, J. K.

    1981-01-01

    Describes experimental program at the Language Center of the University of Kent at Canterbury in which Belgian university students participated in a course designed to increase their English reading speed. Purpose of course was to decrease tendency to concentrate on every word. Results suggest the participating students made significant progress.…

  20. The Effects of Teaching Songs during Foreign Language Classes on Students' Foreign Language Anxiety

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dolean, Dacian Dorin

    2016-01-01

    Foreign language classroom anxiety (FLCA) has been the subject of several studies aimed to optimize learning of a foreign language in the classroom. However, few studies provide specific curriculum-based methodological strategies to be used in the classroom in order to lower the anxiety level. In this article, two experimental classes of 8th-grade…

  1. Word Recognition Subcomponents and Passage Level Reading in a Foreign Language

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yamashita, Junko

    2013-01-01

    Despite the growing number of studies highlighting the complex process of acquiring second language (L2) word recognition skills, comparatively little research has examined the relationship between word recognition and passage-level reading ability in L2 learners; further, the existing results are inconclusive. This study aims to help fill the…

  2. Motivation Conditions in a Foreign Language Reading Comprehension Course Offering Both a Web-Based Modality and a Face-to-Face Modality

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sergio Lopera Medina

    2014-04-01

    Full Text Available Motivation plays an important in role in education. Based on the ten macro-strategies proposed by Dörnyei and Csizér (1998, this article analyzes the motivation conditions in a foreign language reading comprehension course using both a web-based modality and a face-to-face modality. A case study was implemented as the primary research method, and five instruments were used to gather data: observations, a teacher’s diary, focus groups, questionnaires, and in-depth interviews. The use of teaching aids, mastery gains in reading, proper presentation of tasks, and lack of humor were among the similarities found in the courses. In contrast, constant motivation, technical support, interactions among students, anxiety, and a high number of exercises constituted some of the differences between the modalities.

  3. Analyzing Student’s Attitude towards Foreign Language Learning

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    Karwan Talaat Rashid

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available The study of research upon a qualitative procedure has conducted with twenty-two various instruments, based on the quantitative data collection to prepare for statistical analysis. Learning of the study is analytical Analyzing Student’s Attitude for Foreign Language. In some countries most of the students have to learn the first foreign language it may sometimes have is impact of learners The procedure of teaching a foreign language are influenced by different issues such as the used attitude, methods, techniques, educators, learners, inspiration, environment, and etc.. The problem of the study accompanied with dimensions to get solved the Foreign language as an official language has its impact on Student’s Relations. Foreign language (FL gave a good opportunity to students to know the culture of the other country, to learn the second language, students attitude toward foreign language differ according to gender. Furthermore, For the better understanding of different type of foreign languages and its empowerment to discover the solution to research problem take a notice of these objectives and can formulate as followings: To know the different type of foreign language and how it affect the student’s performance and measure the ability of their efficiency.

  4. DEVELOPING LISTENING SKILLS FOR IMPROVING FOREIGN LANGUAGE COMMUNICATIVE COMPETENCE

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    Iryna Lobachova

    2016-04-01

    Full Text Available The article deals with the problem of developing listening skills for improving foreign language communicative competence. The practical value of using an authentic foreign language text at a foreign language lesson is determined. The ways of the use of the English language recordings in the educational process of students are outlined. It is found out that tracks with foreign information should be used only in the certain methodical situations. Multimedia helps effectively a teacher to achieve outlined objectives of improving foreign language communicative competence for multiple repetition of a speech model for making permanent listening item of language units. The basic stages of work with foreign language recordings are determined: teaching a foreign language listening (teaching to listen and understand the foreign language track means to overcome the methodological difficulties that require a certain amount of time and special training. This is explained by the fact that there are lots of difficulties on the way of understanding a foreign language: an unusual speed of speech, presence of unknown vocabulary, specific rhythms and melody; teaching a foreign language speech with the special models pronounced by foreign speakers (teaching students to practical mastery of a foreign language is intrinsically linked with involvement into the educational process of original English tracks, those are made by highly skilled experts (foreign speakers; learning a new vocabulary due to a dialogue, an extract of a play or a conversation, songs, prose and poetry (it is noted that the students’ interest of learning foreign language songs and poems is extremely high, and it primarily promotes strong learning; analysing the recorded students’ speech (fixing student’s speech and analysing their mistakes is very important at any stage of learning a foreign language for self-control and self-correction.

  5. Creativity in foreign language teaching

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Monika Ševečková

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available Developing creativity in foreign language teaching provides students with the opportunity to effectively build language skills as well as increasing their motivation for learning. Practical examples are given using folklore materials (songs, tales, etc. in learning Russian, as well as contemporary materials reflecting the culture of Russian speaking countries (films, poems, etc.. As well as increasing their ability in the target foreign language students also acquire factual information (realia through creative language games. In this paper we describe recent findings in the field and propose possible directions for future research.

  6. Foreign language learning, hyperlexia, and early word recognition.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sparks, R L; Artzer, M

    2000-01-01

    Children with hyperlexia read words spontaneously before the age of five, have impaired comprehension on both listening and reading tasks, and have word recognition skill above expectations based on cognitive and linguistic abilities. One student with hyperlexia and another student with higher word recognition than comprehension skills who started to read words at a very early age were followed over several years from the primary grades through high school when both were completing a second-year Spanish course. The purpose of the present study was to examine the foreign language (FL) word recognition, spelling, reading comprehension, writing, speaking, and listening skills of the two students and another high school student without hyperlexia. Results showed that the student without hyperlexia achieved higher scores than the hyperlexic student and the student with above average word recognition skills on most FL proficiency measures. The student with hyperlexia and the student with above average word recognition skills achieved higher scores on the Spanish proficiency tasks that required the exclusive use of phonological (pronunciation) and phonological/orthographic (word recognition, spelling) skills than on Spanish proficiency tasks that required the use of listening comprehension and speaking and writing skills. The findings provide support for the notion that word recognition and spelling in a FL may be modular processes and exist independently of general cognitive and linguistic skills. Results also suggest that students may have stronger FL learning skills in one language component than in other components of language, and that there may be a weak relationship between FL word recognition and oral proficiency in the FL.

  7. Variables Predicting Foreign Language Reading Comprehension and Vocabulary Acquisition in a Linear Hypermedia Environment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Akbulut, Yavuz

    2007-01-01

    Factors predicting vocabulary learning and reading comprehension of advanced language learners of English in a linear multimedia text were investigated in the current study. Predictor variables of interest were multimedia type, reading proficiency, learning styles, topic interest and background knowledge about the topic. The outcome variables of…

  8. Foreign Language Study in Budapest.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Feinberg, Lilian O.; Tarjan, Jeno

    1968-01-01

    Foreign language study at the Karl Marx University of Economic Sciences in Budapest aims to develop the ability to use the language as a native would in a particular business or profession, and to help the student become fully aware of the political, historical, sociological, and geographical background of the foreign country and the…

  9. Focusing on EFL reading theory and practice

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    Al-Mahrooqi, Rahma

    2014-01-01

    Reading, a complex and multi-faceted skill, is essential for life and academic success. While its mysteries still baffle first-language research, the nature of reading in a foreign language presents an even greater puzzle. However, given reading's importance for EFL students who study their specializations in English, and whose future employment may depend on their competence in it, researchers must continue to investigate foreign language reading and devise ways of improving students' capaci...

  10. FOREIGN LANGUAGE PROGRAMS OFFERED IN TURKISH UNIVERSITIES

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bengül CETINTAS

    2016-10-01

    Full Text Available n this study, the departments of philology and teaching, which take place in higher education programs in Turkey and give education in foreign language, have been examined. 23 different languages are offered to philology students who wants to attend to faculty of literature. Students can prefer classical languages besides modern languages. However, English, German, French, Arabic and Japanese are offered to the students of teaching department. To teach another foreign language, pedagogical formation is also required.This study focuses on the departments of German Language Teaching and German Language and Literature. From this point, the place and the importance of other philology and foreign language teaching departments in Turkish higher education have been examined.

  11. Educational Environment and Cultural Transmission in Foreign Language Teaching

    Science.gov (United States)

    Memis, Muhammet Rasit

    2016-01-01

    Foreign language teaching is not to teach grammar and vocabulary of the target language and to gain basic language skills only. Foreign language teaching is teaching of the language's culture at the same time. Because of language and community develop and shape together, learning, understanding and speaking a foreign language literally requires…

  12. Implications of Multimodal Learning Models for foreign language teaching and learning

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Miguel Farías

    2011-04-01

    Full Text Available This literature review article approaches the topic of information and communications technologies from the perspective of their impact on the language learning process, with particular emphasis on the most appropriate designs of multimodal texts as informed by models of multimodal learning. The first part contextualizes multimodality within the fields of discourse studies, the psychology of learning and CALL; the second, deals with multimodal conceptions of reading and writing by discussing hypertextuality and literacy. A final section outlines the possible implications of multimodal learning models for foreign language teaching and learning.

  13. Culture Input in Foreign Language Teaching

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    胡晶

    2009-01-01

    Language and culture are highly interrelated, that is to say, language is not only the carrier of culture but it is also restricted by culture. Therefore, foreign language teaching aiming at cultivate students' intercultural communication should take culture differences into consideration. In this paper, the relationship between language and culture will be discussed. Then I will illustrate the importance of intercultural communication. Finally, according to the present situation of foreign language teaching in China, several strategies for cultural input in and out of class will be suggested.

  14. An Investigation of Read Speech of Arabic Students Learning Turkish as a Second Language in Terms of Stress and Pause

    Science.gov (United States)

    Derman, Serdar; Bardakçi, Mehmet; Öztürk, Mustafa Serkan

    2017-01-01

    Suprasegmental features are essential in conveying meaning; however, they are one of the neglected topics in teaching Turkish as a foreign/second language. This paper aims to examine read speech by Arabic students learning Turkish as a second language and describe their read speech in terms of stress and pause. Within this framework, 34 Syrian…

  15. Mistake management in a foreign language classroom

    OpenAIRE

    Volkova, Ekaterina

    2012-01-01

    The aim of the thesis is to design general recomendations on mistake management in a foreign language classroom which would meet both teachers' and learners' requirements and methods of mistake management in a foreign language classroom which would contribute to development of learners' communicative competence. The following methods were used in the research: analysis of literature on pedagogy, psychology and methodology of foreign language teaching, interview, questionnaire and observation....

  16. Impacto de un programa de lectura extensiva en la adquisicion de una segunda lengua (Impact of an Extensive Reading Program on Second Language Acquisition).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Coll, Ana; And Others

    This study investigates the application of Krashen's Input Hypothesis, studying the relationship between exposure to the target language and language acquisition within the context of the English-as-a-foreign-language secondary classroom in Spain. The project studied the effect of additional reading instruction with emphasis on reading for…

  17. THE RESULTS OF ENGLISH TEACHING AS A FOREIGN LANGUAGE FOR ACADEMIC STAFF IN THE ARTIFICIAL BILINGUALISM ENVIRONMENT

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    T. P. Rasskazova

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Introduction. In the conditions of the modern globalization, one of the most significant indicators of competitiveness of the universities is the academic mobility of students, graduate students, teachers and research associates that implies their free and competent enough foreign language skills, first of all English. Yet, until recently, comparatively little attention has been paid to foreign language skills of the Russian academic teaching staff. However, in recent years, with regard to the process acceleration of internationalization of the higher education to provide own effective functioning and remain a demanded one in education and training market, domestic higher education institutions are forced to quickly fill in the gaps of foreign language knowledge among academic teaching staff. The aim of this article is to analyse and describe the tuition outcomes for academic teaching staff based on the official exam results from Cambridge English Language Assessment for three years (2015–2017. Methodology and research methods. The research, which is grounded in interdisciplinary approach and lies at the intersection of psychology, linguistics and pedagogics, was conducted on the basis of the statistical analysis and generalization of mean scores of English language testing results, taking into account qualitative and quantitative standards of speech skills: reading, writing, listening, speaking and use of English (for levels B2, C1. Results and scientific novelty. The essential strengthening and development of the Cambridge English system for level increase of proficiency in English among the Russian academic teaching staff is proved. The data of external peer evaluation provided by exam centre Cambridge English Language Assessment including the foreign language training results of academic teaching staff are analysed. The results obtained show that contrary to the wide-spread opinion that productive skills (speaking and writing take longer

  18. The Didactics of Foreign Language Teaching with Multimedia

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Kanselaar, G.

    1993-01-01

    The way computers are used in foreign language teaching reflects teachers’ ideas about how foreign languages should be learned. We describe different methods of foreign language teaching, one of which is at the base of our computer program IT’S English. In this program, different types of exercises

  19. 76 FR 45543 - Board of Visitors, Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-07-29

    ... DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE Department of the Army Board of Visitors, Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center AGENCY: Department of the Army, DOD. ACTION: Notice; cancellation. SUMMARY: The Board of Visitors, Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center meeting scheduled for August 3 and 4, 2011...

  20. 76 FR 39076 - Board of Visitors, Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-07-05

    ... DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE Department of the Army Board of Visitors, Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center AGENCY: Department of the Army, DoD. ACTION: Notice of open meeting. SUMMARY: Under the... Visitors, Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center. Date: August 3 and 4, 2011. Time of Meeting...

  1. 75 FR 43496 - Board of Visitors, Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-26

    ... DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE Department of the Army Board of Visitors, Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center AGENCY: Department of the Army, DoD. ACTION: Notice of open meeting. SUMMARY: Under the... Visitors, Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center. Date: August 10 and 11, 2010. Time of Meeting...

  2. 77 FR 62223 - Board of Visitors Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-10-12

    ... DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE Department of the Army Board of Visitors Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center AGENCY: Department of the Army, DoD. ACTION: Notice of open meeting. SUMMARY: Under the... Visitors, Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center. Date: October 31, 2012 and November 1, 2012...

  3. L'Entrainement a la Comprehension Ecrite des Etudiants Etrangers de la Faculte des Sciences (Reading Comprehension Training for Foreign Students in the Science Faculty). Melanges Pedagogiques, 1977.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Duda, R.; Regent, O.

    The ability of foreign students to read non-scientific material efficiently is important for rapid social and cultural integration. This report describes the reading comprehension section of a French language course aimed at foreign students at the Nancy Science Faculty. Exercises are presented which cover morpho-syntactic, communicative and…

  4. THE ‘UNFORGETTABLE’ EXPERIENCE OF FOREIGN LANGUAGE ANXIETY

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Morana Drakulić

    2015-09-01

    Full Text Available Foreign language anxiety (FLA has long been recognized as a factor that hinders the process of foreign language learning at all levels. Among numerous FLA sources identified in the literature, language classroom seems to be of particular interest and significance, especially in the formal language learning context, where the course and the teacher are often the only representatives of language. The main purpose of the study is to determine the presence and potential sources of foreign language anxiety among first year university students and to explore how high anxiety levels shape and affect students’ foreign language learning experience. In the study both the questionnaire and the interviews were used as the data collection methods. Thematic analysis of the interviews and descriptive statistics suggest that most anxiety-provoking situations stem from the language classroom itself.

  5. Internet Anxiety among Foreign Language Learners

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aydin, Selami

    2011-01-01

    Little attention has been paid to the demotivating potential of new technologies in foreign language research. Thus, this study aims to investigate Internet anxiety among foreign language learners and to determine the relationships between Internet anxiety and certain variables. A background questionnaire, an Internet information test, and an…

  6. Foreign Language Education Policy on the Horizon

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hult, Francis M.

    2018-01-01

    Language policy has developed into a major area of research that continues to expand and develop. This article examines potential directions for cross-pollination between the fields of language policy and foreign language education. First, publication trends are examined. Database searches were conducted for the journals "Foreign Language…

  7. A Global Approach to Foreign Language Education.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Conner, Maurice W., Ed.

    The papers collected here are largely devoted to foreign language education as a means of increasing international and cross-cultural understanding. Titles include: (1) "Language Is the Medium, Culture Is the Message: Globalizing Foreign Languages" (Lorraine A. Strasheim); (2) "Cultural Understanding for Global Citizenship: An Inservice Model"…

  8. Enlightenment From Motivation In Foreign Language Learning

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    张楠

    2015-01-01

    This paper selects one of classifications of motivation in foreign language learning,that is,instrumental and integrative motivation.By analyzing such a distinction,it hopes to direct foreign language teaching in China.

  9. Foreign Language Research in Cross-Cultural Perspective. Volume 2.

    Science.gov (United States)

    de Bot, Kees, Ed.; And Others

    Papers from a conference on empirical research on foreign language instruction in Europe and the United States include: "Foreign Language Instruction and Second Language Acquisition Research in the United States" (Charles A. Fergurson, Thom Huebner); "Empirical Foreign Language Research in Europe" (Theo van Els, Kees de Bot,…

  10. Classroom Management in Foreign Language Education: An Exploratory Review

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Diego Fernando Macías

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available This review examines studies in the area of classroom management in foreign language education. It is organized into three large areas: The first area focuses on the distinctive characteristics of foreign language instruction that are more likely to impact classroom management in foreign language classes. The second area provides a description of classroom management issues that foreign language teachers usually encounter in their practice; and the third area centers on the different alternatives to reduce the negative impact of classroom management on foreign language classes. Conclusions suggest a need for more research particularly on the relationship between classroom management and aspects such as target language use and teaching methods.

  11. The Sources of Foreign Language Speaking Anxiety of Iranian English Language Learners

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Firooz Sadighi

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available Foreign language learning anxiety is one of the affective factors which influence language learning negatively. It has several sources and different types. The present study aimed at investigating the sources of foreign language speaking anxiety of Iranian EFL learners. To do so, 154 EFL learners participated in the study. They were required to fill out a foreign language anxiety questionnaire which was developed based on the Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (FLCAS by Horwitz, Horwitz, and Cope (1986. The results of the study indicated that “fear of making mistakes”, “fear of negative evaluation”, and “lack of vocabulary knowledge” were the main factors which caused anxiety among students. Some strategies are recommended for the students to use in order to cope with the anxiety-provoking factors.

  12. Who Says They Don’t Read? Slovene Elementary School Students’ Reading Motivation in EFL

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anja Pirih

    2015-05-01

    Full Text Available A typical (Slovene teenager today no longer finds reading materials on the book shelves in the local library, but forms a reading list of electronic sources, very often in English. However, in contrast with an abundance of studies focusing on first language (L1 reading strategies and motivation, not a lot of literature can be found on reading motivation in a foreign language, even though it is perceived as one of the most important factors influencing second language (L2 development. The aim of this research is to determine the influences on reading motivation in English as a foreign language in the group of young teenagers (11-14-year-olds and a possible transfer of L1 reading attitudes to L2 reading. The theoretical framework relies on Wigfield and Guthrie’s (1997 self-efficacy theory and Day and Bamford’s (1998 expectancy value model. The data obtained from 197 questionnaires give an insight into not only the frequency of reading in English and the type of reading materials, but also the factors influencing teenagers’ reading motivation in EFL.

  13. Performance of Senior Tourism Students in Using Foreign Language

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dr. Dexter R. Buted

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available The study generally intended to reckon the previous and present condition of senior tourism students with regards on their foreign language class. Specifically, it described the profile of the professors teaching foreign language; determined the senior tourism student’s performances on their foreign language class; assessed the teaching strategies used by the professors; tested the significant relationship between the performances of the students to the teaching strategies used; and lastly, proposed an action plan to help tourism students in the study of foreign language. The researchers used the descriptive method of research, with one hundred seventy-eight (178 respondents composed of all senior tourism students who are enrolled in foreign language class. The result of the study revealed that the professors who are teaching foreign language are 61 years old and above, masters degree holder, 10 years and above, with a unit of 21 and can speak Spanish. Also, the students are able to speak and comprehend Mandarin, French and Spanish. The teaching techniques used by the professors in teaching the language was giving and evaluating student’s performance more often. Moreover, the performances of the students in foreign language are affected by the teaching strategies used by the professors. And a proposed plan was formulated to improve foreign language subject of the study

  14. OF LANGUAGE EDUCATION POLICY AND CHILD FOREIGN ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Foreign language education, particularly in French, has taken root in Kenyan ... interest and potential in foreign language education at this young stage of life. ... Since independence, the Kenyan government has set up several education ...

  15. A Qualitative Study on Foreign Language Teaching Anxiety

    OpenAIRE

    İpek, Hülya

    2018-01-01

    Affective constructs such as motivation, self-esteem, and anxiety play an important role in learning a foreign language. Scholars have conducted many studies to find out how these constructs affect foreign language (FL) learning. They aimed to find out how anxiety affects language learning, the sources of anxiety in FL learners, and how to overcome this anxiety. Teachers were offered various strategies to lower their students’ anxiety. Studies on Foreign Language (FL) anxiety mostly focused o...

  16. Language switching-but not foreign language use per se-reduces the framing effect.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oganian, Y; Korn, C W; Heekeren, H R

    2016-01-01

    Recent studies reported reductions of well-established biases in decision making under risk, such as the framing effect, during foreign language (FL) use. These modulations were attributed to the use of FL itself, which putatively entails an increase in emotional distance. A reduced framing effect in this setting, however, might also result from enhanced cognitive control associated with language-switching in mixed-language contexts, an account that has not been tested yet. Here we assess predictions of the 2 accounts in 2 experiments with over 1,500 participants. In Experiment 1, we tested a central prediction of the emotional distance account, namely that the framing effect would be reduced at low, but not high, FL proficiency levels. We found a strong framing effect in the native language, and surprisingly also in the foreign language, independent of proficiency. In Experiment 2, we orthogonally manipulated foreign language use and language switching to concurrently test the validity of both accounts. As in Experiment 1, foreign language use per se had no effect on framing. Crucially, the framing effect was reduced following a language switch, both when switching into the foreign and the native language. Thus, our results suggest that reduced framing effects are not mediated by increased emotional distance in a foreign language, but by transient enhancement of cognitive control, putting the interplay of bilingualism and decision making in a new light. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

  17. Language Learning Strategies in Second & Foreign Language Acquisition

    OpenAIRE

    TAKEUCHI, Osamu

    1991-01-01

    This article is an attempt to the work on language learning strategies(LLS) in second & foreign language acquisiton (SFLA) research, and to give suggestions for future language learning strategies research. In the first section, I will discuss briefly the background of language learning strategies reserch, and in the ensuing sections, I will review articles on: (i) the identification & classification of language learning strategies; (ii) the variables affecting the use of language learning st...

  18. The Effects of New Jersey's K-8 Foreign Language Authorization on K-5 Foreign Language Teaching: Two Teachers' Perspectives

    Science.gov (United States)

    Raymond, Robert B. L.

    2012-01-01

    Recent research in language education policy (LEP) refocuses attention from the role of governments to local stakeholders that shape LEP. However, little attention has been given to teacher agency in LEP implementation for early foreign language (FL) education in the United States. This pilot study considers the role of foreign language elementary…

  19. Communication and Gamification in the Web-Based Foreign Language Educational System: Web- Based Foreign Language Educational System

    Science.gov (United States)

    Osipov, Ilya V.; Volinsky, Alex A.; Nikulchev, Evgeny; Prasikova, Anna Y.

    2016-01-01

    The paper describes development of the educational online web communication platform for teaching and learning foreign languages. The main objective was to develop a web application for teaching foreigners to understand casual fluent speech. The system is based on the time bank principle, allowing users to teach others their native language along…

  20. Teaching foreign language during adaptation process to European Union

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hidayet TOK

    2008-06-01

    Full Text Available In this study, we aimed to give information about language teaching in EU and Turkey which started negotiations for being full member in EU. Language teaching in both EU countries and in Turkey is studied comparatively in respect of some variables. These variables are: the age at which pupils are first taught foreign languages as a compulsory subject; the number of language taught during compulsory education, using “ CLIL” type provision in education; percentage distribution of all pupils according to the number of foreign languages learnt in primary and secondary education; percentage of all pupils in primary and secondary education who are learning English, German and/or French; relative priority given to the aims associated with the four major skills in curricula for compulsory foreign languages in full-time compulsory education; the minimum number of hours recommended for teaching foreign languages as a compulsory subject during a notional year in primary and secondary education; minimum number of hours recommended for teaching the first foreign language as a compulsory subject in a notional year in full-time compulsory general education and number of years spent for teaching; the proportion of minimum total time prescribed for the teaching of foreign languages as a compulsory subject, as a percentage of total teaching time in primary and fulltime compulsory general secondary education; and regulations or recommendations regarding maximum class sizes for foreign languages in primary education. In the end of this study, there are regulations and recommendations about teaching foreign languages which are foreseen to be implemented in the adaptation process of EU.

  1. FROM STORYTELLING TO STORY WRITING: THE IMPLEMENTATION OF READING TO LEARN (R2L PEDAGOGY TO TEACH ENGLISH AS A FOREIGN LANGUAGE IN INDONESIA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ika Lestari Damayanti

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available It is widely acknowledged that the use of stories supports the development of literacy in the context of learning English as a first language. However, it seems that there are a few studies investigating this issue in the context of teaching and learning English as a foreign language.  This action-oriented case study aims to enhance students’ written narrative achievement through a pedagogical intervention that incorporates oral story sharing activities. In this paper, the intervention will be briefly described and the preliminary findings from the students’ written texts will be presented. This study which was conducted in a lower secondary school in Bandung Barat region, Indonesia implemented the intervention within eight learning periods. The intervention comprised the following stages: (1 preparing before reading (stories, (2 detailed reading, (3 joint rewriting, and (4 individual rewriting. Before and after the intervention, students’ narrative texts were collected and analysed in terms of how each text achieved its purpose, how it moved through stages and phases of meaning, the control of field, relationship with the reader and its coherence.  The preliminary findings indicate that there is a shift in students’ ability from writing fragmented and spoken-like language to more literate written narratives.   It is expected that this study which implemented R2L pedagogy in the Indonesian context will contribute to English language teaching in EFL contexts.

  2. Linguistic coding deficits in foreign language learners.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sparks, R; Ganschow, L; Pohlman, J

    1989-01-01

    As increasing numbers of colleges and universities require a foreign language for graduation in at least one of their degree programs, reports of students with difficulties in learning a second language are multiplying. Until recently, little research has been conducted to identify the nature of this problem. Recent attempts by the authors have focused upon subtle but ongoing language difficulties in these individuals as the source of their struggle to learn a foreign language. The present paper attempts to expand upon this concept by outlining a theoretical framework based upon a linguistic coding model that hypothesizes deficits in the processing of phonological, syntactic, and/or semantic information. Traditional psychoeducational assessment batteries of standardized intelligence and achievement tests generally are not sensitive to these linguistic coding deficits unless closely analyzed or, more often, used in conjunction with a more comprehensive language assessment battery. Students who have been waived from a foreign language requirement and their proposed type(s) of linguistic coding deficits are profiled. Tentative conclusions about the nature of these foreign language learning deficits are presented along with specific suggestions for tests to be used in psychoeducational evaluations.

  3. Incidental acquisition of foreign language vocabulary through brief multi-modal exposure.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bisson, Marie-Josée; van Heuven, Walter J B; Conklin, Kathy; Tunney, Richard J

    2013-01-01

    First language acquisition requires relatively little effort compared to foreign language acquisition and happens more naturally through informal learning. Informal exposure can also benefit foreign language learning, although evidence for this has been limited to speech perception and production. An important question is whether informal exposure to spoken foreign language also leads to vocabulary learning through the creation of form-meaning links. Here we tested the impact of exposure to foreign language words presented with pictures in an incidental learning phase on subsequent explicit foreign language learning. In the explicit learning phase, we asked adults to learn translation equivalents of foreign language words, some of which had appeared in the incidental learning phase. Results revealed rapid learning of the foreign language words in the incidental learning phase showing that informal exposure to multi-modal foreign language leads to foreign language vocabulary acquisition. The creation of form-meaning links during the incidental learning phase is discussed.

  4. PROSPECTIVE PRIMARY SCHOOL TEACHERS’ FOREIGN LANGUAGE SOCIOCULTURAL COMPETENCE: MONITORING PRINCIPLES

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Olena Ishutina

    2016-04-01

    Full Text Available The paper substantiates the necessity and importance of the organization of prospective primary school teachers’ foreign language sociocultural competence monitoring in the educational process of high school. The author notes that prospective primary school teachers’ foreign language sociocultural competence is inseparably linked with linguomethodological competence. It is proved that the measurement of foreign language sociocultural competence of primary school foreign language teachers should be performed in the process of lingvomethodological training of the students as lingvomethodological competence occupies a dominant place and is a unifying and a backbone for other competencies of the future teacher’s professiogram. In this regard, the concept of “foreign language sociocultural competence of prospective primary school teacher” is clarified, the essence of lingvomethodological monitoring of foreign language sociocultural competence is revealed. It is emphasized that linguistic disciplines (“The practice of oral and written language”, “Practical grammar of a foreign language”, “Practical phonetics of a foreign language”, etc. and linguomethodological courses (“Methods of teaching English at primary school”, “ICT in learning foreign languages”, “Innovative technologies of learning foreign languages”, etc. play very important role in forming “foreign language sociocultural competence of prospective primary school teacher”. Specific principles of lingvomethodological monitoring of foreign language sociocultural competence are identified and characterized. They are complexity, lingvomethodological orientation, validity, multi-vector monitoring procedures.

  5. 77 FR 13571 - Board of Visitors, Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-03-07

    ... matters, ACCJC interactions, and a review of previous BoV recommendations. Agenda: Summary--March 21--The... Visitors, Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center. Date: March 21, 2012. Time of Meeting... Institute Foreign Language Center in response to the agenda. All written statements shall be submitted to...

  6. Communicative – Activity Approach in Learning Foreign Language

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dariga A. Bekova

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available The article is devoted communicative method of teaching foreign languages, which is the activity character. The task of the communicative approach – to interest of students in learning a foreign language through the accumulation and improvement their knowledge and experience. The main objective this method – free orienteering training in foreign language environment and the ability to adequately react in different situations, communication.

  7. Communication and Pragmatic Skills in Foreign Language Classes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Olda Xhepa BALLIU

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available This paper tries to analyze the importance and the relationship between communication and pragmatic skills in foreign language classes. Philosophers and linguists have dealt with language, analyzing it from the psychological viewpoint. Communication in L1 or L2 is related and it depends on the science of pragmatics. While communicating, interlocutors interact impacted by the context, the situation, the receiver, the sender, by using the formal or the informal language according to the circumstances. For this reason, we try, in this paper, to make a thorough description of the relationship between communication and pragmatics. Students need to master pragmatic skills in order to communicate. If Italian students or foreign language students have developed pragmatic skills in the native language, this will help them learning a foreign language. The goal of the foreign language teacher is to help students achieve communication skills. The pragmatic and communication skills can be practiced through communication activities like in L1 for speech acts are practiced in communication.

  8. Examination of Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety and Achievement in Foreign Language in Turkish University Students in Terms of Various Variables

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dogan, Yunus; Tuncer, Murat

    2016-01-01

    This correlational survey study aimed to investigate whether the Turkish prep-class students' foreign language classroom anxiety levels and foreign language achievement significantly differ in terms of such variables as their gender, their experience abroad, perceived level of income and any third language (other than Turkish and English) they…

  9. Single-Center Study Investigating Foreign Language Acquisition at School in Children, Adolescents, and Young Adults With Uni- or Bilateral Cochlear Implants in the Swiss German Population.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Beeres-Scheenstra, Renske; Ohnsorg, Claudia; Candreia, Claudia; Heinzmann, Sybille; Castellanos, Susana; De Min, Nicola; Linder, Thomas E

    2017-07-01

    To evaluate foreign language acquisition at school in cochlear implant patients. Cohort study. CI center. Forty three cochlear implants (CI) patients (10-18 yr) were evaluated. CI nonusers and patients with CI-explantation, incomplete datasets, mental retardation, or concomitant medical disorders were excluded. Additional data (type of schooling, foreign language learning, and bilingualism) were obtained with questionnaires. German-speaking children with foreign tuition language (English and/or French) at school were enrolled for further testing. General patient data, auditory data, and foreign language data from both questionnaires and tests were collected and analyzed. Thirty seven out of 43 questionnaires (86%) were completed. Sixteen (43%) were in mainstream education. Twenty-seven CI users (73%) have foreign language learning at school. Fifteen of these were in mainstream education (55%), others in special schooling. From 10 CI users without foreign language learning, one CI user was in mainstream education (10%) and nine patients (90%) were in special schooling. Eleven German-speaking CI users were further tested in English and six additionally in French. For reading skills, the school objectives for English were reached in 7 of 11 pupils (64%) and for French in 3 of 6 pupils (50%). For listening skills, 3 of 11 pupils (27%) reached the school norm in English and none in French. Almost 75% of our CI users learn foreign language(s) at school. A small majority of the tested CI users reached the current school norm for in English and French in reading skills, whereas for hearing skills most of them were not able to reach the norm.

  10. 75 FR 47797 - Board of Visitors, Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-08-09

    ... DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE Department of the Army Board of Visitors, Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center AGENCY: Department of the Army, DOD. ACTION: Notice; cancellation. SUMMARY: The Board of... be held on September 13 & 14, 2010 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Defense Language Institute Foreign...

  11. Native language predictors of foreign language proficiency and foreign language aptitude.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sparks, Richard L; Patton, Jon; Ganschow, Leonore; Humbach, Nancy; Javorsky, James

    2006-06-01

    Fifty-four students were tested at specific time intervals over 10 years to determine best native language (NL) predictors of oral and written foreign language (FL) proficiency and FL aptitude. All participants completed two years of Spanish, French, or German. Each was administered measures of NL literacy, oral language, and cognitive ability in elementary school. A measure of FL aptitude was administered at the beginning of ninth grade and FL proficiency was evaluated at the end of the 10th grade. Among the variables, NL literacy measures were the best predictors of FL proficiency, and NL achievement and general (verbal) intelligence were strong predictors of FL aptitude. Results suggest that indices of NL literacy as early as first grade are related to FL proficiency and FL aptitude nine and 10 years later. Findings provide strong support for connections between L1 and L2 skills, and for speculation that "lower level" skills in phonological processing are important for written language development and oral proficiency in a FL.

  12. FOREIGN LANGUAGE TEACHING WITH AUGMENTED REALITY APPLICATION

    OpenAIRE

    GÜNDOĞMUŞ, Niyazi; ORHAN, Gökhan; ŞAHIN, İsmail

    2016-01-01

    One of the main aims in Foreign Language Teaching is to actualize naturaland entertaining educational environment. Foreign Language Teaching Activitiesshould stress on motivational goals furthering interests and motivation oflearners and minimizing their anxiety in language teaching activities. So as toadopt that, these activities should be designed to incite students’ interests,curiosity and include some diverse alternatives from school textbooks tohandheld technological devices and other el...

  13. Classroom Management in Foreign Language Education: An Exploratory Review

    Science.gov (United States)

    Macías, Diego Fernando

    2018-01-01

    This review examines studies in the area of classroom management in foreign language education. It is organized into three large areas: The first area focuses on the distinctive characteristics of foreign language instruction that are more likely to impact classroom management in foreign language classes. The second area provides a description of…

  14. Authorizing the Foreign Language Students.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maxim, Hiram H.

    1998-01-01

    Reviews current practices in foreign-language teaching in light of Bourdieu's theories of language and power to show how failing to assess discursive intent prevents students from understanding strategic use of language. Bordieu's model is then proposed as the basis for pedagogy that authorizes students to use their existing cognitive skills in…

  15. The Development of English Grammar and Reading Comprehension by Majority and Minority Language Children in a Bilingual Primary School

    Science.gov (United States)

    Steinlen, Anja K.

    2017-01-01

    Both for the first language (L1) and for all additional languages (L2 or L3), grammatical knowledge plays a vital role in understanding texts (e.g., Grabe, 2005). However, little is known about the development and interaction of grammar and reading comprehension in beginning foreign language learning, especially with respect to children with a…

  16. Personality factors as predictors of foreign language aptitude

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Adriana Biedroń

    2011-12-01

    Full Text Available The study addresses a problem which is inadequately investigated in second language acquisition research, that is, personality predictors of foreign language aptitude. Specifically, it focuses on the Five Factor model which includes Openness to Experience, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness and Neuroticism (Costa & McCrae, 1992 as traits differentiating gifted and nongifted foreign language learners and predicting results of foreign language aptitude tests. Although contemporary researchers generally agree that affect is an important variable in second language acquisition, most empirical studies demonstrate that personality factors are weakly correlated with cognitive abilities and that their contribution to the ultimate attainment is minor (cf. Robinson & Ellis, 2008. On the other hand, these factors constitute an integral part of cognitive ability development (cf. Dörnyei, 2009; therefore, neglecting them in research on foreign language aptitude would be unjustified. The following study is an attempt to analyze the Five Factors in two groups of learners: gifted and nongifted. In order to answer the question as to which and to what extent personality factors have a predictive effect on foreign language aptitude, the results were subjected to a multiple regression analysis. The findings of the study are presented and discussed in a wider context of research on cognitive abilities.

  17. Cooperative learning in the teaching of foreign language

    OpenAIRE

    Zíková, Johana

    2017-01-01

    This work is focused on cooperative learning in foreign language teaching. It brings knowledge about cooperative learning, about methods of didactics in foreign language and their suitability for using cooperative learning. It deals with the news that appeared in cooperative learning in a foreign language teaching. The research that is part of this work was qualitative and it was completed by quantitative research, too. The aim of the research was to understand the teachers' point of view and...

  18. Weak and strong novice readers of English as a foreign language: effects of first language and socioeconomic status.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kahn-Horwitz, Janina; Shimron, Joseph; Sparks, Richard L

    2006-06-01

    This study examined individual differences among beginning readers of English as a foreign language (EFL). The study concentrated on the effects of underlying first language (L1) knowledge as well as EFL letter and vocabulary knowledge. Phonological and morphological awareness, spelling, vocabulary knowledge, and word reading in Hebrew L1, in addition to knowledge of EFL letters and EFL vocabulary, were measured. The study also investigated the effect of socioeconomic background (SES) on beginning EFL readers. Participants included 145 fourth graders from three schools representing two socioeconomic backgrounds in the north of Israel. The results indicate that knowledge of English letters played a more prominent role than knowledge of Hebrew L1 components in differentiating between strong and weak EFL readers. The Linguistic Coding Differences Hypothesis was supported by L1 phonological awareness, word reading, and vocabulary knowledge appearing as part of discriminating functions. The presence of English vocabulary knowledge as part of the discriminant functions provides support for English word reading being more than just a decoding task for EFL beginner readers. Socioeconomic status differentiated the groups for EFL word recognition but not for EFL reading comprehension.

  19. 29 CFR 500.78 - Information in foreign language.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 29 Labor 3 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Information in foreign language. 500.78 Section 500.78... § 500.78 Information in foreign language. Each farm labor contractor, agricultural employer and... English or, as necessary and reasonable, in Spanish or another language common to migrant or seasonal...

  20. Socio-Pragmatic Problems in Foreign Language Teaching

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    İsmail ÇAKIR

    2006-10-01

    Full Text Available It is a fact that language is a means of communication for human beings. People who needto have social interaction should share the same language, beliefs, values etc., in a given society.It can be stated that when learning a foreign language, mastering only linguistic features of FLprobably does not ensure true spoken and written communication. This study aims to deal withsocio-pragmatic problems which the learners may be confront with while learning and using theforeign language. Particularly cultural and cultural values of the target language such as idioms,proverbs and metaphors and their role in foreign language teaching have been focused on.

  1. Sequoyah Foreign Language Translation System - Business Case Analysis

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Ong, Wing S. S

    2007-01-01

    Sequoyah, which is the Department of Defense (DoD)'s Program of Record for automated foreign language translation, is to identify current and developing technologies to meet warfighter requirements for foreign language support...

  2. Predicting the Proficiency of Arabic and Persian Linguists Trained at the Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    DeRamus, Nicole

    1999-01-01

    The mission of the Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center (DLIFLC) is to train, sustain, and evaluate foreign language skills of linguists under the guidelines of the Defense Foreign Language Program (DFLP...

  3. 47 CFR 1.355 - Documents in foreign language.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... 47 Telecommunication 1 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Documents in foreign language. 1.355 Section 1... Proceedings Evidence § 1.355 Documents in foreign language. Every document, exhibit, or other paper written in a language other than English, which shall be filed in any proceeding, or in response to any order...

  4. FOSTERING AWARENESS OF COGNITIVE AND METACOGNITIVE READING STRATEGIES IN TWO FOREIGN LANGUAGES (ENGLISH AND ARABIC

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Seyed Hassan Talebi

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available This study attempted to find out the impact of Cognitive and Metacognitive Reading Strategy Instruction (CMRSI in L2 (English in increasing the awareness and use of these reading strategies not only in L2 in which the CMRSI was given but also in L3 (Arabic in which no CMRSI was given as a result of transfer of reading strategies from L2 to L3. It also aimed to find out which strategy items were most and least improved both in L2 and L3 as a result of CMRSI in L2. Fifty five fourth-grade high school male students majoring in math-physics took part in this study. As the reading process is believed to be the same across languages (Mokhtari & Reichard, 2004, the participants were put into two groups of low and high awareness of reading strategies in L1 (Persian. Then, they were given reading comprehension tests in L2 and L3 as triggers for the main instrument (i.e., cognitive and metacognitive reading strategy questionnaire in English and Arabic. After this pretest stage, the two groups underwent the CMRSI. The same pretest instruments were also given to the students as posttest. It was found that there was a significant difference in the awareness and use of cognitive and metacognitive reading strategies from pretest to posttest in English and Arabic for students of low and high strategic reading competence level. However, this improvement was not necessarily the same for different strategy items. It is important to teach reading strategies in L2 as it will have effect on increasing awareness of strategies both in L2 and in L3 as a result of transfer of reading strategies from one language to another. However, as not all strategy items show the same improvement from pretest to posttest, more attention should be paid to the item by item analysis of strategies after CMRSI to maximize students’ awareness of all strategy items equally.

  5. The emotional impact of being myself: Emotions and foreign-language processing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ivaz, Lela; Costa, Albert; Duñabeitia, Jon Andoni

    2016-03-01

    Native languages are acquired in emotionally rich contexts, whereas foreign languages are typically acquired in emotionally neutral academic environments. As a consequence of this difference, it has been suggested that bilinguals' emotional reactivity in foreign-language contexts is reduced as compared with native language contexts. In the current study, we investigated whether this emotional distance associated with foreign languages could modulate automatic responses to self-related linguistic stimuli. Self-related stimuli enhance performance by boosting memory, speed, and accuracy as compared with stimuli unrelated to the self (the so-called self-bias effect). We explored whether this effect depends on the language context by comparing self-biases in a native and a foreign language. Two experiments were conducted with native Spanish speakers with a high level of English proficiency in which they were asked to complete a perceptual matching task during which they associated simple geometric shapes (circles, squares, and triangles) with the labels "you," "friend," and "other" either in their native or foreign language. Results showed a robust asymmetry in the self-bias in the native- and foreign-language contexts: A larger self-bias was found in the native than in the foreign language. An additional control experiment demonstrated that the same materials administered to a group of native English speakers yielded robust self-bias effects that were comparable in magnitude to the ones obtained with the Spanish speakers when tested in their native language (but not in their foreign language). We suggest that the emotional distance evoked by the foreign-language contexts caused these differential effects across language contexts. These results demonstrate that the foreign-language effects are pervasive enough to affect automatic stages of emotional processing. (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

  6. Current Approaches to the Teaching of Foreign Languages.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barrett, Martin T.; And Others

    Five papers presented at a language conference are compiled in this report. They include: (1) "Le Francais au Pot-Pourri," or "Adapting the 'Open-Classroom' to the Teaching of Foreign Languages," (2) "We Can Teach Anyone to Speak French," (3) "The Use of Puppetry in the Teaching of Foreign Languages," (4) "A New Perspective for Integrated Foreign…

  7. Readings on L2 Reading: Publications in Other Venues 2010-2011

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brantmeier, Cindy, Ed.; Yu, Xiucheng, Ed.; Bishop, Tracy Van, Ed.

    2011-01-01

    This feature offers an archive of articles and books published in other venues during the past year and serves as a valuable tool to readers of "Reading in a Foreign Language" ("RFL"). It treats any topic within the scope of "RFL" and second language reading. The articles are listed in alphabetical order by author,…

  8. Readings on L2 Reading: Publications in Other Venues 2015-2016

    Science.gov (United States)

    Harris, Shenika, Ed.; Bernales, Carolina, Ed.; Romero-Ghiretti, Gabriela, Ed.; Dolosic, Haley, Ed.; Liu, Huan, Ed.; Van Bishop, Tracy, Ed.

    2016-01-01

    This feature offers an archive of articles published in other venues during the past year and serves as a valuable tool to readers of "Reading in a Foreign Language" ("RFL"). It treats any topic within the scope of "RFL" and second language reading. The articles are listed in alphabetical order, each with a complete…

  9. Readings on L2 Reading: Publications in Other Venues 2012-2013

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brantmeier, Cindy, Ed.; Van Bishop, Tracy, Ed.; Yu, Xiucheng, Ed.; Davis, Stacy, Ed.

    2013-01-01

    This feature offers an archive of articles and books published in other venues during the past year and serves as a valuable tool to readers of "Reading in a Foreign Language" ("RFL"). It deals with any topic within the scope of "RFL" and second language reading. The articles are listed in alphabetical order, each…

  10. Readings on L2 Reading: Publications in Other Venues 2013-2014

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brantmeier, Cindy; Schultz, Lyndsie; Aquino-Sterling, Cristian; Van Bishop, Tracy

    2014-01-01

    This feature offers an archive of articles and books published in other venues during the past year and serves as a valuable tool to readers of "Reading in a Foreign Language" ("RFL"). It treats any topic within the scope of "RFL" and second language reading. The articles are listed in alphabetical order, each with a…

  11. Readings on L2 Reading: Publications in Other Venues 2014-2015

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brantmeier, Cindy, Ed.; Dolosic, Haley, Ed.; Schultz, Lyndsie, Ed.; Aquino-Sterling, Cristian, Ed.; Van Bishop, Tracy, Ed.

    2015-01-01

    This feature offers an archive of articles published in other venues during the past year and serves as a valuable tool to readers of "Reading in a Foreign Language" ("RFL"). It treats any topic within the scope of "RFL" and second language reading. The articles are listed in alphabetical order, each with a complete…

  12. A Model of Motivation for Extensive Reading in Japanese as a Foreign Language

    Science.gov (United States)

    de Burgh-Hirabe, Ryoko; Feryok, Ann

    2013-01-01

    Numerous studies have reported that extensive reading (ER) has a positive influence on affect. Recent studies suggest that motivation for ER changes. This is in line with recent developments in second language (L2) motivation research that have highlighted the complex and dynamic nature of L2 motivation. This study presents a model of complex and…

  13. THE HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF TEACHING RUSSIAN LANGUAGE AS A FOREIGN LANGUAGE

    OpenAIRE

    Zulfiya SAHIN

    2014-01-01

    The purpose of this research is to explicate teaching of Russian as a foreign language throughout history: to identify the main achievements of the field, to determine methods and materials used in this area, to trace the developing process from the very begging till present days, when teaching Russian language as a foreign language became a separate specific discipline. To achieve the set purposes mentioned above the known nowadays studies on the field of teaching and learning Russian as a f...

  14. An Exploration of Foreign Language Anxiety and English Learning Motivation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Meihua Liu

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available Perceived to be two important affective variables, anxiety and motivation have been found to be highly correlated to second/foreign language acquisition. In order to examine the relationship between foreign language anxiety, English learning motivation, and performance in English, the present study investigated 980 undergraduate students from three universities in China who answered a 76-item survey. Analyses of the data revealed that (1 the respondents generally did not feel anxious in English and were moderately motivated to learn English, (2 foreign language anxiety and English learning motivation were significantly negatively correlated with each other, and (3 both foreign language anxiety and English learning motivation were significantly correlated with students' performance in English. Among the scales, foreign language classroom anxiety (FLCAS, intrinsic motivation (IntrinM, instrumental motivation (InstruM, fear of being negatively evaluated (FLCAS1, and interest in foreign languages and cultures (IFLC proved to be powerful predictors for the latter.

  15. COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF EXISTING INTENSIVE METHODS OF TEACHING FOREIGN LANGUAGES

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maria Mytnyk

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available The article deals with the study and analysis of comparable existing intensive methods of teaching foreign languages. This work is carried out to identify the positive and negative aspects of intensive methods of teaching foreign languages. The author traces the idea of rational organization and intensification of teaching foreign languages from their inception to the moment of their preparation in an integrated system. advantages and disadvantages of the most popular methods of intensive training also analyzed the characteristic of different historical periods, namely cugestopedichny method G. Lozanov method activation of reserve possibilities of students G. Kitaygorodskoy, emotional-semantic method I. Schechter, an intensive course of learning a foreign language L. Gegechkori , sugestokibernetichny integral method of accelerated learning a foreign language B. Petrusinskogo, a crash course in the study of spoken language by immersion A. Plesnevich. Analyzed the principles of learning and the role of each method in the development of methods of intensive foreign language training. The author identified a number of advantages and disadvantages of intensive methods of teaching foreign languages: 1 the assimilation of a large number of linguistic, lexical and grammatical units; 2 active use of acquired knowledge, skills and abilities in the practice of oral speech communication in a foreign language; 3 the ability to use language material resulting not only in his speech, but also in understanding the interlocutor; 4 overcoming psychological barriers, including fear of the possibility of making a mistake; 5 high efficiency and fast learning; 6 too much new language material that is presented; 7 training of oral forms of communication; 8 decline of grammatical units and models.

  16. Motivations and attitudes affecting high school students' choice of foreign language.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stewart-Strobelt, Jody; Chen, Huabin

    2003-01-01

    There are some foreign languages that enjoy great status in the United States, while other foreign languages are rarely represented at the high school level. The present study explored the following questions: Why do students choose to take a particular foreign language? Do students gravitate toward it because it is widely thought to be the easiest language to learn or because they perceive greater career opportunities with proficiency in this particular language, or is it simply because there are more classes offered? As long as foreign language study is elective in high schools and as long as a variety of languages are offered, the answers to these questions will remain important for foreign language educators, especially in schools where the various language programs compete with one another for student enrollments and the programs' ultimate survival.

  17. QUESTIONING FOREIGN LANGUAGE LEARNING IN ISLAMIC PRE-SCHOOL

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rohmani Nur Indah

    2011-10-01

    Full Text Available This paper questions the urgency of foreign language learning at early age by covering some arguments on the acquisition and bilingualism. Nowadays in Indonesia, under the interest of education, bilingual learning is undertaken by adopting the theory of bilingual acquisition referring to Chomsky’s ideas. In fact, the foreign language learning is not always in line with the principle of language acquisition especially for the early age children. The globalization era requires foreign language mastery so that for many institutions of children education have got the bilingual learning. As the example, some of Islamic educational institutions at the level of playgroup have applied the instruction in English and teaching Arabic words, by considering that the earlier foreign language learning is the better, and the fact that the golden age of brain development occurs at the first five years. This needs to be analyzed further, because there is also important task to have mother tongue language acquisition. For the community of multilingual such as in Indonesia, the acquisition of many languages is unavoidable. Therefore, parents are faced with two choices: To prior the mother tongue and bahasa Indonesia as second language or encourage the bilingual learning of Arabic and English.

  18. Foreign Language Anxiety of Students Studying English Language and Literature: A Sample from Turkey

    Science.gov (United States)

    Elaldi, Senel

    2016-01-01

    A considerable number of foreign language learners experience a feeling of anxiety in language learning process. The purpose of this research was to find out foreign language anxiety levels of students studying in the Faculty of English Language and Literature at Cumhuriyet University, Sivas, Turkey when they were in preparatory class and when…

  19. The Effects of Foreign Language Motivation in Second Language Acquisition

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    WU Miao-ru

    2013-01-01

    Foreign language motivation is regarded as one source of individual differences in second language acquisition. Learn-ing motivation is a dynamic mechanism which gives rise to learning activities. Learners ’motivation is a decisive factor for the suc-cess of second language acquisition.

  20. Readings on L2 Reading: Publications in Other Venues 2011-2012

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brantmeier, Cindy, Ed.; Van Bishop, Tracy, Ed.; Yu, Xiucheng, Ed.; Anderson, Britta, Ed.

    2012-01-01

    This feature offers an archive of articles and books published in other venues during the past year and serves as a valuable tool to readers of "Reading in a Foreign Language" ("RFL") treating topics within the scope of "RFL" and second language reading. The articles are listed in alphabetical order by author, each with a complete reference as…

  1. Developing the Bilingual Competence in Learning Foreign Languages

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    T. A. Znamenskaya

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available The paper considers the problem of bilingualism and its effect on the personality of the speaker. Various types of bilingualism are described along with the factors determining the bilingual competence formation: age, individual experience, socio-cultural conditions of the native and foreign language interaction. The author points out both the positive and negative impact on the native language as the result of the second language learning. The special emphasis is on language interference in the process of learning a foreign language. To make sure the students achieve the adequate degree of its authenticity, and therefore the bilingual competence, the teacher should take into account the specificity of national styles, communicative strategies and speech tactics of both languages. A comparative analysis of linguistic differences of the English and Russian languages is demonstrated on the level of phonetics, vocabulary, grammar and national communicative stylistics. The author maintains that successful inter-language and cross-cultural communication requires the integrative cross-disciplinary approach, consolidation of the linguistic theory and methods of foreign language teaching. 

  2. Bringing Foreign Language Learning into the 21st century | Thomas ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Bringing Foreign Language Learning into the 21st Century. The different challenges facing foreign language lecturers are considered as well as the different methods used to teach a foreign language. Technology and multimedia are proposed not only as tools and supports but also as a possible solution. With the change ...

  3. The effect of awareness raising about using cognitive strategies in foreign language teaching on students’ development of reading comprehension skills

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Güvenç Gülper

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available The purpose of this study is to analyze the development of students’ reading comprehension skills about using cognitive strategies in foreign language teaching by means of awareness raising activities. To this end, the research was conducted for 11 weeks with 77 students studying in an English preparatory school program. The experimental group was exposed to a training which is based on awareness raising activities about using cognitive strategies. A pre-test and a post-test were designed for 2 experimental and 2 control groups with random sampling, and then the statistical differences were tested based on the scores of the both groups in terms of significance. Moreover, the study aims to determine the views of the participants about the strategy training. The results show that there was a significant difference between the pre-test and post-test scores of the experimental group in terms of their achievement in reading skill, and the post-test scores of the both experimental group and control group were in favor of the experimental group. Also, it has also found that the experiment had a positive impact on the participants.

  4. Foreign Language Learning in Sweden.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Orpet, Brian R.

    1984-01-01

    Describes a visit made to Sweden to ascertain why Swedish citizens speak such excellent English. Motivation was a key factor. Describes observations of the methods of teaching English as a second language in Swedish schools. Makes recommendations for foreign language teaching in Great Britain based on these observations. (SED)

  5. Attitudes and Motivation in Early Foreign Language Learning

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jelena Mihaljević Djigunović

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper focuses on young foreign language learners’ attitudes andmotivations. An overview is given of the main issues in this researcharea, based on key European studies. Approaches to studying these affective learner characteristics are described. Some attention is devoted to data elicitation techniques and the importance of triangulation. Research findings are presented through overviews of cross-sectional and longitudinal studies carried out in different European settings. The latter are presented in more detail, because their findings seem to be more revealing of the early foreign language learning process. The overall conclusion of this review paper is that young foreign language learners’ attitudes and motivations are not stable learner characteristics but change over time, creating layers of complexity that warrant further research.Suggestions about possible future directions in researching young foreign language learner attitudes and motivations, and the application of its findings are also made.

  6. CONTENT AND STRUCTURE OF FOREIGN LANGUAGE TEACHER'S INCLUSIVE COMPETENCE

    OpenAIRE

    O. S. Kazachiner

    2017-01-01

    The aim of the article is analysis of content and structure of such phenomenon as a foreign language teachers’ inclusive competence. The necessity of development of such category of teachers’ inclusive competence was substantiated. On the base of scientists’ approaches to teacher’s inclusive competence content the author has defined foreign language teacher’s inclusive competence as an integrative personal background which includes the ability of teaching a foreign language to children with s...

  7. Overlap and Uniqueness: Linguistic Componential Traits Contributing to Expressive Skills in English as a Foreign Language

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pae, Hye K.; O'Brien, Beth

    2018-01-01

    This study identified robust predictors of expressive skills in academic English as a foreign language. The participants were 92 Korean-speaking learners of English. The field test of the Pearson Test of English Academic was used as a secondary data analysis. Four communicative skills (reading, writing, listening, and speaking) and six enabling…

  8. Professionally-oriented teaching of foreign language to postgraduates of technical specialties

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gramma D.V.

    2017-04-01

    Full Text Available the practice of professionally-oriented teaching at English classes of Surgut State University is described in the article. The structure and content of the course for postgraduates of non-linguistic specialties is analyzed. Foreign language teaching in modern conditions is a priority direction and an essential component of professional activity of engineers. Particular attention is paid to such linguistic aspects as reading technical literature, writing activities and project work. The developed system of tasks is aimed at the activation of lexical and grammatical material.

  9. MOBILE LEARNING IN THE FOREIGN LANGUAGE CLASSROOM – CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Diana COJOCNEAN

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available The article focuses on how foreign language teachers could use mobile learning in formal and informal learning environments. One of the key aims of the article is the focus on defining the pedagogy of mobile learning in the context of foreign language teaching and learning through the use of mobile learning tools during the foreign language lessons but also in informal learning contexts, encouraging learner autonomy and involvement in the learning task. Thus, the article presents how language teachers could try mobile learning based activities during foreign language lessons and outside the class, using students’ own devices through the implementation of a Bring Your Own Device Policy (BYOD within foreign language lessons.

  10. Un projet de logiciels d'assistance a l'apprentissage de la lecture en FLE (An Interdisciplinary Research Project Oriented toward Computer Programs for Reading Instruction in French as a Second Language).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Challe, Odile; And Others

    1985-01-01

    Describes a French project entitled "Lecticiel," jointly undertaken by specialists in reading, computer programing, and second language instruction to integrate these disciplines and provide assistance for students learning to read French as a foreign language. (MSE)

  11. Aptitude for Learning a Foreign Language.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sparks, Richard; Ganschow, Leonore

    2001-01-01

    Review research on foreign language aptitude and its measurement prior to 1990. Describes research areas in the 1990s, including affective variables, language learning strategies, learning styles as contributors to aptitude and aptitude as a cognitive construct affected by language variables. Reviews research on individual differences and the…

  12. Report on BAAL "Language in Africa" SIG Meetings Reading in African Languages: Developing Literacies and Reading Methodologies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wildsmith-Cromarty, Rosemary

    2015-01-01

    This report describes ongoing research on reading in African languages. It draws mainly on contributions from two British Association for Applied Linguistics (BAAL) "Language in Africa" (LiA) Special Interest Group (SIG) meetings: the LiA SIG strand at BAAL 2013 and the seminar on "Reading Methodologies in African Languages"…

  13. Dyslexia and Learning a Foreign Language: A Personal Experience.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Simon, Charlann S.

    2000-01-01

    This participant observer report reviews research on how dyslexia complicates learning a second language, a description of how dyslexia has affected educational experiences, personal experiences learning a foreign language, and recommendations to individuals with dyslexia who are faced with fulfilling a foreign language requirement and their…

  14. Foreign language policy and the development of Mandarin Chinese ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    This paper discusses the development offoreign language policy in higher educationin the United States (US) and indicates gaps in the study of foreign languages in highereducation in that country. A discussion of current policy, provision, programmes andfunding of foreign languages in higher education are presented, ...

  15. The Effect of Second-Language Proficiency on Second Language Reading Comprehension

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pohlmann, John T.

    1991-12-01

    Full Text Available Data from a first-language reading test, a second-language reading comprehension test with questions from different cognitive levels, and from the TOEFL were submitted to partial correlation analysis to detennine whether there was a significant effect of second-language proficiency on second-language reading comprehension when the influence of first-language reading comprehension was held constant. The results indicated that for factual and inference questions second-language reading comprehension may be more closely related to second-language proficiency than to first-language reading comprehension. The lack of a similar relationship for the generalization questions may be due to a substantial variation in the second-language readers' fonnal and content background knowledge which is necessary for the processing and comprehension of generalization questions. Data van 'n eerste taal-leestoets, 'n tweede taal-leesbegripstoets met vrae op verskillende kognitiewe vlakke en van die TO EFL is aan gedeeltelike korrelasie-ontleding onderworpe om vas te stel of daar 'n beduidende bei"nvloeding van tweede taal-vaardigheid op tweede taalleesbegrip was terwyl die invloed van eerste taal-leesbegrip konstant gebly het. Die resultate het aangedui dat wat feitelike en gevolgtrekkingsvrae betref, tweede taal-leesbegrip moontlik nader verwant is aan tweede taal-vaardigheid as aan eerste taal-leesbegrip. Die afwesigheid van 'n soortgelyke verhouding betreffende die veralgemeningsvrae is moontlik te IVlte aan 'n aansienlike variasie in die tweede taal lesers se fonnele en inhoudelike agtergrondkennis wat nodig is vir die verwerking en begrip van veralgemeningsvrae.

  16. Facing the Challenge--Developing an Instructional Plan for Portuguese as Foreign Language in Brazil Based on Multiliteracy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schlindwein, Ana Flora

    2013-01-01

    Adopting the multiliteracy concept and embracing the challenge of developing meaningful and captivating classes for Portuguese as Foreign Language in Brazil, this paper proposes an approach which includes the use of different technologies to learn and teach Portuguese, the reading of graphic novel adaptations of Brazilian literature classics and…

  17. Italian Children with Dyslexia Are Also Poor in Reading English Words, but Accurate in Reading English Pseudowords

    Science.gov (United States)

    Palladino, Paola; Bellagamba, Isabella; Ferrari, Marcella; Cornoldi, Cesare

    2013-01-01

    It has been argued that children with dyslexia (DC) are poor at learning a foreign language (L2) and, in particular, reading foreign words. This assumption is so general that an Italian law (law 170, October, 2010) has established that DC may be completely exempted from foreign language learning and, in any case, should not be engaged in tuition…

  18. "Piensa" twice: on the foreign language effect in decision making.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Costa, Albert; Foucart, Alice; Arnon, Inbal; Aparici, Melina; Apesteguia, Jose

    2014-02-01

    In this article, we assess to what extent decision making is affected by the language in which a given problem is presented (native vs. foreign). In particular, we aim to ask whether the impact of various heuristic biases in decision making is diminished when the problems are presented in a foreign language. To this end, we report four main studies in which more than 700 participants were tested on different types of individual decision making problems. In the first study, we replicated Keysar et al.'s (2012) recent observation regarding the foreign language effect on framing effects related to loss aversion. In the second section, we assessed whether the foreign language effect is present in other types of framing problems that involve psychological accounting biases rather than gain/loss dichotomies. In the third section, we studied the foreign language effect in several key aspects of the theory of decision making under risk and uncertainty. In the fourth study, we assessed the presence of a foreign language effect in the cognitive reflection test, a test that includes logical problems that do not carry emotional connotations. The absence of such an effect in this test suggests that foreign language leads to a reduction of heuristic biases in decision making across a range of decision making situations and provide also some evidence about the boundaries of the phenomenon. We explore several potential factors that may underlie the foreign language effect in decision making. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  19. 5 CFR 9901.364 - Foreign language proficiency pay.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 5 Administrative Personnel 3 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Foreign language proficiency pay. 9901... NATIONAL SECURITY PERSONNEL SYSTEM (NSPS) Pay and Pay Administration Premium Pay § 9901.364 Foreign language proficiency pay. (a) General provisions. (1) This section applies to employees who may be paid...

  20. Foreign Language Houses: Identities in Transition

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bown, Jennifer; Dewey, Dan P.; Martinsen, Rob A.; Baker, Wendy

    2011-01-01

    This study examined the lived experience of students participating in foreign language houses to improve their skills in Russian, French, or Japanese. American students residing in apartments with other language learners and a native-speaking resident facilitator were required to speak with one another exclusively in the target language and…

  1. Even Teachers Get the Blues: Recognizing and Alleviating Language Teachers' Feelings of Foreign Language Anxiety.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Horwitz, Elaine K.

    1996-01-01

    Argues that many nonnative foreign-language teachers experience foreign-language anxiety and that this anxiety can have negative consequences for language teaching. The article discusses how anxiety affects teachers' feelings of self-confidence, use of the target language, and instructional choices and offers suggestions for increasing teachers'…

  2. Dramatization at Extracurricular Activities as a Means to Enhance Foreign Language Teaching

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marina Valeryevna Kuimova

    2015-02-01

    Full Text Available The main purpose of foreign language teaching is to learn to communicate and overcome the language barrier. The article studies dramatization and its appropriateness in foreign language teaching, provides criteria for choosing a literary work for dramatization. The use of dramatization at extracurricular activities develops communication abilities, creativity; enhances motivation to learn a foreign language and strengthens students’ confidence in a foreign language.

  3. The Internet, Language Learning, And International Dialogue: 
Constructing Online Foreign Language Learning Websites

    OpenAIRE

    KARTAL, Erdogan; UZUN, Levent

    2015-01-01

    In the present study we call attention to the close connection between languages and globalization, and we also emphasize the importance of the Internet and online websites in foreign language teaching and learning as unavoidable elements of computer assisted language learning (CALL). We prepared a checklist by which we investigated 28 foreign language teaching websites (4 from each of seven languages including English, French, German, Italian, Russian, Spanish and Turkish). The participants ...

  4. The Effects of Foreign Language Learning on Creativity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ghonsooly, Behzad; Showqi, Sara

    2012-01-01

    The present study investigates the possible influence of foreign language learning on individuals' divergent thinking abilities. Unlike the large body of research devoted to unfolding the effect of bilingualism on cognitive functions, foreign language learning has gained little attention. This study aimed at bringing into attention the distinctive…

  5. FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILMS IN LOUISIANA DEPOSITORIES.

    Science.gov (United States)

    BABINEAUX, AUDREY

    THIS MANUAL IS AN ANNOTATED LIST OF 16-MILLIMETER EDUCATIONAL FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILMS (BOTH LINGUISTIC AND CULTURAL) WHICH WERE PURCHASED WITH STATE AND FEDERAL FUNDS AND PLACED IN LOUISIANA'S NINE FILM LIBRARIES. FILMS ARE ARRANGED ALPHABETICALLY BY LANGUAGES. FILMS IN THE TARGET LANGUAGE ARE LISTED SEPARATELY FROM FILMS WITH ENGLISH NARRATION. A…

  6. TECHNOLOGICAL APPROACH TO TEACHING FOREIGN LANGUAGES IN TECHNICAL UNIVERSITIES

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mariia Kuts

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available Modern learning foreign languages is based on a humanistic paradigm. The realization of the possibility of such activity researches consider in implementation of technological approach in educational process. The scientists connect the optimal and qualitative realization of this activity with the implementation of education technology into learning process. Modern studies are focused on questions of implementation of technological approach into teaching foreign languages. It is thought to allow to achieve guaranteed minimal level of learning results. At the same time there are some incompletely studied aspects such as content of pedagogical technologies, their conceptual and procedural characteristics, approaches to classification. In the article the essence of technological approach is revealed, the communicatively focused technologies of teaching foreign languages in non-linguistic universities are concretized. The interpretation of technological approach is given; characteristics and attributes in teaching foreign languages are selected. It is noticed that technological approach is social and engineering ideology in the sphere of didactics according to which teaching process is considered to be a completely designed process with strictly planned and fixed results (M. Klarin. In the article it is emphasized on feasibility and efficiency of technological approach while teaching foreign languages, the degree of its integration in educational process is defined. The communication-oriented technologies, based on a communicative method of E. Passov, are allocated as the most optimum. It is shown the communication-oriented technologies go beyond the conceptual idea of modelling in teaching process of real foreign-language communication, and their procedural component and contents are founded on certain principles. The most commonly used technologies of teaching foreign languages are classified as technologies of modernization and technologies of

  7. Culture in Foreign Language Teaching

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kramsch, Claire

    2013-01-01

    In foreign language education, the teaching of culture remains a hotly debated issue. What is culture? What is its relation to language? Which and whose culture should be taught? What role should the learners' culture play in the acquisition of knowledge of the target culture? How can we avoid essentializing cultures and teaching stereotypes? And…

  8. Strengthening Foreign Language Professional Organizations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dunham, Lowell

    1971-01-01

    The leitmotif of this address, inspired by lines found in William B. Yeats'"The Second Coming", underscores the need for a greater display of solidarity of language teachers through increased participation in professional associations. The work of the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) is discussed and noted to be vital…

  9. The impact of second language learning on semantic and nonsemantic first language reading.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nosarti, Chiara; Mechelli, Andrea; Green, David W; Price, Cathy J

    2010-02-01

    The relationship between orthography (spelling) and phonology (speech sounds) varies across alphabetic languages. Consequently, learning to read a second alphabetic language, that uses the same letters as the first, increases the phonological associations that can be linked to the same orthographic units. In subjects with English as their first language, previous functional imaging studies have reported increased left ventral prefrontal activation for reading words with spellings that are inconsistent with their orthographic neighbors (e.g., PINT) compared with words that are consistent with their orthographic neighbors (e.g., SHIP). Here, using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in 17 Italian-English and 13 English-Italian bilinguals, we demonstrate that left ventral prefrontal activation for first language reading increases with second language vocabulary knowledge. This suggests that learning a second alphabetic language changes the way that words are read in the first alphabetic language. Specifically, first language reading is more reliant on both lexical/semantic and nonlexical processing when new orthographic to phonological mappings are introduced by second language learning. Our observations were in a context that required participants to switch between languages. They motivate future fMRI studies to test whether first language reading is also altered in contexts when the second language is not in use.

  10. LANGUAGE SCHOOLS AND FOREIGN LANGUAGE STUDYING PROGRAMS IN PORTUGAL

    OpenAIRE

    Hritchenko, Iryna

    2017-01-01

    The article is devoted to the description and characterizing of language schools and foreign language studying programs in Portugal. The relevance of language learning for professional, mobility, self-developing means is shown. The main courses and programs are observed and the advantages and disadvantages of each of them are given. It is stated that Portuguese courses mostly follow the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages. A small synopsis of the abilities for each level is p...

  11. CORRELATION BETWEEN METACOGNITIVE STRATEGY, FOREIGN LANGUAGE APTITUDE AND MOTIVATIONS IN LANGUAGE LEARNING

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    Novia Tri Febriani

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available Language learning belief and language learning strategies are two essential predictors that have significant effect toward students’ language proficiency. Learners’ belief is dealing with what comes from inside the learners in learning the language, such as foreign language aptitude; difficulty of language learning; nature of language learning; learning and communication strategies; and motivation. Meanwhile, language learning strategies are learners’ plan in achieving certain goals or mastering the target language. A preliminary research was conducted in order to find what strategy mostly used by the learners. It turned out that the strategy mostly used by them was metacognitive strategies. Thus, this study aims to investigate about the correlation between metacognitive strategies and certain belief’ variables in students’ language learning which are foreign language aptitude and motivation. Moreover, twenty postgraduate students of English education department participated in this study. This study used correlational research, in which the BALLI (Beliefs about Language Learning Inventory and SILL (Strategies Inventory for Language Learners questionnaires were adopted as the instruments in collecting the data. The findings of this study indicated that there is negative linear correlation between metacognitive strategy and foreign language aptitude (rXY = -0,049 while there is significant positive linear correlation between metacognitive and motivation (rXY =+0,79 in students’ language learning. Furthermore, this study also provide some recommendations, which is it is expected that there will be more researches use studies using different respondents with various contexts. Secondly, the further research will use both of quantitative and qualitative data relating to this issue in order to make a more accurate data.

  12. ZİHİN KİRLİLİĞİ YABANCI DİLDE OKUMAYI ZORLAŞTIRABİLİR MENTAL POLLUTION IMPEDES FOREIGN LANGUAGE READING COMPREHENSION

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    Yakup ÇETİN

    2012-06-01

    Full Text Available The same Turkish foreign language learners of a university preparatory school (N=35 were tested twice on the same preintermediate reading passage within one month interval. In the first condition students were given the reading test (pre-test during theclass time upon watching a documentary on wild life for 40 minutes. After a month before they were given the same reading test (post –test in the same classroom setting, they were shown mental pollutants - a compilation of various videos with violent, scary, erotic, and comedic content from popular video-sharing websites for 40 minutes. It was hypothesized that mental pollutants would contaminate students’ mind by distracting emotional states and slowing mental processes and thus impeding the comprehension of foreign language reading material. The statistical results based on T-test Paired Samples Statistics and OneSample Kolmogorov-Smirnov Test show that exposure to mental pollutants remarkably results in poor L2 reading comprehension Bir üniversitenin hazırlık sınıfındaki aynı Türk öğrenciler (N=35, alt orta seviyedeki aynı okuma parçasıyla bir ay arayla 2 kere test edildi. İlk durumda öğrencilere 40 dakikalık bir vahşi yaşam belgeseli izletildikten sonra ders sırasında okuma parçası verildi (ilk test. Bir ay sonra aynı sınıf ortamında, öğrencilere aynı okuma parçası (son test verilmeden önce 40 dakika boyunca ünlü video paylaşım sitelerinden toplanmış şiddet, korku, erotik ve komedi içerikli zihinsel kirliliğe yol açacak videolar gösterildi. Varsayılan şey zihin kirliliğinin öğrencilerin dengelerini bozarak zihinsel fonksiyonlarını dağıtarak öğrencilerin hafızasını yavaşlatacağı ve dolayısıyla yabancı dilde yazılı okuma parçasını anlamaya da engel olacağıdır. Eşleştirilmiş iki grup arasındaki farkların testine ve tek grup Kolmogorov-Smirnov testine dayalı istatistiksel sonuçlar zihin kirleticilere maruz kalman

  13. The relationship between language anxiety and students' participation in foreign language classes

    OpenAIRE

    Zhanibek, Ardak

    2001-01-01

    Ankara : The Department of Teaching English as a Foreign Language, the Institute of Economics and Social Sciences, Bilkent University, 2001. Thesis (Master's) -- Bilkent University, 2001. Includes bibliographical references leaves 51-56. This study was designed to explore the relationship between teachers’ and students’ perceptions about students’ participation and students’ anxiety in foreign language classes. This study was conducted at Gazi University Preparatory School. ...

  14. Cross-Language Mediation in Foreign Language Teaching and Testing

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stathopoulou, Maria

    2015-01-01

    This book contributes to the growing field of foreign language teaching and testing by shedding light on mediation between languages. Stathopoulou offers an empirically-grounded definition of mediation as a form of translanguaging and offers tools and methods for further research in multilingual testing. The book explores what cross-language…

  15. Older Workers and the Motivation for Foreign Language Learning

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    Mateja Letnar

    2014-08-01

    Full Text Available As an inevitable process facing modern societies, an aging population brings with it new and different challenges for social actors. The extension of working life requires increased investments in an older workforce, in order for these people to retain their employability and productivity. Globalisation and the ubiquity of information communication technology place increasing importance on foreign language knowledge – an area of deficiency among older workers.  Knowledge of what motivates learners to learn foreign languages is thus also gaining importance. In conducting a survey of language school learners, we found that the motivation for learning foreign languages differs significantly between younger and older generations. As a result, employers, as well as language schools, will need to reconsider their current practices.

  16. PSYCHOLINGUISTIC APPROACH TO FOREIGN LANGUAGE TEACHING

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    Victoria Vadimovna Dobrova

    2013-09-01

    Full Text Available The study of verbal behavior in a foreign language with the complex of methods of different sciences is the up-to-date task of scientific knowledge. The study of the ability to learn foreign languages is conducted with the help of psycholinguistic methods on the basis of contracted forms of communication, considering individual characteristics of speakers as well as level of their language culture, semantics and elements of their speech. The carried empirical study allows to say that there is the dependence of individual characteristics, motivation of communication, communicative skills of participants of communication and presence of various semantic and syntactic types of contracted forms in the dialogue.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.12731/2218-7405-2013-8-26

  17. Atatürk and the History of Foreign Language Education in Turkey

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    Gülay SARIÇOBAN

    2012-04-01

    Full Text Available Background and Problem: There have been various opinions on the policies of foreign language education in our country since the foundation of our republic. There is no doubt that Atatürk placed much more importance in foreign language education than the other nations’ founders on earth. For the purpose of foreign language education, the department of western languages and literatures was established in the faculty of language, history, and geography at Ankara University. This department was also considered to contribute the fields of history and Turkish studies. Foreign language and literature studies are believed to be responsible for establishing interaction and communication between cultures. If a scientific approach to a foreign language and its literature and the knowledge of methodology leads to acquisition of a native language, this means that it performs its real function. Atatürk, believing this contribution of knowing a foreign language to the mother tongue of a nation, absorbs the importance of this fact. He strongly asserted that we should make use of this advantage for our national benefits: by not teaching a topic in a foreign language, but teaching a foreign language. To him, the courses should be conducted in Turkish. However, just contrary to his views, we had courses conducted in the foreign language in Anatolian high schools, science high schools, and/or in private colleges. Thus, the number of these schools has increased and therefore, the importance of mother tongue has lessened even in our country. Purpose: This study aims at discussing the foreign language policies followed in our country by referring to certain periods.Method: For the purpose of the current study, the researchers have gone through literature review process in detail and compiled the data they could reach from various reliable sources.

  18. Foreign Language Listening Anxiety and Listening Performance: Conceptualizations and Causal Relationships

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Xian

    2013-01-01

    This study used structural equation modeling to explore the possible causal relations between foreign language (English) listening anxiety and English listening performance. Three hundred participants learning English as a foreign language (FL) completed the foreign language listening anxiety scale (FLLAS) and IELTS test twice with an interval of…

  19. Sources of Foreign Language Student Teacher Anxiety: A Qualitative Inquiry

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    Ali Merç

    2011-04-01

    Full Text Available This study aimed to Şnd out the sources of foreign language student teacher anxiety experienced by Turkish EFL student teachers throughout the teaching practicum using qualitative data collection tools. 150 student teachers completing their teaching practicum as part of their graduation requirement at Anadolu University Faculty of Education English Language Teaching Program participated in the study. The research tools were diaries kept by student teachers and semistructured interviews conducted with 30 of the participant student teachers. Constant Comparison Method was used to analyze the qualitative data. The analysis of the data revealed six main categories as the sources of foreign language student teacher anxiety: students and class profiles, classroom management, teaching procedures, being observed, mentors, and miscellaneous. Each source of foreign language student teacher anxiety is described and exempliŞed with extracts from student teachers’ diaries or interview records. The findings are discussed along the recent literature on foreign language student teacher anxiety. Suggestions for foreign language teacher education programs are also provided

  20. Foreign Language Teaching and Cultural Identity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nasr, Raja T., Ed.; And Others

    A collection of works on the role of cultural identity in second language learning and teaching includes: "Linguas estrangeiras e ideologia" (Roberto Ballalai); "Cultural Identity and Bilinguality" (Josiane F. Hamers, Michel Blanc); "Foreign Language Teaching and Cultural Identity" (Lakshmie K. Cumaranatunge);…

  1. The Usefulness of Translation in Foreign Language Learning: Students’ Attitudes

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    Ana B. Fernández-Guerra

    2014-03-01

    Full Text Available Several scholars have argued that translation is not a useful tool when acquiring a second or foreign language; since it provides a simplistic one-to-one relationship between the native and the foreign language, it can cause interference between them, and it is an artificial exercise that has nothing to do in a communicative approach to language teaching. Recent studies, however, show that, far from being useless, translation can be a great aid to foreign language learning. The aim of the present paper is twofold: (1 to summarize and assess the arguments that encourage the use of translation in the foreign language classroom, supporting the integration of several forms of translating; and (2 to present the results of a survey that focused on students’ perceptions and responses towards translation tasks and their effectiveness in foreign language acquisition. Results show that students’ attitudes were surprisingly positive for several reasons: translation is one of their preferred language learning tasks, it is motivating, it facilitates a deeper understanding of the form and content of the source language text, it increases learners’ awareness of the differences between both linguistic systems, it allows them to re-express their thoughts faster and easier, and it helps them acquire linguistic and cultural knowledge.

  2. Examining the linguistic coding differences hypothesis to explain individual differences in foreign language learning.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sparks, R L

    1995-01-01

    In this paper, it is suggested that foreign language learning problems result from difficulties with native language learning and hypothesized that difficulties with phonological processing may be the locus of foreign language learning difficulties for some poor foreign language learners. Evidence is described that supports these positions. It is argued that conceptualizing foreign language learning problems as alanguage problem allows researchers to more clearly specify deficits related to the learning of a foreign language. Research evidence which shows that good and poor foreign language learners exhibit significantly different levels of native language skill and phonological processing is summarized. Finally, potential challenges to my hypotheses as an explanation for foreign language learning problems are reviewed.

  3. Foreign Language Usage by Secondary Education EFL Teachers

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    Sophia Kakavoula

    2010-02-01

    Full Text Available In the last few decades there is growing interest in pre- and in- service teacher education which aims to help teachers keep up to date with new trends and developments in the field of education. Although this movement has resulted in upgraded approaches to the design and implementation of teacher training courses, most of them focus mainly on theoretical and methodological issues neglecting the systematic improvement and development of English teachers’ language proficiency and competence. However, it is a reality that several teachers sometimes feel uncomfortable with using the foreign language inside and outside the classroom. The present research investigates how comfortable teachers feel with their foreign language proficiency, whether their confidence in using it influences in any way their teaching practices and whether there is a need for in-service teacher training courses targeting teachers’ language development and improvement. From the analysis of the research data we are able to assume that teachers of English feel that there are deficiencies in their foreign language proficiency and competence and admit that their participation in training courses targeting their language development would improve not only their language proficiency but their actual teaching practices as well.

  4. Whole Language-Based English Reading Materials

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    Dian Erlina

    2016-05-01

    Full Text Available This Research and Development (R&D aims at developing English reading materials for undergraduate EFL students of Universitas Islam Negeri (UIN Raden Fatah Palembang, Indonesia. Research data were obtained through questionnaires, tests, and documents. The results of the research show that the existing materials are not relevant to the students’ need, so there is a need for developing new materials based on whole language principles. In general, the new developed materials are considered reliable by the experts, students, and lecturers. The materials are also effective in improving students’ reading achievement. The final product of the materials consists of a course book entitled Whole Language Reading (WLR and a teacher’s manual. WLR provides rich input of reading strategies, variety of topics, concepts, texts, activities, tasks, and evaluations. Using this book makes reading more holistic and meaningful as it provides integration across language skills and subject areas.

  5. Effect of Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety on Turkish University Students' Academic Achievement in Foreign Language Learning

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tuncer, Murat; Dogan, Yunus

    2015-01-01

    This study was carried out in order to identify to what extent the Turkish students' English classroom anxiety affects their academic achievement in English language. In this quantitative descriptive study, a correlational survey model was employed, and the convenience sampling was done. In order to collect data, the Foreign Language Classroom…

  6. FORMATION OF CROSS-CULTURAL COMPETENCE OF FOREIGN STUDENTS IN THE PROCESS OF LEARNING UKRAINIAN AS A FOREIGN LANGUAGE

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    Галина Дідук-Ступ'як

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available The article is devoted to the problem of formation of cross-cultural competence of foreign students in the process of learning Ukrainian as a foreign language. Theoretical and pragmatic ways of intercultural communication methods for speakers of a foreign language in four types of speech activity have been substantiated. There have been determined linguistic and didactic principles of learning the Ukrainian language as a foreign language using authorial technology of interaction of different approaches that promotes the development of effective cross-cultural competence of foreign students. The main components of the innovative technology of work with foreign language audience have been characterized; a system of tasks and exercises aimed at mastering linguistic, socio-cultural and pragmatic competences has been set. There have been determined linguistic and methodical problems of comparative methodology, which authoring technology LTIRP with the usage of authentic texts is based on. Traditional and new forms, methods and techniques of teaching foreign students in the process of formation of cross-cultural competence have been considered.

  7. Inter-functional influence of culture and language during the process of foreign language teaching of teenagers

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    Ergeshali kyzy A.

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available this article describes some theoretical tasks of multicultural education of teenagers in foreign language teaching. The work also has analyzed inter-functional influence of the language and culture in the process of foreign language teaching.

  8. Learning foreign labels from a foreign speaker: the role of (limited) exposure to a second language.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Akhtar, Nameera; Menjivar, Jennifer; Hoicka, Elena; Sabbagh, Mark A

    2012-11-01

    Three- and four-year-olds (N = 144) were introduced to novel labels by an English speaker and a foreign speaker (of Nordish, a made-up language), and were asked to endorse one of the speaker's labels. Monolingual English-speaking children were compared to bilingual children and English-speaking children who were regularly exposed to a language other than English. All children tended to endorse the English speaker's labels when asked 'What do you call this?', but when asked 'What do you call this in Nordish?', children with exposure to a second language were more likely to endorse the foreign label than monolingual and bilingual children. The findings suggest that, at this age, exposure to, but not necessarily immersion in, more than one language may promote the ability to learn foreign words from a foreign speaker.

  9. Effects of Classroom Assessment Practices in a Foreign Language Reading Course (Efectos de las Prácticas de Evaluación en el Salón de Clase de un Curso de Lectura en Lengua Extranjera (LE))

    Science.gov (United States)

    Medina, Sergio Alonso Lopera

    2015-01-01

    This article analyzes the various types of information that alternative assessment and traditional assessment practices provided in an English foreign language (FL) reading course for graduate students at a public university in Medellín, Colombia. This study followed the principles of qualitative research, and a case study was used as a research…

  10. Rasch Measurement in Language Research: Creating the Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Inventory

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    Miranda J. Walker

    2014-11-01

    Full Text Available The purpose of this study was to construct a new scale for measuring foreign language classroom anxiety (FLCA. It begun with the creation of an extended item pool generated by qualitative methods. Subsequent Rasch and semantic analyses led to the final 18-item Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Inventory (FLCAI. In comparison with the Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (FLCAS, the FLCAI demonstrated more convincing evidence of unidimensionality and the optimal 5-point Likert scale functioned better. The FLCAI, while 55% the length of the FLCAS, thus more practical for classroom practitioners to administer and analyse, maintains its psychometric properties and covers a wider range on the construct continuum thus improving the degree of validity of the instrument. Finally, test anxiety was shown to be a component of FLCA.

  11. USING NASREDDIN HODJA STORIES IN ENGLISH AS A FOREIGN LANGUAGE (EFL CLASSROOMS

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    İsmail YAMAN

    2017-04-01

    Full Text Available Culture is an indispensable dimension of human life and also foreign language teaching and learning process; and as a part of the current trend, diverse cultural elements are covered in recently published English as a foreign language (EFL coursebooks. These cultural elements are not limited to the target culture but they cover local and international culture components as well. Not focusing on solely one specific culture enables language learners to touch different cultures as well as maintaining awareness of their own culture. Humour constitutes another aspect without which human beings cannot survive. Our daily lives are full of humorous elements like jokes and these add remarkable taste to human beings’ course of living. This positive prevalence of humour in human life may also have its reflections in the realm of language teaching. Considering the inseparableness of both culture and humour from human life, Nasreddin Hodja stories can ideally serve a double purpose while teaching English in EFL settings. When offered in English, these culturally embedded and humour-laden stories that wittily combine both local culture and humorous elements hold the potential to motivate both English language teachers and learners while teaching and learning English in Turkish EFL context. This study aims to discuss the possible ways to employ Nasreddin Hodja stories in Turkish EFL classrooms. To this end, sample to-the-point activities based on Nasreddin Hodja stories in English will be introduced for different language skills ranging from main skills like reading and speaking to sub-skills like vocabulary and grammar.

  12. Examining the Effectiveness of Pre-Reading Strategies on Saudi EFL College Students' Reading Comprehension

    Science.gov (United States)

    Al Rasheed, Hana S. S.

    2014-01-01

    Reading comprehension is a key issue in learning English as a foreign language, and it is critical that teachers utilize pre-reading strategies in reading classes in order to help students enhance their comprehension. The present study investigates the effectiveness of two pre-reading strategies on EFL students' performance in reading…

  13. Smart Strategy to Boost Students' Reading Comprehension

    OpenAIRE

    Sfafi'i, Muhammad Lukman

    2015-01-01

    Reading as one of language skills plays significant roles in the teaching English as a foreign language. Since the teacher still uses the conventional way to teach reading, students‘ ability in reading comprehension seems still unsatisfactory yet. So, teacher should explore and develop new strategies. One of strategies in reading comprehension that can trigger our students to attain that purpose is SMART (Self Monitoring Approach for Reading and Thinking) strategy. ...

  14. Computer-Assisted Foreign Language Teaching and Learning: Technological Advances

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zou, Bin; Xing, Minjie; Wang, Yuping; Sun, Mingyu; Xiang, Catherine H.

    2013-01-01

    Computer-Assisted Foreign Language Teaching and Learning: Technological Advances highlights new research and an original framework that brings together foreign language teaching, experiments and testing practices that utilize the most recent and widely used e-learning resources. This comprehensive collection of research will offer linguistic…

  15. Foreign language proficiency and working memory capacity

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Noort, M.W.M.L. van den; Bosch, M.P.C.; Hugdahl, K.

    2006-01-01

    In this study, the hypothesis that working memory capacity interacts with (foreign) language proficiency was tested on multilinguals, who were native (L1) Dutch speakers, were fluent in their second (L2) language, German, and had recently started the acquisition of their third (L3) language,

  16. Foreign Language Teaching in Rudolf Steiner Schools. Guidelines for Class-Teachers and Language Teachers. First Edition.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stott, Michael

    This book is intended for foreign language teachers interested in the approaches used in Rudolf Steiner schools, and also classroom teachers who teach foreign languages. Chapters address these issues: what the language lesson is to achieve; how the language lesson differs from other lessons; lesson design; examples of actual lessons; avoiding the…

  17. Proceedings, Pacific Northwest Council on Foreign Languages, Volume 28, Part 2: Second Language Teaching 77.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Benseller, David P., Editor

    The twenty-eight papers that make up the second part of the proceedings of the twenty-eighth annual meeting of the Pacific Northwest Council on Foreign Languages cover a wide range of topics relating to foreign language teaching and linguistic theory: German culture and civilization; sexism in language; bilingual education; bilingualism and…

  18. Opposite cerebral dominance for reading and sign language

    OpenAIRE

    Komakula, Sirisha. T.; Burr, Robert. B.; Lee, James N.; Anderson, Jeffrey

    2010-01-01

    We present a case of right hemispheric dominance for sign language but left hemispheric dominance for reading, in a left-handed deaf patient with epilepsy and left mesial temporal sclerosis. Atypical language laterality for ASL was determined by preoperative fMRI, and congruent with ASL modified WADA testing. We conclude that reading and sign language can have crossed dominance and preoperative fMRI evaluation of deaf patients should include both reading and sign language evaluations.

  19. Reading as Situated Language: A Sociocognitive Perspective.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gee, James Paul

    2001-01-01

    Situates reading within a broad perspective that integrates work on cognition, language, social interaction, society, and culture. Argues that reading and writing cannot be separated from speaking, listening, and interacting, on the one hand, or using language to think about and act on the world, on the other. Introduces "social languages" as a…

  20. Testing foreign language impact on engineering students' scientific problem-solving performance

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tatzl, Dietmar; Messnarz, Bernd

    2013-12-01

    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.

  1. [Phonological and orthographic processes of reading and spelling in young adolescents and adults with and without dyslexia in German and English: impact on foreign language learning].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Romonath, Roswitha; Wahn, Claudia; Gregg, Noel

    2005-01-01

    The present study addressed the question whether there is a relationship between phonological and orthographic processes of reading and spelling in adolescents and young adults with and without dyslexia in German and English. On the evidence of the Linguistic Coding Differences Hypothesis and results of the latest research in foreign language learning the hypothesis is tested if there is a relationship between phonological and orthographic knowledge on the one hand and decoding and spelling performance on the other hand in German adolescents and young adults reading and spelling German and English words. This hypothesis was tested with the statistical method of structural equation modeling and therefore the research population was divided into the following groups: group 1 with dyslexia in reading (n = 93), group 2 with dyslexia in spelling (n = 93), group 3 without dyslexia in reading (n = 95), and group 4 without dyslexia in spelling (n = 95). Results of data analysis show that the postulated prediction model fits only the data of the dyslexia group for reading and spelling, but not for the control group. Also the model for both groups does not fit. The results of the pilot study show that it is necessary to modify diagnostic instruments of measurement and to separate scales of phonological and orthographic processes.

  2. Pour Adolescent et Adulte, Francais Langue Etrangere, Niveau 1 (French as a Foreign Language, Level 1, for Adolescents and Adults)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gibert, Pierre

    1975-01-01

    This annotated bibliography lists dictionaries and reading materials including stories and legends, biographies, works relating to cinema, theatre and French civilization, magazines, and educational activities and games for introductory instruction of French as a foreign language to adults and adolescents. (Text is in French.) (CLK)

  3. Bilingual Lexical Interillumination in the Foreign Language Classroom

    Science.gov (United States)

    St. John, Oliver

    2010-01-01

    Foreign language (FL) education has been marked by a monolingual principle that has favoured "intralingual" methodologies. Bakhtin's view of language interillumination--that languages throw light on each other--challenges such language teaching practices radically. Using conversation analysis methods, this article examines transcripts of…

  4. FOREIGN LANGUAGE LEARNING AND EDUCATION IN MINORITY CIRCUMSTANCES. PROBLEMS AND POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Szilvia Batyi

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available Some form of bi- and multilingualism means the natural lingual condition for more than the half of the population of the Earth. It is a substantial linguistic aim of the Transcarpathian Hungarian community that beside preservation of their mother tongue(the Hungarian, acquire the state language (the Ukrainian languageand the basis of at least one world language. But this aim is hindered by a lot of things in Transcarpathia. The goal of the study is to shed light on these problems and to find possible solutions based on two researches. The first research, which was carried out in the Tanscarpathian Hungarian schools, was to reveal the conditions and problems of foreign language education. The research threw light on numerous problems that approve the low level of foreign language knowledge of the Transcarpathian Hungarian youth. Attitudes and stereotypes influence the success of foreign language acquisition. For this reason in the second part of the study I would like to show, what kind of stereotypes and attitudes can be discovered in the parents (who are lay linguistically and language pedagogicallyconcerning foreign languages, and within this especially concerning the English language. It appears from the interviews,that nor the attitudes of the state towards foreign languages that was inherited from the soviet system, neither the impassiveness of the parents improves the positive attitudes in the Transcarpathian Hungarian students towards foreign languages, and nor the state,neither the parents approve the motivation of foreign language acquisition.

  5. Digital Game-Based Language Learning in Foreign Language Teacher Education

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    Yunus ALYAZ

    2016-10-01

    Full Text Available New technologies including digital game-based language learning have increasingly received attention. However, their implementation is far from expected and desired levels due to technical, instructional, financial and sociological barriers. Previous studies suggest that there is a strong need to establish courses in order to support adaptation of game-based learning pedagogy through helping teachers experience digital games themselves before they are expected to use them in teaching. This study was conducted to investigate educational digital games in foreign language teaching, to identify the determining reasons behind the pittfalls in applications and to explore the contribution of a serious game to the development of professional language skills of pre-service teachers. Pre- and post-tests were applied to measure the contribution of the game to the development of their language skills. In addition, a game diary and semi-structured interviews were used to elicit information about the problems pre-service teachers had and their perceptions on the whole process. The analysis of the data illustrated that there was great improvement in pre-service teachers’ professional language skills and attitudes towards using these games while teaching in the future. This is important in foreign language teacher education in terms of enhancing digital game-based language learning pedagogy for teachers.

  6. TEACHING WRITING IN ENGLISH AS A FOREIGN LANGUAGE

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    I Made Purna Wijaya

    2015-11-01

    Full Text Available This article aims at describing about teaching writing in English as a foreign Language. The reasons for teaching writing to students of English as a Foreign language include reinforcement, language development, learning style and the most importantly, writing as skill in its own right. Like many other aspects of English language teaching, the type of writing that students should do, will depend on their age, interest and level. These include writing post cards, letters of various kinds, filling in forms such as job applications, writing narrative compositions, report, newspaper and magazine article. The result showed that the students’ success of writing such matters absolutely depend on their motivations.

  7. Empowering the Foreign Language Learner through Critical Literacies Development

    Science.gov (United States)

    Keneman, Margaret

    2016-01-01

    This article examines current pedagogical trends in the foreign language classroom and argues that a critical literacies pedagogical approach (Freire, 1970) should guide instruction. A critical literacies pedagogical approach is then discussed in the context of foreign language teaching and learning, and particular attention in this article is…

  8. Reading, Perception and Language.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Duane, Drake D., Ed.; Rawson, Margaret B., Ed.

    The nine papers in this book discuss aspects of language processing that contribute to reading difficulty. After a summary of the 1974 World Congress on Dyslexia, at which these papers were presented, the following subjects are examined: historical background and educational treatment of dyslexia; the structure of language; neuroanatomy underlying…

  9. Thinking More or Feeling Less? Explaining the Foreign-Language Effect on Moral Judgment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hayakawa, Sayuri; Tannenbaum, David; Costa, Albert; Corey, Joanna D; Keysar, Boaz

    2017-10-01

    Would you kill one person to save five? People are more willing to accept such utilitarian action when using a foreign language than when using their native language. In six experiments, we investigated why foreign-language use affects moral choice in this way. On the one hand, the difficulty of using a foreign language might slow people down and increase deliberation, amplifying utilitarian considerations of maximizing welfare. On the other hand, use of a foreign language might stunt emotional processing, attenuating considerations of deontological rules, such as the prohibition against killing. Using a process-dissociation technique, we found that foreign-language use decreases deontological responding but does not increase utilitarian responding. This suggests that using a foreign language affects moral choice not through increased deliberation but by blunting emotional reactions associated with the violation of deontological rules.

  10. Is it a Practical Strategy of Foreign Language Teaching? Unpacking the Integrated Language and Culture Instruction (ILCI Method in its Application to Learning of German as a Foreign Language in Zimbabwe

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alfred Ndhlovu

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available It is without doubt, that most contemporary methods of language teaching are based on the Communicative language Teaching (CLT model. The principle that these methods share is that language can only be considered meaningful when it is not taught separately from its context, which is the context of the target language speakers. In other words, second and foreign language teachers are encouraged to pursue methods of instruction that seek to simultaneously improve not only the linguistic knowledge of the L2/foreign language learners (such as vocabulary and grammar but also their learning of the “appropriate” contextual meaning of this knowledge. To mention a few, these methods include the integrated content and language learning instruction (ICLI, theme based language instruction (TBI, Task based instruction (TBI and the integrated language and culture Instruction (ILCI. The last method of instruction which is the central subject of discussion in this study is not commonly addressed by most researchers despite its growing popularity in most foreign language teaching classrooms. It is mainly related to the theme based language instruction since it advocates for the teaching of language in tandem with topics in culture and civilisation and realises the importance of both culture (as content and language (as a medium of communication. This study unpacks this method, looking at its benefits and limitations when it comes to its application to the foreign language classroom. The major concern of this study therefore, is pedagogical implications of this method in actual foreign language teaching. To illustrate this, the study gives insights into learning of German in Zimbabwe, with the University of Zimbabwe as a close example. The underlying position in this study is that, while the integrated language and culture Instruction (ILCI method is a very attractive method on paper, there are a number of obstacles that can censor its practical application

  11. Foreign language affects the contribution of intentions and outcomes to moral judgment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Geipel, Janet; Hadjichristidis, Constantinos; Surian, Luca

    2016-09-01

    We examine whether the use of a foreign language, as opposed to the native language, influences the relative weight intentions versus outcomes carry in moral evaluations. In Study 1, participants were presented with actions that had positive outcomes but were motivated by dubious intentions, while in Study 2 with actions that had negative outcomes but were motivated by positive intentions. Participants received the materials either in their native or a foreign language. Foreign language prompted more positive moral evaluations in Study 1 and less positive evaluations in Study 2. These results show that foreign language reduces the relative weight placed on intentions versus outcomes. We discuss several theoretical accounts that are consistent with the results such as that foreign language attenuates emotions (triggered by intentions) or it depletes cognitive resources. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  12. The Role of First-Language Listening Comprehension in Second-Language Reading Comprehension

    Science.gov (United States)

    Edele, Aileen; Stanat, Petra

    2016-01-01

    Although the simple view of reading and other theories suggest that listening comprehension is an important determinant of reading comprehension, previous research on linguistic transfer has mainly focused on the role of first language (L1) decoding skills in second language (L2) reading. The present study tested the assumption that listening…

  13. Contribution of Error Analysis to Foreign Language Teaching

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vacide ERDOĞAN

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available It is inevitable that learners make mistakes in the process of foreign language learning.However, what is questioned by language teachers is why students go on making the same mistakeseven when such mistakes have been repeatedly pointed out to them. Yet not all mistakes are the same;sometimes they seem to be deeply ingrained, but at other times students correct themselves with ease.Thus, researchers and teachers of foreign language came to realize that the mistakes a person made inthe process of constructing a new system of language is needed to be analyzed carefully, for theypossibly held in them some of the keys to the understanding of second language acquisition. In thisrespect, the aim of this study is to point out the significance of learners’ errors for they provideevidence of how language is learned and what strategies or procedures the learners are employing inthe discovery of language.

  14. The Importance of Foreign Language Education to the Hospitality Industry.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kluge, E. Alan

    In the hospitality industry there are three major needs for study of a foreign language: (1) the need to communicate with non-English speaking employees, (2) the need to assist foreign travelers; and (3) the need to work in a non-English speaking country. The strength of the need to know a foreign language depends on the employee's level within…

  15. Tact training versus bidirectional intraverbal training in teaching a foreign language.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dounavi, Katerina

    2014-01-01

    The current study involved an evaluation of the emergence of untrained verbal relations as a function of 3 different foreign-language teaching strategies. Two Spanish-speaking adults received foreign-language (English) tact training and native-to-foreign and foreign-to-native intraverbal training. Tact training and native-to-foreign intraverbal training resulted in the emergence of a greater number of untrained responses, and may thus be more efficient than foreign-to-native intraverbal training. © Society for the Experimental Analysis of Behavior.

  16. Doctoral Degrees Granted in Foreign Languages in the United States: 1993.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Benseler, David P.; Lannoch, Martha Calvert

    1994-01-01

    Findings are reported from the annual survey of doctoral degrees granted in foreign languages, literatures, cultures, linguistics, and foreign language education in the following categories: African, Asian, French, Germanic, Italian, Near and Middle Eastern, Slavic, and Spanish languages/literatures; classics; comparative literature; theoretical…

  17. Gender affects body language reading

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Arseny A Sokolov

    2011-02-01

    Full Text Available Body motion is a rich source of information for social cognition. However, gender effects in body language reading are largely unknown. Here we investigated whether, and, if so, how recognition of emotional expressions revealed by body motion is gender dependent. To this end, females and males were presented with point-light displays portraying knocking at a door performed with different emotional expressions. The findings show that gender affects accuracy rather than speed of body language reading. This effect, however, is modulated by emotional content of actions: males surpass in recognition accuracy of happy actions, whereas females tend to excel in recognition of hostile angry knocking. Advantage of women in recognition accuracy of neutral actions suggests that females are better tuned to the lack of emotional content in body actions. The study provides novel insights into understanding of gender effects in body language reading, and helps to shed light on gender vulnerability to neuropsychiatric impairments in visual social cognition.

  18. Foreign Language Teaching and Learning in the Netherlands 1500-2000: An Overview

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wilhelm, Frans

    2018-01-01

    The Netherlands are quite unique in that the Dutch have always learned various foreign languages. Until 1940, French was the most important foreign language. Between roughly 1870 and 1970, Dutch learners in grammar schools and higher secondary schools were even obliged to learn three foreign languages: French, German and English. Since 1970,…

  19. PSYCHOLOGICAL PECULIARITIES OF TEACHING FUTURE NAVIGATORS READING ENGLISH AUTHENTIC SAILING DIRECTIONS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Наталія Приміна

    2014-07-01

    Full Text Available In the given article the psychological peculiarities of teaching future navigators reading English professional authentic documentation have been analyzed. The psychological foundations of understanding printed information in general and foreign information particularly have been disclosed. The processes of textual information perception and visual material perception comprehension have been analysed. The language levels of foreign text comprehension have been examined. The peculiarities of perceptual transformation of foreign language information while reading English sailing directions have been found out.

  20. LITERACY AND FOREIGN LANGUAGE TEACHING AS KEY FACTORS FOR SOCIO-ECONOMIC ADAPTATION OF STUDENTS’ POPULATION - CHARACTERISTICS OF LITERACY AMONG DIFFERENT DEPARTMENTS AT THE FACULTY OF MEDICINE

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Boris Djindjic

    2007-01-01

    Full Text Available Language and communication are at the heart of the human experience. Reading and writing are the most powerful modes of formal learning and they are fundamental to intellectual inquiry and creativity in all disciplines. Literacy comprises not only reading and writing skills but also understanding of human communication needs and the way of social functioning. The aim of this study was to determine the importance of foreign language learning for students’ socio-economic adaptation. The study investigated the relationship between students’ foreign language literacy and their achievements in medical studies.The investigation is a prospective study carried out among students of the Faculty of Medicine in Nis during June, 2006. The investigation included 312 students of all departments (medicine, dentistry, pharmacy and nursing and was conducted by means of a questionnaire. We determined students’ socio-economic adaptation, literacy in the mother tongue and foreign language (reading, writing, speaking and listening, and the ability of using modern technological achievements (computer work, Internet and SMS correspondence.Writing and listening skills of the mother tongue are significantly lower at the Department of Nursing. There is no difference in using post-correspondence among groups, whereby dentistry students most often used modern means of communication. The percentage of students satisfied with their social status is the highest among students of medicine and pharmacy and the lowest among students at the Department of Nursing. The percentage of students satisfied with the economic status is the highest among students of medicine, slightly lower among students of dentistry and pharmacy, and the lowest among nurses. The average grade of achievements at the Faculty is the highest in the group of nurses, slightly lower in the group of pharmacy, and the lowest in the group of medicine and dentistry. Generally, the grades for foreign language

  1. Language differences in the brain network for reading in naturalistic story reading and lexical decision.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Xiaojuan; Yang, Jianfeng; Yang, Jie; Mencl, W Einar; Shu, Hua; Zevin, Jason David

    2015-01-01

    Differences in how writing systems represent language raise important questions about whether there could be a universal functional architecture for reading across languages. In order to study potential language differences in the neural networks that support reading skill, we collected fMRI data from readers of alphabetic (English) and morpho-syllabic (Chinese) writing systems during two reading tasks. In one, participants read short stories under conditions that approximate natural reading, and in the other, participants decided whether individual stimuli were real words or not. Prior work comparing these two writing systems has overwhelmingly used meta-linguistic tasks, generally supporting the conclusion that the reading system is organized differently for skilled readers of Chinese and English. We observed that language differences in the reading network were greatly dependent on task. In lexical decision, a pattern consistent with prior research was observed in which the Middle Frontal Gyrus (MFG) and right Fusiform Gyrus (rFFG) were more active for Chinese than for English, whereas the posterior temporal sulcus was more active for English than for Chinese. We found a very different pattern of language effects in a naturalistic reading paradigm, during which significant differences were only observed in visual regions not typically considered specific to the reading network, and the middle temporal gyrus, which is thought to be important for direct mapping of orthography to semantics. Indeed, in areas that are often discussed as supporting distinct cognitive or linguistic functions between the two languages, we observed interaction. Specifically, language differences were most pronounced in MFG and rFFG during the lexical decision task, whereas no language differences were observed in these areas during silent reading of text for comprehension.

  2. The Link between Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety, Second Language Tolerance of Ambiguity and Self-Rated English Proficiency among Chinese Learners

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dewaele, Jean-Marc; Ip, Tsui Shan

    2013-01-01

    Previous research has suggested that high levels of Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety (FLCA) have a negative effect on foreign language learning (Horwitz, 2001; Lu & Liu, 2011) while moderate levels of Second Language Tolerance of Ambiguity (SLTA) are believed to boost foreign language learning (Ely, 1995). There is prima facie evidence that…

  3. Using Concept Mapping to Teach Young EFL Learners Reading Skills

    Science.gov (United States)

    Teo, Adeline; Shaw, Yun F.; Chen, Jimmy; Wang, Derek

    2016-01-01

    Many English as a foreign language (EFL) students fail to be effective readers because they lack knowledge of vocabulary and appropriate reading strategies. We believe that teaching proper reading strategies can help second-language learners overcome their reading problems, especially when the instruction begins in elementary school. Effective…

  4. Learning from Expository Text in L2 Reading: Memory for Causal Relations and L2 Reading Proficiency

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hosoda, Masaya

    2017-01-01

    This study explored the relation between second-language (L2) readers' memory for causal relations and their learning outcomes from expository text. Japanese students of English as a foreign language (EFL) with high and low L2 reading proficiency read an expository text. They completed a causal question and a problem-solving test as measures of…

  5. The role of text in teaching foreign languages

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tatyana A. Baranovskaya

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available The research is devoted to a multi-level study of the essence and role of text creation comprehension in teaching a foreign language. Capturing motivational and logical mental structures along with recognising communicative and cognitive aspects of a person's identity in a text are key linguopsychological elements of studying text activities. The scientific value of the research is in specifying the operational approach to describing a concrete level of a person's consciousness, on which cognitive structures acquire language realisation in the process on communication. Existence of a person's concsiousness is considered on three levels of abstracrion within the conscious: sensory field, associative field, motivational field. The contents of a person's language consciousness can be described through its thesaurus and presented as a filter that sifts through incoming meaningful information expressed in the sign form. The process of first language acquisition by a child is closely related to the apprearance of the correlation between dynamic and static systems of sound production (syllable production and articulation. Tranfer to foreign language acquisition will then be connected only with changing the characted of the correlation in each specific case. Foreign language teaching is connected with the learners' using the language skills they already possess. Peculiarity of language consciousness is revealed both when comparing lexical and grammatical categories in several languages, in which the forms of the same category have different meanings, and when comparing a limited set of such linguistic meanings with an unlimited number of linguistic features and relations between the objects.

  6. Inquiring into Culture in our Foreign-Language Classrooms

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Damaris Castro

    2011-06-01

    Full Text Available This article presents some theoretical reflections about the concept of culture and its paramount importance in foreign language classrooms, as a basis for examining curriculum as inquiry, a facilitative tool to incorporate culture in courses in the Bachelor’s degree in the Teaching of English as a Foreign Language at the National University of Costa Rica (UNA. Feasible solutions to common problems that teachers face when trying to incorporate culture in their classrooms, are also discussed.

  7. Foreign language teaching and learning: Challenges and ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    learning and recommends ways in which foreign language students and teachers can exploit the ... languages at university level in the Ugandan context. ... management and catering, the hospitality industry and international relations. .... Especially in the era of globalization, there is an increasing demand for intercultural.

  8. DEVELOPING ONLINE READING SUPPLEMENTARYMATERIALSFOR THE TENTH GRADERS OF SMAN 3 PROBOLINGGO

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Reny Windi Astuti

    2017-04-01

    Full Text Available Reading is very important in learning a foreign language. Reading is also the interaction between reader and text. As the hardest skill for foreign language learners, reading requires rich background and knowledge of the language. Curriculum 2013 strongly suggeststhe teachers and students use textbook which government has developed. The researchers findthat English for the tenth graders does not have adequate reading materials. Based on the need analysis done by the researcher, the teacher has to add some other materials outside of the book to accommodate students in learning reading. Therefore, there should be adequate reading materials for English language learners. The purpose of this research was to develop online reading supplementary material based on curriculum 2013 that could be useful for English teachers. This study was carried toR&D (Research and Development. This paper presented; (1 supplementary materials which could be used by the students through online based, and (2 how to develop online reading supplementary materials. By considering these theories, it is hoped that the teachers and scholars can have theoretical insight in developing online reading supplementary materials.

  9. Language differences in the brain network for reading in naturalistic story reading and lexical decision.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xiaojuan Wang

    Full Text Available Differences in how writing systems represent language raise important questions about whether there could be a universal functional architecture for reading across languages. In order to study potential language differences in the neural networks that support reading skill, we collected fMRI data from readers of alphabetic (English and morpho-syllabic (Chinese writing systems during two reading tasks. In one, participants read short stories under conditions that approximate natural reading, and in the other, participants decided whether individual stimuli were real words or not. Prior work comparing these two writing systems has overwhelmingly used meta-linguistic tasks, generally supporting the conclusion that the reading system is organized differently for skilled readers of Chinese and English. We observed that language differences in the reading network were greatly dependent on task. In lexical decision, a pattern consistent with prior research was observed in which the Middle Frontal Gyrus (MFG and right Fusiform Gyrus (rFFG were more active for Chinese than for English, whereas the posterior temporal sulcus was more active for English than for Chinese. We found a very different pattern of language effects in a naturalistic reading paradigm, during which significant differences were only observed in visual regions not typically considered specific to the reading network, and the middle temporal gyrus, which is thought to be important for direct mapping of orthography to semantics. Indeed, in areas that are often discussed as supporting distinct cognitive or linguistic functions between the two languages, we observed interaction. Specifically, language differences were most pronounced in MFG and rFFG during the lexical decision task, whereas no language differences were observed in these areas during silent reading of text for comprehension.

  10. Perceptions about the Dominance of English as a Global Language: Impact on Foreign-Language Teachers' Professional Identity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gayton, Angela Mary

    2016-01-01

    Using a novel theoretical framework that incorporates teacher identity, a school as community of practice, and English as a global language from a linguistic-imperialism perspective, this qualitative interview study with foreign-language teachers in Scotland, France, and Germany (N = 13) explores connections between foreign-language-learning…

  11. Questions of professional-oriented teaching of foreign language for students of economic specialty

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sibul Victoria Vladimirovna

    2015-03-01

    Full Text Available The article discusses the problem of the content of professional-oriented teaching of a foreign language to students of non-linguistic specialties, which is particularly relevant from the viewpoint of the increasing role of foreign language communication in the professional activity of modern professionals. The purpose of foreign language teaching in non-linguistics universities is to achieve a level that is sufficient for practical use of a foreign language in future career. Thus, if foreign language at linguistic university is a special base, at non-linguistic universities it is an application to general professional knowledge base and skills, so at non-linguistic universities the statement of ultimate goal requires specification. Thus, it is sufficient to consider the contents of foreign language teaching at non-linguistic faculties as the totality of what students should learn in the education process, the quality and level of foreign language should correlate with their needs and goals, as well as the goals and objectives of this level of training. Selection of the content is intended to promote the broad development of the student’s personality, its preparation for future careers.

  12. The necessity of cultural knowledge during the foreign language studies

    OpenAIRE

    Kroteva, Marijana; Mirascieva, Snezana

    2010-01-01

    The aim of this paper is to present the significance and introduction of cultural studies in the curricula for foreign language studies. Although the main focus in the paper is pointed to English as the most dominant language in the world today, the paper is primarily intended and refers to all the languages. Section two consists of the aspects and reasons for the necessity of introducing the cultural studies in the foreign language curricula. Section three is written upon the research result...

  13. Cognitive independence in foreign language learning

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maylín Rodríguez Sánchez

    2015-09-01

    Full Text Available The paper is intended to describe a didactic strategy to contribute to the development of foreign languages course students’ cognitive independence at Camagüey University. In its theoretical conception it is re-defined the concept “cognitive independence”, springing from the context in which the research is carried out, and the distinguishing features that characterize this capacity in students of foreign languages for pedagogical purposes are determined. The strategy comprises four stages: diagnosis, planning, execution, and evaluation. It is included the exemplification of the actions comprised in each stage, as well as the valuation of its effectiveness by means of experts’ opinions. Theoretical and empirical methods were applied, allowing the identification of the scientific problem and the modeling of its solution.

  14. Investigating the Effects of Repeated Reading and NLP : Language Patterns on Reading Rate

    OpenAIRE

    Ben, Backwell; Brian, Cullen

    2018-01-01

    This paper investigates EFL student reading speed and describes a quasi-experimental study that attempted to quantify the effects of repeated reading and the use of NLP language patterns in the instructions. An experimental group (n=30) and a control group (n=30) carried out the same timed reading activity three times each lesson for five lessons. The instructions for the experimental group included NLP language patterns designed to promote faster reading. It was shown that the repeated readi...

  15. Constructing a Voice in English as a Foreign Language: Identity and Engagement

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nasrollahi Shahri, Mohammad Naseh

    2018-01-01

    Situated in an English as a foreign language (EFL) context, this study navigates the intersection of language learner identity and foreign language engagement. Specifically, drawing on the concept of voice (Canagarajah, 2013; Johnstone, 1996; Kramsch, 2003), Bakhtin's (1981) theory of language, and the notion of investment (Darvin & Norton,…

  16. The Impact of Language Experience on Language and Reading: A Statistical Learning Approach

    Science.gov (United States)

    Seidenberg, Mark S.; MacDonald, Maryellen C.

    2018-01-01

    This article reviews the important role of statistical learning for language and reading development. Although statistical learning--the unconscious encoding of patterns in language input--has become widely known as a force in infants' early interpretation of speech, the role of this kind of learning for language and reading comprehension in…

  17. Dictionary Use of Undergraduate Students in Foreign Language Departments in Turkey at Present

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tulgar, Aysegül Takkaç

    2017-01-01

    Foreign language learning has always been a process carried out with the help of dictionaries which are both in target language and from native language to target language/from target language to native language. Dictionary use is an especially delicate issue for students in foreign language departments because students in those departments are…

  18. How mother tongue and the second language interact with acquisition of a foreign language for year six students

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Slåttvik, Anja; Nielsen, Henrik Balle

    This is a presentation of a current study of how teaching of fiction is carried out in the subjectEnglish as a foreign language in year six in two Danish Schools. There is a particular focus on 6multilingual students and their third language acquisition perspective. The aim is to establishknowledge...... on multilingual students’ understanding of material and content in the EFLclassroom and on a long-term basis to focus foreign language teachers’ attention tocircumstances that challenge students learning a foreign language in a multilingualenvironment....

  19. Children's Foreign Language Anxiety Scale: Preliminary Tests of Reliability and Validity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aydin, Selami; Harputlu, Leyla; Güzel, Serhat; Ustuk, Özgehan; Savran Çelik, Seyda; Genç, Deniz

    2016-01-01

    Foreign language anxiety (FLA), which constitutes a serious problem in the foreign language learning process, has been mainly seen as a research issue regarding adult language learners, while it has been overlooked in children. This is because there is no an appropriate tool to measure FLA among children, whereas there are many studies on the…

  20. Psychological Features of Foreign Language Acquisition in Different Age Groups

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    N V Kudinova

    2011-06-01

    Full Text Available The influence of age factor on the foreign language learning is examined in the article from the practical point of view. The specific age features and their influence on the foreign language acquisition at different stages of age are highlighted and analyzed on the basis of psychological research.

  1. The Children's Foreign Language Anxiety Scale: Reliability and Validity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aydin, Selami; Harputlu, Leyla; Ustuk, Özgehan; Güzel, Serhat; Çelik, Seyda Savran

    2017-01-01

    Foreign language anxiety (FLA) has been mainly associated with adult language learners. Although FLA forms a serious problem in the foreign language learning process for all learners, the effects of FLA on children have been mainly overlooked. The underlying reason is that there is a lack of an appropriate measurement tool for FLA among children.…

  2. Language-Related Values, Reading Amount, and Reading Comprehension in Students with Migration Backgrounds

    Science.gov (United States)

    El-Khechen, Wahiba; Ferdinand, Hanna D.; Steinmayr, Ricarda; McElvany, Nele

    2016-01-01

    Background: Although various studies on general language performance have investigated determinants of students' reading comprehension (e.g., reading amount), they have paid insufficient attention to how students perceive parental values influence their language-related values and behaviour--and, as a consequence, their performance. This is…

  3. The Foreign Language Effect on Moral Judgment: The Role of Emotions and Norms.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Geipel, Janet; Hadjichristidis, Constantinos; Surian, Luca

    2015-01-01

    We investigated whether and why the use of a foreign language influences moral judgment. We studied the trolley and footbridge dilemmas, which propose an action that involves killing one individual to save five. In line with prior work, the use of a foreign language increased the endorsement of such consequentialist actions for the footbridge dilemma, but not for the trolley dilemma. But contrary to recent theorizing, this effect was not driven by an attenuation of emotions. An attenuation of emotions was found in both dilemmas, and it did not mediate the foreign language effect on moral judgment. An examination of additional scenarios revealed that foreign language influenced moral judgment when the proposed action involved a social or moral norm violation. We propose that foreign language influences moral judgment by reducing access to normative knowledge.

  4. International Business Culture: Merging Business with Foreign Language Cultural Expertise.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hovsepian, Kristen B.

    This report considers how the different departments of business administration and foreign languages can cooperate to create coursework that will benefit students in both areas of study. The ignorance many U.S. citizens have of the world is taken into consideration. Although foreign language majors have greater exposure to the world, this…

  5. The Importance of Games in Teaching Foreign Languages to Children

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alpar, Melek

    2013-01-01

    In teaching French as a foreign language, there is a constant development from traditional methods to action-oriented approaches. This development has arisen as a result of students' needs and of innovations in technology. Particularly in the last decade, there has been increasing interest in teaching foreign languages to children. Because of…

  6. Foreign Language Anxiety in Turkey: The Role of Multilingualism

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thompson, Amy S.; Khawaja, Anastasia J.

    2016-01-01

    As part of a larger study on individual differences and language learning in Turkey, this study explores the relationship between foreign language anxiety and two operationalisations of multilingualism: any experience with a third language and Perceived Positive Language Interaction; it also illuminates connections among the aforementioned…

  7. Stages of didactic games organizing in junior pupils’ foreign language teaching

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tamara Marchii-Dmytrash

    2017-02-01

    Full Text Available The feasibility of didactic games using as a method of educational activity organizingand learning of a foreign language in primary school in the context of realization theregularity and consistency principle are justified in the article. It is concretized the stages ofdidactic games organizing in foreign language teaching (preparatory, executive, analyticalcorrectiveand the tasks of each of them, and the impact of didactic games on the forming ofjunior pupils’ foreign language knowledge are defined.Key words: didactic game, method, educational activity, primary school, foreignlanguage, junior pupils, stages.

  8. Changing Teacher Roles in the Foreign-Language Classroom.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Johnson, Francis; Delarche, Marion; Marshall, Nicholas; Wurr, Adrian; Edwards, Jeffery

    This paper examines trends reflecting changes in the role of the classroom foreign language teacher, particularly as these trends affect English-as-a-Second-Language instruction. This study is based on relevant literature and research being carried out in the English Language Institute at Kanda University of International Studies (Japan). Past and…

  9. Using reading to teach a world language strategies and activities

    CERN Document Server

    Spangler, Donna

    2015-01-01

    To help your students learn a world language, don't forget the power of reading! In this practical book from Donna Spangler and John Alex Mazzante, you'll gain a variety of strategies and activities that you can use to teach students to read in a world language, boosting their comprehension, vocabulary, and fluency. Perfect for any age or proficiency level, these classroom-ready activities can easily be adapted to suit your needs! Special features: A discussion of the challenges to teaching reading in the world language classroom A variety of adaptable pre-reading, during-reading, and post-reading strategies and activities for students across grade levels and languages Essential tips for cultivating vocabulary, fluency, and comprehension Reader's Theater - a special chapter of strategies for implementing this exciting technique A list of helpful websites and apps for world language teachers Useful appendices, including reproducible material for your classroom Busy world language teachers will love this book's...

  10. Singing can facilitate foreign language learning.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ludke, Karen M; Ferreira, Fernanda; Overy, Katie

    2014-01-01

    This study presents the first experimental evidence that singing can facilitate short-term paired-associate phrase learning in an unfamiliar language (Hungarian). Sixty adult participants were randomly assigned to one of three "listen-and-repeat" learning conditions: speaking, rhythmic speaking, or singing. Participants in the singing condition showed superior overall performance on a collection of Hungarian language tests after a 15-min learning period, as compared with participants in the speaking and rhythmic speaking conditions. This superior performance was statistically significant (p sing" learning method can facilitate verbatim memory for spoken foreign language phrases.

  11. Five hundred years of foreign language teaching in the Netherlands 1450-1950

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Noordegraaf, J.; Vonk, F.

    1993-01-01

    This collection of studies on the history of foreign language teaching was published in 1993. Dutch scholars from different universities outline different traditions in Dutch second language education from 1500 till 1970. The studies deal with different ways of teaching foreign languages and their

  12. Post-Secondary Foreign Language Teachers' Belief Systems about Language Teaching/Learning and Technology/Teaching with Technology

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oda, Kazue

    2011-01-01

    While many studies have demonstrated the advantages of using computer technology in foreign language classrooms, many post-secondary foreign language (FL) teachers still remain reluctant to use technology in instruction. Even when teachers do use technology, critiques have indicated that it is oftentimes used merely to replicate traditional…

  13. The relationship between multiple intelligence profiles and reading strategy use of successful English as a Foreign Language (EFL readers

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Orhan lyitoglu

    2015-05-01

    Full Text Available This study relied on Sheorey and Mokhtari's (2001 metacognitive knowledge about reading strategies,which was influenced by a number of factors, including previous experiences, beliefs, culture-specific instructional practices and proficiency in a second language (L2. This study is thereby built on the premise that EFL readers' metacognitive awareness of reading strategies was also influenced by their multiple intelligence profiles. The purpose of this study is to explore the integrated impact of multiple intelligences and reading strategies on EFL learners' reading performance. This was an explanatory sequential study, combining quantitative and qualitative research design. A convenience sample of 60 high school EFL learners from one of the Anatolian high schools in Istanbul, Turkey participated in this study. Two quantitative surveys and an achievement test, followed by a qualitative observation checklist, were used in this study to collect the data. The results of the study indicated that females were found to be more successful than males in EFL reading in addition to employing more support and problem solving reading strategies. In addition, this study also found that successful readers in EFL seemed to use more global strategies and tended to support reading strategies if they were dominant in musical, intrapersonal intelligences. Moreover, successful musically or verbally intelligent readers were found to use more problem-solving strategies. As a result, this study provides EFL teachers and curriculum designers with valuable information that will foster awareness of the role of these intelligence-strategy relations may play in triggering success in EFL reading, and thus, in their overall proficiency in the language.

  14. Linguadidactic peculiarities of the new teaching complex of the Russian language for foreigners

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Olga V. Shestak

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available The article provides a description of linguamethodic educational complex in Russian for foreigners studying at language courses in the universities of Russia and reached the first level of certification of general proficiency in Russian (B1. The complex consists of a textbook, workbook, containing targets for the grammar, audio and disk videotasks. The authors pay special attention to the methods of training to kinds of speech activity and improve the communicative competence in social and cultural spheres, as well as different techniques of presentation of lexical and grammatical material. Targets set are designed on traditional methods of teaching Russian as a foreign language, and taking into account modern test technologies. The authors used a criterion-oriented tests that are presented in the quest to establish compliance, logical or chronological sequence, as well as jobs of multiple-choice and alternative answers. As part of a school assignment can use a combination of issues related to reading and writing, listening and speaking. The textbook and workbook has available application sheet with keys to tasks. Audio recordings, videos, excerpts from films and photographs used in the performance of tasks are placed on the disk.

  15. Second and foreign language listening: unraveling the construct.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tafaghodtari, Marzieh H; Vandergrift, Larry

    2008-08-01

    Identifying the variables which contribute to second and foreign language (L2) listening ability can provide a better understanding of the listening construct. This study explored the degree to which first language (L1) listening ability, L2 proficiency, motivation and metacognition contribute to L2 listening comprehension. 115 Persian-speaking English as a Foreign Language (EFL) university students completed a motivation questionnaire, the Language Learning Motivation Orientation Scale, a listening questionnaire, the Metacognitive Awareness Listening Questionnaire, and an English-language proficiency measure, as well as listening tests in English and Persian. Scores from all measures were subjected to descriptive, inferential, and correlational analyses. The results support the hypothesis that variability in L2 listening cannot be explained by either L2 proficiency or L1 listening ability; rather, a cluster of variables including L2 proficiency, L1 listening ability, metacognitive knowledge and motivation orientations can better explain variability in L2 listening ability.

  16. Moodle platform as na effective tool in preparing a basic portuguese as a foreign language course

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Eduardo Rodrigues Goes

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available The research, currently in development, proposes to analyze the platform Moodle-Unesp in an online course of Portuguese as a foreign language (PLE. The Moodle platform is a Virtual Learning Environment (AVA that allows, among many actions, the creation and management of courses, feasibility of didactic material and student evaluations. The interaction in the virtual environment can be created by activities proposed by the teacher (administrator using the tools available in the "Activities" and "Resources" fields, available in the platform. Likewise, the association of tools of the "Activities" and "Resources" fields with digital didactic materials and adequate procedures for the teaching of Portuguese as a foreign language (PLE are presented. The results show that the Moodle-Unesp modules allow the insertion of a wide variety of tasks and content in different formats for the development of speech, writing, listening, reading and culture skills, thus demonstrating the effectiveness of the platform in teaching PLE.

  17. The Use of EFL Reading Strategies among High School Students in Taiwan

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Kate Tzu-Ching; Chen, Sabina Chia-Li

    2015-01-01

    In the traditional English l language classroom, reading is the skill that receives the most emphasis (Susser & Rob, 1990). Learners should use reading strategies to plan how to read and to enhance their reading comprehension (Poole, 2010). The purpose of this study was to explore the use of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) reading…

  18. Neurology of Foreign Language Aptitude

    Science.gov (United States)

    Biedron, Adriana

    2015-01-01

    This state-of-the art paper focuses on the poorly explored issue of foreign language aptitude, attempting to present the latest developments in this field and reconceptualizations of the construct from the perspective of neuroscience. In accordance with this goal, it first discusses general directions in neurolinguistic research on foreign…

  19. Thinking in a foreign language, fast and slow

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    Turula Anna

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available Several studies (Keysar et al., 2012; Lazar et al., 2014 suggest that decisions made in a foreign language are more rational. The authors imply that when thinking in a language which is not our native tongue, analytical, slow, deep-thinking is activated. The question that underlies the present article is whether this is a characteristic of every mental operation in the foreign medium. Studies carried out by Costa et al. (2014, Geipel et al. (2015 and Hadjichristidis et al. (2015 suggest the issue is much more complex than it may seem.

  20. New generation - new methods of foreign language teaching

    OpenAIRE

    KAPPAS A.ZH.

    2017-01-01

    Nowadays, there is a need to fit into a world increasingly globalized, in which communication and foreign languages have more importance than some years ago. The English language is the language of international communication. Present day English is the simplest adaptation of a very old language and yet it is still difficult to teach this language effectively, especially to those who speak English as a second or even third language. Teaching only the rules is found to be boring by most studen...

  1. Hidden Language Impairments in Children: Parallels between Poor Reading Comprehension and Specific Language Impairment?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nation, Kate; Clarke, Paula; Marshall, Catherine M.; Durand, Marianne

    2004-01-01

    This study investigates the oral language skills of 8-year-old children with impaired reading comprehension. Despite fluent and accurate reading and normal nonverbal ability, these children are poor at understanding what they have read. Tasks tapping 3 domains of oral language, namely phonology, semantics, and morphosyntax, were administered,…

  2. Mobile technologies in teaching a foreign language to non-linguistic major students

    OpenAIRE

    KAPRANCHIKOVA KSENIYA

    2014-01-01

    The paper addresses methodological potential of mobile technologies in teaching a foreign language to non-linguistic students. The author a) gives definition of the term "mobile education", b) suggests a list of mobile technologies used in foreign language teaching; c) develops a list of non-linguistic major students'' language abilities and language skills, which can be developed via mobile technologies.

  3. Recognizing Visual and Auditory Cues in the Detection of Foreign-Language Anxiety

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gregersen, Tammy

    2009-01-01

    This study examines whether nonverbal visual and/or auditory channels are more effective in detecting foreign-language anxiety. Recent research suggests that language teachers are often able to successfully decode the nonverbal behaviors indicative of foreign-language anxiety; however, relatively little is known about whether visual and/or…

  4. Foreign Language Learners' Views on the Importance of Learning the Target Language Pronunciation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Çakir, Ismail; Baytar, Birtan

    2014-01-01

    Pronunciation is one of the controversial topics in the field of English language teaching as a second or foreign language. The aim of this study is to understand the attitudes of prep class students at Kastamonu University (state university) in Turkey towards the importance of pronunciation in language learning. Therefore, a pronunciation…

  5. The Internet, Language Learning, and International Dialogue: Constructing Online Foreign Language Learning Websites

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kartal, Erdogan; Uzun, Levent

    2010-01-01

    In the present study we call attention to the close connection between languages and globalization, and we also emphasize the importance of the Internet and online websites in foreign language teaching and learning as unavoidable elements of computer assisted language learning (CALL). We prepared a checklist by which we investigated 28 foreign…

  6. An insight into the Northern Irish Troubles in France: Teaching English as a Foreign Language through Gary Mitchell's Loyal Women (2003) along the Common European Framework

    OpenAIRE

    Privas-Bréauté, Virginie

    2014-01-01

    The pedagogical qualities of drama have recently been put to the fore especially when it comes to learning a foreign language. If we read the Common European Framework for language learning carefully, we realize that we may choose a play to facilitate language acquisition, notably at university level, when the bases are supposedly already acquired, when the knowledge of the target language needs to be strengthened. We have chosen to demonstrate that a contemporary play like Gary Mitchell's Lo...

  7. Reading Intervention Using Interactive Metronome in Children with Language and Reading Impairment: A Preliminary Investigation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ritter, Michaela; Colson, Karen A.; Park, Jungjun

    2013-01-01

    This exploratory study examined the effects of Interactive Metronome (IM) when integrated with a traditional language and reading intervention on reading achievement. Forty-nine school-age children with language and reading impairments were assigned randomly to either an experimental group who received the IM treatment or to a control group who…

  8. Effects of reading speed on second-language sentence processing

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Kaan, Edith; Ballantyne, Jocelyn C.; Wijnen, Frank

    2014-01-01

    To test the effects of reading speed on second-language (L2) sentence processing and the potential influence of conflicting native language word order, we compared advanced L2 learners of English with native English speakers on a self-paced reading task. L2 learners read faster overall than native

  9. ICT-supported language learning tools for Chinese as a foreign Language: a content review

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tina Čok

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available The paper presents a meta-analysis of 37 scientific papers dealing with the use and adoption of ICT for learning and teaching Chinese as a foreign language. It has shown that systematic content reviews providing overall insight into the nature and level of development in the field are rare. The author tries to fill this content gap by answering three research questions: 1 What is the overall state of research in the field of ICT-assisted learning of CFL in terms of language teaching methods? 2 Which learning technologies are in use for the specific teaching and learning methods for Chinese as a foreign language? 3 Are some learning technologies used more often for practis ng specific language skills than others?

  10. Dynamic assessment and instructional strategies for learners who struggle to learn a foreign language.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schneider, E; Ganschow, L

    2000-01-01

    In this paper the authors discuss how the concept of dynamic (cognitive) assessment and instruction might relate to the assessment and instruction of at-risk foreign/second language learners. They describe its relevance to a diagnostic/prescriptive approach to instruction for teaching a foreign language to students with identified dyslexia and other at-risk students. They explain how to assess learners' knowledge of the native/foreign/second language through questions and guided discovery. Examples in German and English illustrate its application to foreign/second language instruction.

  11. A statistical analysis of individual success after successful completion of Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center Training

    OpenAIRE

    Hinson, William B.

    2005-01-01

    "The Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center (DLIFLC) trains students in various foreign languages and dialects for the Department of Defense (DOD). The majority of students are firstterm enlistees in the basic program. This study uses classification trees and logistic regression to understand the military, academic and personal characteristics that influence first-term success after successfully completing DLIFLC training. Success was defined as completing a firstterm enlistme...

  12. Annotated Bibliography of Materials for Elementary Foreign Language Programs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dobb, Fred

    An annotated bibliography contains about 70 citations of instructional materials and materials concerning curriculum development for elementary school foreign language programs. Citations are included for Arabic, classical languages, French, German, Hebrew, Italian, Japanese, and Spanish. Items on exploratory language courses and general works on…

  13. Reading the World's Classics Critically: A Keyword-Based Approach to Literary Analysis in Foreign Language Studies

    Science.gov (United States)

    García, Nuria Alonso; Caplan, Alison

    2014-01-01

    While there are a number of important critical pedagogies being proposed in the field of foreign language study, more attention should be given to providing concrete examples of how to apply these ideas in the classroom. This article offers a new approach to the textual analysis of literary classics through the keyword-based methodology originally…

  14. Project LINC: Supporting Lecturers and Adjunct Instructors in Foreign Language Classrooms

    Science.gov (United States)

    Scott, Sally S.; Edwards, Wade

    2012-01-01

    Foreign language learning can pose a barrier to some students with disabilities. This practice brief describes a collaborative process used on one campus to provide professional development for foreign language instructors. Training opportunities were intentionally focused on the needs of adjunct and temporary lecturers in providing inclusive…

  15. Learning to read words in a new language shapes the neural organization of the prior languages.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mei, Leilei; Xue, Gui; Lu, Zhong-Lin; Chen, Chuansheng; Zhang, Mingxia; He, Qinghua; Wei, Miao; Dong, Qi

    2014-12-01

    Learning a new language entails interactions with one׳s prior language(s). Much research has shown how native language affects the cognitive and neural mechanisms of a new language, but little is known about whether and how learning a new language shapes the neural mechanisms of prior language(s). In two experiments in the current study, we used an artificial language training paradigm in combination with an fMRI to examine (1) the effects of different linguistic components (phonology and semantics) of a new language on the neural process of prior languages (i.e., native and second languages), and (2) whether such effects were modulated by the proficiency level in the new language. Results of Experiment 1 showed that when the training in a new language involved semantics (as opposed to only visual forms and phonology), neural activity during word reading in the native language (Chinese) was reduced in several reading-related regions, including the left pars opercularis, pars triangularis, bilateral inferior temporal gyrus, fusiform gyrus, and inferior occipital gyrus. Results of Experiment 2 replicated the results of Experiment 1 and further found that semantic training also affected neural activity during word reading in the subjects׳ second language (English). Furthermore, we found that the effects of the new language were modulated by the subjects׳ proficiency level in the new language. These results provide critical imaging evidence for the influence of learning to read words in a new language on word reading in native and second languages. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  16. The Impact of Online Autonomous Learning on EFL Students' Reading Skills

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shang, Hui-Fang; Chen, Yen-Yu

    2018-01-01

    With the rapid growth of technology, many language acquisition approaches have been added to computer-assisted language learning applications. Thus, this study investigated the impact of online autonomous learning on English as a Foreign Language (EFL) students' reading ability. Sixty-five students from two reading classes at One University in…

  17. The link between Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety, Second Language Tolerance of Ambiguity and Self-rated English proficiency among Chinese learners

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jean-Marc Dewaele

    2013-10-01

    Full Text Available Previous research has suggested that high levels of Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety (FLCA have a negative effect on foreign language learning (Horwitz, 2001; Lu & Liu, 2011 while moderate levels of Second Language Tolerance of Ambiguity (SLTA are believed to boost foreign language learning (Ely, 1995. There is prima facie evidence that both dimensions are inversely related as Foreign Language Learning contexts are full of ambiguities which may contribute to anxiety. However, the relationship between FLCA and SLTA has been under-researched. The present study is an attempt to fill this gap by investigating the link between SLTA and FLCA in English of 73 secondary school students in Hong Kong. They filled out an online questionnaire consisting of the Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (Horwitz, Horwitz, & Cope, 1986 and the Second Language Tolerance of Ambiguity Scale (Ely, 1995. Statistical analyses revealed that FLCA, SLTA and Self-rated English proficiency predict half of the variance in each other; in other words, students who were more tolerant of second language ambiguity were less anxious in their EFL classes and they also felt more proficient.

  18. Usability of English Note-Taking Applications in a Foreign Language Learning Context

    Science.gov (United States)

    Roy, Debopriyo; Brine, John; Murasawa, Fuyuki

    2016-01-01

    The act of note-taking offloads cognitive pressure and note-taking applications could be used as an important tool for foreign language acquisition. Its use, importance, and efficacy in a foreign language learning context could be justifiably debated. However, existing computer-assisted language learning literature is almost silent on the topic.…

  19. Transition in Modern Foreign Languages: A Longitudinal Study of Motivation for Language Learning and Second Language Proficiency

    Science.gov (United States)

    Courtney, Louise

    2017-01-01

    The current longitudinal study examines the similarities and differences between primary and secondary foreign language curricula and pedagogy along with the development of motivation for language learning and second language proficiency. Data from 26 English learners of French (aged 10-11) were collected across three times points over a 12-month…

  20. Comorbidity of Auditory Processing, Language, and Reading Disorders

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sharma, Mridula; Purdy, Suzanne C.; Kelly, Andrea S.

    2009-01-01

    Purpose: The authors assessed comorbidity of auditory processing disorder (APD), language impairment (LI), and reading disorder (RD) in school-age children. Method: Children (N = 68) with suspected APD and nonverbal IQ standard scores of 80 or more were assessed using auditory, language, reading, attention, and memory measures. Auditory processing…

  1. THE SECONDARY SCHOOL ENGLISH LANGUAGE READING CURRICULUM: A TEACHER’S PERCEPTIONS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hazlina Abdullah

    2016-08-01

    Abstract The Secondary School English Language Reading Curriculum: A teacher’s Perceptions. The problem of reading comprehension is not unique to only Malaysian graduates. In fact many students experience comprehension difficulties. This, some sudents need explicit comprehension strategy instruction. A rational starting point for this discussion is by defining what reading is. It is then followed by a brief review on Communicative Language Teaching (CLT which is adopted in the Malaysian Form 5 English Language Reading Curriculum. Involving the writer, the reader and the text, reading is actually a communication process where a reader is seen to perform an active role in a reading process. Based on the many previous researches, it is obvious that the teacher’s role in aiding students’ reading comprehension skills is vital. This also reflects the importance of the reading curriculum, as teachers will impkement their reading instruction based on the outlined curriculum. It is hoped that this study may benefit those involved in the curriulum development and examination syndicate, to enhance the teaching and learning processes of reading in the second language, not only among teachers in Malaysia but also world-wide. Keywords: English language Reading Curriculum, reading comprehension skill

  2. Foreign Language Training in the United States Peace Corps.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kulakow, Allan

    This document reports on the foreign language training offered in the Peace Corps. Following a brief introductory statement, a list of languages taught by the Peace Corps in the years 1961-67 is provided, as well as a brief description of Peace Corps language training methods. Guidelines for language coordinators are outlined, and the approach to…

  3. An Alternative to Language Learner Dependence on L2 Caption-Reading Input for Comprehension of Sitcoms in a Multimedia Learning Environment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, C.-H.

    2014-01-01

    Most second/foreign language (L2) learners have difficulty understanding listening input because of its implicit and ephemeral nature, and they typically have better reading comprehension than listening comprehension skills. This study examines the effects of using an interactive advance-organizer activity on the DVD video comprehension of L2…

  4. TEACHING DIALOGUES IN THE PROCESS OF PROFESSIONALLY ORIENTED AND FOREIGN LANGUAGE EDUCATION

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zvyagintseva Elena Petrovna

    2013-05-01

    Full Text Available The article is devoted to the problems in acquisition of speaking skills among students in such a subject as Foreign Language basing on the technologies used at the university of economics. Relying on theoretical knowledge the authors describe different forms of teaching dialogues (e.g. role plays, discussions, brainstorming, case-study, situational tasks, conferences, etc.. Basing on empirical research the authors prove that using these teaching technologies helps student to reach significant progress in learning foreign languages. The research results are being introduced in the teaching methods of English language at Finance University under the Government of the Russian Federation (Moscow. They may also be used in teaching other foreign languages demanded among financiers and economists to be. As a result utilization of these methods in teaching dialogues can help to prepare the competitive specialists for Russian industries, to develop cooperation and collaboration among students, to motivate them for foreign language studying, to create the skills of critical thinking and social behaviour.

  5. A Case for Improved Reading Instruction for Academic English Reading Proficiency

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Glenn Ole Hellekjær

    2008-06-01

    Full Text Available This article presents a study of the academic reading proficiency in English of 217 senior level Norwegian upper secondary school students who upon graduation are considered qualified for higher education. Testing with an International English Language Testing System (IELTS Academic Reading Module revealed that two thirds of the 178 respondents with ordinary EFL courses did not achieve the equivalent of the IELTS Band 6 score minimum that is usually required for admission to British and Australian universities. In comparison, two thirds of a sample of 39 respondents with a single, sheltered Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL subject achieved a Band 6 score or better. Closer analysis indicates that the poor test scores can be attributed to weaknesses in current English as a Foreign Language (EFL instruction where reading is neglected, where students do not learn to adjust how they read to reading purpose, and where they do not learn how to handle unfamiliar words to avoid disrupting the reading process. The article ends with suggestions on how to improve EFL instruction, in Norway and elsewhere.

  6. Chilean 12th graders’ Attitudes towards English as a Foreign Language

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Eric Gómez Burgos

    2015-10-01

    Full Text Available This article aims to provide the results of a research focusing on 12th graders’ attitudes towards English as a Foreign Language in two secondary schools in Puerto Montt, Chile. Attitude towards a language has been considered as an important factor that influences the process of learning a foreign language (Shams, 2008; for this reason, it is fundamental to identify students’ attitudes since positive attitudes towards English allow the students to have favourable orientation towards learning it (Karahan, 2007. Under this premise, this study corresponds to a case study that includes a quantitative method of data analysis. A survey of five dimensions was conducted amongst 154 students in order to measure their attitudes towards the target language. The results show that their attitudes towards English as a foreign language are favourable; however, the dimensions related to learning English, and English as a subject at school obtained unfavourable attitudes.

  7. Increased Stroop interference with better second-language reading skill.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Braet, Wouter; Noppe, Nele; Wagemans, Johan; Op de Beeck, Hans

    2011-03-01

    Skilled readers demonstrate remarkable efficiency in processing written words, unlike beginning readers for whom reading occurs more serially and places higher demands on visual attention. In the present study, we used the Stroop paradigm to investigate the relationship between reading skill and automaticity, in individuals learning a second language with a different orthographic system. Prior studies using this paradigm have presented a mixed picture, finding a positive, a negative, or no relationship between the size of Stroop interference and reading skills. Our results show that Stroop interference in the second language was positively related to reading skill (when controlled for interference in the first language). Furthermore, interference was positively related to objective but not subjective indices of the amount of exposure to the second language. We suggest that the lack of consistency in the results of earlier studies may be due, at least in part, to these studies looking at Stroop interference in isolation, rather than comparing interference between languages.

  8. The Future of Foreign Language Instructional Technology: BYOD MALL

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jack Burston

    2016-05-01

    Full Text Available This paper describes trends in instructional technology that are influencing foreign language teaching today and that can be expected to increasingly do so in the future. Though already an integral part of foreign language instruction, digital technology is bound to play an increasing role in language teaching in the coming years. The greatest stimulus for this will undoubtedly be the accessibility of Mobile-Assisted Language Learning (MALL, made possible through the exploitation of mobile devices owned by students themselves. The ubiquitous ownership of smartphones and tablet computers among adolescents and adults now makes a Bring Your Own Device (BYOD approach a feasible alternative to desktop computer labs. Making this work, however, especially in a financially and technologically restricted environment, presents a number of challenges which are the focus of this paper.

  9. Listening as a Method of Learning a Foreign Language at the Non-Language Faculty of the University

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kondrateva, Irina G.; Safina, Minnisa S.; Valeev, Agzam A.

    2016-01-01

    Learning a foreign language is becoming an increasingly important with Russia's integration into the world community. In this regard, increased requirements for the educational process and the development of new innovative teaching methods meet the requirements of the time. One of the important aspects of learning a foreign language is listening…

  10. Word reading skill predicts anticipation of upcoming spoken language input: a study of children developing proficiency in reading.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mani, Nivedita; Huettig, Falk

    2014-10-01

    Despite the efficiency with which language users typically process spoken language, a growing body of research finds substantial individual differences in both the speed and accuracy of spoken language processing potentially attributable to participants' literacy skills. Against this background, the current study took a look at the role of word reading skill in listeners' anticipation of upcoming spoken language input in children at the cusp of learning to read; if reading skills affect predictive language processing, then children at this stage of literacy acquisition should be most susceptible to the effects of reading skills on spoken language processing. We tested 8-year-olds on their prediction of upcoming spoken language input in an eye-tracking task. Although children, like in previous studies to date, were successfully able to anticipate upcoming spoken language input, there was a strong positive correlation between children's word reading skills (but not their pseudo-word reading and meta-phonological awareness or their spoken word recognition skills) and their prediction skills. We suggest that these findings are most compatible with the notion that the process of learning orthographic representations during reading acquisition sharpens pre-existing lexical representations, which in turn also supports anticipation of upcoming spoken words. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  11. Adult Learners' Perceptions of the Significance of Culture in Foreign Language Teaching and Learning

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brooks-Lewis, Kimberly Anne

    2014-01-01

    Is learning about culture important when learning a foreign language? One would think that after its long history in the field of foreign language teaching this question had been answered with a resounding "yes". However, I saw little evidence of this in the classroom when I returned to the university to learn a foreign language or when…

  12. The Future of Foreign Language Teaching on the North American Continent.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bouton, Charles P.

    Following a brief review of the history of interest in foreign languages in America, facts to be considered when interpreting falling enrollment statistics, such as a drop in the birth rate, are discussed. It is stressed that foreign language teaching cannot be neglected in a world having improved and extensive communication between people…

  13. Pedagogical Conditions of Multilevel Foreign Languages Teaching in Pedagogical Higher Education

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kadakin, Vasily V.; Shukshina, Tatiana I.; Piskunova, Svetlana I.; Babushkina, Larisa E.; Falileev, Alexander E.

    2016-01-01

    This article is devoted to pedagogical conditions of multilevel foreign languages teaching in pedagogical higher education. The purpose of the study is to form the students' skills in foreign language mastering, to form the ability to operate independently and autonomously in this activity, both in the specific learning situation, and in the…

  14. TEACHING ENGLISH AS A FOREIGN LANGUAGE IN INDONESIA: A LITERATURE REVIEW

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dewa Komang Tantra

    2015-05-01

    Full Text Available This article aims to describe and overview the existence of teaching English in Indonesia. English as a Foreign language gives different impressions from the other status, as L1 or L2. The materials were collected through reading, comprehending a number of references related to teaching, mastering English. The review was descriptively done and the result showed that the success of teaching English depends upon internal and external factors, namely: (1 verbal, numerical and reasoning abilities, (2 motivation, attitude, interest, aptitude, self esteem, perception and memory, (3 curriculum, personal and interpersonal interactions, (4 ability to adverse weakness into strength and constraint into opportunity, (5 spatial and socio-emotional setting, participant, end, act, channel, intention, norm and genre, (6 practice, enthusiasm and learning styles.

  15. Language and Content in the Modern Foreign Languages Degree: A Students' Perspective

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gieve, Simon; Cunico, Sonia

    2012-01-01

    This paper reports on a small-scale qualitative study of students' experience of their Modern Foreign Languages (MFL) degrees with particular regard to the relationship between language and content learning. It is framed by the identification in the recent Worton Report on MFL studies in UK higher education and elsewhere of a dualism between…

  16. Intermediate-Level Foreign Language Courses for BBA Students.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ortuno, Manuel J.; Uber, David M.

    Following the early success of its inclusion of languages in the master's-level business administration curriculum, Baylor University began to emphasize foreign language study more heavily in its undergraduate business administration program. The revised program, to be fully implemented in 1989, encourages students to choose 11 hours of language…

  17. Modeling of Future Initial Teacher of Foreign Language Training, Using Situation Analysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maryana М. Sidun

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available The article discloses the content of modeling of future initial teacher of foreign language, using situation analysis, defines the stages of modeling during the professional competence formation of future teacher of foreign language: preparatory, analytical and executive.

  18. Reading Interventions to Support English Language Learners

    Science.gov (United States)

    Corella, Jolene

    2012-01-01

    High stakes assessments conducted in the southwestern United States demonstrate that fewer than 50% of English language learners (ELLs) are achieving proficiency levels in reading fluency. The purpose of this study was to understand if reading interventions using the framework of Samuels's repeated reading (RR) strategy increased student…

  19. Teachers’ competences in the foreign language teaching/learning process

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Douglas Altamiro Consolo

    2012-10-01

    Full Text Available In this article we discuss competences demanded from the foreign language teacher for him or her to perform in the teaching-learning process efficiently. Our reflections are based mainly on Paulo Freire (2001, Philippe Perrenoud (2000, Edgar Morin (2003, Maurice Tardif (2002 and Almeida Filho (1999, providing, in this way, a reflective dialogue among studies that focus on teachers’ competences. The main objective is a better understanding of the necessary knowledge about teaching practices so that foreign language teachers’ actions can meet the needs of education at present. We expect to highlight important issues in the development of the aforementioned competences, and suggest that their development can contribute for better language teaching.

  20. Age, Gender and Grade Effect on Foreign Language Anxiety among Children

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aydin, Selami; Harputlu, Leyla; Çelik, Seyda Savran; Ustuk, Özgehan; Güzel, Serhat

    2017-01-01

    The number of studies on the relationship between certain demographic variables, age, gender and grade, and the levels of foreign language anxiety (FLA) in the English as a foreign language (EFL) context regarding adult and young learners is fairly limited, whereas the findings obtained from prior studies did not reach a consensus on the…

  1. Mass Media as a Remedy for Poverty of the Stimulus in the Foreign Language Context

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Samaneh Tarighat

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available The present study is intended to determine how extensive exposure to target language mass media can affect foreign language learning and the poverty of the stimulus problem in the foreign language context. For this purpose, an EFL learner was studied for the period of one month and was asked to have extensive exposure to English language mass media only. The case was also asked to record her experience in a journal on a daily basis. The results indicated tangible improvement in her English speaking, listening, pronunciation and vocabulary but hardly any improvement on her English writing. A more profound impact was reported on the subject’s four-year-old son who was not initially the focus of this study. The results suggest that considering the authentic, lengthy language input it provides, foreign language mass media can compensate for the problem of poverty of the stimulus in foreign language learning. It is concluded that formal language instruction and exposure to foreign language mass media outside the class can complement one another and promote foreign language learning on the whole. It is also evident that the impact of extensive language input varies with the age of the language learner, with young learners bearing more influence than adult learners as the effects of the critical period hypothesis.

  2. Teaching Strategies to Develop Inquiry and Literacy Skills: "Languaging" in Foreign Language Immersion Education

    Science.gov (United States)

    Husbye, Nicholas; Dorner, Lisa M.

    2017-01-01

    One-way, or foreign language, immersion schools face unique challenges as they seek to support the literacy development of their students. This manuscript draws on sociocultural theories of literacy development and the concept of languaging, the process of using language to make meaning. Working with two classrooms over one semester, we asked:…

  3. The Development of Students’ Cognitive Self-Study While Teaching Reading in FL Training

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Natalia S. Andrianova

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available In the informational society while teaching foreign languages the development of students’ skills aimed at searching, analyzing, critical thinking, processing and using the obtained information in the productive speech activity is in demand. In this context, the problem of students’ cognitive self-study development, aimed at “revealing” knowledge while reading, is becoming increasingly important as reading while teaching foreign languages not only contributes to self-development and self-reflection, but also to the formation of a cross-cultural and linguistic personality, which is a priority of linguistic education. The solution of the above-mentioned problems has defined the aim of our research: it is the development and implementation of technologies for optimizing students’ self-study in teaching reading. In the course of our experimental work the implementation of the principle of multi-level approach in the form of five interrelated elements in teaching reading – from the level of mastering reading techniques to the level of critical reading and stylistic comprehension reading – contributed to the ultimate development and improvement of students’ constructive-creative self-study. During the experimental work while testing the effectiveness of our methods of cognitive-practical activities, we concluded that in the process of teaching foreign languages, these methods are an effective way of teaching reading, activating students’ self-study, forming linguistic creativity, which manifests itself in the ability to produce oral and written discourses based on the creative potential development of a linguistic personality. The results obtained in the experiment can be used in educational process while creating and implementing the algorithm of organizing students’ self-study while teaching foreign languages.

  4. SOME ASPECTS OF ADVANCED FOREIGN LANGUAGE TRAINING OF STUDENTS OF NON-SPECIAL DEPARTMENTS AT HIGH SCHOOLS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Andrij Turchyn

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available The problem of modernization of non-special departments students’ foreign language training at Ukrainian high schools has been actualized. The author has defined the basic reasons for the failing of foreign language training as follows: restricted number of foreign language classes at non-special departments; violation of the principle of continuity of foreign language training in the hierarchy “secondary school – high school”; lack of motivation. It has been proved that among the primary tasks that need solving are the following: increasing of the course scope; revision of the organization, structure and content of the foreign language training, improving students’ motivation. The necessity to perform foreign language teaching within two training courses has been substantiated: for the students studying for their Bachelor’s Degree this is the standard (during I–III academic years and advanced (during III–IV academic years as an elective component of the curriculum, as well as for the students studying for the Master’s Degree. The necessity to seek foreign experience in level-based teaching of foreign languages and differentiate the standard course of a foreign language into the elementary and basic levels; to introduce the course “Foreign Language for Beginners” as an additional educational service for alignment, adjustment and development of foreign language knowledge and skills of students at high schools has been justified. The possibility to tackle the problem of students’ motivation improving is linked to a comprehensive approach that provides for the most effective education, development and implementation of a special system of training tasks; formation of social behaviour of collaboration and communication; improvement and modernization of teaching methods; implementation of existing pedagogical innovations (independent learning and metalearning, massive open social learning, „blended” learning, „Bring your

  5. The Interesting Teaching and Learning of Malay Language to Foreign Speakers: Language through Cultures

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mazlina Baharudin

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available The interesting teaching and learning of Malay languages is a challenging effort and need a relevant plan to the students’ needs especially for the foreign students who already have the basic Indonesian Malay language variation that they have learned for four semesters in their own country, Germany. Therefore, the variety of teaching and learning strategies should be considered by the teachers to make teaching and learning become interesting, effective and not boring. Basic effectiveness of a language program was the factors of socio-culture, the style of teaching and learning, the students, and the characteristics of the program. This paper however focused on the socio-cultural factors (learning of cultures and the activities program that enable to generate excitement and effectiveness in the teaching and learning of Malay language as a foreign language. In the teaching and learning process found that the more we gave the activities to the students, the more the students acquired the meaning of the lessons. In this study, the selected respondents were the two groups of students from TWG, Konstanz, Germany who have followed the Malay Language and Culture Program in the Languages, Literacies and Translation Center, University of Sains Malaysia, Penang, in 2011. The first group was started in March to June, and the second group in September to November. The research was based on formal and informal observations and interviews. This paper also discussed about the outdoor activities program used as curriculum in the teaching and learning process that gives an interesting environment to foreign students

  6. Perceptions of EFL Students toward Academic Reading

    Science.gov (United States)

    Akarsu, Oktay; Harputlu, Leyla

    2014-01-01

    In this study, data were collected using a modified version of Mokhtari and Sheorey's (2002) Survey of Reading Strategies (SORS). Results suggest that Turkish EFL (English as a Foreign Language) students at the graduate level, while engaged in academic reading, are aware of almost all effective reading strategies, though each one is not used…

  7. Davies, Florence (1995. Introducing Reading. Davies, Florence (1995. Introducing Reading.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sonia Maria Gomes Ferreira

    2008-04-01

    Full Text Available Arising at a time of unprecedented growth of interest in fostering critical thinking, Introducing Reading offers a clear introduction and thorough account of contemporary developments in the field of reading. While overtly focusing on the special demands of social and human aspects of the reading practice, the issues raised have crucial resonance in the sphere of critical reading. Explicitly addressed to teachers of mother tongue and foreign language contexts, the book claims to elaborate on aspects of reading which have received meager attention to date: individual readers engaged in different real-world reading tasks, the social contexts where such readers engage and interact with texts, and the nature and variety of texts, here regarded as “participants” in the interaction between reader and writer. To this extent, the book successfully reaches the ambitious aim of “socializing and humanizing reading and the teaching of reading” (p. xi. Arising at a time of unprecedented growth of interest in fostering critical thinking, Introducing Reading offers a clear introduction and thorough account of contemporary developments in the field of reading. While overtly focusing on the special demands of social and human aspects of the reading practice, the issues raised have crucial resonance in the sphere of critical reading. Explicitly addressed to teachers of mother tongue and foreign language contexts, the book claims to elaborate on aspects of reading which have received meager attention to date: individual readers engaged in different real-world reading tasks, the social contexts where such readers engage and interact with texts, and the nature and variety of texts, here regarded as “participants” in the interaction between reader and writer. To this extent, the book successfully reaches the ambitious aim of “socializing and humanizing reading and the teaching of reading” (p. xi.

  8. Language learning strategy research and modern foreign language teaching and learning in England

    OpenAIRE

    Grenfell, Michael

    2005-01-01

    This paper addresses language learner strategy research. It arises from two sources: firstly, an individual background in research and writing about Language Learning Strategy research in the context of Modern Foreign Language Learning and Teaching in the UK over the past decades; secondly, a newly constituted British based interest group dedicated to this area of applied linguistics - UK Project on Language Learner Strategies (UKPOLLS). The aim of this SIG paper is to introduce and present t...

  9. National Language Policy and Its Impacts on Second Language Reading Culture

    Science.gov (United States)

    Azmi, Mohd Nazri Latiff

    2013-01-01

    This research concentrates on Malaysian language policy and its impacts on the development of English language (regarded as a second language in Malaysia) specifically on reading culture. The main objectives of this research are to investigate the weaknesses and strengths of the policy and also to come out with recommendations to improve the…

  10. Example sentences in bilingual specialised dictionaries assisting communication in a foreign language

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nielsen, Sandro

    2014-01-01

    production process reveal that this also includes grammar, language conventions, genre conventions and style. Specialists can be expected to know conventions and style in their own source language culture but cannot be expected to know how these are realised in a foreign language. Bilingual specialised...... dictionaries can help users if they contain domain-specific example sentences illustrating how source language convention and style can be transposed to a foreign language. This means that bilingual specialised dictionaries should not merely help users translate terms but be lexicographical tools designed...

  11. The method of global learning in teaching foreign languages

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tatjana Dragovič

    2001-12-01

    Full Text Available The authors describe the method of global learning of foreign languages, which is based on the principles of neurolinguistic programming (NLP. According to this theory, the educator should use the method of the so-called periphery learning, where students learn relaxation techniques and at the same time they »incidentally « or subconsciously learn a foreign language. The method of global learning imitates successful strategies of learning in early childhood and therefore creates a relaxed attitude towards learning. Global learning is also compared with standard methods.

  12. Middle School Foreign Language Instruction: A Missed Opportunity?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kissau, Scott; Adams, Mary Jo; Algozzine, Bob

    2015-01-01

    Multiple studies conducted over the past decade have suggested the motivational and proficiency-related benefits of commencing language instruction at an early age. Limitations in many of these studies, however, have prevented their results from being applied to the teaching of foreign languages in the United States. In response to calls for…

  13. Understanding of Foreign Language Learning of Generation Y

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bozavli, Ebubekir

    2016-01-01

    Different generations are constituted depending on social changes and they are designed sociologically as traditional, baby boomer, X, Y and Z. Many studies have been reported on understanding of foreign language learning generation Y. This study aims to realise the gap in and contribute to the research on language learning understanding of…

  14. Modern Approaches to Foreign Language Teaching: World Experience

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shumskyi, Oleksandr

    2016-01-01

    The problem of applying communicative approach to foreign language teaching of students in non-language departments of higher education institutions in a number of countries has been analyzed in the paper. The brief overview of main historic milestones in the development of communicative approach has been presented. It has been found out that…

  15. The influence of the age of acquisition of a foreign language on the activation patterns of language areas

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bryll, A.; Urbanik, A.; Herman-Sucharska, I.; Podsiadlo, L.; Binder, M.

    2009-01-01

    Background: The of aim of the present study was to evaluate the influence of the acquisition age of the second language on activation patterns of language areas. Material/Methods: Forty volunteers participated in the study (20 females and 20 males). Their age ranged from 18 to 40 years. A mean age was 28 years. All participants had possessed a high proficiency of the acquired foreign language. They were divided into two groups, according to the age of the foreign language acquisition. The participants who acquired the second language before puberty, were qualified to the early acquisition group. The remaining participants were qualified to the late acquisition group. The second criterion was the level of the acquired, foreign language. Proficiency in using the language was assessed by a teacher. Block design method was used in the performed experiment. The experimental task was speech production in the form of voiceless sentences, the control task was silence. Each experimental session consisted of five 30-second alternating blocks. Every volunteer participated in two sessions, where she/he described his house without the use of voice. One session applied the native language, L1, and the other one the foreign language, L2. The experiment was performed using MR Signa Horizon system (GE Medical Systems, USA) with 1.5 T magnetic field strength. Functional images were obtained using the echoplanar sequence (EPI) that applies spin echo and is sensitive to the changes of the BOLD (Blood Oxygenation Level Dependent signal) signal having the following parameters: TR = 3000 ms, TE = 60 ms, flip angle 90 0 , FOV = 28 x 21 cm, matrix 96 x 96 pixels, 1 NEX. Functional data analysis was performed using SPM2 software (Wellcome Department of Cognitive Neurology, Great Britain). Results: In EA and LA groups, the cortex activation was not more intense in patients speaking their native language, as compared to the foreign language. In the LA group, left inferior frontal gyrus (pars

  16. Foreign language as a tool for professional mobility development for students specialising in economics

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Polenova Anna, YU.

    2015-03-01

    Full Text Available The paper considers the practical aspects of professional mobility development for students specializing in Economics by means of foreign language. It is noted that the potential of a foreign language is not used in full since training in this discipline is delivered separately with the development of professional competence of the future expert. The article analyzes the existing experience of teaching English at non- linguistic faculties using CLIL (Content and Language Integrated Learning approach. The article suggests the ways of professional mobility development by means of foreign language. It discusses the advantages of innovative teaching, which is aimed at meeting the professional and educational needs of students, the development of professional mobility and creative thinking. It is concluded that studying a foreign language and non-language subject at the same time is an additional means to achieve high educational outcomes.

  17. Impact of family language and testing language on reading performance in a bilingual educational context.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Elosua Oliden, Paula; Mujika Lizaso, Josu

    2014-01-01

    When different languages co-exist in one area, or when one person speaks more than one language, the impact of language on psychological and educational assessment processes can be considerable. The aim of this work was to study the impact of testing language in a community with two official languages: Spanish and Basque. By taking the PISA 2009 Reading Comprehension Test as a basis for analysis, four linguistic groups were defined according to the language spoken at home and the test language. Psychometric equivalence between test forms and differences in results among the four language groups were analyzed. The comparison of competence means took into account the effects of the index of socioeconomic and cultural status (ISEC) and gender. One reading unit with differential item functioning was detected. The reading competence means were considerably higher in the monolingual Spanish-Spanish group. No differences were found between the language groups based on family language when the test was conducted in Basque. The study illustrates the importance of taking into account psychometric, linguistic and sociolinguistic factors in linguistically diverse assessment contexts.

  18. Learning theories in computer-assisted foreign language acquisition

    OpenAIRE

    Baeva, D.

    2013-01-01

    This paper reviews the learning theories, focusing to the strong interest in technology use for language learning. It is important to look at how technology has been used in the field thus far. The goals of this review are to understand how computers have been used in the past years to support foreign language learning, and to explore any research evidence with regards to how computer technology can enhance language skills acquisition

  19. The Effectiveness of Dialogic Reading in Increasing English Language Learning Preschool Children's Expressive Language

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brannon, Diana; Dauksas, Linda

    2014-01-01

    The effectiveness of dialogic reading in increasing the literacy interactions between English language learning parents (ELL) and their preschool aged children and children's expressive language development were studied. Twenty-one ELL parents of preschool aged children received dialogic reading training every other week for a ten-week period.…

  20. On Babies and Bathwater: Input in Foreign Language Learning.

    Science.gov (United States)

    VanPatten, Bill

    1987-01-01

    A discussion of Krashen's monitor theory and its applications to foreign language teaching includes consideration of the very important role input plays in language development and examination of the relationship between the development of grammatical competence and traditional instruction in grammar. (CB)

  1. Possible Effects of Strategy Instruction on L1 and L2 Reading.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Salataci, Reyhan; Akyel, Ayse

    2002-01-01

    Investigates the reading strategies of Turkish English-as-a-Foreign-Language (EFL) students in Turkish and English and the possible effects of reading instruction on reading in Turkish and English. Addresses whether strategy instruction in EFL reading effects EFL reading strategies and reading comprehension in English , and whether strategy…

  2. Nociones de la programacion de lenguas extranjeras (Ensayo metodologico) (Programming Foreign Languages [A Methodological Study])

    Science.gov (United States)

    Feldman, David

    1975-01-01

    Stresses the importance of language laboratories and other technical devices used in foreign language teaching, particularly in programed language instruction. Illustrates, by means of taxonomies, the various stages a foreign language learning program should follow. (Text is in Spanish.) (DS)

  3. SOME ASPECTS OF FOREIGN LANGUAGE COMPETENCE DEVELOPMENT IN THE SYSTEM OF CONTINUED PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A. G. Gorbunov

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Introduction. The system of continued professional education in modern Russia is aimed at raising the level of professional workers’ ability for competition at the global vocational market. Among the most required competences we put an emphasis on the ability for efficient communication in the native and foreign languages pursuing social, cultural and professional interaction. The practical experience proves that students of various courses of study within the system of continued professional education have difficulties while communicating in a foreign language because of a low level of their foreign language communication competence that is based on ability for decoding and producing a discourse. Aim. The article considers the factors to develop students’ ability for decoding and producing a discourse in the format of reflexive positional discussion. Methodology and research methods. Development of the advanced and high level of foreign language competence is possible via introduction of institutional discursive practices into the educational process. Development of foreign language competence in the system of continued professional education is being discussed from the point of synergy of pedagogical science and applied linguistics. System-synergetic, communicative-activity, discursive and technological approaches have been chosen as the methodological base to develop the system of criteria of students’ preparedness and ability to communicate in a foreign language. Methods of analysis and synthesis have been used during the work as well. Results and scientific novelty. The materials presented in the publication make a contribution to the theory and methodology of continued professional education regarding effective experts’ foreign language mastering, and skills acquisition for the most productive interpersonal and professional-oriented communication. Methodologically-based definition and description of the components of subject and

  4. Learner Autonomy in Foreign Language Education and in Cultural Context

    OpenAIRE

    Ivanovska, Biljana

    2015-01-01

    The present paper is a brief review of the theoretical concepts about learner autonomy focusing on highlighting the main themes on learner autonomy in foreign language education and in cultural context as a globalized construct. These themes are based on the concepts of learner responsibility and independence, the importance of the autonomy in foreign language education in both the Western and Eastern style and the role of the culture in the concept of learner independence. The present study ...

  5. Teaching and Learning Through a Foreign Language - A Challenging Task

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lauridsen, Karen M.

    2011-01-01

    learn and teachers teach through the medium of a foreign language, that is, English. While there is obviously a linguistic dimension to it, it turns out that there is also a cultural dimension that should not be underestimated whether we teach in our first or a foreign language. Have you also noticed....... And in an interactive format, you will be invited to share your experience within this field and discuss possible solution to the problems identified....

  6. Dutch courage? Effects of acute alcohol consumption on self-ratings and observer ratings of foreign language skills.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Renner, Fritz; Kersbergen, Inge; Field, Matt; Werthmann, Jessica

    2018-01-01

    A popular belief is that alcohol improves the ability to speak in a foreign language. The effect of acute alcohol consumption on perceived foreign language performance and actual foreign language performance in foreign language learners has not been investigated. The aim of the current study was to test the effects of acute alcohol consumption on self-rated and observer-rated verbal foreign language performance in participants who have recently learned this language. Fifty native German speakers who had recently learned Dutch were randomized to receive either a low dose of alcohol or a control beverage that contained no alcohol. Following the experimental manipulation, participants took part in a standardized discussion in Dutch with a blinded experimenter. The discussion was audio-recorded and foreign language skills were subsequently rated by two native Dutch speakers who were blind to the experimental condition (observer-rating). Participants also rated their own individual Dutch language skills during the discussion (self-rating). Participants who consumed alcohol had significantly better observer-ratings for their Dutch language, specifically better pronunciation, compared with those who did not consume alcohol. However, alcohol had no effect on self-ratings of Dutch language skills. Acute alcohol consumption may have beneficial effects on the pronunciation of a foreign language in people who have recently learned that language.

  7. From a WebQuest to a ReadingQuest: learners' reactions in an EFL extensive reading class

    OpenAIRE

    Barros, Ana Cláudia; Amorim Carvalho, Ana Amélia

    2007-01-01

    Most students don’t like reading in a foreign language. They find it a difficult task, mainly due to the high number of unknown words they encounter when reading a text. They consider reading classes boring and uninteresting and as a result our students are poor readers. Concerned with this situation, we conducted a study on the impact of a learning environment based on the WebQuest, a ReadingQuest, and on student engagement in an extensive reading task. The results show that the ReadingQuest...

  8. The Past, Present, and Future of the Consortium and Foreign Language Instruction.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Paine, Ruth

    The proportion of active foreign language teachers working in cooperative or collaborative efforts is very small. Foreign languages have lagged behind other disciplines in this area. Consortia, or groups of postsecondary institutions agreeing to work together toward specific, long-range goals, date back to medieval times, but few have emerged over…

  9. Authenticity and originarity in foreign language learning in the ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The latter overcomes structuralist or poststructuralist reductions of language as a medium of communication. Thus, the essence of FLL can be redefined, not as the acquisition of mimicry of specific codes, but as intercultural dialogue. Keywords: originarity, authenticity, foreign language learning, video conferencing ...

  10. How Does Short-Term Foreign Language Immersion Stimulate Language Learning?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Savage, Baron L.; Hughes, Haning Z.

    2014-01-01

    The events of September 11, 2001, shocked the nation and forced the United States government to acknowledge its tremendously inadequate capability in foreign language proficiency and global cultural awareness. Post 9/11 military operations reinforced the reality that the Department of Defense (DoD) needs a significantly improved capability in…

  11. Significance of Literature in Foreign Language Teaching

    Science.gov (United States)

    Babaee, Ruzbeh; Yahya, Wan Roselezam Bt Wan

    2014-01-01

    This research aims to consider literature as a significant tool for teaching fundamental language skills including speaking, listening, reading and writing. Reasons for the use of literature in language classrooms and major factors for choosing appropriate kinds of literary texts in such classes should be highlighted in order to make readers aware…

  12. Sequoyah Foreign Language Translation System - Business Case Analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    2007-12-01

    typescript . Can read either representations of familiar formulaic verbal exchanges or simple language containing only the highest frequency...comprehension to read simple, authentic written material in a form equivalent to usual printing or typescript on subjects within a familiar context

  13. Teaching Children Foreign-Language Grammar: Are Authentic Materials Appropriate?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Olga Malova

    2016-10-01

    Full Text Available The paper discusses authentic materials as a resource for teaching grammar to young learners. Difficulties in foreign-language grammar learning for Russian pupils are presented, and typical challenges are described. The paper provides a pre-/post-intervention study of the development of children’s grammar skills. The research question is, “How does one use authentic materials for teaching grammar in an English as a foreign language (EFL classroom?” A qualitative method is used to assess the learning outcomes of using authentic materials in teaching grammar to eight–nine-year-old pupils (the second year of studying English.

  14. Investigating Foreign Language Learning Anxiety: A Case of Saudi Undergraduate EFL Learners

    OpenAIRE

    AL-KHASAWNEH, FADI MAHER

    2016-01-01

    This study investigates the level and sources of foreign language learning anxiety experienced by Saudi students studying at King Khalid University (KKU). It also aims to examine the differences between the level of language anxiety and the students’ study level. For this purpose, 97 English majored students from different levels were purposively chosen to participate in this study. The research instrument used in this study was Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scales (FLCAS) developed by H...

  15. The Language Demands of Science Reading in Middle School

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fang, Zhihui

    2006-04-01

    The language used to construct knowledge, beliefs, and worldviews in school science is distinct from the social language that students use in their everyday ordinary life. This difference is a major source of reading difficulty for many students, especially struggling readers and English-language learners. This article identifies some of the linguistic challenges involved in reading middle-school science texts and suggests several teaching strategies to help students cope with these challenges. It is argued that explicit attention to the unique language of school science should be an integral part of science literacy pedagogy.

  16. Impacts of Online Technology Use in Second Language Writing: A Review of the Literature

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lin, Show Mei; Griffith, Priscilla

    2014-01-01

    This article reviews the literature on computer-supported collaborative learning in second language and foreign language writing. While research has been conducted on the effects of online technology in first language reading and writing, this article explores how online technology affects second and foreign language writing. The goal of this…

  17. Learning Indicators of a Foreign Language in Spanish Public University. Case Study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cáceres-Lorenzo, M-Teresa; Salas-Pascual, Marcos; Afonzo-de-Tovar, Isabel-Cristina; Vera-Cazorla, M-Jesús; Santana-Alvarado, Yaiza; Santana-Quintana, Cristina

    2017-01-01

    This article investigates 292 postgraduate students of the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (Canary Islands, Spain), through a Likert-scale questionnaire. This inquiry was about private, educational actions and learning valuation of a foreign language and its relation with the learning of one or several foreign languages. The analysis of…

  18. The problem of early learning of foreign languages in Germanspeaking countries in modern pedagogical science

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nataliia Kohut

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available The article deals with the main aspects of early foreign language teaching in Germanspeakingcountries (Germany, Austria and Switzerland in modern Pedagogics. The meaningof the term “early teaching” is defined and the teaching of foreign languages for pre-schooland primary school children is analyzed.Key words: early teaching, foreign language education, primary school, system ofeducation, multicultural surrounding.

  19. 17 CFR 232.306 - Foreign language documents and symbols.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... symbols. 232.306 Section 232.306 Commodity and Securities Exchanges SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION... § 232.306 Foreign language documents and symbols. (a) All electronic filings and submissions must be in... words or letters in the English language rather than representative symbols, except that HTML documents...

  20. Languages of borderlands, borders of languages: Native and foreign language use in intergroup contact between Czechs and their neighbours

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Petrjánošová, M.; Leix, Alicja

    2013-01-01

    Roč. 23, č. 4 (2013), s. 658-679 ISSN 1210-3055 R&D Projects: GA ČR GA13-25656S Institutional support: RVO:68081740 Keywords : native language * foreign language * intergroup contact Subject RIV: AN - Psychology

  1. Dyslexia and the learning of a foreign language in school: where are we going?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Crombie, M A

    2000-01-01

    The difficulties which many dyslexic students encounter in the learning of the English language often extend to the learning of a foreign language in school. Although this problem has been acknowledged for some time, and although the learning of a modern foreign language is a core element in the Scottish curriculum, there has been little research into how modern languages can be presented to offer the best learning opportunities to dyslexic students. Dyslexic students are likely to benefit from a multisensory approach to the learning of a modern foreign language, and it seems likely that they will need to utilize similar strategies to those used for learning their first language. Strategies are discussed with a view to making modern language learning more appropriate for students with difficulties in learning.

  2. Using Nasreddin Hodja Stories in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) Classrooms

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yaman, Ismail

    2017-01-01

    Culture is an indispensable dimension of human life and also foreign language teaching and learning process; and as a part of the current trend, diverse cultural elements are covered in recently published English as a foreign language (EFL) coursebooks. These cultural elements are not limited to the target culture but they cover local and…

  3. Gender affects body language reading

    OpenAIRE

    Arseny A Sokolov; Arseny A Sokolov; Samuel eKrüger; Paul eEnck; Ingeborg eKrägeloh-Mann; Marina A Pavlova; Marina A Pavlova

    2011-01-01

    Body motion is a rich source of information for social cognition. However, gender effects in body language reading are largely unknown. Here we investigated whether, and, if so, how recognition of emotional expressions revealed by body motion is gender dependent. To this end, females and males were presented with point-light displays portraying knocking at a door performed with different emotional expressions. The findings show that gender affects accuracy rather than speed of body language r...

  4. Gender Affects Body Language Reading

    OpenAIRE

    Sokolov, Arseny A.; Krüger, Samuel; Enck, Paul; Krägeloh-Mann, Ingeborg; Pavlova, Marina A.

    2011-01-01

    Body motion is a rich source of information for social cognition. However, gender effects in body language reading are largely unknown. Here we investigated whether, and, if so, how recognition of emotional expressions revealed by body motion is gender dependent. To this end, females and males were presented with point-light displays portraying knocking at a door performed with different emotional expressions. The findings show that gender affects accuracy rather than speed of body language r...

  5. Undergraduate International Studies and Foreign Language Program

    Science.gov (United States)

    Office of Postsecondary Education, US Department of Education, 2012

    2012-01-01

    The Undergraduate International Studies and Foreign Language Program provides funds to institutions of higher education, a consortia of such institutions, or partnerships between nonprofit organizations and institutions of higher education to plan, develop, and implement programs that strengthen and improve undergraduate instruction in…

  6. An argument for peer teaching role play in home language reading ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The Foundation Phase Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (2010) recommends Paired Reading for teaching reading literacy in both Home Language and Additional Language classrooms. This article describes research on the reading histories of teachers enrolled in an in-service Bachelor in Education (B.Ed.) ...

  7. Learning the Greek Language via Greeklish

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alexandros Karakos

    2013-02-01

    Full Text Available Learning Greek as a second or foreign language has drawn the attention of many researchers throughout time. A dictionary is amongst the first things a foreign language student uses. Reading comprehension is significantly improved by the use of a dictionary, especially when this includes the way words are pronounced. We developed a assistance software for learning the Greek Language via Greeklish. Since, the basic vocabulary of a language is the basis of understanding the language itself, the dictionary proposed aims to make the basic Greek words easier to pronounce as well as to give the explanation of the word in English. The aim of this software is to provide a useful tool to learn the Greek language individually. Moreover, it aims to be involved, as an assistance tool for learning Greek as a second or foreign language.

  8. 34 CFR 658.4 - What definitions apply to the Undergraduate International Studies and Foreign Language Program?

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... International Studies and Foreign Language Program? 658.4 Section 658.4 Education Regulations of the Offices of... UNDERGRADUATE INTERNATIONAL STUDIES AND FOREIGN LANGUAGE PROGRAM General § 658.4 What definitions apply to the Undergraduate International Studies and Foreign Language Program? The definitions in 34 CFR 655.4 apply to this...

  9. Predicting reading ability in teenagers who are deaf or hard of hearing: A longitudinal analysis of language and reading.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Worsfold, Sarah; Mahon, Merle; Pimperton, Hannah; Stevenson, Jim; Kennedy, Colin

    2018-04-13

    Deaf and hard of hearing (D/HH) children and young people are known to show group-level deficits in spoken language and reading abilities relative to their hearing peers. However, there is little evidence on the longitudinal predictive relationships between language and reading in this population. To determine the extent to which differences in spoken language ability in childhood predict reading ability in D/HH adolescents. and procedures: Participants were drawn from a population-based cohort study and comprised 53 D/HH teenagers, who used spoken language, and a comparison group of 38 normally hearing teenagers. All had completed standardised measures of spoken language (expression and comprehension) and reading (accuracy and comprehension) at 6-10 and 13-19 years of age. and results: Forced entry stepwise regression showed that, after taking reading ability at age 8 years into account, language scores at age 8 years did not add significantly to the prediction of Reading Accuracy z-scores at age 17 years (change in R 2  = 0.01, p = .459) but did make a significant contribution to the prediction of Reading Comprehension z-scores at age 17 years (change in R 2  = 0.17, p skills in middle childhood predict reading comprehension ability in adolescence. Continued intervention to support language development beyond primary school has the potential to benefit reading comprehension and hence educational access for D/HH adolescents. Copyright © 2018 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

  10. A Longitudinal Study of Motivation in Foreign and Second Language Learning Context

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ordem, Eser

    2017-01-01

    Although motivation has been one of the most commonly studied subjects in second and foreign language learning in recent decades, it still remains an enigma for learners and teachers. This longitudinal study aimed to follow a student (N = 1) studying German in both second and foreign language environment for three years. The study was descriptive,…

  11. Views of Freshmen Students on Foreign Language Courses Delivered via E-Learning

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ozudogru, Fatma; Hismanoglu, Murat

    2016-01-01

    With the increasing number of foreign language courses via e-learning in higher education institutions, it is important to investigate whether the quality of e-learning is up to the standard. This study aimed at finding out the views of freshmen students on foreign language courses delivered via e-learning and revealing whether there were any…

  12. Effects of Explicit Instruction in Cognitive and Metacognitive Reading Strategies on Iranian EFL Students' Reading Performance and Strategy Transfer

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aghaie, Reza; Zhang, Lawrence Jun

    2012-01-01

    This study explored the impact of explicit teaching of reading strategies on English-as-a-foreign-language (EFL) students' reading performance in Iran. The study employed a questionnaire adapted from Chamot and O'Malley's (1994) cognitive and metacognitive strategies framework. To test the effects of explicit teaching of cognitive and…

  13. SPECIFIC USE OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES IN A BLENDED MODEL OF TEACHING FOREIGN LANGUAGES

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Natalia A. Kameneva

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available The article determines the role and analyzes specificity of the use of information technology in a mixed model of learning foreign languages in higher educational institutions. The authors also describe such forms of e-learning as a webinar, seminar videos, video conferencing, case-technology. The ways of overcoming difficulties in learning foreign languages, which the students can face when using distance learning technologies, are indicated. The positive experience of using E-learning System «Virtual Campus» in the teaching foreign languages at the Moscow State University of Economics, Statistics and Informatics is mentioned.

  14. Flow and Reading Comprehension: Testing the Mediating Role of Emotioncy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shahian, Leila; Pishghadam, Reza; Khajavy, Gholam Hassan

    2017-01-01

    Considering the importance of psychological factors in learners' reading abilities, this study examines the relationship between flow, emotioncy, and reading comprehension. To this end, 238 upper-intermediate and advanced English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners were asked to take four tests of reading comprehension along with flow and…

  15. A formative approach to cultural content learning in intercultural foreign language teaching

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Andrijević Maja M.

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available The paper outlines the effectiveness of the formative approach in the adoption of cultural content as part of intercultural foreign language teaching. In contrast to the informative, the formative approach is based on a constructivist approach to foreign language acquisition; in other words, it is a process of tertiary socialization through the construction of an intercultural identity, by means of experiential acquisition, interaction and cognitive conflict with previously adopted patterns. Byram's (1997 propositions about the importance of acquiring intercultural competence in foreign language teaching represent a complete shift towards a formative approach since they formulate general educational goals according to which it is impossible to have an insight into the language reality of a different culture unless an individual is aware of their own and the relative nature of both, which is vital to the development of critical intercultural awareness. Thus the focus of teaching shifts to the integration of the target and the source cultures through participatory tasks and constructive analysis, and to the construction of the learner's identity as intercultural speaker with a range of affective, cognitive and behavioral competences enabling successful contact with difference. The formative approach enables the foreign language teacher, whose role has also been redefined, to use appropriate materials in order to develop critical thinking and intercultural competence in students through their active involvement in the process of target language acquisition.

  16. Exploring Relationships between Oral Reading Fluency and Reading Comprehension amongst English Second Language Readers in South Africa

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pretorius, Elizabeth J.; Spaull, Nic

    2016-01-01

    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…

  17. Role-Play in Foreign Language Acquisition: A Causal-Comparative Study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Allen, Elena A.

    2013-01-01

    Foreign language educators have been striving to improve practices that support language teaching for adults for many years. Common knowledge insists that children are better language learners than adults. Creation of the new field of neurolinguistics at the end of the 20th century brought about new opportunities for both teachers of foreign…

  18. Diary Insights of an EFL Reading Teacher (Apreciaciones de un profesor de lectura en lengua inglesa escritas en un diario de clase)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lopera Medina, Sergio

    2013-01-01

    It is often argued that classroom diaries are subjective. This article explores the diary insights of a foreign language reading teacher. The inquiry was based on the following research question: What do the diary insights really evidence about the teaching practices of a foreign language reading teacher? As a research method, a case study was…

  19. An Investigation into the Relationship of Foreign Language Learning Motivation and Sign Language Use among Deaf and Hard of Hearing Hungarians

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kontra, Edit H.; Csizer, Kata

    2013-01-01

    The aim of this study is to point out the relationship between foreign language learning motivation and sign language use among hearing impaired Hungarians. In the article we concentrate on two main issues: first, to what extent hearing impaired people are motivated to learn foreign languages in a European context; second, to what extent sign…

  20. Using Literary Texts to Teach Grammar in Foreign Language Classroom

    Science.gov (United States)

    Atmaca, Hasan; Günday, Rifat

    2016-01-01

    Today, it is discussed that the use of literary texts in foreign language classroom as a course material isn't obligatory; but necessary due to the close relationship between language and literature. Although literary texts are accepted as authentic documents and do not have any purpose for language teaching, they are indispensable sources to be…

  1. Lexical quality and executive control predict children's first and second language reading comprehension.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Raudszus, Henriette; Segers, Eliane; Verhoeven, Ludo

    2018-01-01

    This study compared how lexical quality (vocabulary and decoding) and executive control (working memory and inhibition) predict reading comprehension directly as well as indirectly, via syntactic integration, in monolingual and bilingual fourth grade children. The participants were 76 monolingual and 102 bilingual children (mean age 10 years, SD  = 5 months) learning to read Dutch in the Netherlands. Bilingual children showed lower Dutch vocabulary, syntactic integration and reading comprehension skills, but better decoding skills than their monolingual peers. There were no differences in working memory or inhibition. Multigroup path analysis showed relatively invariant connections between predictors and reading comprehension for monolingual and bilingual readers. For both groups, there was a direct effect of lexical quality on reading comprehension. In addition, lexical quality and executive control indirectly influenced reading comprehension via syntactic integration. The groups differed in that inhibition more strongly predicted syntactic integration for bilingual than for monolingual children. For a subgroup of bilingual children, for whom home language vocabulary data were available ( n  = 56), there was an additional positive effect of home language vocabulary on second language reading comprehension. Together, the results suggest that similar processes underlie reading comprehension in first and second language readers, but that syntactic integration requires more executive control in second language reading. Moreover, bilingual readers additionally benefit from first language vocabulary to arrive at second language reading comprehension.

  2. Teachers' Uses of the Target and First Languages in Second and Foreign Language Classrooms.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Turnball, Miles; Arnett, Katy

    2002-01-01

    Reviews recent theoretical and empirical literature regarding teachers' uses of the target (TL) and first languages (L1) in second and foreign language classrooms. Explores several issues related to teachers' use of the L1 and the TL in the classroom; exposure to TL input, student motivation, cognitive considerations, code switching, and…

  3. Do English Teaching Materials Foster Foreign Language Education Affectively?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Isik, Ali

    2018-01-01

    The paper investigates the role of English language teaching materials in the creation of a classroom atmosphere conducive to foreign language education. In this study, teachers and students were given a questionnaire and later interviewed to elicit their ideas about the materials. The data was analyzed and the responses of teachers and students…

  4. The Use of Foreign Languages in Tourism: Research Needs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Watts, Noel

    1994-01-01

    Examines the research needs relative to the use of foreign languages in tourism activities in Australia and New Zealand. Findings indicate a lack of precise information on the ways in which the tourism industry in these countries provides appropriate language assistance to non-English speaking inbound visitors. Suggestions for future research are…

  5. Comparison of Primary School Foreign Language Curricula of Turkey, Germany and the Netherlands

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aslan, Yasin

    2016-01-01

    Foreign language education at early ages involves a broad spectrum of communication skills using communication, culture, connections, comparisons and community. The aim of this study is to compare the primary foreign language curricula of Turkey, Germany and the Netherlands in terms of objectives, content, teaching processes and evaluation…

  6. The effectiveness of foreign-language display in advertising for congruent versus incongruent products

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Hornikx, J.M.A.; Meurs, W.F.J. van; Hof, R.-J.

    2013-01-01

    Advertising often confronts consumers with foreign languages, such as German or French in the U.S., but little is known about the circumstances under which this is effective. The linguistic theory of foreign-language display claims that the congruence with the product is the essential element in its

  7. Behavioral Objectives, the Cult of Efficiency, and Foreign Language Learning: Are They Compatible?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tumposky, Nancy Rennau

    1984-01-01

    Surveys the literature regarding the use of behavioral objectives in education and in foreign language instruction and examines the roots of the behavioral objectives movement in behaviorist psychology and the scientific management movement of the 1920s. Discusses implications for foreign and second language learning and provides suggestions for…

  8. Pedagogical Model for Explicit Teaching of Reading Comprehension to English Language Learners

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Al Tiyb Al Khaiyali

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available Reading comprehension instruction is considered one of the major challenges that most English language teachers and students encounter. Therefore, providing a systematic, explicit, and flexible model to teaching reading comprehension strategies could help resolve some of these challenges and increase the possibility of teaching reading comprehension, particularly in language learners’ classrooms. Consequently, the purpose of this paper is to provide a model to teach reading comprehension strategies in language learning classrooms. The proposed instructional model is divided into three systematic phases through which strategies are taught before reading, during reading, and after reading. Each phase is explained and elaborated using recommended models for teachers. Finally, suggested considerations to consolidate this model are provided.

  9. The RIASEC Profile of Foreign Language Teachers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Swanson, Peter B.

    2008-01-01

    Vocational choice appears to crystallize during adolescence and one's career aspirations begin to take shape later. Over 40 years ago Holland studied incoming freshman to match vocational aspirations to vocational preference profiles. Individuals seeking to become foreign language teachers were assigned a Social, Artistic, Enterprising vocational…

  10. Unsuccessful Study Habits in Foreign Language Courses.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bailey, Phillip D.; Onwuegbuzie, Anthony J.

    This study determined which study habits would distinguish successful from unsuccessful foreign language learners. Participants were 219 college students from a variety of disciplinary backgrounds enrolled in either Spanish, French, German, or Japanese classes. The students completed the Study Habits Inventory and the Background Demographic Form.…

  11. 'ELENA goes mobile': a mobile assisted early foreign language learning pilot for familiarizing children with neighbouring languages

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Rusman, Ellen; Ternier, Stefaan; Sassen, Derk

    2013-01-01

    Rusman, E., Ternier, S., & Sassen, D. (2013, 14-15 November). 'ELENA goes mobile': a mobile assisted early foreign language learning pilot for familiarizing children with neighbouring languages. Presentation (virtual) at the 6th ICT for Language learning Conference, Florence, Italy. (URL of virtual

  12. The Relationship between Multiple Intelligence Profiles and Reading Strategy Use of Successful English as a Foreign Language (EFL) Readers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Iyitoglu, Orhan; Aydin, Hasan

    2015-01-01

    This study relied on Sheorey and Mokhtari's (2001) metacognitive knowledge about reading strategies,which was influenced by a number of factors, including previous experiences, beliefs, culture-specific instructional practices and proficiency in a second language (L2). This study is thereby built on the premise that EFL readers' metacognitive…

  13. Using early standardized language measures to predict later language and early reading outcomes in children at high risk for language-learning impairments.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Flax, Judy F; Realpe-Bonilla, Teresa; Roesler, Cynthia; Choudhury, Naseem; Benasich, April

    2009-01-01

    The aim of the study was to examine the profiles of children with a family history (FH+) of language-learning impairments (LLI) and a control group of children with no reported family history of LLI (FH-) and identify which language constructs (receptive or expressive) and which ages (2 or 3 years) are related to expressive and receptive language abilities, phonological awareness, and reading abilities at ages 5 and 7 years. Participants included 99 children (40 FH+ and 59 FH-) who received a standardized neuropsychological battery at 2, 3, 5, and 7 years of age. As a group, the FH+ children had significantly lower scores on all language measures at 2 and 3 years, on selected language and phonological awareness measures at 5 years, and on phonological awareness and nonword reading at 7 years. Language comprehension at 3 years was the best predictor of later language and early reading for both groups. These results support past work suggesting that children with a positive family history of LLI are at greater risk for future language and reading problems through their preschool and early school-age years. Furthermore, language comprehension in the early years is a strong predictor of future language-learning status.

  14. The Interesting Teaching and Learning of Malay Language to Foreign Speakers: Language through Cultures

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baharudin, Mazlina; Ikhsan, Siti Ajar

    2016-01-01

    The interesting teaching and learning of Malay languages is a challenging effort and need a relevant plan to the students' needs especially for the foreign students who already have the basic Indonesian Malay language variation that they have learned for four semesters in their own country, Germany. Therefore, the variety of teaching and learning…

  15. The Value of Picture-Book Reading-Based Collaborative Output Activities for Vocabulary Retention

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sun, Chia-Ho

    2017-01-01

    This study investigated the effects of three instructional modes: picture-book reading-only (PRO), picture-book reading plus vocabulary instruction (PRVI), and picture-book reading plus reading-based collaborative output activity (PRCOA) on young adult EFL (English as a foreign language) learners' vocabulary acquisition and retention. Eighty…

  16. Learning foreign languages in teletandem: Resources and strategies

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    João A. TELLES

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available ABSTRACT Teletandem is a virtual, collaborative, and autonomous context in which two speakers of different languages use the text, voice, and webcam image resources of VOIP technology (Skype to help each other learn their native language (or language of proficiency. This paper focuses on learners' studying processes and their responses to teletandem. We collected quantitative and qualitative data from 134 university students through an online questionnaire. Results show the content of students' learning processes, resources, activities, and strategies. We conclude with a critical discussion of the results and raise pedagogical implications for the use o-f teletandem as a mode of online intercultural contact to learn foreign languages.

  17. Cognitive aspects in games workshops for learning a foreign language

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Claudia Ferrareto Lopes

    2014-08-01

    Full Text Available The goal of the study was to analyze the cognitive aspects related to learning English as a foreign language, by means of games workshops with students of the 6th grade of elementary school from a state school in Londrina. The paper is grounded on Piagetian theory and is descriptive-interpretative study with a qualitative perspective. Two guiding questions motivate the study: what is the role of games workshops for learning English as a foreign language? In what way the cognitive processes are held in the games workshops for learning English? To meet the proposed goals, workshops were implemented with games containing the linguistic contents studied in English classes. The games workshops enabled the observation and analysis of the cognitive aspects involved in learning a foreign language. Results show that the games workshops promote the participation of the students motivating action and output, evidencing gaps on the knowledge and providing equilibration processes. Subjects are asked to produce outputs via games demands, thus evoking knowhow, as well as the thinking about their own products, suggesting a conscious-awareness process.

  18. Listening and Reading Proficiency Levels of College Students

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tschirner, Erwin

    2016-01-01

    This article examines listening and reading proficiency levels of U.S. college foreign language students at major milestones throughout their undergraduate career. Data were collected from more than 3,000 participants studying seven languages at 21 universities and colleges across the United States. The results show that while listening…

  19. Skype Videoconferencing for Less Commonly Taught Languages: Examining the Effects on Students' Foreign Language Anxiety

    Science.gov (United States)

    Terantino, Joe

    2014-01-01

    This study compared students' foreign language anxiety levels while completing oral assessments administered face-to-face (F2F) and via Skype videoconferencing for university courses delivered under the self-instructional language program (SILP) model (Dunkel, Brill, & Kohl, 2002). Data were gathered by administering a modified Foreign…

  20. Auditory Processing Disorder and Foreign Language Acquisition

    Science.gov (United States)

    Veselovska, Ganna

    2015-01-01

    This article aims at exploring various strategies for coping with the auditory processing disorder in the light of foreign language acquisition. The techniques relevant to dealing with the auditory processing disorder can be attributed to environmental and compensatory approaches. The environmental one involves actions directed at creating a…

  1. Meeting the Standards for Foreign Language Leaming through an Internet-Based Newspaper Project: Case Studies of Advanced-Level Japanese Learners

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Miyuki Fukai

    2005-01-01

    Full Text Available Published in 1996, the Standards far Foreign Language Learning (Standards, define knowledge and abilities that foreign language learners should acquire in the U.S. The Internet is believed to facilitate standards-based instruction because of its capabilities as a communication medium, information provider, and publication tool. This paper presents one part of a study that investigated this claim through examining an Internet-based newspaper project in an advanced-level college Japanese course in light of the Japanese Standards. Six students were selected to serve as case studies, with their experiences in relation to this project analyzed in depth. The results show that the students found using the Internet to read authentic materials with the help of an online dictionary to be a positive experience. This then resulted in their actively using Japanese for personal enjoyment outside the classroom. These results suggest that the project was particularly successful in two goal areas: Communication and Communities.

  2. Late Emerging Reading Difficulties in English Language Learners

    OpenAIRE

    Garcia, Nicole Marie

    2015-01-01

    Research has identified a group of students who do not begin to exhibit reading difficulties until fourth or fifth grade, suggesting late-emerging reading difficulties. Considering that these students do not show signs of reading difficulties in early grades, attempting to identify these students early becomes problematic. Additionally, little is known regarding the characteristics of late-emerging reading deficits within English language learner (ELL) populations. The purpose of this study w...

  3. Factors involved in the identification of stuttering severity in a foreign language.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cosyns, Marjan; Einarsdóttir, Jóhanna T; Van Borsel, John

    2015-01-01

    Speech-language pathologists nowadays are more and more confronted with clients who speak a language different from their own mother tongue. The assessment of persons who speak a foreign language poses particular challenges. The present study investigated the possible role and interplay of factors involved in the identification of stuttering severity in a foreign language. Nineteen speech-language pathologists from five different countries (i.e. Iceland, Sweden, Norway, Finland, and Belgium) rated stuttering severity of speech samples featuring persons who stutter speaking Icelandic, Swedish, Norwegian, or Dutch. Additionally, they were asked to score how easy they found it to rate the samples. Accuracy of rating stuttering severity in another language appeared to be foremost determined by the client's stuttering severity, while experienced ease of rating stuttering severity was essentially related to closeness of the language of the clinician to that of the client and familiarity of the clinician with the client's language. Stuttering measurement training programmes in different languages are needed.

  4. Language, reading, and math learning profiles in an epidemiological sample of school age children.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Archibald, Lisa M D; Oram Cardy, Janis; Joanisse, Marc F; Ansari, Daniel

    2013-01-01

    Dyscalculia, dyslexia, and specific language impairment (SLI) are relatively specific developmental learning disabilities in math, reading, and oral language, respectively, that occur in the context of average intellectual capacity and adequate environmental opportunities. Past research has been dominated by studies focused on single impairments despite the widespread recognition that overlapping and comorbid deficits are common. The present study took an epidemiological approach to study the learning profiles of a large school age sample in language, reading, and math. Both general learning profiles reflecting good or poor performance across measures and specific learning profiles involving either weak language, weak reading, weak math, or weak math and reading were observed. These latter four profiles characterized 70% of children with some evidence of a learning disability. Low scores in phonological short-term memory characterized clusters with a language-based weakness whereas low or variable phonological awareness was associated with the reading (but not language-based) weaknesses. The low math only group did not show these phonological deficits. These findings may suggest different etiologies for language-based deficits in language, reading, and math, reading-related impairments in reading and math, and isolated math disabilities.

  5. Language, reading, and math learning profiles in an epidemiological sample of school age children.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lisa M D Archibald

    Full Text Available Dyscalculia, dyslexia, and specific language impairment (SLI are relatively specific developmental learning disabilities in math, reading, and oral language, respectively, that occur in the context of average intellectual capacity and adequate environmental opportunities. Past research has been dominated by studies focused on single impairments despite the widespread recognition that overlapping and comorbid deficits are common. The present study took an epidemiological approach to study the learning profiles of a large school age sample in language, reading, and math. Both general learning profiles reflecting good or poor performance across measures and specific learning profiles involving either weak language, weak reading, weak math, or weak math and reading were observed. These latter four profiles characterized 70% of children with some evidence of a learning disability. Low scores in phonological short-term memory characterized clusters with a language-based weakness whereas low or variable phonological awareness was associated with the reading (but not language-based weaknesses. The low math only group did not show these phonological deficits. These findings may suggest different etiologies for language-based deficits in language, reading, and math, reading-related impairments in reading and math, and isolated math disabilities.

  6. Reading with a Purpose: Communicative Reading Tasks for the Foreign Language Classroom. ERIC Digest.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Knutson, Elizabeth M.

    In describing reading proficiency--the relative difficulty or ease that an individual reader experiences reading a particular text--researchers have recognized the importance of both text- and reader-based factors. This digest focuses on the factor of purpose, as determined by the reader or the instructional context. Having a purpose means having…

  7. ORGANIZATIONAL AND METHODICAL BASES OF MULTICULTURAL SELF-ORGANIZATION OF STUDENTS IN THE ADDITIONAL FOREIGN LANGUAGE EDUCATION

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    V N Kartashova

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available The article deals with the organizational and methodical bases of multicultural self-organization of the linguistic personality of the student in terms of additional foreign language education. According to the authors’ opinion, the methodological basis is a dialogue of cultures as a philosophy of mutual understanding, mutual relations in today’s global environment. Changing the socio-cultural context of foreign language education paradigm allows you to select multicultural (teaching a foreign language on the principle of “native culture - the culture of the foreign language speaking country - the culture of the world” and active (the development and functioning of a person in the normal course of his activities, where the starting point is the introduction of man to the world of culture and his self-development approach as a priority. The contents of additional education is oriented towards the disclosure and a possible solution of specific problems in the educational practice, and based on the principles of humanism and diversification.The article analyzes the individual programs of additional education and professional training in the field of foreign languages, developed by universities in recent decades. The authors present the experience of the scientific and methodological development and implementation at the department of foreign languages and teaching methods of Bunin Yelets State University of the additional foreign language education system that provides the multicultural self-organization of the student’s linguistic personality. The description of the program of professional retraining “The multicultural self-organization expert in the field of business, management and tourism (English”, designed for the students of non-language training areas, is presented, too. The positive dynamics of mastering foreign languages, the development of global attitude of the linguistic personality to the culture and his/her cultural

  8. Strategies to Support High School Students’ Reading Comprehension in the English Language

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zabala Palacio Freddy Oswaldo

    2004-08-01

    Full Text Available Teachers are often concerned about the low reading level of their students in both English and Spanish. One way to solve this problem is by using reading strategies. Promoting the development of reading competences in English will offer the students tools that allow them to comprehend texts and will contribute to a closer relation with the second language culture. This article reports on a study carried out when doing my teaching practice in a public high school in Bogotá, Colombia, in 2002. The main objective of my research project was to support the development of eleventh graders’ reading comprehension competence in English. Hence, I refer to the group’s views on English reading comprehension, their handling of strategies to develop reading competence in English and their progress after having applied those strategies. Key words: Foreign Language-Teaching, Reading Strategies El bajo nivel de lectura en los estudiantes de inglés y español es una de las preocupaciones comunes de los docentes. Una forma de solucionar este problema es a través del uso de estrategias de lectura. De tal manera, promover el desarrollo de competencias lectoras en los estudiantes de inglés les ofrecerá herramientas que les permitirán comprender los textos y contribuirá a crear una relación más cercana entre ellos y la cultura de la segunda lengua. Este artículo reporta un estudio llevado a cabo durante mi práctica docente en una escuela pública de Bogotá, Colombia, en el año 2002. El objetivo principal de mi proyecto de investigación fue apoyar el desarrollo de la competencia en comprensión de lectura en el idioma inglés en estudiantes de undécimo grado. Por lo tanto, menciono los puntos de vista de los estudiantes sobre la comprensión de lectura, la forma como utilizan las estrategias para desarrollar esta competencia en inglés y su proceso después de su acercamiento a la comprensión lectora a través del uso de las mismas

  9. Can Computers Be Used for Whole Language Approaches to Reading and Language Arts?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Balajthy, Ernest

    Holistic approaches to the teaching of reading and writing, most notably the Whole Language movement, reject the philosophy that language skills can be taught. Instead, holistic teachers emphasize process, and they structure the students' classroom activities to be rich in language experience. Computers can be used as tools for whole language…

  10. Early language mediates the relations between preschool inattention and school-age reading achievement.

    Science.gov (United States)

    O'Neill, Sarah; Thornton, Veronica; Marks, David J; Rajendran, Khushmand; Halperin, Jeffrey M

    2016-05-01

    Early inattention is associated with later reading problems in children, but the mechanism by which this occurs is unclear. We investigated whether the negative relation between preschoolers' ADHD symptoms and 8-year-old reading achievement is directly related to the severity of inattention or is mediated by early language skills. Children (n = 150; 76% boys) were evaluated at 3 time points: preschool (T1), mean (SD) age = 4.24 (.49) years; 1 year later (T2), mean (SD) age = 5.28 (.50) years; and during school age (T3), mean (SD) age = 8.61 (.31) years. At T1, parents' Kiddie-SADS responses were dimensionalized to reflect ADHD severity. Children completed the Language domain of the NEPSY (i.e., A Developmental Neuropsychological Assessment) at T1 and again at T2. At T3, children completed the Wechsler Individual Achievement Test, Second Edition Word Reading, Pseudoword Decoding, Reading Comprehension, and Spelling subtests, and their teachers completed ratings of Reading and Written Expression performance in school. The mediating effect of T2 Language on the relation between preschool Inattention and age 8 Reading was examined using the nonparametric bootstrapping procedure, while controlling for T1 Language. Language ability at T2 mediated the path from preschool inattention (but not hyperactivity/impulsivity) to 8-year-old reading achievement (both test scores and ratings) after controlling for preschoolers' language ability. Early attentional deficits may negatively impact school-age reading outcomes by compromising the development of language skills, which in turn imperils later reading achievement. Screening children with attentional problems for language impairment, as well as implementing early intervention for both attentional and language problems may be critical to promote reading achievement during school years. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

  11. Parental Attitudes and Motivational Factors in Enrollment of Children in Early Foreign Language Learning in the Notranjska Region

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Darja Premrl

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available In this article we present the parents‘ opinions about the contemporary sources in the field of early foreign language teaching and learning and their influence on the decisions parents make about including/excluding their child into the program of early foreign language learning. We found out, on the one hand, that parents are poorly informed about the current state of early foreign language learning both in Slovenia and abroad. On the other hand, parents reported positive attitudes about early foreign language teaching, a remarkable sense of right approach in early foreign language learning and, above all, their desire to know more about the subject.

  12. On Using Intelligent Computer-Assisted Language Learning in Real-Life Foreign Language Teaching and Learning

    Science.gov (United States)

    Amaral, Luiz A.; Meurers, Detmar

    2011-01-01

    This paper explores the motivation and prerequisites for successful integration of Intelligent Computer-Assisted Language Learning (ICALL) tools into current foreign language teaching and learning (FLTL) practice. We focus on two aspects, which we argue to be important for effective ICALL system development and use: (i) the relationship between…

  13. Test Anxiety among Foreign Language Learners: A Review of Literature

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Selami Aydın

    2009-04-01

    Full Text Available The findings obtained from previous research indicate that test anxiety has significant effects on the foreign language learning process. Thus, this paper aims to present a synthesis of research results on the sources and effects of test anxiety among foreign language learners. The results of the studies reviewed in the paper were mainly categorized under two sub-sections: the sources and effects of test anxiety. It is expected that the study will not only contribute to the limited research on the subject in Turkey, but also help increase the awareness among target groups such as learners, teacher and examiners.

  14. A Critical Appraisal of Foreign Language Research in Content and Language Integrated Learning, Young Language Learners, and Technology-Enhanced Language Learning Published in Spain (2003-2012)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dooly, Melinda; Masats, Dolors

    2015-01-01

    This state-of-the-art review provides a critical overview of research publications in Spain in the last ten years in three areas of teaching and learning foreign languages (especially English): context and language integrated learning (CLIL), young language learners (YLL), and technology-enhanced language learning (TELL). These three domains have…

  15. Communication Strategies in the Foreign Language Classroom

    Science.gov (United States)

    Houston, Tony

    2006-01-01

    The focus of the present study is to examine the communication strategies used by learners and teachers in the foreign language classroom. The data is from introductory Spanish classrooms at the university level. The author analyzed the data for instances of communications strategies according to taxonomy developed for ESL studies. Important…

  16. An Inventory of Foreign Language Cultural Resources.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Steele, Winifred H.

    The results of a survey of cultural resources available to high school foreign language students in the Central New Jersey and New York City areas are presented in a listing of cultural and professional organizations, businesses, schools, government tourist offices, television and radio broadcasts, publications, religious groups, travel agents,…

  17. Intensive foreign language learning reveals effects on categorical perception of sibilant voicing after only 3 weeks

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nielsen, Andreas Højlund; Horn, Nynne Thorup; Derdau Sørensen, Stine

    2015-01-01

    Models of speech learning suggest that adaptations to foreign language sound categories take place within 6-12 months of exposure to a foreign language. Results from laboratory language training show effects of very targeted training on non-native speech contrasts within only one to three weeks...... of training. Results from immersion studies are inconclusive, but some suggest continued effects on non-native speech perception after 6-8 years of experience. We investigated this apparent discrepancy in the timing of adaptation to foreign speech sounds in a longitudinal study of foreign language learning....... We examined two groups of Danish language officer cadets learning either Arabic (MSA and Egyptian Arabic) or Dari (Afghan Farsi) through intensive multi-faceted language training. We conducted two experiments (identification and discrimination) with the cadets who were tested four times: at the start...

  18. Language of Instruction as a Moderator for Transfer of Reading Comprehension Skills among Spanish-Speaking English Language Learners

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carlo, María S.; Barr, Christopher D.; August, Diane; Calderón, Margarita; Artzi, Lauren

    2014-01-01

    This three-year longitudinal study investigated the role of language of instruction in moderating the relationships between initial levels of English oral language proficiency and Spanish reading comprehension and growth in English reading comprehension. The study followed Spanish-speaking English language learners in English-only literacy…

  19. First Language Proficiency as a Facilitator in Foreign/ Second Language Acquisition: A Case Study in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mohammed Marajan Awad Adam

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available English is taught as a foreign language in the Arab world even though practical concerns call for greater emphasis on the language. In all personal interactions too Arabic is the preferred language. Thus the environment for English is really very limited as by the time the learners are exposed to the language they are well entrenched in Arabic. While this may be a handicap in some EFL situations (for example where adults are concerned, in the Arab context this can prove a big boon. This is because young language learners who are proficient in their first language can apply the learning techniques while acquiring the second language. This paper targets the teaching fraternity in the Arab world to help them understand how first language proficiency can aid second/foreign language acquisition.

  20. Teacher Representations of English as a Foreign Language: Case Study of Two Teachers in Turkey

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sultan Turkan

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available In a developing nation like Turkey, the English language plays a significant role in educational and socioeconomic mobility. English is acquired and taught as a foreign language (EFL primarily in the classrooms. However, the ways in which English language is represented in classroom instruction have been hardly examined and understood. With that, this paper aims to depict two teachers’ representations of the English language as influenced by a university entrance English language test administered in 2008 in Turkey. The two teachers’ representations of the English language are projected from a 12th grade classroom at an Anatolian Lycee located in the Mediterranean region of Turkey. Doyle's task framework is employed, specifically in order to map what content representations emerged out of the teachers' classroom practices. Data sources include biweekly teacher logs, biweekly interviews, and biweekly classroom observations. The paper highlights that the two teachers' classroom representations of English were entrenched with the idea of highstakes test preparation for university admissions as they deemed test preparation as a major part of their classroom instruction. That is, representations of the English language were contracted to tested structures and items. The paper illustrates the teachers’ representations of reading and grammar with the insight that division of labour, though not in the form of collaboration, made it possible for the teachers to cope with the contraction effect of test preparation

  1. IMPROVING STUDENTS’ EMPLOYABILITY CHANCES - FOREIGN LANGUAGE TRAINERS’ ROLE

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lucia-Mihaela GROSU

    2013-11-01

    Full Text Available This article discusses the need for educators in business schools to become more involved in discovering and cultivating not only hard skills, but also soft skills, in order to prepare students to meet the requirements of their potential employers. At the level of business undergraduate studies in Romania, educational activities focusing on soft skills (such as intercultural communication, positive attitude, flexibility become essential for increasing students’ employability chances. Foreign language teachers who use a communicative teaching method are specifically involved in such activities. But do these courses cover the entire range of top soft skills required by business executives? What is done in the classroom and what can be improved? The present study will attempt to find the answers to these questions and to formulate suggestions for a more focused approach to soft skills development through foreign language courses.

  2. THE ROLE OF THE FIRST LANGUAGE IN HYBRID SPANISH AS A FOREIGN LANGUAGE CLASSES: A SIN OR A TOOL?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Laura Colombo

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available The use of the first language (L1 in the foreign language classroom has been highly contested in the last decades. This paper discusses the use of L1 in online activities in hybrid lower-level Spanish as a foreign language (SFL courses, with a focus on threaded discussions about cultural topics. I first discuss the use of L1 in foreign language (FL teaching. Second, I present Vygotsky's (1978 postulates about learning, and Cole and Engeström's (2001 activity theory. Third, I conduct an activity analysis of the SFL class to further narrow it down to L1 use in the discussion boards. By looking at the discussion boards through the lens of sociocultural theories, I claim that the use of L1 is a necessary cognitive tool for fostering inter-cultural learning through online discussions in SFL classes.

  3. Comprehension of scientific texts in English as a foreign language: the role of cohesion

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Neemias Silva de Souza Filho

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available The reading of scientific texts is a challenge for students of all academic fields and levels. Whether it is a textbook in elementary education or a scientific paper in higher education, students are faced with a type of text which requires the reader's ability to generate inferences and the ability to fill informational gaps (BEST et al., 2005. This notion is in line with empirical evidence obtained by previous studies (e.g. OZURU et al., 2009. All of these works, however, were performed with native English speakers. In this sense, adopting the model of reading comprehension proposed by Kintsch (1998, we aimed to investigate if the results obtained by the previous studies, carried out with native speakers of English are also valid in a context of English as a foreign language. In addition, we pursue a methodological question, investigating whether the evaluation of reading comprehension through objective and subjective questions leads to convergent or divergent results. To investigate these questions, we analyze subjects’ answers to an objective questionnaire and in the production of a written summary. The results show that high-cohesion texts generate better results and point to possible research avenues.

  4. 'ELENA goes mobile': a mobile assisted early foreign language learning pilot for familiarizing children with neighbouring languages

    OpenAIRE

    Rusman, Ellen; Ternier, Stefaan; Sassen, Derk

    2013-01-01

    Rusman, E., Ternier, S., & Sassen, D. (2013, 14-15 November). 'ELENA goes mobile': a mobile assisted early foreign language learning pilot for familiarizing children with neighbouring languages. Presentation (virtual) at the 6th ICT for Language learning Conference, Florence, Italy. (URL of virtual presentation, including audio, will follow).

  5. Foreign Language in the First Cycle of Waldorf Primary Education – Viewpoints of Parents from Three Countries

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mithans Monika

    2013-09-01

    Full Text Available This paper seeks to present the viewpoints of Slovenian, Austrian, and German parents whose children attend Waldorf primary schools, about learning foreign languages at the primary level. The first section of the paper outlines the main characteristics of learning and teaching foreign languages in Waldorf primary schools and compares the syllabus for the first foreign language in Austria, Slovenia, and Germany. Further on, the paper focuses on the results of an empirical research which involved 215 parents. The results showed that parents who could directly observe the effects of learning a foreign language in childhood were more inclined to it. They were also familiar with the benefits of learning a foreign language for a child. Also, the majority of them agreed that learning second languages was easier for children, and they did not think it had any adverse impact on the mother tongue or the child’s personality.

  6. 34 CFR 657.1 - What is the Foreign Language and Area Studies Fellowships Program?

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 34 Education 3 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false What is the Foreign Language and Area Studies... (Continued) OFFICE OF POSTSECONDARY EDUCATION, DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION FOREIGN LANGUAGE AND AREA STUDIES... instruction is being developed, in combination with area studies, international studies, or the international...

  7. Reading comprehension and its underlying components in second-language learners: A meta-analysis of studies comparing first- and second-language learners.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Melby-Lervåg, Monica; Lervåg, Arne

    2014-03-01

    We report a systematic meta-analytic review of studies comparing reading comprehension and its underlying components (language comprehension, decoding, and phonological awareness) in first- and second-language learners. The review included 82 studies, and 576 effect sizes were calculated for reading comprehension and underlying components. Key findings were that, compared to first-language learners, second-language learners display a medium-sized deficit in reading comprehension (pooled effect size d = -0.62), a large deficit in language comprehension (pooled effect size d = -1.12), but only small differences in phonological awareness (pooled effect size d = -0.08) and decoding (pooled effect size d = -0.12). A moderator analysis showed that characteristics related to the type of reading comprehension test reliably explained the variation in the differences in reading comprehension between first- and second-language learners. For language comprehension, studies of samples from low socioeconomic backgrounds and samples where only the first language was used at home generated the largest group differences in favor of first-language learners. Test characteristics and study origin reliably contributed to the variations between the studies of language comprehension. For decoding, Canadian studies showed group differences in favor of second-language learners, whereas the opposite was the case for U.S. studies. Regarding implications, unless specific decoding problems are detected, interventions that aim to ameliorate reading comprehension problems among second-language learners should focus on language comprehension skills.

  8. Teachers' perceptions of strategy training in reading instruction

    OpenAIRE

    Sallı, Ayşegül

    2002-01-01

    Ankara : The Department of Teaching English as a Foreign Language, the Institute of Economics and Social Sciences of Bilkent University, 2002. Thesis (Master's) -- Bilkent University, 2002. Includes bibliographical references leaves 93-97. Reading strategies are processes used by a learner to enhance reading and to overcome comprehension failures. In order to better help students overcome such difficulties, training in reading strategies is necessary. Only with the appropriate ...

  9. Smuggling Language into the Teaching of Reading.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Heilman, Arthur W.; Holmes, Elizabeth Ann

    Techniques and procedures for teaching reading as a meaning-making, language-oriented process are the focus of this book. The underlying premise is that children are taught to read so that they have an important tool for developing and expanding concepts. In order to accomplish this aim, children must be exposed to the precision and ambiguities of…

  10. Attitudes Toward Immigrants and Multiculturalism in Contemporary America: The Role of Foreign Language Fluency

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Emanuel Alvarado

    2009-10-01

    Full Text Available Drawing from sociological research seeking to explain variation in attitudes toward immigrants and immigration policy, it is found that knowledge and proficiency in a language other than English is associated with more favorable views towards immigrants and towards multiculturalism in contemporary America. Alvarado reviews the literature on sociological research on immigrant attitudes, explores the nexus between foreign language learning and appreciation for foreign culture(s, and presents the methodology and analysis used to test the strength of the association between knowledge in a foreign language and favorable views towards immigrants and multiculturalism in the United States.

  11. L2 Extensive Reading and Flow: Clarifying the Relationship

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kirchhoff, Cheryl

    2013-01-01

    Among foreign language educators interest in extensive reading is growing along with questions about learner motivation to read. Maintaining learner motivation over long periods of time is influenced by many variables suggesting that multiple means of stimulating motivation is needed. The psychological theory of flow has been suggested to…

  12. Foreign-Language Study Still Required for Chemistry.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chemical and Engineering News, 1983

    1983-01-01

    Results of a survey of schools granting American Chemical Society-approved degrees indicate that most chemistry departments still require graduate students to understand a foreign language, despite much discussion in the past few years that the requirement might be outdated or that competency with computers is more relevant to chemists. (Author/JN)

  13. Vers une Redefinition de la Comprehension Ecrite en Langue Etrangere (Towards a Redefinition of Reading Comprehension in a Foreign Language). Melanges Pedagogiques, 1975.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abe, D.; And Others

    Up to the present, the Centre de Recherches et d'Applications Pedagogiques en Langues has approached the development of reading comprehension skills in English as a second language in terms of morpho-syntactic development. This article proposes to examine difficulties in reading comprehension based not on morpho-syntax but on the textual and…

  14. A Personalized Recommendation-Based Mobile Learning Approach to Improving the Reading Performance of EFL Students

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hsu, Ching-Kun; Hwang, Gwo-Jen; Chang, Chih-Kai

    2013-01-01

    In this paper, a personalized recommendation-based mobile language learning approach is proposed. A mobile learning system has been developed based on the approach by providing a reading material recommendation mechanism for guiding EFL (English as Foreign Language) students to read articles that match their preferences and knowledge levels, and a…

  15. Examination of the Relationship Between Autonomy and English Achievement as Mediated by Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ghorbandordinejad, Farhad; Ahmadabad, Roghayyeh Moradian

    2016-06-01

    This study investigated the relationship between autonomy and English language achievement among third-grade high school students as mediated by foreign language classroom anxiety in a city in the north-west of Iran. A sample of 400 students (187 males, and 213 females) was assessed for their levels of autonomy and foreign language anxiety using the Autonomy Questionnaire and Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (FLCAS), respectively. Participants' scores on their final English exam were also used as the measurement of their English achievement. The results of Pearson correlation revealed a strong correlation between learners' autonomy and their English achievement (r [Formula: see text] .406, n [Formula: see text] 400, [Formula: see text]). Also, foreign language classroom anxiety was found to be significantly and negatively correlated with English achievement (r [Formula: see text] [Formula: see text].472, n [Formula: see text] 400, [Formula: see text]). Hierarchical multiple regression was used to assess the ability of autonomy to predict language learning achievement, after controlling for the influence of anxiety. In sum, the results of hierarchical multiple regressions revealed that foreign language classroom anxiety significantly mediates the relationship between autonomy and English language achievement. Implications for both teachers and learners, and suggestions for further research are provided.

  16. Incidental Foreign-Language Acquisition by Children Watching Subtitled Television Programs

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ina, Lekkai

    2014-01-01

    Series of international studies have shown that subtitled television programs provide a rich context for foreign language acquisition. This study investigated whether incidental language acquisition occurs from watching a television program with/without subtitles. Children in the experimental conditions watch: (a) a 15 minute snapshot of a well…

  17. The Role of Films in the Teaching of Foreign Languages Ildiko ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    In historical films there are many different elements which are not very much ... foreign language teaching departments in many countries. Reasons .... as body language, mimicking, distance between the ..... if the class size is small. With a ...

  18. The peculiarities of the direct method usage in teaching speaking Foreign languages in Galicia and Bukovina (1890–1918

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bohdana Labinska

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available The given article researches the peculiarities of the usage of the direct method in teaching foreign language speaking in Galicia and Bukovina (1890–1918. It analyses the preconditions of appearance of the direct method of teaching of foreign languages, the influence of contiguous sciences on the methodology of teaching of foreign languages. The peculiarities of realization of the direct method of teaching of foreign languages in Galicia and Bukovina is observed in the article. The methodology of teaching of foreign language speaking in the process of realization of the direct method in the west of Ukraine is described.

  19. Using Interconnected Texts to Highlight Culture in the Foreign Language Classroom

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smith, Maya

    2013-01-01

    SLA research on foreign language pedagogy has long demonstrated that culture is essential to language learning. However, presenting culture in the language classroom poses certain problems. For learners, there is a tendency to stereotype others and to rely excessively on the teacher. For teachers, there is a tendency to transmit isolated facts…

  20. Multilingualism at Danish universities equal to English? The Implications for other foreign languages and linguistic poverty

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Cancino, Rita

    and revenue (Phillipson, 2010). This issue forms the background of the presentation, in which it will be discussed how the extended use of English at Danish Universities contributes to linguistic poverty and lack of other foreign languages. The presentation will be centered around the study of language......Language policy and the economics of the workplace, Language policy and globalization Keywords: Key words: Danish Universities, multilingualism, language policy, foreign languages, globalization, Multilingualism at Danish universities equal to English? The Implications for other foreign languages...... and linguistic poverty. Since 2003, with the new Danish University Act and the strengthening of internationalisation, Danish Universities have changed rapidly with a massive transition to English as language of instruction in many study programmes. Studies taught in English attract a large amount of both Danish...

  1. Reading Skills and Strategies: Assessing Primary School Students’ Awareness in L1 and EFL Strategy Use

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Evdokimos Aivazoglou

    2014-09-01

    Full Text Available The present study was designed and conducted with the purpose to assess primary school students’ awareness in GL1 (Greek as first language and EFL (English as a foreign language strategy use and investigate the relations between the reported reading strategies use in first (L1 and foreign language (FL.  The sample (455 students attending the fifth and sixth grades of primary schools in Northern Greece was first categorized into skilled and less skilled L1 and EFL readers through screening reading comprehension tests, one in L1 and one in FL, before filling in the reading strategy questionnaires. The findings revealed participants’ preference for “problem solving” strategies, while “global strategies” coming next. Girls were proved to be more aware of their reading strategies use with the boys reporting a more frequent use in both languages. Also, skilled readers were found to use reading strategies more effectively, and appeared to be more flexible in transferring strategies from L1 to FL compared to less-skilled readers.

  2. FOREIGN LANGUAGE TEACHING IN SUDANESE UNIVERSITIES: GOALS, ATTITUDES, AND REALITY

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Abdel Rahim Hamid Mugaddam

    2012-07-01

    Full Text Available Abstract: The goals and means of language study continue in the very center of debates among specialists in language teaching/learning. Different views relating to language and its functions are reflected in two main approaches to language teaching/learning. On the one hand, language is considered to be principally instrumental, a means of communicating thought and information. One the other hand, language is viewed as an important element of human being’s thought processes, perceptions, and self-expressions; and as such, it is placed at the core of translingual and transcultural competence. This paper investigates the current situation of teaching/learning foreign languages in the Sudanese universities with special focus on the goals of teaching these languages and their role in students’ future. Goals of language teaching and students’ attitudes towards the process will be related to the job opportunities available for the students on graduation. Data for the paper have been collected using questionnaires and interviews administered to students and teachers from five language departments at Khartoum University: English, French, German, Russian, and Chinese. Questionnaires and interviews on language attitude will be administered among Four-year language majors representing the four departments. The central question the paper tries to answer is whether there is a realistic match between the goals of language teaching/learning set by policy makers and students’ interests and expectations. Results are expected to contribute to the efforts made to restructure language-in-education curriculum at university level in a way that addresses the expectations of both policy makers and students. Keywords: Foreign language teaching and learning, goals, attitude.

  3. Linking Foreign Language to Occupational Education in a Rural High School: Foreign Language with Criminal Justice and Travel & Tourism.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Connors, William R.

    Ticonderoga High School (New York) has succeeded in increasing enrollments in foreign language courses beyond the college bound, Regents-level students who usually choose such courses. The school is located in the Adirondack Mountains, a region that, in the past decade, has seen increases both in prison construction and in tourism by…

  4. Foreign Languages at the Pre-School Level.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eichmann, Raymond; Ford, James F.

    French was added to the early childhood curriculum at the New School in Fayetteville, Arkansas, after a review of the literature on the subject indicated potential beneficial effects of teaching foreign languages to young children. Some of the advantages to be gained by the children were greater readiness for school work in general, greater…

  5. Exploring EFL Students’ Reading Comprehension Process through Their Life Experiences and the Sight Word Strategy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jennifer Camargo

    2010-12-01

    Full Text Available Due to the role language and literature play in the construction of social, economic and cultural systems, reading comprehension has become a growing challenge. This study examined how the relationship between English as a foreign language reading comprehension and life experiences while using the Sight Word Strategy could prove significant. Fifth graders at a public school in Bogotá participated in this study. Data were collected using tape recordings, field notes, archival data and students’ reflections. Analysis indicated that comprehension and construction of meaning were generated by sharing life experiences and through the interaction produced in each one of the Sight Word Strategy stages. The study suggested further research into a more encompassing definition of reading comprehension and life experiences correlation as an appropriate goal for English as a foreign language.

  6. How Reading Strategy Use and Personality Types Are Related?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Safdarian, Zahra; Ghyasi, Majid; Farsani, Mohammad Amini

    2014-01-01

    This study sought to uncover the reading strategies utilized by Iranian undergraduate English Foreign Language (EFL) learners and their relationship with personality types. To this end, 194 university EFL learners were asked to fill out the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) to identify their personality types and answer a reading strategy…

  7. Intelligence and Metacognition as Predictors of Foreign Language Achievement: A Structural Equation Modeling Approach

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pishghadam, Reza; Khajavy, Gholam Hassan

    2013-01-01

    This study examined the role of metacognition and intelligence in foreign language achievement on a sample of 143 Iranian English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners. Participants completed Raven's Advanced Progressive Matrices as a measure of intelligence, and Metacognitive Awareness Inventory as a measure of metacognition. Learners' scores at…

  8. TG Grammar's Implications for the Foreign Language Teaching

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    殷彩

    2009-01-01

    Chomsky's Transformational-Generative (TG) grammar is another revolution to linguistics after Saussure's strueturalism, and it plays an important role in the modem linguistics. Introducing the research perspective and method of TG grammar, this paper analyses its implications for the foreign language teaching.

  9. COOPERATIVE LEARNING AS A MEANS OF STIMULATING LIFE SKILLS IN PROFESSIONALLY-BIASED FOREIGN LANGUAGE TEACHING

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alexander Komarov

    2016-02-01

    Full Text Available The article is devoted to the contribution of foreign language learning to stimulating students’ life skills at non-linguistic higher institutions. In the article, the author considers the possibilities of motivating students to exercise life skills in the process of foreign language instruction. The author analyses the cooperative learning technology as a means that enables students to be involved into interaction with one another as well as it develops their team-building skills to successfully cooperate and communicate with each other. The author describes different forms of cooperative leaning, which give students an opportunity to mutually enrich and complement each other’s skills in foreign language learning. The author argues that cooperative learning technology stimulates the students’ existent life skills and makes them work in the process of professionally-biased instruction of a foreign language.

  10. A View into Successful Teaching Techniques: Teaching Malay Language as a Foreign Language in Malaysia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baharudin, Mazlina; Sadik, Azlina Md

    2016-01-01

    This paper will highlight successful teaching techniques used in class in teaching the Malay Language 1 course in Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM). The course is to equip foreign students for their studies and also as means of basic communication with the locals in Malaysia. In Malaysia, the emphasis in Malay language teaching are focused to…

  11. The design process of a reading comprehension manual

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sergio Alonso Lopera Medina

    2015-05-01

    Full Text Available Material design is an important part in the teaching practices. This article describes the process of material design of a foreign language (FL reading manual for undergraduate students at Universidad de Antioquia (Medellín – Colombia. A case study was used as a research method. Four in-service English teachers based their inquiry following the reflective approach of professional development. They also took into account the guidelines to design teaching materials proposed by Howard and Major (2004.  Some of the results of their inquiry for the design of the manual involve contextualization, personalization, and students’ needs. A sample of a reading strategy is given in order to illustrate how teachers worked and designed the manual as a product of their inquiry. Conclusions suggest that this professional development practice helped teachers become more aware of their own teaching realities and also helped them to understand their beliefs and practice in teaching reading as a foreign language.

  12. Neural systems of second language reading are shaped by native language.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tan, Li Hai; Spinks, John A; Feng, Ching-Mei; Siok, Wai Ting; Perfetti, Charles A; Xiong, Jinhu; Fox, Peter T; Gao, Jia-Hong

    2003-03-01

    Reading in a second language (L2) is a complex task that entails an interaction between L2 and the native language (L1). To study the underlying mechanisms, we used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to visualize Chinese-English bilinguals' brain activity in phonological processing of logographic Chinese and alphabetic English, two written languages with a sharp contrast in phonology and orthography. In Experiment 1, we found that phonological processing of Chinese characters recruits a neural system involving left middle frontal and posterior parietal gyri, cortical regions that are known to contribute to spatial information representation, spatial working memory, and coordination of cognitive resources as a central executive system. We assume that the peak activation of this system is relevant to the unique feature of Chinese that a logographic character has a square configuration that maps onto a monosyllabic unit of speech. Equally important, when our bilingual subjects performed a phonological task on English words, this neural system was most active, whereas brain areas mediating English monolinguals' fine-grained phonemic analysis, as demonstrated by Experiment 2, were only weakly activated. This suggests that our bilingual subjects were applying their L1 system to L2 reading and that the lack of letter-to-sound conversion rules in Chinese led Chinese readers to being less capable of processing English by recourse to an analytic reading system on which English monolinguals rely. Our brain imaging findings lend strongest support to the idea that language experience tunes the cortex. Copyright 2003 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

  13. Pre-Service English as a Foreign Language Teachers' Belief Development about Grammar Instruction

    Science.gov (United States)

    Çapan, Seyit Ahmet

    2014-01-01

    This study aims to investigate pre-service English as Foreign Language (EFL) teachers' beliefs about grammar instruction in a foreign language (FL) context through their initial teaching practices. Analyses of semi-structured interviews and classroom observations apart from pre-and post-test results of participants' responses to a belief…

  14. English in the Chinese foreign language classroom

    CERN Document Server

    Wang, Danping

    2013-01-01

    Chinese is an ancient language, but the present scope of its global study is unprecedented. Comprehending the impacts of worldwide linguistic realities on 'Chinese as a Foreign Language' (CFL) teachers and students will be critical to its long-term success. The most important phenomenon has been the establishment of English as a lingua franca, especially in the expanding marketplaces of Asia. This book examines the role of English as a medium of instruction in CFL classrooms. It begins by integrating existing studies on the global spread of English with research on English as a medium of secon

  15. The Importance of the Foreign Language Learning Contributing to World Peace

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sahin, Yusuf

    2011-01-01

    The aim of this paper is to determine the elements which hinder peace, and emphasize the importance of the contribution of foreign language learning to international peace. Language affects the thought and behavior of human beings. The attitude of a person knowing more than one language of a position is not the same as a person not knowing a…

  16. FOREIGN LANGUAGE OFFERINGS AND ENROLLMENTS IN PUBLIC SECONDARY SCHOOLS, FALL 1965.

    Science.gov (United States)

    RUTIMANN, HANS; TEAGUE, CAROLINE

    THIS REPORT ON FOREIGN LANGUAGE ENROLLMENTS, THE EIGHTH IN A SERIES PUBLISHED ANNUALLY, SHOWS THE LANGUAGE ENROLLMENT DISTRIBUTION IN PUBLIC SECONDARY SCHOOLS (GRADES 7 TO 12) WHICH, IN 1965, WAS 85.8 PERCENT ENROLLED IN SPANISH, FRENCH, GERMAN, RUSSIAN, AND ITALIAN, 13.9 PERCENT ENROLLED IN LATIN, AND 0.3 PERCENT IN "OTHER" LANGUAGES. THREE BASIC…

  17. 9 CFR 381.128 - Labels in foreign languages.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... AGENCY ORGANIZATION AND TERMINOLOGY; MANDATORY MEAT AND POULTRY PRODUCTS INSPECTION AND VOLUNTARY INSPECTION AND CERTIFICATION POULTRY PRODUCTS INSPECTION REGULATIONS Labeling and Containers § 381.128 Labels in foreign languages. Any label to be affixed to a container of any dressed poultry or other poultry...

  18. Foreign Language Learning using E-Communication Technologies in the Educational Sector

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Andreea-Maria Tirziu

    2015-05-01

    Full Text Available E-communication places new demands on language, leading to interesting variations in written language use. E-mail, chats, online discussions and SMS messages use a language marked by traits of both informal speech and formal writing, a host of text-based icons and acronyms for handling social interaction and modifications in spelling norms. Objectives: The purpose of this article is to provide a framework on individuals’ possibilities to learn a foreign language using e-communication technologies. Approach: It shows the specialty literature that focuses on e-learning, with priority to e-communication. Results: Proper use of new technologies allows a more systematic integration of language, content and culture, and gives individuals unprecedented opportunities for autonomous learning. E-communication not only helps teachers and students to exceed linguistic, geographical and time barriers, but also to build bridges between native and foreign language programs. Implications: This research work is important for academics and students who use online technologies to teach or learn another language. Value: In this paper, we have identified that the use of new technologies consents learners to engage in forms of online communication, thus research becoming vital for success in their academic and professional pursuits.

  19. THE CONCEPT OF STAGED BUILDING FOREIGN LANGUAGE COMMUNICATIVE COMPETENCE OF PROSPECTIVE SPECIALISTS OF NON-PHILOLOGICAL SPECIALIZATIONIN HIGHER EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS

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    Nataliia Mykytenko

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available The article deals with the validation of the concept of staged building of a foreign language communicative competence in prospective specialists of non-philological specialization in higher educational institutions.The concept “a foreign language communicative competence in prospective specialists of non-philological specialization” has been defined. It has been established that the methodological-theoretical basis of the concept of staged building of a foreign language communicative competence in prospective specialists of non-philological specialization is framed by the theories of education and learning, methodological, approaches and principles of didactics and methodology; psychological theories of learning and development of individuality; psycholinguistic theories of language teaching; sociolinguistic studies of language usage, linguistic approaches and theories; philosophical theories of development, interrelation and interdependence of phenomena of reality. The main approaches, that enable the concept of staged building of a foreign language communicative competence in prospective specialists of non-philological specialization, are competence-based, communicative, differential ones with orientation to the levels of knowledge of foreign languages established by Council of Europe. The concept of staged building of a foreign language communicative competence in prospective specialists of non-philological specialization is projected on the process of foreign language teaching in higher educational institutions of Ukraine.

  20. Teaching and Learning English as a Foreign Language in Taiwan: A Socio-Cultural Analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kung, Fan-Wei

    2017-01-01

    This article examines the English as a Foreign Language (EFL) context in Taiwan based on Vygotsky's (1978) socio-cultural framework. The historical context is provided after some delineations of the educational system in Taiwan with regard to its foreign language instruction policy and development. Based upon the proposed socio-cultural framework,…

  1. National and State Needs for Foreign Language Learning in Government, Business, Tourism, and Agriculture.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hoegl, Juergen K.

    There is growing evidence that the need for cultural understanding and foreign language competence in the United States and in Illinois is not being met. This need must be addressed through state educational reform. The deterioration in foreign language capabilities affects national security and is a direct result of declining enrollment in…

  2. THE CONTRIBUTIONS OF PSYCHOLOGICAL THEORY AND EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH TO THE TEACHING OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES.

    Science.gov (United States)

    CARROLL, JOHN B.

    THIS ADDRESS, GIVEN AT THE INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON MODERN FOREIGN LANGUAGE TEACHING (BERLIN, SEPTEMBER 1964), PRESENTS A GENERAL DISCUSSION OF THE PRESENT SCOPE, ROLE, AND POTENTIAL USE OF RESEARCH IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE TEACHING METHODOLOGY, AND MAINTAINS THAT THE BEST RESEARCH IS THAT WHICH IS CLOSELY ALLIED WITH THEORY, AND THE HARDEST TO…

  3. Reading Strategies to Develop Higher Thinking Skills for Reading Comprehension (Estrategias de lectura para el desarrollo de habilidades de pensamiento para la comprensión de lectura)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Echeverri Acosta, Luz Marina; McNulty Ferri, Maria

    2010-01-01

    This paper reports an action research project which examined the foreign language reading comprehension of public school eighth graders who experienced a directed reading-thinking approach with strategies for comprehension and application. The strategies used were prediction, prior knowledge, graphic organizers, and questions. Data analyzed…

  4. Brazilian and German perspectives: a study on perception, interculturality and foreign language and culture teaching

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mergenfel A. Vaz Ferreira

    2011-12-01

    Full Text Available This article aims to present a comparative study of the perception of multimodal texts, more specifically, advertisements printed in Brazilian and German magazines, by Brazilian learners of GFL(German as a Foreign Language and German learners of PFL (Portuguese as a Foreign Language , with special attention to the intercultural dimension involved in this process. Through the analysis developed in the study, it was possible to identify not only cultural aspects strictly related to language phenomena (as the use of personal pronouns and forms of treatment, for instance, but also more subjective cultural aspects (such as emotional states, the view about work, among others. This study also discusses the implications of the link between culture and language choices for the area of teaching and learning foreign languages / cultures.

  5. PEDAGOGICAL CONDITIONS OF THE INTELLECTUAL DEVELOPMENT OF PRESCHOOL CHILDREN BY MEANS OF FOREIGN LANGUAGE

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    V N Kartashova

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available The article describes the conditions of intellectual development of preschool children during foreign language teaching in the developmental subject-spatial environment of a preschool educational institution. The creation of developing educational and subject-spatial environment gives the opportunity to implement different programs. When creating the developing educational environment a particular emphasis is given to the foreign language. Teaching a foreign language helps reach the goals not only of the formation of foreign language communicative skills of preschool children, of introduction to a foreign culture, but also solve challenges of his intellectual development. Several types of interaction of the child with objects of the surrounding world are identified. They are latent, real and mediated. The main ways to stimulate intellectual development of the preschool child are described (the creation of a favorable psychological environment; ensuring the opportunity to actively ask questions of divergent type due to the enrichment of meaningful context of a child’s life; the widespread use of questions relating to the most diverse areas with the aim of developing children’s observation. These methods can be considered as pedagogical conditions which will allow us to create the environment for the personal development of the child. The article presents the experience of their implementation. The main approach is integrative-game. This approach supposes the inclusion the integration of different types of children’s activities (visual, musical-rhythmic, theatrical for the joint execution of tasks focused on the development of the child in the process of foreign language teaching.

  6. Foreign body aspiration and language spoken at home: 10-year review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Choroomi, S; Curotta, J

    2011-07-01

    To review foreign body aspiration cases encountered over a 10-year period in a tertiary paediatric hospital, and to assess correlation between foreign body type and language spoken at home. Retrospective chart review of all children undergoing direct laryngobronchoscopy for foreign body aspiration over a 10-year period. Age, sex, foreign body type, complications, hospital stay and home language were analysed. At direct laryngobronchoscopy, 132 children had foreign body aspiration (male:female ratio 1.31:1; mean age 32 months (2.67 years)). Mean hospital stay was 2.0 days. Foreign bodies most commonly comprised food matter (53/132; 40.1 per cent), followed by non-food matter (44/132; 33.33 per cent), a negative endoscopy (11/132; 8.33 per cent) and unknown composition (24/132; 18.2 per cent). Most parents spoke English (92/132, 69.7 per cent; vs non-English-speaking 40/132, 30.3 per cent), but non-English-speaking patients had disproportionately more food foreign bodies, and significantly more nut aspirations (p = 0.0065). Results constitute level 2b evidence. Patients from non-English speaking backgrounds had a significantly higher incidence of food (particularly nut) aspiration. Awareness-raising and public education is needed in relevant communities to prevent certain foods, particularly nuts, being given to children too young to chew and swallow them adequately.

  7. Foreign Language Writing Fellows Programs: A Model for Improving Advanced Writing Skills

    Science.gov (United States)

    Snyder, Delys Waite; Nielson, Rex P.; Kurzer, Kendon

    2016-01-01

    Within the growing field of scholarly literature on foreign language (FL) writing pedagogy, few studies have addressed pedagogical questions regarding the teaching of writing to advanced language learners. Writing fellows peer tutoring programs, although typically associated with first language writing instruction, likely can benefit and support…

  8. A Correlational Study: Personality Types and Foreign Language Acquisition in Undergraduate Students

    Science.gov (United States)

    Capellan, Frank

    2017-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between personality types and second language acquisition. The study addressed a problem that is inadequately investigated in foreign language acquisition research; specifically, personality traits as predictors of language learning in college students studying Spanish as a foreign…

  9. The Analysis of the Impact of Two Factors-Motivation and Attitude in Adult Foreign Language Learning

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    LI Hui-fang

    2014-01-01

    This paper is mainly about how the two affective factors-motivation and attitude influence adults’foreign language learning. The topic is discussed from the aspect of some factors which indirectly influence adults ’language learning through influ-encing their learning motivation. Also positive attitude will promote adult foreign language learning.

  10. Foreign Language Learning, Motivation and the Market Economy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Diamantatou, Christina; Hawes, Thomas

    2016-01-01

    This study explores UK students' motivation to study foreign languages, linking unrewarding past learning experiences with attrition rates and posing questions about the influence of official policy and socially structured conditions. 31 Further Education college students were given a questionnaire based on Gardner's (1975) Attitude/Motivation…

  11. Some Aspects of Culture Teaching in Foreign Language and ESP Classes: Cultural Scripts and Small Talk

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    Ivona Baranovskaja

    2011-12-01

    Full Text Available The present paper deals with the problem of teaching culture in the foreign language classes at all levels of education. Cultural studies should not be separated from the language syllabus and foreign language learning should not be limited to formal learning of systems of sounds, words, and syntactic structures, but should also include learning the culture of the target language. Success in intercultural communication depends greatly on the understanding of a number of cultural features. The article emphasizes the importance of teaching and learning target culture, as well as introduces the analysis of cultural scripts and small talk in English, Russian and Polish languages. Understanding the cultural differences will benefit and facilitate cross-cultural communication under diverse circumstances. Thereby, this issue is relevant to foreign language and ESP classes focusing on the improvement of both students’ language and cultural skills.

  12. 16 CFR 14.9 - Requirements concerning clear and conspicuous disclosures in foreign language advertising and...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... conspicuous disclosures in foreign language advertising and sales materials. 14.9 Section 14.9 Commercial... and conspicuous disclosures in foreign language advertising and sales materials. The Federal Trade...” disclosure of certain information in an advertisement or sales material in a newspaper, magazine, periodical...

  13. The Effects of Pre-Learning Vocabulary on Reading Comprehension and Writing

    Science.gov (United States)

    Webb, Stuart A.

    2009-01-01

    This study investigates the effects of pre-learning vocabulary on reading comprehension and writing. Japanese students studying English as a foreign language (EFL) learned word pairs receptively and productively; four tests were used to measure reading comprehension, writing, and receptive and productive vocabulary knowledge. The findings suggest…

  14. Effects of early language, speech, and cognition on later reading: A mediation analysis

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    Vanessa N Durand

    2013-09-01

    Full Text Available This longitudinal secondary analysis examined which early language and speech abilities are associated with school-aged reading skills, and whether these associations are mediated by cognitive ability. We analyzed vocabulary, syntax, speech sound maturity, and cognition in a sample of healthy children at age 3 years (N=241 in relation to single word reading (decoding, comprehension, and oral reading fluency in the same children at age 9 to 11 years. All predictor variables and the mediator variable were associated with the three reading outcomes. The predictor variables were all associated with cognitive abilities, the mediator. Cognitive abilities partially mediated the effects of language on reading. After mediation, decoding was associated with speech sound maturity; comprehension was associated with receptive vocabulary; and oral fluency was associated with speech sound maturity, receptive vocabulary, and syntax. In summary, all of the effects of language on reading could not be explained by cognition as a mediator. Specific components of language and speech skills in preschool made independent contributions to reading skills 6 to 8 years later. These early precursors to later reading skill represent potential targets for early intervention to improve reading.

  15. Foreign language vocabulary learning: word-type effects during the labeling stage

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    de Groot, A.M.B.; van den Brink, R.C.L.; Kail, M.; Hickmann, M.

    2010-01-01

    This chapter reviews the results of a set of experiments that examined foreign-language (FL) vocabulary learning by late learners, exploiting the paired-associate-learning (PAL) paradigm. The effects on acquisition and retention of the concreteness and frequency of the native-language (L1) words,

  16. MALL Technology: Use of Academic Podcasting in the Foreign Language Classroom

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abdous, M'hammed; Camarena, Margaret M.; Facer, Betty Rose

    2009-01-01

    Integrating Mobile Assisted Language Learning (MALL) technology (personal multimedia players, cell phones, and handheld devices) into the foreign language curriculum is becoming commonplace in many secondary and higher education institutions. Current research has identified both pedagogically sound applications and important benefits to students.…

  17. The Lab of the Future: Using Technology to Teach Foreign Language.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Underwood, John H.

    1993-01-01

    Describes the role of technology in teaching foreign languages. Offers a brief history of language lab technologies, including computer use for drill-and-practice, text reconstruction, and simulations and games. Discusses tool programs, intelligent systems, video technology, satellite television, videodisc and interactive video, hypertext and…

  18. Effects of Sound, Vocabulary, and Grammar Learning Aptitude on Adult Second Language Speech Attainment in Foreign Language Classrooms

    Science.gov (United States)

    Saito, Kazuya

    2017-01-01

    This study examines the relationship between different types of language learning aptitude (measured via the LLAMA test) and adult second language (L2) learners' attainment in speech production in English-as-a-foreign-language (EFL) classrooms. Picture descriptions elicited from 50 Japanese EFL learners from varied proficiency levels were analyzed…

  19. English as a Foreign Language Spelling Development: A Longitudinal Study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kahn-Horwitz, Janina; Sparks, Richard L.; Goldstein, Zahava

    2012-01-01

    English as a foreign language (EFL) spelling was examined longitudinally three times (4th, 9th, 12th grades) during 9 years of EFL study among Hebrew first language (L1) students. The study examined the impact of L1 literacy variables including phonemic awareness, word attack, and spelling on EFL spelling and the relationship between EFL literacy…

  20. Adult EFL Reading Selection: Influence on Literacy

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    Juan Sebastián Basallo Gómez

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper is about the impact of systematic reading selection used to promote English as foreign language learning in adult students. A qualitative action research methodology was used to carry out this project. Ten class sessions were designed to provide students an opportunity to select texts according to criteria based upon their language levels and personal/professional interests. The findings align with three categories of influence: motivation, engagement, and contextualization/interpretation of readings. The main objective of this project was to see how the students’ text selection processes, guided by systematically designed criteria and elaborated strategies, influenced learning and acquisition in terms of motivation, perceptions, and opinions towards reading in English.