Field of Study, Learning Styles, and Language Learning Strategies of University Students: Are There Any Relations?

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Sahragard, Rahman; Khajavi, Yaser; Abbasian, Reza

2016-01-01

The present study aimed to investigate the possible relationships between field of study, learning style preferences, and language learning strategies among university students majoring in the fields of arts and humanities, science, engineering, social sciences, and English as a foreign language. To this end, 376 university students completed the…

Seamless Language Learning: Second Language Learning with Social Media

OpenAIRE

Wong, Lung-Hsiang; Sing-Chai, Ching; Poh-Aw, Guat

2017-01-01

This conceptual paper describes a language learning model that applies social media to foster contextualized and connected language learning in communities. The model emphasizes weaving together different forms of language learning activities that take place in different learning contexts to achieve seamless language learning. It promotes social interactions with social media about the learners’ day-to-day life using the targeted second or foreign language. The paper first identifies three ke...

The Relationship Between Artificial and Second Language Learning.

Science.gov (United States)

Ettlinger, Marc; Morgan-Short, Kara; Faretta-Stutenberg, Mandy; Wong, Patrick C M

2016-05-01

Artificial language learning (ALL) experiments have become an important tool in exploring principles of language and language learning. A persistent question in all of this work, however, is whether ALL engages the linguistic system and whether ALL studies are ecologically valid assessments of natural language ability. In the present study, we considered these questions by examining the relationship between performance in an ALL task and second language learning ability. Participants enrolled in a Spanish language class were evaluated using a number of different measures of Spanish ability and classroom performance, which was compared to IQ and a number of different measures of ALL performance. The results show that success in ALL experiments, particularly more complex artificial languages, correlates positively with indices of L2 learning even after controlling for IQ. These findings provide a key link between studies involving ALL and our understanding of second language learning in the classroom. Copyright © 2015 Cognitive Science Society, Inc.

Language used in interaction during developmental science instruction

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Avenia-Tapper, Brianna

The coordination of theory and evidence is an important part of scientific practice. Developmental approaches to instruction, which make the relationship between the abstract and the concrete a central focus of students' learning activity, provide educators with a unique opportunity to strengthen students' coordination of theory and evidence. Therefore, developmental approaches may be a useful instructional response to documented science achievement gaps for linguistically diverse students. However, if we are to leverage the potential of developmental instruction to improve the science achievement of linguistically diverse students, we need more information on the intersection of developmental science instruction and linguistically diverse learning contexts. This manuscript style dissertation uses discourse analysis to investigate the language used in interaction during developmental teaching-learning in three linguistically diverse third grade classrooms. The first manuscript asks how language was used to construct ascension from the abstract to the concrete. The second manuscript asks how students' non-English home languages were useful (or not) for meeting the learning goals of the developmental instructional program. The third manuscript asks how students' interlocutors may influence student choice to use an important discourse practice--justification--during the developmental teaching-learning activity. All three manuscripts report findings relevant to the instructional decisions that teachers need to make when implementing developmental instruction in linguistically diverse contexts.

Promoting autonomous learning in English through the implementation of Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL in science and maths subjects

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Andriani Putu Fika

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Autonomous learning is a concept in which the learner has the ability to take charge of their own learning. It becomes a notable aspect that should be perceived by students. The aim of this research is for finding out the strategies used by grade two teachers in Bali Kiddy Primary School to promote autonomous learning in English through the implementation of Content and Language Integrated Learning in science and maths subjects. This study was designed in the form of descriptive qualitative study. The data were collected through observation, interview, and document study. The result of the study shows that there are some strategies of promoting autonomous learning in English through the implementation of CLIL in Science and Maths subjects. Those strategies are table of content training, questioning & presenting, journal writing, choosing activities, and using online activity. Those strategies can be adopted or even adapted as the way to promote autonomous learning in English subject.

Trans/Languaging and the Triadic Dialogue in Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) Classrooms

Science.gov (United States)

Lin, Angel M. Y.; Lo, Yuen Yi

2017-01-01

There has been a rich literature on the role of language in learning and on its role in knowledge (co-)construction in the science classroom. This literature, rooted in social semiotics theories and sociocultural theories, discussed research conducted largely in contexts where students are learning content in their first language (L1). In this…

The Attitudes of Freshman Undergraduates in Learning English as a Second Language

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yvonne Jain

2012-06-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this study is to investigate the attitudes of tertiary students towards the learning of English language with regard to their gender, discipline and language proficiency. This descriptive study involved a total of 200 undergraduates from the Faculty of Education in Shah Alam, Selangor. The study employed two methods of data collection: questionnaire and semi- structured interviews. The findings revealed that there was a moderately positive attitude towards the learning of English language. However, the findings showed that the female respondents were more positive towards the learning of English language compared to their male counterparts while the Non Science major students had positive attitude towards learning English language compared to the Science major students. The study also showed that low proficiency students had better attitude towards English language compared to high proficiency students.

The Effects of Self-Regulation on Science Vocabulary Acquisition of English Language Learners with Learning Difficulties

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Kim, Woori; Linan-Thompson, Sylvia

2013-01-01

This multiple-probe study examined the effects of self-regulation on the acquisition of science vocabulary by four third-grade English language learners (ELLs) with learning difficulties. The students were provided only direct vocabulary instruction in a baseline phase, followed by intervention and maintenance phases into which self-regulation…

Learning Science: Some Insights from Cognitive Science

Science.gov (United States)

Matthews, P. S. C.

Theories of teaching and learning, including those associated with constructivism, often make no overt reference to an underlying assumption that they make; that is, human cognition depends on domain-free, general-purpose processing by the brain. This assumption is shown to be incompatible with evidence from studies of children's early learning. Rather, cognition is modular in nature, and often domain-specific. Recognition of modularity requires a re-evaluation of some aspects of current accounts of learning science. Especially, children's ideas in science are sometimes triggered rather than learned. It is in the nature of triggered conceptual structures that they are not necessarily expressible in language, and that they may not be susceptible to change by later learning.

Language Learning Attitudes: Ingrained Or Shaped In Time?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gökçe DİŞLEN DAĞGÖL

2017-09-01

Full Text Available Language learning has become an essential need in today’s world. From academic to social settings, humans need to communicate in a different language to survive in their community. However, despite this increasing importance of language, it is difficult to say we have attained successful language learning on a large scale since there are a lot of factors in language learning process. Language attitudes, one of these factors, influence this process both positively and negatively, depending on how we view learning a foreign language. Therefore, this study deals with the issue of language attitudes to uncover learners’ language conceptions and probable effects on their learning. Moreover, this study aims to reveal the potential role of past learning experiences on the development of language beliefs positively or negatively. Thus, 35 university students in their 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th years constitute the participants of the study. Based on mixed research design, the study is comprised of both quantitative and qualitative data. Quantitative data were gathered through Attitude Scale towards English Course, and the analyses were performed with Statistical Packages for Social Sciences (SPSS 17.0 version for Windows. The qualitative data were collected from students’ reports of their own autobiographies regarding their previous language learning experiences in elementary, secondary, high school and university years, and were subjected to the content analysis. The study showed language attitudes from behavioural, cognitive and affective perspectives and found out different factors in shaping their learning conceptions.

Computational Investigations of Multiword Chunks in Language Learning.

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McCauley, Stewart M; Christiansen, Morten H

2017-07-01

Second-language learners rarely arrive at native proficiency in a number of linguistic domains, including morphological and syntactic processing. Previous approaches to understanding the different outcomes of first- versus second-language learning have focused on cognitive and neural factors. In contrast, we explore the possibility that children and adults may rely on different linguistic units throughout the course of language learning, with specific focus on the granularity of those units. Following recent psycholinguistic evidence for the role of multiword chunks in online language processing, we explore the hypothesis that children rely more heavily on multiword units in language learning than do adults learning a second language. To this end, we take an initial step toward using large-scale, corpus-based computational modeling as a tool for exploring the granularity of speakers' linguistic units. Employing a computational model of language learning, the Chunk-Based Learner, we compare the usefulness of chunk-based knowledge in accounting for the speech of second-language learners versus children and adults speaking their first language. Our findings suggest that while multiword units are likely to play a role in second-language learning, adults may learn less useful chunks, rely on them to a lesser extent, and arrive at them through different means than children learning a first language. Copyright © 2017 Cognitive Science Society, Inc.

Influence of culture and language sensitive physics on science attitude enhancement

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Morales, Marie Paz E.

2015-12-01

The study critically explored how culture and language sensitive curriculum materials in physics improve Pangasinan learners' attitude towards science. Their cultural dimensions, epistemological beliefs, and views on integration of culture and language in the teaching and learning process determined their cultural preference or profile. Design and development of culture and language sensitive curriculum materials in physics were heavily influenced by these learners' cultural preference or profile. Pilot-study using interviews and focus group discussions with natives of Pangasinan and document analysis were conducted to identify the culture, practices, and traditions integrated in the lesson development. Comparison of experimental participants' pretest and posttest results on science attitude measure showed significant statistical difference. Appraisal of science attitude enhancement favored the experimental group over the control group. Qualitative data deduced from post implementation interviews, focus group discussions, and journal log entries showed the same trend in favor of the experimental participants. The study revealed that culture and language integration in the teaching and learning process of physics concepts enabled students to develop positive attitude to science, their culture, and native language.

Russian Bilingual Science Learning: Perspectives from Secondary Students.

Science.gov (United States)

Lemberger, Nancy; Vinogradova, Olga

2002-01-01

Describes one secondary Russian/English bilingual science teacher's practice and her literate students' experiences as they learn science and adapt to a new school. Discusses the notion of whether literacy skills in the native language are transferable to a second language. (Author/VWL)

A study of the effects of English language proficiency and scientific reasoning skills on the acquisition of science content knowledge of Hispanic English language learners and native English language-speaking students participating in grade 10 science classes

Science.gov (United States)

Torres, Hector Neftali, Sr.

2000-11-01

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of English language proficiency and levels of scientific reasoning skills of Hispanic English language learners and native English language speaking students on their acquisition of science content knowledge as measured by a state-wide standardized science test. The researcher studied a group of high school Hispanic English language learners and native English language speaking students participating in Grade 10 science classes. The language proficiency of the students was to be measured through the use of the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) instrument. A Classroom Test of Scientific Reasoning developed by Lawson (1978) was administered in either English or Spanish to the group of Hispanic English language learners and in English to the group of native English language-speaking students in order to determine their levels of scientific reasoning skills. The students' acquisition of science content knowledge was measured through the use of statewide-standardized science test developed by the State's Department of Education. This study suggests that the levels of English language proficiency appear to influence the acquisition of science content knowledge of Hispanic English language learners in the study. The results of the study also suggest that with regards to scientific reasoning skills, students that showed high levels or reflective reasoning skills for the most part performed better on the statewide-standardized science test than students with intuitive or transitional reasoning skills. This assertion was supported by the studies conducted by Lawson and his colleagues, which showed that high levels of reasoning or reflective reasoning skills are prerequisite for most high school science courses. The findings in this study imply that high order English language proficiency combined with high levels of reasoning skills enhances students' abilities to learn science content subject matter. This

Embodied Language Learning and Cognitive Bootstrapping

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lyon, C.E.; Nehaniv, C. L.; Saunders, Joe

2016-01-01

Co-development of action, conceptualization and social interaction mutually scaffold and support each other within a virtuous feedback cycle in the development of human language in children. Within this framework, the purpose of this article is to bring together diverse but complementary accounts...... of research methods that jointly contribute to our understanding of cognitive development and in particular, language acquisition in robots. Thus, we include research pertaining to developmental robotics, cognitive science, psychology, linguistics and neuroscience, as well as practical computer science...... the humanoid robot iCub are reported, while human learning relevant to developmental robotics has also contributed useful results. Disparate approaches are brought together via common underlying design principles. Without claiming to model human language acquisition directly, we are nonetheless inspired...

Supporting Academic Language Development in Elementary Science: A Classroom Teaching Experiment

Science.gov (United States)

Jung, Karl Gerhard

Academic language is the language that students must engage in while participating in the teaching and learning that takes place in school (Schleppegrell, 2012) and science as a content area presents specific challenges and opportunities for students to engage with language (Buxton & Lee, 2014; Gee, 2005). In order for students to engage authentically and fully in the science learning that will take place in their classrooms, it is important that they develop their abilities to use science academic language (National Research Council, 2012). For this to occur, teachers must provide support to their students in developing the science academic language they will encounter in their classrooms. Unfortunately, this type of support remains a challenge for many teachers (Baecher, Farnsworth, & Ediger, 2014; Bigelow, 2010; Fisher & Frey, 2010) and teachers must receive professional development that supports their abilities to provide instruction that supports and scaffolds students' science academic language use and development. This study investigates an elementary science teacher's engagement in an instructional coaching partnership to explore how that teacher planned and implemented scaffolds for science academic language. Using a theoretical framework that combines the literature on scaffolding (Bunch, Walqui, & Kibler, 2015; Gibbons, 2015; Sharpe, 2001/2006) and instructional coaching (Knight, 2007/2009), this study sought to understand how an elementary science teacher plans and implements scaffolds for science academic language, and the resources that assisted the teacher in planning those scaffolds. The overarching goal of this work is to understand how elementary science teachers can scaffold language in their classroom, and how they can be supported in that work. Using a classroom teaching experiment methodology (Cobb, 2000) and constructivist grounded theory methods (Charmaz, 2014) for analysis, this study examined coaching conversations and classroom

Second Language Experience Facilitates Statistical Learning of Novel Linguistic Materials.

Science.gov (United States)

Potter, Christine E; Wang, Tianlin; Saffran, Jenny R

2017-04-01

Recent research has begun to explore individual differences in statistical learning, and how those differences may be related to other cognitive abilities, particularly their effects on language learning. In this research, we explored a different type of relationship between language learning and statistical learning: the possibility that learning a new language may also influence statistical learning by changing the regularities to which learners are sensitive. We tested two groups of participants, Mandarin Learners and Naïve Controls, at two time points, 6 months apart. At each time point, participants performed two different statistical learning tasks: an artificial tonal language statistical learning task and a visual statistical learning task. Only the Mandarin-learning group showed significant improvement on the linguistic task, whereas both groups improved equally on the visual task. These results support the view that there are multiple influences on statistical learning. Domain-relevant experiences may affect the regularities that learners can discover when presented with novel stimuli. Copyright © 2016 Cognitive Science Society, Inc.

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...

Science learning and literacy performance of typically developing, at-risk, and disabled, non-English language background students

Science.gov (United States)

Larrinaga McGee, Patria Maria

Current education reform calls for excellence, access, and equity in all areas of instruction, including science and literacy. Historically, persons of diverse backgrounds or with disabilities have been underrepresented in science. Gaps are evident between the science and literacy achievement of diverse students and their mainstream peers. The purpose of this study was to document, describe, and examine patterns of development and change in the science learning and literacy performance of Hispanic students. The two major questions of this study were: (1) How is science content knowledge, as evident in oral and written formats, manifested in the performance of typically developing, at-risk, and disabled non-English language background (NELB) students? and (2) What are the patterns of literacy performance in science, and as evident in oral and written formats, among typically developing, at-risk, and disabled NELB students? This case study was part of a larger research project, the Promise Project, undertaken at the University of Miami, Coral Gables, Florida, under the sponsorship of the National Science Foundation. The study involved 24 fourth-grade students in seven classrooms located in Promise Project schools where teachers were provided with training and materials for instruction on two units of science content: Matter and Weather. Four students were selected from among the fourth-graders for a closer analysis of their performance. Qualitative and quantitative data analysis methods were used to document, describe, and examine specific events or phenomena in the processes of science learning and literacy development. Important findings were related to (a) gains in science learning and literacy development, (b) students' science learning and literacy development needs, and (c) general and idiosyncratic attitudes toward science and literacy. Five patterns of science "explanations" identified indicated a developmental cognitive/linguistic trajectory in science

Common Core Science Standards: Implications for Students with Learning Disabilities

Science.gov (United States)

Scruggs, Thomas E.; Brigham, Frederick J.; Mastropieri, Margo A.

2013-01-01

The Common Core Science Standards represent a new effort to increase science learning for all students. These standards include a focus on English and language arts aspects of science learning, and three dimensions of science standards, including practices of science, crosscutting concepts of science, and disciplinary core ideas in the various…

Engaging in vocabulary learning in science: the promise of multimodal instruction

Science.gov (United States)

Townsend, Dianna; Brock, Cynthia; Morrison, Jennifer D.

2018-02-01

To a science 'outsider', science language often appears unnecessarily technical and dense. However, scientific language is typically used with the goal of being concise and precise, which allows those who regularly participate in scientific discourse communities to learn from each other and build upon existing scientific knowledge. One essential component of science language is the academic vocabulary that characterises it. This mixed-methods study investigates middle school students' (N = 59) growth in academic vocabulary as it relates to their teacher's instructional practices that supported academic language development. Students made significant gains in their production of general academic words, t(57) = 2.32, p = .024 and of discipline-specific science words, t(57) = 3.01, p = .004 in science writing. Results from the qualitative strand of this inquiry contextualised the students' learning of academic vocabulary as it relates to their teacher's instructional practices and intentions as well as the students' perceptions of their learning environment. These qualitative findings reveal that both the students and their teacher articulated that the teacher's intentional use of resources supported students' academic vocabulary growth. Implications for research and instruction with science language are shared.

Teaching the Future: On the Use of Science Fiction in English Language Learning.

Science.gov (United States)

Stockwell, Peter

2001-01-01

Outlines the features of "pulpstyle" and its continuing influence on later science fiction. Considers some science fiction texts that explicitly address language issues. These ideas are related to practical techniques of using science fiction in the language classroom. (Author/VWL)

ESL students learning biology: The role of language and social interactions

Science.gov (United States)

Jaipal, Kamini

This study explored three aspects related to ESL students in a mainstream grade 11 biology classroom: (1) the nature of students' participation in classroom activities, (2) the factors that enhanced or constrained ESL students' engagement in social interactions, and (3) the role of language in the learning of science. Ten ESL students were observed over an eight-month period in this biology classroom. Data were collected using qualitative research methods such as participant observation, audio-recordings of lessons, field notes, semi-structured interviews, short lesson recall interviews and students' written work. The study was framed within sociocultural perspectives, particularly the social constructivist perspectives of Vygotsky (1962, 1978) and Wertsch (1991). Data were analysed with respect to the three research aspects. Firstly, the findings showed that ESL students' preferred and exhibited a variety of participation practices that ranged from personal-individual to socio-interactive in nature. Both personal-individual and socio-interactive practices appeared to support science and language learning. Secondly, the findings indicated that ESL students' engagement in classroom social interactions was most likely influenced by the complex interactions between a number of competing factors at the individual, interpersonal and community/cultural levels (Rogoff, Radziszewska, & Masiello, 1995). In this study, six factors that appeared to enhance or constrain ESL students' engagement in classroom social interactions were identified. These factors were socio-cultural factors, prior classroom practice, teaching practices, affective factors, English language proficiency, and participation in the research project. Thirdly, the findings indicated that language played a significant mediational role in ESL students' learning of science. The data revealed that the learning of science terms and concepts can be explained by a functional model of language that includes: (1

Learning a Second Language

OpenAIRE

Murphy, Caroline; Hermann, Charlotte; Andersen, Signe Hvalsøe; Grigalauskyte, Simona; Tolsgaard, Mads; Holmegaard, Thorbjørn; Hajaya, Zaedo Musa

2013-01-01

This study examines the concept of second language learning in Denmark with focus on how second language learners negotiate their identities in relation to language learning and integration. By investigating three language learners’ acquisition of Danish through key theories on the field of second language learning, focus is centred on the subjects’ lived experiences of the learning process within their everyday lives and in the classroom. Through interviews and observations it can be conclud...

Influence of additional language learning on first language learning in children with language disorders.

Science.gov (United States)

To, Carol K S; Law, Thomas; Li, Xin-xin

2012-01-01

Multilingualism can bring about various positive outcomes to typically developing children. Its effect on children with language difficulties is not yet clear. The aim of this study was to examine the effects of multilingual learning as a medium of instruction (MOI) on first language (L1) acquisition of children with language disorders (LD). Nineteen Cantonese-speaking students aged 5;8-6;8 who were diagnosed with LD were recruited from a school that used Putonghua (an alternative Chinese dialect) as the MOI when learning Chinese language and were compared with 18 age-and-gender-matched Cantonese-speaking students with LD from a school that used Cantonese as the MOI when learning Chinese language. All the students also learned English (L2) as a subject at school. Proficiency in Cantonese was tested at the beginning and the end of the semester in Grade One in terms of: (1) grammar, (2) expressive vocabulary, (3) auditory textual comprehension, (4) word definition and (5) narration. Mixed-model ANOVAs revealed an effect of time on language proficiency indicating positive gains in both groups. Interaction effects between time and group were not significant. There was a trend that children learning Putonghua showed slightly more improvement in auditory textual comprehension. Proficiency gains were similar across groups. The study found no evidence that a multilingual learning environment hinders the language proficiency in L1 in students who have LD. © 2011 Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists.

Exploring the Impact of Culture- and Language-Influenced Physics on Science Attitude Enhancement

Science.gov (United States)

Morales, Marie Paz E.

2016-02-01

"Culture," a set of principles that trace and familiarize human beings within their existential realities, may provide an invisible lens through which reality could be discerned. Critically explored in this study is how culture- and language-sensitive curriculum materials in physics improve Pangasinan learners' attitude toward science. Their cultural preference or profile defined their cultural dimensions, epistemological beliefs, and views on integration of culture and language in the teaching and learning processes. The culture- and language-influenced curriculum materials in physics were heavily influenced by Pangasinan learners' cultural preference or profile. Results of the experimental participants' pretest and posttest on science attitude measure, when compared, showed significant statistical difference. Assessment of science attitude enhancement favored the experimental group over the control group. Qualitative data gathered from postimplementation interviews, focus group discussions, and journal log entries indicated the same trend in favor of the experimental participants. The study yielded that culture and language integration in the teaching and learning processes of physics concepts allowed students to develop positive attitude to science, their culture, and native language.

Language experience narratives and the role of autobiographical reasoning in becoming an urban science teacher

Science.gov (United States)

Rivera Maulucci, Maria S.

2011-06-01

One of the central challenges globalization and immigration present to education is how to construct school language policies, procedures, and curricula to support academic success of immigrant youth. This case-study compares and contrasts language experience narratives along Elena's developmental trajectory of becoming an urban science teacher. Elena reflects upon her early language experiences and her more recent experiences as a preservice science teacher in elementary dual language classrooms. The findings from Elena's early schooling experiences provide an analysis of the linkages between Elena's developing English proficiency, her Spanish proficiency, and her autobiographical reasoning. Elena's experiences as a preservice teacher in two elementary dual language classrooms indicates ways in which those experiences helped to reframe her views about the intersections between language learning and science learning. I propose the language experience narrative, as a subset of the life story, as a way to understand how preservice teachers reconstruct past language experiences, connect to the present, and anticipate future language practices.

Teachers' Perspectives on a Professional Development Intervention to Improve Science Instruction Among English Language Learners

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Okhee; Adamson, Karen; Maerten-Rivera, Jaime; Lewis, Scott; Thornton, Constance; Leroy, Kathryn

2008-02-01

Our 5-year professional development intervention is designed to promote elementary teachers’ knowledge, beliefs, and practices in teaching science, along with English language and mathematics for English Language Learning (ELL) students in urban schools. In this study, we used an end-of-year questionnaire as a primary data source to seek teachers’ perspectives on our intervention during the first year of implementation. Teachers believed that the intervention, including curriculum materials and teacher workshops, effectively promoted students’ science learning, along with English language development and mathematics learning. Teachers highlighted strengths and areas needing improvement in the intervention. Teachers’ perspectives have been incorporated into our on-going intervention efforts and offer insights into features of effective professional development initiatives in improving science achievement for all students.

How Children Learn to Use Language - An Overview of R ...

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Home; Journals; Resonance – Journal of Science Education; Volume 13; Issue 5. How Children Learn to Use Language - An Overview of R. Narasimhan's Ideas on Child Language Acquisition. Raman Chandrasekar. General Article Volume 13 Issue 5 May 2008 pp 430-439 ...

Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL): Using Internet for Effective Language Learning

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kremenska, Anelly

2006-01-01

Please, cite this publication as: Kremenska, A. (2006). Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL): Using Internet for Effective Language Learning. Proceedings of International Workshop in Learning Networks for Lifelong Competence Development, TENCompetence Conference. March 30th-31st, Sofia,

Using Educative Assessments to Support Science Teaching for Middle School English-language Learners

Science.gov (United States)

Buxton, Cory A.; Allexsaht-Snider, Martha; Suriel, Regina; Kayumova, Shakhnoza; Choi, Youn-jeng; Bouton, Bobette; Baker, Melissa

2013-03-01

Grounded in Hallidayan perspectives on academic language, we report on our development of an educative science assessment as one component of the language-rich inquiry science for English-language learners teacher professional learning project for middle school science teachers. The project emphasizes the role of content-area writing to support teachers in diagnosing their students' emergent understandings of science inquiry practices, science content knowledge, and the academic language of science, with a particular focus on the needs of English-language learners. In our current school policy context, writing for meaningful purposes has received decreased attention as teachers struggle to cover large numbers of discrete content standards. Additionally, high-stakes assessments presented in multiple-choice format have become the definitive measure of student science learning, further de-emphasizing the value of academic writing for developing and expressing understanding. To counter these trends, we examine the implementation of educative assessment materials—writing-rich assessments designed to support teachers' instructional decision making. We report on the qualities of our educative assessment that supported teachers in diagnosing their students' emergent understandings, and how teacher-researcher collaborative scoring sessions and interpretation of assessment results led to changes in teachers' instructional decision making to better support students in expressing their scientific understandings. We conclude with implications of this work for theory, research, and practice.

Science as a second language: Analysis of Emergent Bilinguals performance and the impact of English language proficiency and first language characteristics on the Colorado measures of academic success for science

Science.gov (United States)

Bruno, Joanna K.

In an age when communication is highly important and states across the nation, including Colorado, have adopted Common Core State Standards, the need for academic language is even more important than ever. The language of science has been compared to a second language in that it uses specific discourse patterns, semantic rules, and a very specific vocabulary. There is a need for educators to better understand how language impacts academic achievement, specifically concerning Emergent Bilinguals (EBs). Research has identified the need to study the role language plays in content assessments and the impact they have on EBs performance (Abedi, 2008b; Abedi, Hofestter & Lord, 2004; Abedi & Lord, 2001). Since language is the means through which content knowledge is assessed, it is important to analyze this aspect of learning. A review of literature identified the need to create more reliable and valid content assessments for EBs (Abedi, 2008b) and to further study the impact of English proficiency on EBs performance on standardized assessments (Solorzano, 2008; Wolf, & Leon, 2009). This study contributes to the literature by analyzing EBs performance on a state-level science content assessment, taking into consideration English language proficiency, receptive versus productive elements of language, and students' home language. This study further contributes by discussing the relationship between language proficiency, and the different strands of science (physical, life, and earth) on the state science assessment. Finally, this study demonstrates that home language, English language proficiency, and receptive and productive elements of language are predictive of EBs' achievement on the CMAS for science, overall and by strand. It is the blending of the social (listening and speaking) with the academic (reading and writing) that is also important and possibly more important.

Knowledge, language and subjectivities in a discourse community: Ideas we can learn from elementary children about science

Science.gov (United States)

Kurth, Lori Ann

2000-10-01

paradigmatic language by drawing on stories of personal experience as well as canonical scientific argument. As had the varied knowledge paths and sources, the use of both language forms contributed to a broader and richer scientific discourse. Finally, in studying students' written discourse through their journals, I found that students had expanded views of science as they incorporated many aspects of their subjective selves including self and human elements, thinking, emotions, etc. in their writing and drawing. The enactment of knowledge, language and subjectivities in these discourse communities was unique, rich and meaningful highlighting a broader, more accessible vision of science. I advocate that knowledge, language and subjectivities should be central concepts in the practices of science communities as demonstrated in these classrooms. In establishing and integrating these concepts, the use of alternative and traditional modes of expression should be supported as both necessary and complementary. Students and teachers must also jointly construct classroom discourse norms, talk and writing in specific ways in order to provide a safe, comfortable and meaningful learning environment. Many teachers, students and scientists would benefit from broader visions of science, which enrich scientific knowledge and practice and engage and value participants from many backgrounds.

Meeting the Needs of High School Science Teachers in English Language Learner Instruction

Science.gov (United States)

Cho, Seonhee; McDonnough, Jacqueline T.

2009-08-01

This survey study explored high school science teachers’ challenges and needs specific to their growing English language learning (ELL) student population. Thirty-three science teachers from 6 English as a Second language (ESL)-center high schools in central Virginia participated in the survey. Issues surveyed were (a) strategies used by science teachers to accommodate ELL students’ special needs, (b) challenges they experienced, and (c) support and training necessary for effective ELL instruction. Results suggest that language barriers as well as ELL students’ lack of science foundational knowledge challenged teachers most. Teachers perceived that appropriate instructional materials and pedagogical training was most needed. The findings have implications for science teacher preservice and inservice education in regard to working with language minority students.

Teaching Science Through the Language of Students in Technology-Enhanced Instruction

Science.gov (United States)

Ryoo, Kihyun

2015-02-01

This study examines whether and how tapping into students' everyday language in a web-based learning environment can improve all students' science learning in linguistically heterogeneous classrooms. A total of 220 fifth-grade English Language Learners (ELLs) and their non-ELL peers were assigned to either an everyday English approach condition or a textbook approach condition, and completed technology-enhanced instruction focusing on respiration and photosynthesis. Students in the everyday English approach condition were taught the concepts in everyday, conversational English before content-specific scientific terms were introduced, while students in the textbook approach condition were taught the same concepts and vocabulary simultaneously. The results show that the everyday English approach was significantly more effective in helping both ELLs and non-ELL students develop a coherent understanding of abstract concepts related to photosynthesis and respiration. Students in the everyday English approach condition were also better able to link content-specific terms to their understanding of the concepts. These findings show the potential advantage of using students' everyday English as a resource to make science more accessible to linguistically diverse students in mainstream classrooms. By integrating students' everyday language in science instruction, it is possible for all students including ELLs to acquire both the content and language of science.

Influence of Culture and Language Sensitive Physics on Science Attitude Enhancement

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Morales, Marie Paz E.

2015-01-01

The study critically explored how culture and language sensitive curriculum materials in physics improve Pangasinan learners' attitude towards science. Their cultural dimensions, epistemological beliefs, and views on integration of culture and language in the teaching and learning process determined their cultural preference or profile. Design and…

The procedural learning deficit hypothesis of language learning disorders: we see some problems.

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West, Gillian; Vadillo, Miguel A; Shanks, David R; Hulme, Charles

2018-03-01

Impaired procedural learning has been suggested as a possible cause of developmental dyslexia (DD) and specific language impairment (SLI). This study examined the relationship between measures of verbal and non-verbal implicit and explicit learning and measures of language, literacy and arithmetic attainment in a large sample of 7 to 8-year-old children. Measures of verbal explicit learning were correlated with measures of attainment. In contrast, no relationships between measures of implicit learning and attainment were found. Critically, the reliability of the implicit learning tasks was poor. Our results show that measures of procedural learning, as currently used, are typically unreliable and insensitive to individual differences. A video abstract of this article can be viewed at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YnvV-BvNWSo. 2017 The Authors. Developmental Science Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Kahua A'o—A Learning Foundation: Using Hawaiian Language Newspaper Articles for Earth Science Professional Development

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Chinn, P. W.

2012-12-01

Kahua A'o, an NSF OEDG project, utilizes Hawaiian language newspaper articles written between 1843 and 1948 as a foundation for culturally responsive geoscience curriculum and professional development. In Hawaii, a lack of qualified teachers limits students' awareness of Earth Science in their lives, as careers and a way to understand past, present, and future. This particularly impacts Native Hawaiians, 28% of students in Hawaii''s public schools but underrepresented in STEM majors and careers. Guided by sociocultural theories that view learning as experiential and culturally situated, geoscientists, Hawaiian translators, and science educators utilize articles to develop meteorology and geology modules for middle school teachers. Articles provide insights about living sustainably on islands exposed to volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, tsunami, drought, and storms. Hawaii's remoteness and diverse topography supported the development of mountain-to-sea, sustainable, social ecosystems called ahupuaa. Hawaiians recognized each ahupuaa's unique winds, rains, fauna, flora, cultivars, and geologic features. The story of Pele chanting the winds of Kauai to prove she was not a stranger grounds identity and status in environmental knowledge. The story is culturally congruent with science explanations of how the Hawaiian Islands' diverse shapes and topography interact with heating, cooling, and large scale wind systems to create hundreds of local winds and rains. This presentation reports on "Local Winds and Rains of Hawaii, I Kamaāina i Na Makani a Me Nā Ua and "Weather Maps and Hazardous Storms in Hawaii, Nā 'Ino Ma Hawaii Nei." Highly detailed observations of an 1871 severe wind event enable students to estimate winds speeds using the Beaufort Scale, determine the storm's path and decide if it was the first recorded hurricane on the island of Hawaii. A visit to NOAA's National Weather Service triggered discussions about Hawaiian language weather reports. A Hawaiian

Computer Assisted Language Learning. Routledge Studies in Computer Assisted Language Learning

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Pennington, Martha

2011-01-01

Computer-assisted language learning (CALL) is an approach to language teaching and learning in which computer technology is used as an aid to the presentation, reinforcement and assessment of material to be learned, usually including a substantial interactive element. This books provides an up-to date and comprehensive overview of…

English language learners with learning disabilities interacting in a science class within an inclusion setting

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Ayala, Vivian Luz

In today's schools there are by far more students identified with learning disabilities (LD) than with any other disability. The U.S. Department of Education in the year 1997--98 reported that there are 38.13% students with LD in our nations' schools (Smith, Polloway, Patton, & Dowdy, 2001; U.S. Department of Education, 1999). Of those, 1,198,200 are considered ELLs with LD (Baca & Cervantes. 1998). These figures which represent an increase evidence the need to provide these students with educational experiences geared to address both their academic and language needs (Ortiz, 1997; Ortiz, & Garcia, 1995). English language learners with LD must be provided with experiences in the least restrictive environment (LRE) and must be able to share the same kind of social and academic experiences as those students from the general population (Etscheidt & Bartlett, 1999; Lloyd, Kameenui, & Chard, 1997) The purpose of this research was to conduct a detailed qualitative study on classroom interactions to enhance the understanding of the science curriculum in order to foster the understanding of content and facilitate the acquisition of English as a second language (Cummins, 2000; Echevarria, Vogt, & Short, 2000). This study was grounded on the theories of socioconstructivism, second language acquisition, comprehensible input, and classroom interactions. The participants of the study were fourth and fifth grade ELLS with LD in a science elementary school bilingual inclusive setting. Data was collected through observations, semi-structured interviews (students and teacher), video and audio taping, field notes, document analysis, and the Classroom Observation Schedule (COS). The transcriptions of the video and audio tapes were coded to highlight emergent patterns on the type of interactions and language used by the participants. The findings of the study intend to provide information for teachers of ELLs with LD about the implications of using classroom interactions point to

Teaching and learning science in linguistically diverse classrooms

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Moore, Emilee; Evnitskaya, Natalia; Ramos-de Robles, S. Lizette

2017-01-01

In this paper we reflect on the article, Science education in a bilingual class: problematising a translational practice, by Zeynep Ünsal, Britt Jakobson, Bengt-Olav Molander and Per-Olaf Wickman (Cult Stud Sci Educ, 10.1007/s11422-016-9747-3). In their article, the authors present the results of a classroom research project by responding to one main question: How is continuity between everyday language and the language of science construed in a bilingual science classroom where the teacher and the students do not speak the same minority language? Specifically, Ünsal et al. examine how bilingual students construe relations between everyday language and the language of science in a class taught in Swedish, in which all students also spoke Turkish, whereas the teacher also spoke Bosnian, both being minority languages in the context of Swedish schools. In this forum, we briefly discuss why close attention to bilingual dynamics emerging in classrooms such as those highlighted by Ünsal et al. matters for science education. We continue by discussing changing ontologies in relation to linguistic diversity and education more generally. Recent research in bilingual immersion classroom settings in so-called "content" subjects such as Content and Language Integrated Learning, is then introduced, as we believe this research offers some significant insights in terms of how bilingualism contributes to knowledge building in subjects such as science. Finally, we offer some reflections in relation to the classroom interactional competence needed by teachers in linguistically diverse classrooms. In this way, we aim to further the discussion initiated by Ünsal et al. and to offer possible frameworks for future research on bilingualism in science education. In their article, Ünsal et al. conclude the analysis of the classroom data by arguing in favor of a translanguaging pedagogy, an approach to teaching and learning in which students' whole language repertoires are used as

Key to Language Learning Success

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Oktavian Mantiri

2015-01-01

Full Text Available This paper looks at the important elements of language learning and teaching i.e. the role of teachers as well as the attitude and motivation of learners. Teachers undoubtedly play crucial roles in students’ language learning outcome which could ignite or diminish students’ motivation. Positive attitudes and motivation – instrumental or integrative and intrinsic or extrinsic – are key to successful learning. Therefore it is paramount for language teachers as well as learners to know these roles and nurture the best possible ways where language teaching and learning will thrive. This paper also suggested that both stake-holders should be open to holistic approach of language learning and that other factors such as the environment could play an important part in language teaching and learning success.

More Than Words: The Role of Multiword Sequences in Language Learning and Use.

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Christiansen, Morten H; Arnon, Inbal

2017-07-01

The ability to convey our thoughts using an infinite number of linguistic expressions is one of the hallmarks of human language. Understanding the nature of the psychological mechanisms and representations that give rise to this unique productivity is a fundamental goal for the cognitive sciences. A long-standing hypothesis is that single words and rules form the basic building blocks of linguistic productivity, with multiword sequences being treated as units only in peripheral cases such as idioms. The new millennium, however, has seen a shift toward construing multiword linguistic units not as linguistic rarities, but as important building blocks for language acquisition and processing. This shift-which originated within theoretical approaches that emphasize language learning and use-has far-reaching implications for theories of language representation, processing, and acquisition. Incorporating multiword units as integral building blocks blurs the distinction between grammar and lexicon; calls for models of production and comprehension that can accommodate and give rise to the effect of multiword information on processing; and highlights the importance of such units to learning. In this special topic, we bring together cutting-edge work on multiword sequences in theoretical linguistics, first-language acquisition, psycholinguistics, computational modeling, and second-language learning to present a comprehensive overview of the prominence and importance of such units in language, their possible role in explaining differences between first- and second-language learning, and the challenges the combined findings pose for theories of language. Copyright © 2017 Cognitive Science Society, Inc.

Motivation, Psychology and Language Effect on Mobile Learning in Universiti Sains Malaysia

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Issham Ismail

2010-10-01

Full Text Available The aim of this study was to examine the motivation, psychology and language effect on Mobile learning in the School of Distance Education, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Penang. Mobile learning or m-learning is a new learning phenomenon in the open and distance learning environments. Moving from stationary to mobile learning allows informal collaboration and interaction between learners. Therefore, there is a necessity to revise people’s psychological factors, process and mechanisms that underlie M-learning so that the practice can move from technology-centred implementation to human-centred effective learning processes. The Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS Version 12.0 and Rasch Model Analysis was used to measure these items. The 5-point Likert scale questionnaires (12 items being sent to 105 distance education students from four courses including Bachelor of Science, Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Social Science and Bachelor of Management which was distributed in tutorial sessions during the annual residential intensive course in the main campus of the Universiti Sains Malaysia by their respective course managers. The finding shows that a positive response from the learners as they feel happy to use this additional learning tools (mobile learning. Learner’s feel supported and motivated to use the mobile application with the usability of simple language.

Problem-based scenarios with laptops: an effective combination for cross-curricular learning in mathematics, science and language

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Viktor Freiman

2011-12-01

Full Text Available Many educational systems consider using one-to-one access to the laptop as a way to improve teaching and learning. A two-year action research project on the use of laptop computers by New Brunswick (Canada grade 7 and 8 Francophone students aimed to better understand the impact of laptops on learning. Two problem-based learning (PBL interdisciplinary scenarios (math, science, language arts were implemented in eight experimental classes to measure and document students’ actual learning process, particularly in terms of their ability to scientifically investigate authentic problems, to reason mathematically, and to communicate. On-site observations, video-recording, journals, samples of students’ work, and interviews were used to collect qualitative data. Based on our findings, we argue that laptops in and of themselves may not automatically lead to better results on standardized tests, but rather create opportunities to enrich learning with more open-ended, constructive, collaborative, reflective, and cognitively complex learning tasks.

Impact of Augmented Reality on Programming Language Learning: Efficiency and Perception

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Teng, Chin-Hung; Chen, Jr-Yi; Chen, Zhi-Hong

2018-01-01

Although the learning of programming language is critical in science and technology education, it might be difficult for some students, especially novices. One possible reason might be the fact that programming language, especially for three-dimensional (3D) applications, is too complex and abstract for these students to understand. Programming…

Language learning, language use and the evolution of linguistic variation

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Perfors, Amy; Fehér, Olga; Samara, Anna; Swoboda, Kate; Wonnacott, Elizabeth

2017-01-01

Linguistic universals arise from the interaction between the processes of language learning and language use. A test case for the relationship between these factors is linguistic variation, which tends to be conditioned on linguistic or sociolinguistic criteria. How can we explain the scarcity of unpredictable variation in natural language, and to what extent is this property of language a straightforward reflection of biases in statistical learning? We review three strands of experimental work exploring these questions, and introduce a Bayesian model of the learning and transmission of linguistic variation along with a closely matched artificial language learning experiment with adult participants. Our results show that while the biases of language learners can potentially play a role in shaping linguistic systems, the relationship between biases of learners and the structure of languages is not straightforward. Weak biases can have strong effects on language structure as they accumulate over repeated transmission. But the opposite can also be true: strong biases can have weak or no effects. Furthermore, the use of language during interaction can reshape linguistic systems. Combining data and insights from studies of learning, transmission and use is therefore essential if we are to understand how biases in statistical learning interact with language transmission and language use to shape the structural properties of language. This article is part of the themed issue ‘New frontiers for statistical learning in the cognitive sciences’. PMID:27872370

Language Revitalization and Language Pedagogy: New Teaching and Learning Strategies

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Hinton, Leanne

2011-01-01

Language learning and teaching of endangered languages have many features and needs that are quite different from the teaching of world languages. Groups whose languages are endangered try to turn language loss around; many new language teaching and learning strategies are emerging, to suit the special needs and goals of language revitalization.…

Language Learning Shifts and Attitudes Towards Language Learning in an Online Tandem Program for Beginner Writers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Constanza Tolosa

2017-01-01

Full Text Available We present findings of a project that investigated the potential of an online tandem program to enhance the foreign language learning of two groups of school-aged beginner learners, one learning English in Colombia and the other learning Spanish in New Zealand. We assessed the impact of the project on students’ learning with a free writing activity done as pretest and posttest and used a semi-structured interview to explore their attitudes towards language learning and their perceived development of their native language. Data analysis indicated statistically significant gains in foreign language writing and positive attitudinal changes toward foreign and native language learning.

Language Alternation and Language Norm in Vocational Content and Language Integrated Learning

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Kontio, Janne; Sylvén, Liss Kerstin

2015-01-01

The present article deals with language choice as communicative strategies in the language learning environment of an English-medium content and language integrated learning (CLIL) workshop at an auto mechanics class in a Swedish upper secondary school. The article presents the organisation and functions of language alternations (LAs) which are…

All together now: concurrent learning of multiple structures in an artificial language.

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Romberg, Alexa R; Saffran, Jenny R

2013-01-01

Natural languages contain many layers of sequential structure, from the distribution of phonemes within words to the distribution of phrases within utterances. However, most research modeling language acquisition using artificial languages has focused on only one type of distributional structure at a time. In two experiments, we investigated adult learning of an artificial language that contains dependencies between both adjacent and non-adjacent words. We found that learners rapidly acquired both types of regularities and that the strength of the adjacent statistics influenced learning of both adjacent and non-adjacent dependencies. Additionally, though accuracy was similar for both types of structure, participants' knowledge of the deterministic non-adjacent dependencies was more explicit than their knowledge of the probabilistic adjacent dependencies. The results are discussed in the context of current theories of statistical learning and language acquisition. © 2013 Cognitive Science Society, Inc.

Learning to Teach Inquiry: A Beginning Science Teacher of English Language Learners

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Ortega, Irasema; Luft, Julie A.; Wong, Sissy S.

2013-01-01

Early career science teachers are often assigned to classrooms with high numbers of English language learners (ELLs). For the underprepared early career science teacher, these circumstances are challenging. This study examines the changes in beliefs and practices of an early career science teacher who taught high numbers of ELLs in an urban…

LEARNING HOW TO LEARN A LANGUAGE

CERN Multimedia

Moniek Laurent

2002-01-01

This bilingual seminar is for anyone who would like to develop learning strategies and skills for learning a foreign language. Languages: French and English. Length: 3 days, 7 hours per day. Dates: 4, 5, 6 March 2002. Price: 460 CHF per person (for a group of 8 people). If you are interested, please enrol through our Web pages: http://cern.ch/Training   Language Training Moniek Laurent Tel. 78582 moniek.laurent@cern.ch

Understanding the Development of a Hybrid Practice of Inquiry-Based Science Instruction and Language Development: A Case Study of One Teacher's Journey Through Reflections on Classroom Practice

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Capitelli, Sarah; Hooper, Paula; Rankin, Lynn; Austin, Marilyn; Caven, Gennifer

2016-04-01

This qualitative case study looks closely at an elementary teacher who participated in professional development experiences that helped her develop a hybrid practice of using inquiry-based science to teach both science content and English language development (ELD) to her students, many of whom are English language learners (ELLs). This case study examines the teacher's reflections on her teaching and her students' learning as she engaged her students in science learning and supported their developing language skills. It explicates the professional learning experiences that supported the development of this hybrid practice. Closely examining the pedagogical practice and reflections of a teacher who is developing an inquiry-based approach to both science learning and language development can provide insights into how teachers come to integrate their professional development experiences with their classroom expertise in order to create a hybrid inquiry-based science ELD practice. This qualitative case study contributes to the emerging scholarship on the development of teacher practice of inquiry-based science instruction as a vehicle for both science instruction and ELD for ELLs. This study demonstrates how an effective teaching practice that supports both the science and language learning of students can develop from ongoing professional learning experiences that are grounded in current perspectives about language development and that immerse teachers in an inquiry-based approach to learning and instruction. Additionally, this case study also underscores the important role that professional learning opportunities can play in supporting teachers in developing a deeper understanding of the affordances that inquiry-based science can provide for language development.

Language-Learning Holidays: What Motivates People to Learn a Minority Language?

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O'Rourke, Bernadette; DePalma, Renée

2017-01-01

In this article, we examine the experiences of 18 Galician language learners who participated in what Garland [(2008). "The minority language and the cosmopolitan speaker: Ideologies of Irish language learners" (Unpublished PhD thesis). University of California, Santa Barbara] refers to as a "language-learning holiday" in…

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

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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…

The Language of "Ciencia": Translanguaging and Learning in a Bilingual Science Classroom

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Poza, Luis E.

2018-01-01

Much attention is now given to academic language, particularly in content areas such as science, amid persistent achievement disparities between students classified as English Language Learners, and more recently, Long Term English Learners, and their English-proficient peers. This attention has fueled debate about the precise features of such…

Language learning interventions | Kilfoil | Journal for Language ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The results for that intervention show that the hypothesis was correct and students need more time and structure if they are to improve their language competence sufficiently. Keywords: language learning interventions, English for specific purposes, language competence, fossilization. Journal for Language Teaching Vol.

Kahua A';o--A Learning Foundation: Using Hawaiian Language Newspaper Articles for Science and Science Education

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Chinn, P. W.; Businger, S.

2013-12-01

Kahua A';o, an NSF OEDG project, utilizes Hawaiian language newspaper articles written between 1843 and 1948 in lessons and professional development intended to increase participation of underrepresented Native Hawaiian students in earth science. Guided by sociocultural theories that view learning as experiential and culturally situated, geoscientists (Steven Businger, Scott Rowland, Floyd McCoy, UG student Kelly Lance); Hawaiian translators (M. Puakea Nogelmeier, GRAs Kapomaikai Stone and Iasona Ellinwood); science educators (Pauline Chinn, graduate student Lindsey Spencer), utilize articles to develop place-based meteorology and geology curricula for middle school teachers. Articles are valuable to science and science education: Native Hawaiians are citizen scientists who recorded, interpreted, and communicated findings to potentially critical audiences, while dated, descriptive, eye witness reports provide data on events unrecorded by westerners. Articles reveal Hawaiian intellectual tradition placed great value on environmental knowledge. Moolelo (traditional stories) e.g., Kuapākaa (Nakuina, 1905), translated as The Wind Gourd of Laamaomao, tells of Kuapākaa controlling all the winds of Hawai';i by chanting their names--a metaphor for the power of knowledge of winds, rains and their patterns. In the moolelo of Kalapana, a boy hero challenges and defeats the king of Kauai to a life-and-death riddling contest (Nakuina, 1902). Maly's (2001) translation of a riddle involving 22 zones spanning mountaintop to deep-sea underscores the knowledge base informing sustainable practices. Articles provide insight into indigenous maps (Nogelmeier, personal communication) while riddling contests (Beckwith, 1940/1970) establish demonstrations of knowledge as central to power, identity, and status. Eight field-based lessons have been presented to formal and informal science educators, with teachers adapting lessons for 3rd-12th grade students. Graduate students Spencer, Stone

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)

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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…

Understanding the Language Demands on Science Students from an Integrated Science and Language Perspective

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Seah, Lay Hoon; Clarke, David John; Hart, Christina Eugene

2014-01-01

This case study of a science lesson, on the topic thermal expansion, examines the language demands on students from an integrated science and language perspective. The data were generated during a sequence of 9 lessons on the topic of "States of Matter" in a Grade 7 classroom (12-13 years old students). We identify the language demands…

Designing an American Sign Language Avatar for Learning Computer Science Concepts for Deaf or Hard-of-Hearing Students and Deaf Interpreters

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Andrei, Stefan; Osborne, Lawrence; Smith, Zanthia

2013-01-01

The current learning process of Deaf or Hard of Hearing (D/HH) students taking Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) courses needs, in general, a sign interpreter for the translation of English text into American Sign Language (ASL) signs. This method is at best impractical due to the lack of availability of a specialized sign…

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.

Transforming Language Ideologies through Action Research: A Case Study of Bilingual Science Learning

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Yang, Eunah

This qualitative case study explored a third grade bilingual teacher's transformative language ideologies through participating in a collaborative action research project. By merging language ideologies theory, Cultural Historical Activity Theory (CHAT), and action research, I was able to identify the analytic focus of this study. I analyzed how one teacher and I, the researcher, collaboratively reflected on classroom language practices during the video analysis meetings and focus groups. Further, I analyzed twelve videos that we coded together to see the changes in the teacher's language practices over time. My unit of analysis was the discourse practice mediated by additive language ideologies. Throughout the collaborative action research process, we both critically reflected on the classroom language use. We also developed a critical consciousness about the participatory shifts and learning of focal English Learner (EL) students. Finally, the teacher made changes to her classroom language practices. The results of this study will contribute to the literacy education research field for theoretical, methodological, and practical insights. The integration of language ideologies, CHAT, and action research can help educational practitioners, researchers, and policy makers understand the importance of transforming teachers' language ideologies in designing additive learning contexts for ELs. From a methodological perspective, the transformative language ideologies through researcher and teacher collaborated video analysis process provide a unique contribution to the language ideologies in education literature, with analytic triangulation. As a practical implication, this study suggests action research can be one of the teacher education tools to help the teachers transform language ideologies for EL education.

Listening to middle-school Spanish-speaking English language learners: A qualitative study of their perspectives of science

Science.gov (United States)

Lopez-Ferrao, Julio E.

The purpose of this study is to contribute to the understanding and explanation of the science achievement gap between Spanish-speaking English language learners (ELLs) and their mainstream peers. The sample of purposefully selected participants (N = 23) included students representing eight Spanish-speaking countries who attended three middle schools (grades 6th-8th), 11 boys and 12 girls, with different years of schooling in the United States, English proficiency levels, and science achievement levels. Data gathering strategies included individual interviews with participants, classroom observations, and analysis of secondary data sources on students' English language proficiency and science achievement. Data interpretation strategies using a critical-interpretive perspective consisted of coding and narrative analysis, including analyses of excerpts and case studies. Two major findings emerge from the study: (1) An inverse relation between participants' number of years of exposure to science learning in an English-only learning environment and their science achievement levels; and (2) specific participant-identified problems, such as learning the science vocabulary, writing in science, the use of mathematics in science, and the lack of sense making in the science classroom. Key recommendations comprise: (1) Acknowledging the value of dual language education; (2) supporting the science-literacy connection; (3) ensuring high-quality science through research-informed instructional strategies; and (4) assessing ELLs' science achievement.

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 ...

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...

Science concept learning by English as second language junior secondary students

Science.gov (United States)

Lai, Pui-Kwong; Lucas, Keith B.; Burke, Ed V.

1995-03-01

Recent Chinese migrant students from Taiwan studying science in two Australian secondary schools were found to explain the meanings of selected science concept labels in English by translating from Chinese. The research strategy involved interviewing the students concerning their recognition and comprehension of the science concept labels firstly in Chinese and then in English. Mean recognition and comprehension scores were higher in Chinese than in English, with indications that Chinese language and science knowledge learnt in Chinese deteriorated with increasing time of residence in Australia. Rudimentary signs of the students being able to switch between Chinese and English knowledge bases in science were also found. Implications for teaching science to ESL students and suggestions for further research are discussed.

Bilinguals' Existing Languages Benefit Vocabulary Learning in a Third Language.

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Bartolotti, James; Marian, Viorica

2017-03-01

Learning a new language involves substantial vocabulary acquisition. Learners can accelerate this process by relying on words with native-language overlap, such as cognates. For bilingual third language learners, it is necessary to determine how their two existing languages interact during novel language learning. A scaffolding account predicts transfer from either language for individual words, whereas an accumulation account predicts cumulative transfer from both languages. To compare these accounts, twenty English-German bilingual adults were taught an artificial language containing 48 novel written words that varied orthogonally in English and German wordlikeness (neighborhood size and orthotactic probability). Wordlikeness in each language improved word production accuracy, and similarity to one language provided the same benefit as dual-language overlap. In addition, participants' memory for novel words was affected by the statistical distributions of letters in the novel language. Results indicate that bilinguals utilize both languages during third language acquisition, supporting a scaffolding learning model.

Learning Science, Learning about Science, Doing Science: Different Goals Demand Different Learning Methods

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Hodson, Derek

2014-01-01

This opinion piece paper urges teachers and teacher educators to draw careful distinctions among four basic learning goals: learning science, learning about science, doing science and learning to address socio-scientific issues. In elaboration, the author urges that careful attention is paid to the selection of teaching/learning methods that…

Language experience changes subsequent learning

Science.gov (United States)

Onnis, Luca; Thiessen, Erik

2013-01-01

What are the effects of experience on subsequent learning? We explored the effects of language-specific word order knowledge on the acquisition of sequential conditional information. Korean and English adults were engaged in a sequence learning task involving three different sets of stimuli: auditory linguistic (nonsense syllables), visual non-linguistic (nonsense shapes), and auditory non-linguistic (pure tones). The forward and backward probabilities between adjacent elements generated two equally probable and orthogonal perceptual parses of the elements, such that any significant preference at test must be due to either general cognitive biases, or prior language-induced biases. We found that language modulated parsing preferences with the linguistic stimuli only. Intriguingly, these preferences are congruent with the dominant word order patterns of each language, as corroborated by corpus analyses, and are driven by probabilistic preferences. Furthermore, although the Korean individuals had received extensive formal explicit training in English and lived in an English-speaking environment, they exhibited statistical learning biases congruent with their native language. Our findings suggest that mechanisms of statistical sequential learning are implicated in language across the lifespan, and experience with language may affect cognitive processes and later learning. PMID:23200510

Language Learning in Wittgenstein and Davidson

Science.gov (United States)

Kotzee, Ben

2014-01-01

In this paper, I discuss language learning in Wittgenstein and Davidson. Starting from a remark by Bakhurst, I hold that both Wittgenstein and Davidson's philosophies of language contain responses to the problem of language learning, albeit of a different form. Following Williams, I hold that the concept of language learning can explain…

Language Learning Strategies of Multilingual Adults Learning Additional Languages

Science.gov (United States)

Dmitrenko, Violetta

2017-01-01

The main goal consisted in identifying and bringing together strategies of multilinguals as a particular learner group. Therefore, research was placed in the intersection of the three fields: language learning strategies (LLS), third language acquisition (TLA), and the didactics of plurilingualism. First, the paper synthesises the major findings…

Developing a Community of Teachers through Integrated Science and Literacy Service-Learning Experiences

Science.gov (United States)

Cox-Petersen, Anne M.; Spencer, Brenda H.; Crawford, Teresa J.

2005-01-01

In this article, the authors present a case study of preservice teachers engaged in service-learning in an after-school program while concurrently enrolled in science and language arts methods courses. Two interdisciplinary education faculty worked collaboratively to connect language arts and science methods content with service-learning…

LEARNING HOW TO LEARN A LANGUAGE

CERN Multimedia

Language Training; Tel. 73127; Andrée Fontbonne; Tel. 72844

2001-01-01

This bilingual seminar is for anyone who would like to develop learning strategies and skills for learning a foreign language. Languages: French and English. Length: 3 days, 7 hours per day. Dates: 4, 5, 6 March 2002. Price: 460 CHF per person (for a group of 8 people). If you are interested, please enrol through our Web pages: http://cern.ch/Training

LEARNING HOW TO LEARN A LANGUAGE

CERN Multimedia

Language Training; Tel. 73127; Andrée Fontbonne; Tel. 72844

2001-01-01

This bilingual seminar is for anyone who would like to develop learning strategies and skills for learning a foreign language. Languages: French and English. Length: 3 days, 7 hours per day. Dates: 5, 6, 7 November 2001. Price: 460 CHF per person (for a group of 8 people). If you are interested, please enrol through our Web pages: http://cern.ch/Training

Active Learning in Language Study and Science: Transforming Teacher Practice in North Sumatra’s Elementary Schools

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ely Djulia

2011-12-01

Full Text Available AbstractAn action research project to investigate the implementation of active learning strategies to improve the quality of teaching and learning was conducted in three government elementary schools (Sekolah Dasar in North Sumatra that had received training in teaching for active learning under the auspices of the USAID-sponsored project, Decentralized Basic Education 2. Three cycles of data collection utilizing classroom observations, focus group discussions, and participant observation were conducted in each school. Data were analyzed both holistically and categorily to develop a better understanding of teachers’ successes and challenges in teaching for active learning. Finally, an intervention strategy involving modeling of teaching for active learning strategies was designed and implemented by members of the research team in each school. Our results suggest that language and science teachers developed more confidence in utilizing active learning strategies in their classrooms as a result of the intervention. Students also appeared to respond positively to the new active learning teaching strategies employed by their teachers. We conclude that the DBE-2 training provided to these schools can be considered successful; however, more attention needs to be paid to concrete factors that facilitate or impede teaching for active learning in Indonesian elementary schools in order to continue improving the quality of instruction for Indonesian children. Key Words: Islamic Education, Active Learning, Religious Studies, Indonesia

Sampling Assumptions Affect Use of Indirect Negative Evidence in Language Learning.

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Anne Hsu

Full Text Available A classic debate in cognitive science revolves around understanding how children learn complex linguistic patterns, such as restrictions on verb alternations and contractions, without negative evidence. Recently, probabilistic models of language learning have been applied to this problem, framing it as a statistical inference from a random sample of sentences. These probabilistic models predict that learners should be sensitive to the way in which sentences are sampled. There are two main types of sampling assumptions that can operate in language learning: strong and weak sampling. Strong sampling, as assumed by probabilistic models, assumes the learning input is drawn from a distribution of grammatical samples from the underlying language and aims to learn this distribution. Thus, under strong sampling, the absence of a sentence construction from the input provides evidence that it has low or zero probability of grammaticality. Weak sampling does not make assumptions about the distribution from which the input is drawn, and thus the absence of a construction from the input as not used as evidence of its ungrammaticality. We demonstrate in a series of artificial language learning experiments that adults can produce behavior consistent with both sets of sampling assumptions, depending on how the learning problem is presented. These results suggest that people use information about the way in which linguistic input is sampled to guide their learning.

Sampling Assumptions Affect Use of Indirect Negative Evidence in Language Learning

Science.gov (United States)

2016-01-01

A classic debate in cognitive science revolves around understanding how children learn complex linguistic patterns, such as restrictions on verb alternations and contractions, without negative evidence. Recently, probabilistic models of language learning have been applied to this problem, framing it as a statistical inference from a random sample of sentences. These probabilistic models predict that learners should be sensitive to the way in which sentences are sampled. There are two main types of sampling assumptions that can operate in language learning: strong and weak sampling. Strong sampling, as assumed by probabilistic models, assumes the learning input is drawn from a distribution of grammatical samples from the underlying language and aims to learn this distribution. Thus, under strong sampling, the absence of a sentence construction from the input provides evidence that it has low or zero probability of grammaticality. Weak sampling does not make assumptions about the distribution from which the input is drawn, and thus the absence of a construction from the input as not used as evidence of its ungrammaticality. We demonstrate in a series of artificial language learning experiments that adults can produce behavior consistent with both sets of sampling assumptions, depending on how the learning problem is presented. These results suggest that people use information about the way in which linguistic input is sampled to guide their learning. PMID:27310576

Early Science Instruction and Academic Language Development Can Go Hand in Hand. The Promising Effects of a Low-Intensity Teacher-Focused Intervention

Science.gov (United States)

Henrichs, Lotte F.; Leseman, Paul P. M.

2014-11-01

Early science instruction is important in order to lay a firm basis for learning scientific concepts and scientific thinking. In addition, young children enjoy science. However, science plays only a minor role in the kindergarten curriculum. It has been reported that teachers feel they need to prioritize language and literacy practices over science. In this paper, we investigate whether science lessons might be integrated with learning the language functional for school: academic language. The occurrence of scientific reasoning and sophisticated vocabulary in brief science lessons with 5-year-olds is evaluated. The aim of the study was twofold: first, to explore the nature of kindergarten science discourse without any researcher directions (pre-intervention observation). Second, in a randomized control trial, we evaluated the effect on science discourse of a brief teacher training session focused on academic language awareness. The science lessons focussed on air pressure and mirror reflection. Analyses showed that teachers from the intervention group increased their use of scientific reasoning and of domain-specific academic words in their science discourse, compared to the control group. For the use of general academic words and for lexical diversity, the effect was task-specific: these dependent measures only increased during the air pressure task. Implications of the study include the need to increase teachers' awareness of possibilities to combine early science instruction and academic language learning.

Gradient language dominance affects talker learning.

Science.gov (United States)

Bregman, Micah R; Creel, Sarah C

2014-01-01

Traditional conceptions of spoken language assume that speech recognition and talker identification are computed separately. Neuropsychological and neuroimaging studies imply some separation between the two faculties, but recent perceptual studies suggest better talker recognition in familiar languages than unfamiliar languages. A familiar-language benefit in talker recognition potentially implies strong ties between the two domains. However, little is known about the nature of this language familiarity effect. The current study investigated the relationship between speech and talker processing by assessing bilingual and monolingual listeners' ability to learn voices as a function of language familiarity and age of acquisition. Two effects emerged. First, bilinguals learned to recognize talkers in their first language (Korean) more rapidly than they learned to recognize talkers in their second language (English), while English-speaking participants showed the opposite pattern (learning English talkers faster than Korean talkers). Second, bilinguals' learning rate for talkers in their second language (English) correlated with age of English acquisition. Taken together, these results suggest that language background materially affects talker encoding, implying a tight relationship between speech and talker representations. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Native-language N400 and P600 predict dissociable language-learning abilities in adults

Science.gov (United States)

Qi, Zhenghan; Beach, Sara D.; Finn, Amy S.; Minas, Jennifer; Goetz, Calvin; Chan, Brian; Gabrieli, John D.E.

2018-01-01

Language learning aptitude during adulthood varies markedly across individuals. An individual’s native-language ability has been associated with success in learning a new language as an adult. However, little is known about how native-language processing affects learning success and what neural markers of native-language processing, if any, are related to success in learning. We therefore related variation in electrophysiology during native-language processing to success in learning a novel artificial language. Event-related potentials (ERPs) were recorded while native English speakers judged the acceptability of English sentences prior to learning an artificial language. There was a trend towards a double dissociation between native-language ERPs and their relationships to novel syntax and vocabulary learning. Individuals who exhibited a greater N400 effect when processing English semantics showed better future learning of the artificial language overall. The N400 effect was related to syntax learning via its specific relationship to vocabulary learning. In contrast, the P600 effect size when processing English syntax predicted future syntax learning but not vocabulary learning. These findings show that distinct neural signatures of native-language processing relate to dissociable abilities for learning novel semantic and syntactic information. PMID:27737775

Production Practice During Language Learning Improves Comprehension.

Science.gov (United States)

Hopman, Elise W M; MacDonald, Maryellen C

2018-04-01

Language learners often spend more time comprehending than producing a new language. However, memory research suggests reasons to suspect that production practice might provide a stronger learning experience than comprehension practice. We tested the benefits of production during language learning and the degree to which this learning transfers to comprehension skill. We taught participants an artificial language containing multiple linguistic dependencies. Participants were randomly assigned to either a production- or a comprehension-learning condition, with conditions designed to balance attention demands and other known production-comprehension differences. After training, production-learning participants outperformed comprehension-learning participants on vocabulary comprehension and on comprehension tests of grammatical dependencies, even when we controlled for individual differences in vocabulary learning. This result shows that producing a language during learning can improve subsequent comprehension, which has implications for theories of memory and learning, language representations, and educational practices.

Learning a Language with Dyslexia

OpenAIRE

Hascoet, Valerie

2016-01-01

It is commonplace to discourage people affected with dyslexia from learning foreign languages. But the condition occurs on a wide spectrum affecting individuals in unique ways. That is why directing dyslexic people away from language learning solely on the basis of their dyslexia, is scientifically unfounded. In this article, we will take a linguistic perspective on this issue, that is to say that we will present the scientific facts about language learning and dyslexia.

RESEARCH ON LANGUAGE AND LEARNING: IMPLICATIONS FOR LANGUAGE TEACHING

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Eva Alcón

2004-06-01

Full Text Available Taking into account severa1 limitations of communicative language teaching (CLT, this paper calls for the need to consider research on language use and learning through communication as a basis for language teaching. It will be argued that a reflective approach towards language teaching and learning might be generated, which is explained in terms of the need to develop a context-sensitive pedagogy and in terms of teachers' and learners' development.

THE CONCEPT OF LANGUAGE LEARNING IN BEHAVIORISM PERSPECTIVE

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Khoiru Rakhman Abidin

2016-07-01

Full Text Available The aims of the study are (1 the concepts of language learning in behaviorism perspective, (2 the relation between language and learning in behaviorism perspective, (3 the influence of behaviorism in language learning. This is a descriptive qualitative study. The results showed that (1 behaviorism theories of languages also give good contribution in language learning process that describes a child can learn language from their environments, (2 behaviorism perspective defines as change of behavior through experience, it means human learn something from their environments, (3 human uses language for communication in the world and he also spreads his culture with his language so  human gets  knowledge of language through learning.

Enhancing Academic Instruction for Adolescent English Language Learners with or at Risk for Learning Disabilities

Science.gov (United States)

Haager, Diane; Osipova, Anna V.

2017-01-01

An increasing number of children worldwide attend schools where the language of instruction does not match their native language, presenting significant challenges with learning the content and vocabulary of academic content areas (e.g., social studies, science). In the U.S., these students are designated as English language learners…

Technology in Language Use, Language Teaching, and Language Learning

Science.gov (United States)

Chun, Dorothy; Smith, Bryan; Kern, Richard

2016-01-01

This article offers a capacious view of technology to suggest broad principles relating technology and language use, language teaching, and language learning. The first part of the article considers some of the ways that technological media influence contexts and forms of expression and communication. In the second part, a set of heuristic…

Motivation and Second Language Learning

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

郭建业

2007-01-01

Motivation, which is one of the individual differences, contributes a lot to the success and failure in second language learning. This essay focus on the discussion of the definition, types, effect and implications of motivation in second language learning with the aim of promoting learners' learning proficiency.

Gardening for Homonyms: Integrating Science and Language Arts to Support Children's Creative Use of Multiple Meaning Words

Science.gov (United States)

Luna, Melissa J.; Rye, James Andrew; Forinash, Melissa; Minor, Alana

2015-01-01

Curriculum integration can increase the presence of science at the elementary level. The purpose of this article is to share how two second-grade teachers have integrated language arts content as a part of science-language arts instruction in a garden-based learning context. One application was a teacher-designed "Gardening for Homonyms"…

Native-language N400 and P600 predict dissociable language-learning abilities in adults.

Science.gov (United States)

Qi, Zhenghan; Beach, Sara D; Finn, Amy S; Minas, Jennifer; Goetz, Calvin; Chan, Brian; Gabrieli, John D E

2017-04-01

Language learning aptitude during adulthood varies markedly across individuals. An individual's native-language ability has been associated with success in learning a new language as an adult. However, little is known about how native-language processing affects learning success and what neural markers of native-language processing, if any, are related to success in learning. We therefore related variation in electrophysiology during native-language processing to success in learning a novel artificial language. Event-related potentials (ERPs) were recorded while native English speakers judged the acceptability of English sentences prior to learning an artificial language. There was a trend towards a double dissociation between native-language ERPs and their relationships to novel syntax and vocabulary learning. Individuals who exhibited a greater N400 effect when processing English semantics showed better future learning of the artificial language overall. The N400 effect was related to syntax learning via its specific relationship to vocabulary learning. In contrast, the P600 effect size when processing English syntax predicted future syntax learning but not vocabulary learning. These findings show that distinct neural signatures of native-language processing relate to dissociable abilities for learning novel semantic and syntactic information. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Personal Learning Environments for Language Learning

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Panagiotis Panagiotidis

2013-02-01

Full Text Available The advent of web 2.0 and the developments it has introduced both in everyday practice and in education have generated discussion and reflection concerning the technologies which higher education should rely on in order to provide the appropriate e-learning services to future students. In this context, the Virtual Learning Environments (VLEs, which are widely used in universities around the world to provide online courses to every specific knowledge area and of course in foreign languages, have started to appear rather outdated. Extensive research is under progress, concerning the ways in which educational practice will follow the philosophy of web 2.0 by adopting the more learner-centred and collaborative approach of e-learning 2.0 applications, without abandoning the existing investment of the academic institutions in VLEs, which belong to the e-learning 1.0 generation, and, thus, serve a teacher- or coursecentred approach. Towards this direction, a notably promising solution seems to be the exploitation of web 2.0 tools in order to form Personal Learning Environments (PLEs. These are systems specifically designed or created by the combined use of various external applications or tools that can be used independently or act as a supplement to existing VLE platforms, creating a personalized learning environment. In a PLE, students have the opportunity to form their own personal way of working, using the tools they feel are most appropriate to achieve their purpose. Regarding the subject of foreign language, in particular, the creation of such personalized and adaptable learning environments that extend the traditional approach of a course seems to promise a more holistic response to students’ needs, who, functioning in the PLE, could combine learning with their daily practice, communicating and collaborating with others, thus increasing the possibilities of access to multiple sources, informal communication and practice and eventually

Personal Learning Environments for Language Learning

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Panagiotis Panagiotidis

2012-12-01

Full Text Available The advent of web 2.0 and the developments it has introduced both in everyday practice and in education have generated discussion and reflection concerning the technologies which higher education should rely on in order to provide the appropriate e-learning services to future students.In this context, the Virtual Learning Environments (VLEs, which are widely used in universities around the world to provide online courses to every specific knowledge area and of course in foreign languages, have started to appear rather outdated. Extensive research is under progress, concerning the ways in which educational practice will follow the philosophy of web 2.0 by adopting the more learner-centred and collaborative approach of e-learning 2.0 applications, without abandoning the existing investment of the academic institutions in VLEs, which belong to the e-learning 1.0 generation, and, thus, serve a teacher- or coursecentred approach.Towards this direction, a notably promising solution seems to be the exploitation of web 2.0 tools in order to form Personal Learning Environments (PLEs. These are systems specifically designed or created by the combined use of various external applications or tools that can be used independently or act as a supplement to existing VLE platforms, creating a personalized learning environment. In a PLE, students have the opportunity to form their own personal way of working, using the tools they feel are most appropriate to achieve their purpose.Regarding the subject of foreign language, in particular, the creation of such personalized and adaptable learning environments that extend the traditional approach of a course seems to promise a more holistic response to students’ needs, who, functioning in the PLE, could combine learning with their daily practice, communicating and collaborating with others, thus increasing the possibilities of access to multiple sources, informal communication and practice and eventually acquiring

Language Learning Strategies of Language e-Learners in Turkey

Science.gov (United States)

Solak, Ekrem; Cakir, Recep

2015-01-01

The purpose of this study was to determine the use of language learning strategies of e-learners and to understand whether there were any correlations between language learning strategies and academic achievement. Participants of the study were 274?e-learners, 132 males and 142 females, enrolled in an e-learning program from various majors and…

Learning the Greek Language via Greeklish

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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.

LEARNING HOW TO LEARN A LANGUAGE

CERN Multimedia

Language Training; Tel. 73127; Andrée Fontbonne; Tel. 72844

2001-01-01

This bilingual seminar is for anyone who would like to develop learning strategies and skills for learning a foreign language. Languages: French and English. Length: 3 days, 7 hours per day. Dates: 7, 8, 9 March 2001. Price: 462 CHF per person (for a group of 8 people). If you are interested, please enrol through our Web pages: http://training.web.cern.ch/Training/LANG/lang0_F.html

Applications of Natural Language Processing in Biodiversity Science

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Anne E. Thessen

2012-01-01

A computer can handle the volume but cannot make sense of the language. This paper reviews and discusses the use of natural language processing (NLP and machine-learning algorithms to extract information from systematic literature. NLP algorithms have been used for decades, but require special development for application in the biological realm due to the special nature of the language. Many tools exist for biological information extraction (cellular processes, taxonomic names, and morphological characters, but none have been applied life wide and most still require testing and development. Progress has been made in developing algorithms for automated annotation of taxonomic text, identification of taxonomic names in text, and extraction of morphological character information from taxonomic descriptions. This manuscript will briefly discuss the key steps in applying information extraction tools to enhance biodiversity science.

Collocational Relations in Japanese Language Textbooks and Computer-Assisted Language Learning Resources

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Irena SRDANOVIĆ

2011-05-01

Full Text Available In this paper, we explore presence of collocational relations in the computer-assisted language learning systems and other language resources for the Japanese language, on one side, and, in the Japanese language learning textbooks and wordlists, on the other side. After introducing how important it is to learn collocational relations in a foreign language, we examine their coverage in the various learners’ resources for the Japanese language. We particularly concentrate on a few collocations at the beginner’s level, where we demonstrate their treatment across various resources. A special attention is paid to what is referred to as unpredictable collocations, which have a bigger foreign language learning-burden than the predictable ones.

Identity, Language Learning, and Social Change

Science.gov (United States)

Norton, Bonny; Toohey, Kelleen

2011-01-01

In this review article on identity, language learning, and social change, we argue that contemporary poststructuralist theories of language, identity, and power offer new perspectives on language learning and teaching, and have been of considerable interest in our field. We first review poststructuralist theories of language, subjectivity, and…

Why Are There Developmental Stages in Language Learning? A Developmental Robotics Model of Language Development.

Science.gov (United States)

Morse, Anthony F; Cangelosi, Angelo

2017-02-01

Most theories of learning would predict a gradual acquisition and refinement of skills as learning progresses, and while some highlight exponential growth, this fails to explain why natural cognitive development typically progresses in stages. Models that do span multiple developmental stages typically have parameters to "switch" between stages. We argue that by taking an embodied view, the interaction between learning mechanisms, the resulting behavior of the agent, and the opportunities for learning that the environment provides can account for the stage-wise development of cognitive abilities. We summarize work relevant to this hypothesis and suggest two simple mechanisms that account for some developmental transitions: neural readiness focuses on changes in the neural substrate resulting from ongoing learning, and perceptual readiness focuses on the perceptual requirements for learning new tasks. Previous work has demonstrated these mechanisms in replications of a wide variety of infant language experiments, spanning multiple developmental stages. Here we piece this work together as a single model of ongoing learning with no parameter changes at all. The model, an instance of the Epigenetic Robotics Architecture (Morse et al 2010) embodied on the iCub humanoid robot, exhibits ongoing multi-stage development while learning pre-linguistic and then basic language skills. Copyright © 2016 Cognitive Science Society, Inc.

The Language of Mathematics in Science

Science.gov (United States)

Boohan, Richard

2016-01-01

"The Language of Mathematics in Science" is an ASE/Nuffield project aimed at supporting teachers of 11-16 science in the use of mathematical ideas in the science curriculum. Two publications have been produced. This article focuses on the first of these, "The Language of Mathematics in Science: A Guide for Teachers of 11-16…

Language Technologies for Lifelong Learning

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Greller, Wolfgang

2011-01-01

Greller, W. (2010). Language Technologies for Lifelong Learning. In S. Trausan-Matu & P. Dessus (Eds.), Proceedings of the Natural Language Processing in Support of Learning: Metrics, Feedback and Connectivity. Second Internationl Workshop - NLPSL 2010 (pp. 6-8). September, 14, 2010, Bucharest,

Comparison and Contrast between First and Second Language Learning

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Javed Akhter

2016-02-01

Full Text Available This research paper tends to focus on comparison and contrast between first and second language learning. It investigates the different factors that have inhibiting influences on the language learning process of the learners in the two different environments. There are many factors involved in this respect. The age factor is one of the vital factors that influence the progress of learners in the language learning process. The other factor between first and second language learning, which mostly influences the performance of second language learners, is language input in terms of the quantity and quality in both cases of the limitations of the second language learning in classroom. This research study also studies the language input in both cases and limitations of second language learning in classroom. The present research also investigates the individual differences between first and second language learning, covering aptitude of the language learner, motivation of teacher and classmates, language anxiety and language ego. This research paper suggests that motivation of the teacher and other class fellows, aptitude of learner and teacher’s instructions and teaching methodology as well as classroom setting may help the second language learners to overcome their language anxiety and language ego in the classroom. Keywords: First language learning, Second language Learning, Age Factor, Individual Differences, Language Input, Language Anxiety and Language Ego

Intercultural challenge to language learning

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Luz María Muñoz de Cote

2012-10-01

Full Text Available This paper presents the findings of a qualitative research project set to investigate the piloting process of an innovative language program for university students. It challenges traditional English language teaching courses celebrating a view centered on learning; classes become spaces for students to understand the language they are learning through the development of small projects. The approach moves from a teaching transmission paradigm to one where the most important agent is each student who has to engage with a topic of his or her interest. Students are seen as individuals whose knowledge and understanding of the world is valued and not as people whose lack of language skills prevents themfrom engaging in discussions of complex topics. The objective of this innovation is to enhance students’ understanding and use of academic English in their field of interest. In this project, we argue that knowledge and understanding of the mother tongue and culture play key roles in the development of a second language. A number of studies suggest that students who had strong first language literacy skills achieved higher proficiency levels in their second language. Based on this argument and Vygotsky’s sociocultural learning theory, we designed disciplinary content language learning workshops for first-degree students. The main tenet is that students can develop academic English given that they know about their discipline. Findings so far reveal the difficulty of students to take distance from their previous learning experiences. They also show that students’ ideas expressed in English are far more complex than what would be expected of them given their second language skills. The complexity is not only related to thecontent, but to the way they construct their paragraphs and the understanding of how the register of their field  may be used.

Metacognitive Language Learning Strategies Use, Gender, and Learning Achievement: a Correlation Study

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Ahlam Bouirane

2015-06-01

Full Text Available This study investigates the relationship between metacognitive language learning strategies (MLLS and gender and achievement of EFL students. Metacognitive language learning strategies are crucial for students of English as a foreign language to learn effectively. The theoretical issues discuss metacognitive language learning strategies in particular, and language learning strategies (LLS in general. The practical research took place at the English language department at Farhat Abbes University, Sétif, Algeria, with third year students learning English as a foreign language. The study hypothesized that there is a positive correlation between metacognitive language learning strategies use and achievement. Two main parts following a qualitative design constitute the body of the present research. The first part uses the Metacognitive Language Learning Strategies Questionnaire (MLLSQ to account for differences in the reported frequency of metacognitive strategies use across all the students, and across gender differences. The second part uses interviews to account for the use of these strategies at the individual level, in their relation to the students’ gender and achievement in language learning. The results of the first part revealed a significant use of metacognitive strategies among all the students and significant differences between male students and female students in the frequency of use of these strategies. Moreover, the results of the second part reflected more significant differences in the use of Metacognitive strategies at the level of gender and learning achievement. The study concludes by bringing together key findings and some suggestions for further research.

Self-Regulation in Language Learning.

Science.gov (United States)

Tseng, Wen-Ta; Liu, Heidi; Nix, John-Michael L

2017-04-01

Self-regulated learning has been a widely researched subject for decades in educational psychology. Different instruments have been developed to understand learners' self-regulated learning in a specific subject domain. This study developed a measurement scale to assess English-as-a-foreign-language learners' self-regulatory capacity in English language learning and further examined the effects of gender on English-as-a-foreign-language learners' self-regulatory capacity. A series of psychometric analyses including exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, and full structural equation modeling were undertaken to answer the research questions raised. The findings suggest that the scale can attain high reliability and strong validity in two different samplings, and the underlying construct of self-regulation in English language learning is shown to be multidimensional with a significant impact by gender. Theoretical and pedagogical implications are further put forward in light of the research findings.

LEARNING HOW TO LEARN A LANGUAGE

CERN Multimedia

Formation en Langues; Andrée Fontbonne - Tél. 72844; Language Training; Françoise Benz - Tel. 73127; Andrée Fontbonne - Tel. 72844

2000-01-01

This bilingual seminar is for anyone who would like to develop learning strategies and skills for learning a foreign language. It is particularly recommended for those wishing to sign up for a 3-month self-study session in the Resource Centre. Languages: French and English. Length: 5 hours a day for one week. Dates: 27 November to December 2000. Price: 490 CHF per person (for a group of 8 people). If you are interested, please enrol through our Web pages.

MULTIPLE INTELLIGENCE THEORY AND FOREIGN LANGUAGE LEARNING:A BRAIN-BASED PERSPECTIVE

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Jane Arnold

2004-06-01

Full Text Available Gardner's Multiple Intelligences theory is presented as a cognitive perspective on intelligence which has profound implications for education in general. More specifically, it has led to the application of eight of these frames to language teaching and learning. In this chapter, we will argue in favour of the application of MIT to the EFL classroom, using as support some of the major insights for language teaching from brain science.

The Effect of In-Service Training of Computer Science Teachers on Scratch Programming Language Skills Using an Electronic Learning Platform on Programming Skills and the Attitudes towards Teaching Programming

Science.gov (United States)

Alkaria, Ahmed; Alhassan, Riyadh

2017-01-01

This study was conducted to examine the effect of in-service training of computer science teachers in Scratch language using an electronic learning platform on acquiring programming skills and attitudes towards teaching programming. The sample of this study consisted of 40 middle school computer science teachers. They were assigned into two…

Learning bias, cultural evolution of language, and the biological evolution of the language faculty.

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, Kenny

2011-04-01

The biases of individual language learners act to determine the learnability and cultural stability of languages: learners come to the language learning task with biases which make certain linguistic systems easier to acquire than others. These biases are repeatedly applied during the process of language transmission, and consequently should effect the types of languages we see in human populations. Understanding the cultural evolutionary consequences of particular learning biases is therefore central to understanding the link between language learning in individuals and language universals, common structural properties shared by all the world’s languages. This paper reviews a range of models and experimental studies which show that weak biases in individual learners can have strong effects on the structure of socially learned systems such as language, suggesting that strong universal tendencies in language structure do not require us to postulate strong underlying biases or constraints on language learning. Furthermore, understanding the relationship between learner biases and language design has implications for theories of the evolution of those learning biases: models of gene-culture coevolution suggest that, in situations where a cultural dynamic mediates between properties of individual learners and properties of language in this way, biological evolution is unlikely to lead to the emergence of strong constraints on learning.

The Correlation between Early Second Language Learning and Native Language Skill Development

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Caccavale, Terry

2007-01-01

It has long been the assumption of many in the field of second language teaching that learning a second language helps to promote and enhance native language skill development, and that this correlation is direct and positive. Language professionals have assumed that learning a second language directly supports the development of better skills,…

Language Views on Social Networking Sites for Language Learning: The Case of Busuu

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Álvarez Valencia, José Aldemar

2016-01-01

Social networking has compelled the area of computer-assisted language learning (CALL) to expand its research palette and account for new virtual ecologies that afford language learning and socialization. This study focuses on Busuu, a social networking site for language learning (SNSLL), and analyzes the views of language that are enacted through…

Culture in Language Learning: Background, Issues and Implications

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Omid Pourkalhor

2017-03-01

Full Text Available The present study aimed at presenting the historical background of the emergence of culture in language learning and how it can be correlated with the language learners. In fact, by providing various definitions of culture and the role it might play in the process of language learning, whether directly or indirectly, this research provides a clear-cut overview of culture and its application among the people as well as their communication in the society. Moreover, the relationship between culture and language learning is also taken into account. To this end, basic definitions of culture in different research studies are investigated moving toward finding a path to make a connection between language and culture. Therefore, a review of studies on the relationship between language learning and culture is provided to account for the possible effectiveness of benefiting from culture in the language learning process in that the learning context (i.e. foreign or second language can be affected by the culture of the teachers as well as the learners. This demands that both teachers and learners should be aware of cultural issues surrounding the language and the fact that it can be beneficial for the process of language learning. If learner are consciously involved in the culture of the language they are learning, they certainly can have better performance and understand the language more tangibly.

Multimodal Teacher Input and Science Learning in a Middle School Sheltered Classroom

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Zhang, Ying

2016-01-01

This article reports the results of an ethnographic research about the multimodal science discourse in a sixth-grade sheltered classroom involving English Language Learners (ELLs) only. Drawing from the perspective of multimodality, this study examines how science learning is constructed in science lectures through multiple semiotic resources,…

Learning Science and the Science of Learning. Science Educators' Essay Collection.

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Bybee, Rodger W., Ed.

This yearbook addresses critical issues in science learning and teaching. Contents are divided into four sections: (1) "How Do Students Learn Science?"; (2) "Designing Curriculum for Student Learning"; (3) "Teaching That Enhances Student Learning"; and (4) "Assessing Student Learning." Papers include: (1) "How Students Learn and How Teachers…

Large-scale Labeled Datasets to Fuel Earth Science Deep Learning Applications

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Maskey, M.; Ramachandran, R.; Miller, J.

2017-12-01

Deep learning has revolutionized computer vision and natural language processing with various algorithms scaled using high-performance computing. However, generic large-scale labeled datasets such as the ImageNet are the fuel that drives the impressive accuracy of deep learning results. Large-scale labeled datasets already exist in domains such as medical science, but creating them in the Earth science domain is a challenge. While there are ways to apply deep learning using limited labeled datasets, there is a need in the Earth sciences for creating large-scale labeled datasets for benchmarking and scaling deep learning applications. At the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, we are using deep learning for a variety of Earth science applications where we have encountered the need for large-scale labeled datasets. We will discuss our approaches for creating such datasets and why these datasets are just as valuable as deep learning algorithms. We will also describe successful usage of these large-scale labeled datasets with our deep learning based applications.

Aptitude for Learning a Foreign Language.

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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…

Singing can facilitate foreign language learning.

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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.

Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL) Software: Evaluation ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Evaluating the nature and extent of the influence of Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL) on the quality of language learning is highly problematic. This is owing to the number and complexity of interacting variables involved in setting the items for teaching and learning languages. This paper identified and ...

Engaging Karen refugee students in science learning through a cross-cultural learning community

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Harper, Susan G.

2017-02-01

This research explored how Karen (first-generation refugees from Burma) elementary students engaged with the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) practice of constructing scientific explanations based on evidence within the context of a cross-cultural learning community. In this action research, the researcher and a Karen parent served as co-teachers for fourth- and fifth-grade Karen and non-Karen students in a science and culture after-school programme in a public elementary school in the rural southeastern United States. Photovoice provided a critical platform for students to create their own cultural discourses for the learning community. The theoretical framework of critical pedagogy of place provided a way for the learning community to decolonise and re-inhabit the learning spaces with knowledge they co-constructed. Narrative analysis of video transcripts of the after-school programme, ethnographic interviews, and focus group discussions from Photovoice revealed a pattern of emerging agency by Karen students in the scientific practice of constructing scientific explanations based on evidence and in Karen language lessons. This evidence suggests that science learning embedded within a cross-cultural learning community can empower refugee students to construct their own hybrid cultural knowledge and leverage that knowledge to engage in a meaningful way with the epistemology of science.

Language Learning within Academic Constraints.

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Blue, George M.

This paper reports on a research project that examined nonnative Southampton University (England) students' attitudes to continued language learning and the importance of language learning and cultural adaptation. A survey was administered to pre-sessional and in-sessional students that included information on background, past and present language…

An investigation of mathematics and science instruction in English and Spanish for English language learners

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Rodriguez-Esquivel, Marina

The contextual demands of language in content area are difficult for ELLS. Content in the native language furthers students' academic development and native language skills, while they are learning English. Content in English integrates pedagogical strategies for English acquisition with subject area instruction. The following models of curriculum content are provided in most Miami Dade County Public Schools: (a) mathematics instruction in the native language with science instruction in English or (b) science instruction in the native language with mathematics instruction in English. The purpose of this study was to investigate which model of instruction is more contextually supportive for mathematics and science achievement. A pretest and posttest, nonequivalent group design was used with 94 fifth grade ELLs who received instruction in curriculum model (a) or (b). This allowed for statistical analysis that detected a difference in the means of .5 standard deviations with a power of .80 at the .05 level of significance. Pretreatment and post-treatment assessments of mathematics, reading, and science achievement were obtained through the administration of Aprenda-Segunda Edicion and the Florida Comprehensive Achievement Test. The results indicated that students receiving mathematics in English and Science in Spanish scored higher on achievement tests in both Mathematics and Science than the students who received Mathematics in Spanish and Science in English. In addition, the mean score of students on the FCAT mathematics examination was higher than their mean score on the FCAT science examination regardless of the language of instruction.

Facebook for informal language learning: Perspectives from tertiary language students

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Antonie Alm

2015-09-01

Full Text Available This paper investigates the use of Facebook for out-of-class, informal language learning. 190 New Zealand university language students (Chinese, German, French, Japanese and Spanish completed an anonymous online questionnaire on (1 their perceptions of Facebook as a multilingual environment, (2 their online writing practices and (3 their views on the educational value of their experiences. Findings indicate that language students are using a range of Facebook features to expose themselves to the languages they study (L2 and to communicate in their L2 with native speaker Facebook friends. The use of the social networking site varied according to proficiency-levels of the participants (beginner, intermediate and advanced levels, strength of social ties with native speaker Facebook friends and personal attitudes towards the site. Learning experiences on Facebook were not perceived as useful for the formal language learning context which suggests the need for bridging strategies between informal and formal learning environments.

Best Practices for Implementing Inquiry-Based Science Instruction for English Language Learners

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Williams, Erica

This applied dissertation was designed to provide better access to current information to link literacy and science. Students frequently used literacy skills to gather information and communicate understanding of scientific concepts to others. Science became applicable through the tools associated with literacy. There was a need for instruction that integrated language development with science content. This research focused on revealing the instructional trends of English language learners science teachers in the United Arab Emirates. The researcher introduced the questionnaire surveys in the form of a professional development session. The participants were asked to complete the questionnaire concurrently with the descriptive presentation of each component of the sheltered instruction observation protocol (SIOP) model. Completing the SIOP Checklist Survey provided data on the type of constructivist strategies (best practices) teachers were utilizing and to what degree of fidelity the strategies were being implemented. Teachers were encouraged to continue to use these services for curriculum enrichment and as an additional source for future lesson plans. An analysis of the data revealed authentic learning as the most common best practice used with the most fidelity by teachers. The demographic subgroup, teaching location, was the only subgroup to show statistical evidence of an association between teaching location and the use of problem-based learning techniques in the classroom. Among factors that influenced the degree of teacher fidelity, teachers' expectation for student achievement had a moderate degree of association between the use of scaffolding techniques and co-operative learning.

Elementary teachers' knowledge and practices in teaching science to English language learners

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Santau, Alexandra O.

Efforts to improve education---more concretely science education---by creating fundamental shifts in standards for students and teachers have been launched by educators and policy makers in recent years. The new standards for science instruction address improvements in student learning, program development, assessment, and professional development for teachers, with the goal to prepare US students for the academic demands of the 21st century. The study examined teachers' knowledge and practices in science instruction with English language learning (ELL) students. It also examined relationships among key domains of science instruction with ELL students, as well as profiles of teaching practices. The four domains included: (1) teachers' knowledge of science content, (2) teaching practices to promote scientific understanding, (3) teaching practices to promote scientific inquiry, and (4) teaching practices to support English language development during science instruction. The study was part of a larger 5-year research and development intervention aimed at promoting science and literacy achievement of ELL students in urban elementary schools. The study involved 32 third grade, 21 fourth grade, and 17 fifth grade teachers participating in the first-year implementation of the intervention. Based on teachers' questionnaire responses, classroom observation ratings, and post-observation interviews, results indicated that (1) teachers' knowledge and practices were within the bounds of the intervention, but short of reform-oriented practices and (2) relationships among the four domains existed, especially at grade 5. These findings can provide insights for professional development and future research, along with accountability policies.

On Using Intelligent Computer-Assisted Language Learning in Real-Life Foreign Language Teaching and Learning

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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…

THE BLENDED LEARNING ENVIRONMENT ON THE FOREIGN LANGUAGE LEARNING PROCESS: A Balance for Motivation and Achievement

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Bahar ISIGUZEL

2014-07-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this study is to determine the effects on motivation and success within the application of blended learning environments in the foreign language class. The research sample is formed by third grade students studying in the tourism and hotel management programs of the faculty for tourism and the faculty of economics and administrative sciences at the Nevsehir Hacı Bektas Veli University (Turkey in fall semester of the 2012-2013 academic year. The research group consists of 62 students and there of 35 students belong to the experimental group and the other 27 persons belong to the control group. While the experimental group was subject to 14 hours online and 6 hours traditional face to face learning, the control group was subject to only 6 hours traditional face to face learning. The research has been completed after a 10 week application. The data on the research have been collected with German course achievement tests via the German Language Learning Motivation Scale. The results reveal that the experimental group of students attending the German classes in blended learning environments has more success and higher motivation compared to the control group attending German language classes in the traditional learning environment. Even if the learners achieve certain success and motivation findings in the classroom and face to face environments performed along with teaching-learning activities mainly in control of the instructor, the success and motivation effect of the blended learning environment could not be achieved.

Chapter Five: Language Learning and Discursive Practice

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Young, Richard F.

2008-01-01

This chapter is framed by the three questions related to learning in Practice Theory posed by Johannes Wagner (2008): (1) What is learned?; (2) Who is learning?; and (3) Who is participating in the learning? These questions are addressed in two learning theories: Language Socialization and Situated Learning theory. In Language Socialization, the…

The knowledge-learning-instruction framework: bridging the science-practice chasm to enhance robust student learning.

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Koedinger, Kenneth R; Corbett, Albert T; Perfetti, Charles

2012-07-01

Despite the accumulation of substantial cognitive science research relevant to education, there remains confusion and controversy in the application of research to educational practice. In support of a more systematic approach, we describe the Knowledge-Learning-Instruction (KLI) framework. KLI promotes the emergence of instructional principles of high potential for generality, while explicitly identifying constraints of and opportunities for detailed analysis of the knowledge students may acquire in courses. Drawing on research across domains of science, math, and language learning, we illustrate the analyses of knowledge, learning, and instructional events that the KLI framework affords. We present a set of three coordinated taxonomies of knowledge, learning, and instruction. For example, we identify three broad classes of learning events (LEs): (a) memory and fluency processes, (b) induction and refinement processes, and (c) understanding and sense-making processes, and we show how these can lead to different knowledge changes and constraints on optimal instructional choices. Copyright © 2012 Cognitive Science Society, Inc.

Is CALL Obsolete? Language Acquisition and Language Learning Revisited in a Digital Age

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Jarvis, Huw; Krashen, Stephen

2014-01-01

In this article, Huw Jarvis and Stephen Krashen ask "Is CALL Obsolete?" When the term CALL (Computer-Assisted Language Learning) was introduced in the 1960s, the language education profession knew only about language learning, not language acquisition, and assumed the computer's primary contribution to second language acquisition…

Resources and Resourcefulness in Language Teaching and Learning

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Attempts will be made in this paper to examine what we mean by language, language teaching and learning, resources and resourcefulness in language teaching and learning and the benefit of teachers being resourceful in language teaching and learning to both the learners, the teachers, the society and the nation at ...

Vocabulary Learning Strategies of Japanese Life Science Students

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Little, Andrea; Kobayashi, Kaoru

2015-01-01

This study investigates vocabulary learning strategy (VLS) preferences of lower and higher proficiency Japanese university science students studying English as a foreign language. The study was conducted over a 9-week period as the participants received supplemental explicit VLS instruction on six strategies. The 38 participants (14 males and 24…

Learning theories and skills in online second language teaching and learning

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Petersen, Karen Bjerg

2014-01-01

For decades foreign and second language teachers have taken advantage of the technology development and ensuing possibilities to use e-learning facilities for language training. Since the 1980s, the use of computer assisted language learning (CALL), Internet, web 2.0, and various kinds of e-learning...... in Denmark with special attention towards the development of web-based materials for Danish pronunciation. This paper sets out to introduce differences between the international and Danish use of web-based language learning and teaching. Finally, dilemmas and challenges for the use of CALL, IT, and web 2.0 in...

Thought and Language in Cognitive Science

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Destéfano, Mariela

2012-01-01

Full Text Available In cognitive science, the discussion about the relations between language and thought is very heterogeneous. It involves developments on linguistics, philosophy, psychology, etc. Carruthers and Boucher (1998 identify different criteria that would organize the diversity of positions about language and thought assumed in linguistics, philosophy and psychology. One of them is the constitution thesis (CT, which establishes that language is constitutively involved in thought. In this paper I would like to show some problems of CT in order to understand the relation between language and thought in cognitive science.

Second Language Learning Motivation

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Alvyda Liuolienė

2011-04-01

Full Text Available The paper deals with the peculiarities of ESP learning motivation. The meaning of motivation and three main approaches to motivational psychology: expectancy-value theory, goal-directed theory and the self-determination theory are presented, two distinct orientations for learning a language: integrative and instrumental are described in the paper. The importance of needs analysis to ESP learning is stressed and the main conditions (interest in the topic and activity; relevance to the students’ lives; expectancy of success and feelings of being in control and satisfaction in the outcome for motivation are described. The skills that ESP learners need to develop are specified. The description of approaches to motivational psychology is proposed, as motivation is of great significance in foreign language learning.

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

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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…

Language Choice & Global Learning Networks

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Dennis Sayers

1995-05-01

Full Text Available How can other languages be used in conjunction with English to further intercultural and multilingual learning when teachers and students participate in computer-based global learning networks? Two portraits are presented of multilingual activities in the Orillas and I*EARN learning networks, and are discussed as examples of the principal modalities of communication employed in networking projects between distant classes. Next, an important historical precedent --the social controversy which accompanied the introduction of telephone technology at the end of the last century-- is examined in terms of its implications for language choice in contemporary classroom telecomputing projects. Finally, recommendations are offered to guide decision making concerning the role of language choice in promoting collaborative critical inquiry.

MARGINALIZATION OF DEPARTMENTS OF SOCIAL SCIENCES AND LANGUAGES IN SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL IN DENPASAR

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I Wayan Winaja

2013-02-01

Full Text Available Learning should be focused on the social and cultural development of intellectual ability, and encourage the learner’s comprehension and knowledge in order to produce intelligent and educated society. From the data collected from Public Senior High School 1 Denpasar and Dwijendra Senior High School Denpasar, it was found that the departments of social sciences and languages were seriously marginalized, indicated by the time allocated for social sciences and languages. The time allocated for Natural Sciences such as chemistry, physics, and biology averaged three hours a week. The additional ‘extra’ time allocated for Natural Sciences made the overall time allocated for them double the overall time allocated for Social Sciences such as economics, history sociology, and geography. Furthermore, the time allocated for one of them was one hour a week. The knowledge presented by the books of Natural Sciences was highly “instrumentalist-positivistic”; unlike the books of social sciences which only provided academic normative information. The modernity contained in “instrumentative positivism” was the philosophy which gave more priority to practical things and hard work with financial success as the main criterion. It was concluded that the marginalization of the departments of social sciences and languages in Public Senior High School 1 Denpasar and Dwijendra Senior High School Denpasar resulted from modernism, the culture of image, and the image that natural sciences were more advantageous than social sciences and languages.

Influence of Perceptual Saliency Hierarchy on Learning of Language Structures: An Artificial Language Learning Experiment.

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Gong, Tao; Lam, Yau W; Shuai, Lan

2016-01-01

Psychological experiments have revealed that in normal visual perception of humans, color cues are more salient than shape cues, which are more salient than textural patterns. We carried out an artificial language learning experiment to study whether such perceptual saliency hierarchy (color > shape > texture) influences the learning of orders regulating adjectives of involved visual features in a manner either congruent (expressing a salient feature in a salient part of the form) or incongruent (expressing a salient feature in a less salient part of the form) with that hierarchy. Results showed that within a few rounds of learning participants could learn the compositional segments encoding the visual features and the order between them, generalize the learned knowledge to unseen instances with the same or different orders, and show learning biases for orders that are congruent with the perceptual saliency hierarchy. Although the learning performances for both the biased and unbiased orders became similar given more learning trials, our study confirms that this type of individual perceptual constraint could contribute to the structural configuration of language, and points out that such constraint, as well as other factors, could collectively affect the structural diversity in languages.

Influence of Perceptual Saliency Hierarchy on Learning of Language Structures: An Artificial Language Learning Experiment

Science.gov (United States)

Gong, Tao; Lam, Yau W.; Shuai, Lan

2016-01-01

Psychological experiments have revealed that in normal visual perception of humans, color cues are more salient than shape cues, which are more salient than textural patterns. We carried out an artificial language learning experiment to study whether such perceptual saliency hierarchy (color > shape > texture) influences the learning of orders regulating adjectives of involved visual features in a manner either congruent (expressing a salient feature in a salient part of the form) or incongruent (expressing a salient feature in a less salient part of the form) with that hierarchy. Results showed that within a few rounds of learning participants could learn the compositional segments encoding the visual features and the order between them, generalize the learned knowledge to unseen instances with the same or different orders, and show learning biases for orders that are congruent with the perceptual saliency hierarchy. Although the learning performances for both the biased and unbiased orders became similar given more learning trials, our study confirms that this type of individual perceptual constraint could contribute to the structural configuration of language, and points out that such constraint, as well as other factors, could collectively affect the structural diversity in languages. PMID:28066281

MUET Preparation Language Learning Strategies

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Kuen, Yoong Li; Embi, Mohamed Amin

2012-01-01

The main objective of the study was to examine the English language learning strategies (LLS) used by Lower Six students in secondary schools who are sitting for their MUET test. It analyzed the language learning strategies that students use in order to prepare for the MUET test. Data were collected using a survey questionnaire with 300 students.…

"Does a Spider Have Fur"?: A Teacher's Journey in Building the Confidence to Blend the English Language Learning of ESL Students with Inquiry-Based Science

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Zeegers, Yvonne; McKinnon, Heather

2012-01-01

This paper describes one aspect of an ESL teacher's journey, in which her voluntary involvement in a series of science-based professional learning events inspired her to use language-based objectives to develop and teach an integrated unit of work with ESL students. Her willingness to modify her usual pedagogical practice and the inspiration she…

Factors Affecting Construction of Science Discourse in the Context of an Extracurricular Science and Technology Project

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Webb, Horace P.

2009-01-01

Doing and learning science are social activities that require certain language, activities, and values. Both constitute what Gee (2005) calls Discourses. The language of learning science varies with the learning context (Lemke, 2001,1990). "Science for All Americans" (AAAS, 1990) and "Inquiry and the National Science Education…

Language Disorders Are Learning Disabilities: Challenges on the Divergent and Diverse Paths to Language Learning Disability

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Sun, Lei; Wallach, Geraldine P.

2014-01-01

This article takes readers along the pathway of language learning and disorders across childhood and adolescence, highlighting the complex relationship between early (preschool) language disorders and later (school age) learning disabilities. The discussion starts with a review of diagnostic labels widely used in schools and other professional…

Improving Language Learning Strategies and Performance of Pre-Service Language Teachers Through a CALLA-TBLT Model

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Maria Eugenia Guapacha Chamorro

2017-07-01

Full Text Available This paper reports an action-research study on language learning strategies in tertiary education at a Colombian university. The study aimed at improving the English language performance and language learning strategies use of 33 first-year pre-service language teachers by combining elements from two models: the cognitive academic language learning approach and task-based language teaching. Data were gathered through surveys, a focus group, students’ and teachers’ journals, language tests, and documentary analysis. Results evidenced that the students improved in speaking, writing, grammar, vocabulary and in their language learning strategies repertoire. As a conclusion, explicit strategy instruction in the proposed model resulted in a proper combination to improve learners’ language learning strategies and performance.

LEARNING HOW TO LEARNA LANGUAGE

CERN Multimedia

Language training; tel. 78582

2001-01-01

This bilingual seminar is for anyone who would like to develop learning strategies and skills for learning a foreign language. Languages: French and English. Length: 3 days, 7 hours per day. Dates: 4, 5, 6 March 2002. Price: 460 CHF per person (for a group of 8 people). If you are interested, please enrol through our Web pages: http://cern.ch/Training

Teaching and Learning Language as Culture

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

刘朝晖

2007-01-01

It's important to master a foreign language, English in particular.But the problem is how students should learn in order to communicate well with the native speakers and even become members of the target language community.The author narrates two incidents related to the Chinese study and English study experiences, pointing out that language study can't be separated from culture study.In line with the research results by some language experts about culture, language is the carrier of culture as literature is accomplished through languages,therefore language learning and teaching in isolation from culture is impossible.The author argues that language should be taught and learnt in a cultural approach.But as a sword with double blades, cultural approach may lead to culture invasion, culture inequality and the loss of culture diversity.

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.

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.

Understanding Cognitive Language Learning Strategies

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Sergio Di Carlo

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Over time, definitions and taxonomies of language learning strategies have been critically examined. This article defines and classifies cognitive language learning strategies on a more grounded basis. Language learning is a macro-process for which the general hypotheses of information processing are valid. Cognitive strategies are represented by the pillars underlying the encoding, storage and retrieval of information. In order to understand the processes taking place on these three dimensions, a functional model was elaborated from multiple theoretical contributions and previous models: the Smart Processing Model. This model operates with linguistic inputs as well as with any other kind of information. It helps to illustrate the stages, relations, modules and processes that occur during the flow of information. This theoretical advance is a core element to classify cognitive strategies. Contributions from cognitive neuroscience have also been considered to establish the proposed classification which consists of five categories. Each of these categories has a different predominant function: classification, preparation, association, elaboration and transfer-practice. This better founded taxonomy opens the doors to potential studies that would allow a better understanding of the interdisciplinary complexity of language learning. Pedagogical and methodological implications are also discussed.

Learning a generative probabilistic grammar of experience: a process-level model of language acquisition.

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Kolodny, Oren; Lotem, Arnon; Edelman, Shimon

2015-03-01

We introduce a set of biologically and computationally motivated design choices for modeling the learning of language, or of other types of sequential, hierarchically structured experience and behavior, and describe an implemented system that conforms to these choices and is capable of unsupervised learning from raw natural-language corpora. Given a stream of linguistic input, our model incrementally learns a grammar that captures its statistical patterns, which can then be used to parse or generate new data. The grammar constructed in this manner takes the form of a directed weighted graph, whose nodes are recursively (hierarchically) defined patterns over the elements of the input stream. We evaluated the model in seventeen experiments, grouped into five studies, which examined, respectively, (a) the generative ability of grammar learned from a corpus of natural language, (b) the characteristics of the learned representation, (c) sequence segmentation and chunking, (d) artificial grammar learning, and (e) certain types of structure dependence. The model's performance largely vindicates our design choices, suggesting that progress in modeling language acquisition can be made on a broad front-ranging from issues of generativity to the replication of human experimental findings-by bringing biological and computational considerations, as well as lessons from prior efforts, to bear on the modeling approach. Copyright © 2014 Cognitive Science Society, Inc.

Computer-Assisted Language Learning (CALL) in Support of (Re)-Learning Native Languages: The Case of Runyakitara

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Katushemererwe, Fridah; Nerbonne, John

2015-01-01

This study presents the results from a computer-assisted language learning (CALL) system of Runyakitara (RU_CALL). The major objective was to provide an electronic language learning environment that can enable learners with mother tongue deficiencies to enhance their knowledge of grammar and acquire writing skills in Runyakitara. The system…

Teaching and Learning the Language of Science: A Case Study of Academic Language Acquisition in a Dual Language Middle School

Science.gov (United States)

Gose, Robin Margaretha

2013-01-01

English language learners (EL) are the fastest growing sub-group of the student population in California, yet ELs also score the lowest on the science section of the California Standardized Tests. In the area of bilingual education, California has dramatically changed its approach to English learners since the passage of Proposition 227 in 1998,…

Language Learning in Outdoor Environments: Perspectives of preschool staff

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Martina Norling

2015-03-01

Full Text Available Language environment is highlighted as an important area in the early childhood education sector. The term language environment refers to language-promoting aspects of education, such as preschool staff’s use of verbal language in interacting with the children. There is a lack of research about language learning in outdoor environments; thus children’s language learning is mostly based on the indoor physical environment. The aim of this study is therefore to explore, analyse, and describe how preschool staff perceive language learning in outdoor environments. The data consists of focus-group interviews with 165 preschool staff members, conducted in three cities in Sweden. The study is meaningful, thus results contribute knowledge regarding preschool staffs’ understandings of language learning in outdoor environments and develop insights to help preschool staff stimulate children’s language learning in outdoor environments.

Mobile learning and high-lighting language education

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Vinther, Jane

Mobile learning and high-profiling language education. The number of students learning a second or foreign language and participating in instruction in languages other than English has been in decline for some time. There seems to be such a general tendency across nations albeit for a variety...... of reasons idiosyncratic to the particular national conditions. This paper gives an account of a diversified national project designed to infuse foreign language learning classes in upper secondary schools in Denmark with renewed enthusiasm through systematically experimenting with the new media by taking...... advantage of the social side in their application. The aim has been to make language classes attractive and relevant and to highlight the attractiveness and fun in learning through web 2.0 and mobile units. The overall project was supported by the Danish ministry of education as well as the individual...

Making Intercultural Language Learning Visible and Assessable

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Moloney, Robyn; Harbon, Lesley

2010-01-01

While languages education (Liddicoat, 2002) is being transformed by intercultural language learning theory, there is little illustration of either how students are achieving intercultural learning or how to assess it. This article reports on a study of high school language students in Sydney, Australia. Its findings make visible student…

A Correlational Study of Graphic Organizers and Science Achievement of English Language Learners

Science.gov (United States)

Clarke, William Gordon

English language learners (ELLs) demonstrate lower academic performance and have lower graduation and higher dropout rates than their non-ELL peers. The primary purpose of this correlational quantitative study was to investigate the relationship between the use of graphic organizer-infused science instruction and science learning of high school ELLs. Another objective was to determine if the method of instruction, socioeconomic status (SES), gender, and English language proficiency (ELP) were predictors of academic achievement of high school ELLs. Data were gathered from a New York City (NYC) high school fall 2012-2013 archival records of 145 ninth-grade ELLs who had received biology instruction in freestanding English as a second language (ESL) classes, followed by a test of their learning of the material. Fifty-four (37.2%) of these records were of students who had learned science by the conventional textbook method, and 91 (62.8%) by using graphic organizers. Data analysis employed the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) software for multiple regression analysis, which found graphic organizer use to be a significant predictor of New York State Regents Living Environment (NYSRLE) test scores (p < .01). One significant regression model was returned whereby, when combined, the four predictor variables (method of instruction, SES, gender, and ELP) explained 36% of the variance of the NYSRLE score. Implications of the study findings noted graphic organizer use as advantageous for ELL science achievement. Recommendations made for practice were for (a) the adoption of graphic organizer infused-instruction, (b) establishment of a protocol for the implementation of graphic organizer-infused instruction, and (c) increased length of graphic organizer instructional time. Recommendations made for future research were (a) a replication quantitative correlational study in two or more high schools, (b) a quantitative quasi-experimental quantitative study to

Learning, Work, and Language Games

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Weber, Kirsten

2013-01-01

The article provides an example of psycho-societal analysis of work related learning. Initially a conceptual framework of learning and life experience is established drawing on Alfred Lorenzer and Oskar Negt, and the interactional development of psychoanalysis. A case of learning experience from...... process, which is related to a career shift enforced by labor market transition requiring male workers to retrain for a social work profession which used to be female, and more widely to a reconfiguration of the societal relation between work and gender. The final section discusses the methodological...... framework for analyzing learning processes by means of interpreting language use. The notion of language game connects the level of unconscious social engagements and level of formal learning and knowledge, and the opportunity for a deeper understanding of professional learning and identity is indicated...

Mixing Languages during Learning? Testing the One Subject—One Language Rule

Science.gov (United States)

2015-01-01

In bilingual communities, mixing languages is avoided in formal schooling: even if two languages are used on a daily basis for teaching, only one language is used to teach each given academic subject. This tenet known as the one subject-one language rule avoids mixing languages in formal schooling because it may hinder learning. The aim of this study was to test the scientific ground of this assumption by investigating the consequences of acquiring new concepts using a method in which two languages are mixed as compared to a purely monolingual method. Native balanced bilingual speakers of Basque and Spanish—adults (Experiment 1) and children (Experiment 2)—learnt new concepts by associating two different features to novel objects. Half of the participants completed the learning process in a multilingual context (one feature was described in Basque and the other one in Spanish); while the other half completed the learning phase in a purely monolingual context (both features were described in Spanish). Different measures of learning were taken, as well as direct and indirect indicators of concept consolidation. We found no evidence in favor of the non-mixing method when comparing the results of two groups in either experiment, and thus failed to give scientific support for the educational premise of the one subject—one language rule. PMID:26107624

Mixing Languages during Learning? Testing the One Subject-One Language Rule.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Eneko Antón

Full Text Available In bilingual communities, mixing languages is avoided in formal schooling: even if two languages are used on a daily basis for teaching, only one language is used to teach each given academic subject. This tenet known as the one subject-one language rule avoids mixing languages in formal schooling because it may hinder learning. The aim of this study was to test the scientific ground of this assumption by investigating the consequences of acquiring new concepts using a method in which two languages are mixed as compared to a purely monolingual method. Native balanced bilingual speakers of Basque and Spanish-adults (Experiment 1 and children (Experiment 2-learnt new concepts by associating two different features to novel objects. Half of the participants completed the learning process in a multilingual context (one feature was described in Basque and the other one in Spanish; while the other half completed the learning phase in a purely monolingual context (both features were described in Spanish. Different measures of learning were taken, as well as direct and indirect indicators of concept consolidation. We found no evidence in favor of the non-mixing method when comparing the results of two groups in either experiment, and thus failed to give scientific support for the educational premise of the one subject-one language rule.

The Role of Motivation in Language Learning

OpenAIRE

Rahman, Anwar

2011-01-01

The mastery of English learning is influenced by some variables, one of them is motivation. Motivation in learning second language is classified as integrative motivation and instrumental motivation. Some experts of language teaching also categorized motivation into two types namely intrinsic motivation and extrinsic motivation. This paper discusses about kinds of motivation and how it takes a role in influencing students mastery in learning language. It was literature study that focused to f...

Learning Additional Languages as Hierarchical Probabilistic Inference: Insights From First Language Processing.

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Pajak, Bozena; Fine, Alex B; Kleinschmidt, Dave F; Jaeger, T Florian

2016-12-01

We present a framework of second and additional language (L2/L n ) acquisition motivated by recent work on socio-indexical knowledge in first language (L1) processing. The distribution of linguistic categories covaries with socio-indexical variables (e.g., talker identity, gender, dialects). We summarize evidence that implicit probabilistic knowledge of this covariance is critical to L1 processing, and propose that L2/L n learning uses the same type of socio-indexical information to probabilistically infer latent hierarchical structure over previously learned and new languages. This structure guides the acquisition of new languages based on their inferred place within that hierarchy, and is itself continuously revised based on new input from any language. This proposal unifies L1 processing and L2/L n acquisition as probabilistic inference under uncertainty over socio-indexical structure. It also offers a new perspective on crosslinguistic influences during L2/L n learning, accommodating gradient and continued transfer (both negative and positive) from previously learned to novel languages, and vice versa.

Special ways of knowing in science: expansive learning opportunities with bilingual children with learning disabilities

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Martínez-Álvarez, Patricia

2017-09-01

The field of bilingual special education is currently plagued with contradictions resulting in a serious underrepresentation of emergent bilinguals with learning disabilities in professional science fields. This underrepresentation is due in large part to the fact that educational systems around the world are inadequately prepared to address the educational needs of these children; this inadequacy is rooted in a lack of understanding of the linguistic and cultural factors impacting learning. Accepting such a premise and assuming that children learn in unexpected ways when instructional practices attend to culture and language, this study documents a place-based learning experience integrating geoscience and literacy in a fourth-grade dual language classroom. Data sources include transcribed audio-taped conversations from learning experience sessions and interviews that took place as six focus children, who had been identified as having specific learning disabilities, read published science texts (i.e. texts unaltered linguistically or conceptually to meet the needs of the readers). My analysis revealed that participants generated responses that were often unexpected if solely analyzed from those Western scientific perspectives traditionally valued in school contexts. However, these responses were also full of purposeful and rich understandings that revealed opportunities for expansive learning. Adopting a cultural historical activity theory perspective, instructional tools such as texts, visuals, and questions were found to act as mediators impacting the learning in both activity systems: (a) teacher- researcher learning from children, and (b) children learning from teachers. I conclude by suggesting that there is a need to understand students' ways of knowing to their full complexity, and to deliberately recognize teachers as learners, researchers, and means to expansive learning patterns that span beyond traditional learning boundaries.

A review of theoretical perspectives on language learning and acquisition

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Norbahira Mohamad Nor

2018-01-01

Full Text Available This paper reviews three main theoretical perspectives on language learning and acquisition in an attempt to elucidate how people acquire their first language (L1 and learn their second language (L2. Behaviorist, Innatist and Interactionist offer different perspectives on language learning and acquisition which influence the acceptance of how an L2 should be taught and learned. This paper also explicates the relationship between L1 and L2, and elaborates on the similarities and differences between the two. This paper concludes that there is no one solid linguistic theory which can provide the ultimate explanation of L1 acquisition and L2 learning as there are many interrelated factors that influence the success of language acquisition or language learning. The implication is that teachers should base their classroom management practices and pedagogical techniques on several theories rather than a single theory as learners learn and acquire language differently. It is hoped that this paper provides useful insights into the complex process involved in language acquisition and learning, and contributes to the increased awareness of the process among the stakeholders in the field of language education. Keywords: behaviorist, innatist, interactionist, language acquisition, second language learning

On Emotional Barriers to Second Language Learning

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Chen Qin

2012-01-01

Language learning is a very complex process, which is related to many factors, either internal or external. Affective factors plays an important role in a second language learning. If only we realize such affective factors, we can overcome the emotional barriers effectively and have a successful learning.

QUESTIONING FOREIGN LANGUAGE LEARNING IN ISLAMIC PRE-SCHOOL

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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.

Input and Age-Dependent Variation in Second Language Learning: A Connectionist Account.

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Janciauskas, Marius; Chang, Franklin

2017-07-26

Language learning requires linguistic input, but several studies have found that knowledge of second language (L2) rules does not seem to improve with more language exposure (e.g., Johnson & Newport, 1989). One reason for this is that previous studies did not factor out variation due to the different rules tested. To examine this issue, we reanalyzed grammaticality judgment scores in Flege, Yeni-Komshian, and Liu's (1999) study of L2 learners using rule-related predictors and found that, in addition to the overall drop in performance due to a sensitive period, L2 knowledge increased with years of input. Knowledge of different grammar rules was negatively associated with input frequency of those rules. To better understand these effects, we modeled the results using a connectionist model that was trained using Korean as a first language (L1) and then English as an L2. To explain the sensitive period in L2 learning, the model's learning rate was reduced in an age-related manner. By assigning different learning rates for syntax and lexical learning, we were able to model the difference between early and late L2 learners in input sensitivity. The model's learning mechanism allowed transfer between the L1 and L2, and this helped to explain the differences between different rules in the grammaticality judgment task. This work demonstrates that an L1 model of learning and processing can be adapted to provide an explicit account of how the input and the sensitive period interact in L2 learning. © 2017 The Authors. Cognitive Science - A Multidisciplinary Journal published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Language and Science.

Science.gov (United States)

Atkinson, Dwight

1999-01-01

Reviews recent applied linguistic research on science and language, especially studies conducted during the period between 1990 and 1998. Outlines major changes that have taken place in this area since van Naerssen and Kaplan's 1987 review. (Author/VWL)

A Working Model for Intercultural Learning and Engagement in Collaborative Online Language Learning Environments

Science.gov (United States)

Lawrence, Geoff

2013-01-01

Given the emerging focus on the intercultural dimension in language teaching and learning, language educators have been exploring the use of information and communications technology ICT-mediated language learning environments to link learners in intercultural language learning communities around the globe. Despite the potential promise of…

WEBLOGS FOR ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNING: Students’ Perceptions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Juida WAN

2011-10-01

Full Text Available The digital explosion of information on the Internet has resulted in a need for a new and up-to-date way for Digital Natives to learn English. Educators have reported numerous benefits of using weblogs in English language learning. This article presents a small scale study on the use of weblogs for English language learning at tertiary level in Malaysia. Twenty six students kept weblogs for a duration of a semester. This study investigated how students perceived the use of weblogs for English language learning. A questionnaire which was made up of both close-ended and open-ended questions was administered at the end of the study. A mixture of quantitative and qualitative methods was used to analyse the students’ responses to the questionnaire. The study found that students were aware of their audience when they blogged and that they geared their writing towards their audience. In addition, they also interacted with others through the use of the comment feature on their weblogs. Furthermore, the majority of the students enjoyed blogging and found weblogs useful for English language learning. This study found that weblogs are promising interactive tools for English language learning.

Indigenous language use and primary science teaching in a post-colonial society: The case of Shona in Zimbabwe

Science.gov (United States)

Horcajo, Susan Lori

The historical legacy of colonialism in Zimbabwe is revealed in the continued use of the colonial language, English, in education. However, many teachers use the local language along with particular techniques to address this language gap so that children learn the content of the lessons, especially in the rural areas where access to modern conveniences and the school language outside of class is limited. This research examines the use of an indigenous language in an educational system in which content area curricula are administered in a second language. Three third grade classes in a rural Zimbabwean village were video recorded for three weeks each during the teaching of science. Lessons were transcribed and questions devised for the teachers and a small number of students in order to explore issues related to language use and scientific concept development. The lessons and interviews were reviewed in order to determine particular language usage in the indigenous Shona language and its local dialect, Ndau. The questions addressed were: (1) When and how does the teacher use Shona to explain scientific concepts? (2) When and how do children use Shona to discuss these concepts? (3) What is the relationship among cognition, the use of Shona in the classroom and the learning of science? Analysis of Shona language use in these lessons revealed that while Shona was most commonly used in single words for affection, to facilitate instruction, and to support the lesson, large segments of four sentences or more allowed for more culturally relevant teaching and the development of concepts which served the purpose of science learning through identification, description, explanation and the reaching of conclusions. Metalinguistic awareness and literacy were seen to be salient elements in the lessons, especially given the fact that only English is allowed to be written; that is, while the teacher often explained elements of the lessons orally, all writing on the board, in

GESTURE'S ROLE IN CREATING AND LEARNING LANGUAGE.

Science.gov (United States)

Goldin-Meadow, Susan

2010-09-22

Imagine a child who has never seen or heard language. Would such a child be able to invent a language? Despite what one might guess, the answer is "yes". This chapter describes children who are congenitally deaf and cannot learn the spoken language that surrounds them. In addition, the children have not been exposed to sign language, either by their hearing parents or their oral schools. Nevertheless, the children use their hands to communicate--they gesture--and those gestures take on many of the forms and functions of language (Goldin-Meadow 2003a). The properties of language that we find in these gestures are just those properties that do not need to be handed down from generation to generation, but can be reinvented by a child de novo. They are the resilient properties of language, properties that all children, deaf or hearing, come to language-learning ready to develop. In contrast to these deaf children who are inventing language with their hands, hearing children are learning language from a linguistic model. But they too produce gestures, as do all hearing speakers (Feyereisen and de Lannoy 1991; Goldin-Meadow 2003b; Kendon 1980; McNeill 1992). Indeed, young hearing children often use gesture to communicate before they use words. Interestingly, changes in a child's gestures not only predate but also predict changes in the child's early language, suggesting that gesture may be playing a role in the language-learning process. This chapter begins with a description of the gestures the deaf child produces without speech. These gestures assume the full burden of communication and take on a language-like form--they are language. This phenomenon stands in contrast to the gestures hearing speakers produce with speech. These gestures share the burden of communication with speech and do not take on a language-like form--they are part of language.

Reconceptualising Learning in Transdisciplinary Languages Education

Science.gov (United States)

Scarino, Angela; Liddicoat, Anthony J.

2016-01-01

Understanding and working with the complexity of second language learning and use in an intercultural orientation necessitates a re-examination of the different theories of learning that inform the different schools of second language acquisition (SLA). This re-examination takes place in a context where explicitly conceptualizing the nature of…

Corporate Language and Implications for Organizational Learning

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Zølner, Mette

2013-01-01

This paper explores empirically implications of language use for MNCs’ learning from subsidiaries. Drawing on sociolinguistic literature, the article argues that while employing a single corporate language facilitates quick and direct communication of explicit knowledge, such a language design...... is insufficient to leverage contextually specific and culturally embedded knowledge. This indicates the need for disentangling language and culture. The paper further argues for the need to go beyond national language to consider how prevailing kinds of corporate talk may curb headquarters potential for learning...

[Information technology in learning sign language].

Science.gov (United States)

Hernández, Cesar; Pulido, Jose L; Arias, Jorge E

2015-01-01

To develop a technological tool that improves the initial learning of sign language in hearing impaired children. The development of this research was conducted in three phases: the lifting of requirements, design and development of the proposed device, and validation and evaluation device. Through the use of information technology and with the advice of special education professionals, we were able to develop an electronic device that facilitates the learning of sign language in deaf children. This is formed mainly by a graphic touch screen, a voice synthesizer, and a voice recognition system. Validation was performed with the deaf children in the Filadelfia School of the city of Bogotá. A learning methodology was established that improves learning times through a small, portable, lightweight, and educational technological prototype. Tests showed the effectiveness of this prototype, achieving a 32 % reduction in the initial learning time for sign language in deaf children.

The Relationship between Artificial and Second Language Learning

Science.gov (United States)

Ettlinger, Marc; Morgan-Short, Kara; Faretta-Stutenberg, Mandy; Wong, Patrick C. M.

2016-01-01

Artificial language learning (ALL) experiments have become an important tool in exploring principles of language and language learning. A persistent question in all of this work, however, is whether ALL engages the linguistic system and whether ALL studies are ecologically valid assessments of natural language ability. In the present study, we…

Language Attitudes, Language Learning Experiences and Individual Strategies What Does School Offer and What Does It Lack?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tódor Erika-Mária

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Language learners’ attitudes towards the language and its speakers greatly influence the language learning process and the learning outcomes. Previous research and studies on attitudes and motivation in language learning (Csizér 2007, Dörnyei 2009 show that attitudes and motivation are strongly intertwined. Positive attitude towards the language and its speakers can lead to increased motivation, which then results in better learning achievement and a positive attitude towards learning the language. The aim of the present study was to get a better insight into what regards the language attitudes of students attending Hungarian minority schools in Romania. The interest of the study lies in students’ attitudes towards the different languages, the factors/criteria along which they express their language attitudes, students’ learning experiences and strategies that they consider efficient and useful in order to acquire a language. Results suggest that students’ attitudes are determined by their own experiences of language use, and in this sense we can differentiate between a language for identification – built upon specific emotional, affective, and cognitive factors – and language for communication.

The Role of Motivation in Language Learning

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

李玉红

2004-01-01

The role of motivation in language learning has been studied since the 1960s. It is indeed one of the most important areas of linguistics. This paper suggests strategies of motivating language learners and focuses on the role which motivation can play in language learning. The concept of motivation from different points of view is defined, a number of suggestions on how to motivate language learners are presented and the role of motivation based on various motivational theories are highlighted. With regard to the role of motivation in language learning, it is concluded that motivation plays an increasingly important role in many aspects, such as identifying with the target language society, achieving long-term and short-term goals, improving language learners' internal and external powers and exerting a group force. It also indicates that there should be more research areas to be examined and a long way is probably requlred to go in future theoretical and practical study.

Why First Language Learning Is Not Second Language Learning--Wittgenstein's Rejection of St. Augustine's Conception of Learning.

Science.gov (United States)

Erneling, Christina

1993-01-01

Paper shows that Wittgenstein, in discussing ostensive definition, understanding, and the private language argument, attacks Saint Augustine's notion of learning. Recently, the Augustinian conception has been resurrected in cognitive theories postulating an innate language of thought, making Wittgenstein's claims that this conception of learning…

Which Methodology Works Better? English Language Teachers' Awareness of the Innovative Language Learning Methodologies

Science.gov (United States)

Kurt, Mustafa

2015-01-01

The present study investigated whether English language teachers were aware of the innovative language learning methodologies in language learning, how they made use of these methodologies and the learners' reactions to them. The descriptive survey method was employed to disclose the frequencies and percentages of 175 English language teachers'…

Exploring Effectiveness and Moderators of Language Learning Strategy Instruction on Second Language and Self-Regulated Learning Outcomes

Science.gov (United States)

Ardasheva, Yuliya; Wang, Zhe; Adesope, Olusola O.; Valentine, Jeffrey C.

2017-01-01

This meta-analysis synthesized recent research on strategy instruction (SI) effectiveness to estimate SI effects and their moderators for two domains: second/foreign language and self-regulated learning. A total of 37 studies (47 independent samples) for language domain and 16 studies (17 independent samples) for self-regulated learning domain…

Integrating Culture into Language Teaching and Learning: Learner Outcomes

Science.gov (United States)

Nguyen, Trang Thi Thuy

2017-01-01

This paper discusses the issue of learner outcomes in learning culture as part of their language learning. First, some brief discussion on the role of culture in language teaching and learning, as well as on culture contents in language lessons is presented. Based on a detailed review of previous literature related to culture in language teaching…

A Brief Review of Motivation for Second Language Learning

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

SONG Dan-gui

2014-01-01

It is an increasingly popular trend in the language field that people become bilingual or even multilingual, which expos-es the fact that people are strongly motivated to learn another language in addition to their mother tongue. A large-scale of re-search has confirmed that motivation, serving as the internal impulse and initiative taste for second language learning, is among on of the key factors in second language acquisition and learning. The paper reviews the recent available literature on motivation of second language learning from both theoretical and empirical perspectives, with the purpose of neatening the important theories and relevant empirical studies in the field of second language motivation.

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

Studying the mechanisms of language learning by varying the learning environment and the learner.

Science.gov (United States)

Goldin-Meadow, Susan

Language learning is a resilient process, and many linguistic properties can be developed under a wide range of learning environments and learners. The first goal of this review is to describe properties of language that can be developed without exposure to a language model - the resilient properties of language - and to explore conditions under which more fragile properties emerge. But even if a linguistic property is resilient, the developmental course that the property follows is likely to vary as a function of learning environment and learner, that is, there are likely to be individual differences in the learning trajectories children follow. The second goal is to consider how the resilient properties are brought to bear on language learning when a child is exposed to a language model. The review ends by considering the implications of both sets of findings for mechanisms, focusing on the role that the body and linguistic input play in language learning.

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...

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.

Child first language and adult second language are both tied to general-purpose learning systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Hamrick, Phillip; Lum, Jarrad A G; Ullman, Michael T

2018-02-13

Do the mechanisms underlying language in fact serve general-purpose functions that preexist this uniquely human capacity? To address this contentious and empirically challenging issue, we systematically tested the predictions of a well-studied neurocognitive theory of language motivated by evolutionary principles. Multiple metaanalyses were performed to examine predicted links between language and two general-purpose learning systems, declarative and procedural memory. The results tied lexical abilities to learning only in declarative memory, while grammar was linked to learning in both systems in both child first language and adult second language, in specific ways. In second language learners, grammar was associated with only declarative memory at lower language experience, but with only procedural memory at higher experience. The findings yielded large effect sizes and held consistently across languages, language families, linguistic structures, and tasks, underscoring their reliability and validity. The results, which met the predicted pattern, provide comprehensive evidence that language is tied to general-purpose systems both in children acquiring their native language and adults learning an additional language. Crucially, if language learning relies on these systems, then our extensive knowledge of the systems from animal and human studies may also apply to this domain, leading to predictions that might be unwarranted in the more circumscribed study of language. Thus, by demonstrating a role for these systems in language, the findings simultaneously lay a foundation for potentially important advances in the study of this critical domain.

Improving Students’ Sense to Learn Language in Islamic Institution of Coastal Area Indonesia

Science.gov (United States)

Kuraedah, St.; Azaliah Mar, Nur; Gunawan, Fahmi

2018-05-01

This research aims to examine the ways to develop a sense of love for learning Arabic among students in Islamic Higher education of Indonesia. This study is essential to do because Arabic should be the favourite subject by the students. In addition, Arabic is also the language of Al-Qur’an. As the language of Al-Qur’an, Arabic for Indonesian is not a foreign language as other foreign languages. In fact, the Arabic becomes one of the dreaded subjects by most students, especially at State Islamic Institute of Kendari. Therefore, it takes the tips and efforts by the Arabic teachers to make Arabic more interesting for the students. The results show that one way to increase the motivation to learn Arabic for students is to develop students’ sense of love to Arabic. The teachers can do it by showing how easy Arabic is and how important it is since it is a language of religion and science, and providing the tips to learn the language. Besides, they also can explain some borrowing words from Arabic adopted into Indonesian and to be used in daily conversations without realizing it, and show the form of word derivation in Arabic that can help to enrich the Arabic vocabulary. The teacher should tell the students that knowing one word in Arabic can develop into some vocabulary with different meanings.

Science of learning is learning of science: why we need a dialectical approach to science education research

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Roth, Wolff-Michael

2012-06-01

Research on learning science in informal settings and the formal (sometimes experimental) study of learning in classrooms or psychological laboratories tend to be separate domains, even drawing on different theories and methods. These differences make it difficult to compare knowing and learning observed in one paradigm/context with those observed in the other. Even more interestingly, the scientists studying science learning rarely consider their own learning in relation to the phenomena they study. A dialectical, reflexive approach to learning, however, would theorize the movement of an educational science (its learning and development) as a special and general case—subject matter and method—of the phenomenon of learning (in/of) science. In the dialectical approach to the study of science learning, therefore, subject matter, method, and theory fall together. This allows for a perspective in which not only disparate fields of study—school science learning and learning in everyday life—are integrated but also where the progress in the science of science learning coincides with its topic. Following the articulation of a contradictory situation on comparing learning in different settings, I describe the dialectical approach. As a way of providing a concrete example, I then trace the historical movement of my own research group as it simultaneously and alternately studied science learning in formal and informal settings. I conclude by recommending cultural-historical, dialectical approaches to learning and interaction analysis as a context for fruitful interdisciplinary research on science learning within and across different settings.

Sweet Science for ALL! Supporting Inquiry-Based Learning through M&Ms Investigation for English Language Learners

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Song, Youngjin; Higgins, Teresa; Harding-DeKam, Jenni

2014-01-01

This article describes a series of inquiry-based lessons that provide English language learners (ELLs) with opportunities to experience science and engineering practices with conceptual understanding as well as to develop their language proficiency in elementary classrooms. The four-lesson sequence models how various types of instructional…

Teaching language teachers scaffolding professional learning

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Maggioli, Gabriel Diaz

2012-01-01

Teaching Language Teachers: Scaffolding Professional Learning provides an updated view of as well as a reader-friendly introduction to the field of Teaching Teachers, with special reference to language teaching. By taking a decidedly Sociocultural perspective, the book addresses the main role of the Teacher of Teachers (ToT) as that of scaffolding the professional learning of aspiring teachers.

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

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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?

How Latino/a bilingual students use their language in a fifth grade classroom and in the science laboratory during science instruction

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Stevenson, Alma R.

This qualitative research study examines how Latino/a bilingual students use their linguistic resources in their homeroom classroom and in the science laboratory during science instruction. This study was conducted in a school district located in the southwestern part of the United States. The school was chosen based on the criterion that the school is located in an area considered economically depressed, with a predominantly Latino student, school, and neighborhood population. The object of study was a fifth grade bilingual (Spanish/English) classroom where English was the means of instruction. Classroom interaction was examined from a sociolinguistics perspective. The study was descriptive in nature with the objective of analyzing the students' use of their linguistic resources while participating in science learning. The results of this study suggest that the students used their linguistic resources purposefully in order to facilitate their participation in science leaning. In the same manner, it was observed the students' reliance on Spanish as a foundation to enhance their comprehension of the scientific concepts and the dynamics involved in the science lessons, with the purpose of making sense, and thus, to express their understanding (orally and in writing) using their linguistic resources, especially their English language, as it was expected from them. Further, the findings disclose the students' awareness of their own bilingualism, preference for speaking Spanish, and their conceptualization of English as the language to achieve academic success. It has also been observed how the pressure put upon the teacher and the students by the accountability system brings about an implicit bias against Spanish, causing the teacher to assume a paradoxical stance regarding the students' use of Spanish, and thereby, placing the students in an ambivalent position, that might affect, to a certain extent, how students use their Spanish language as a resource to

Mobile-Assisted Second Language Learning: Developing a Learner-Centered Framework

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Leow, Choy Khim; Yahaya, Wan Ahmad Jaafar Wan; Samsudin, Zarina

2014-01-01

The Mobile Assisted Language Learning concept has offered infinite language learning opportunities since its inception 20 years ago. Second Language Acquisition however embraces a considerably different body of knowledge from first language learning. While technological advances have optimized the psycholinguistic environment for language…

How relevant is social interaction in second language learning?

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Laura eVerga

2013-09-01

Full Text Available Verbal language is the most widespread mode of human communication, and an intrinsically social activity. This claim is strengthen by evidence emerging from different fields, which clearly indicate that social interaction influences human communication, and more specifically, language learning. Indeed, research conducted with infants and children shows that interaction with a caregiver is necessary to acquire language. Further evidence on the influence of sociality on language comes from social and linguistic pathologies, in which deficits in social and linguistic abilities are tightly intertwined, as it is the case for Autism, for example. However, studies on adult second language learning have been mostly focused on individualistic approaches, partly because of methodological constraints especially of imaging methods. The question as to whether social interaction should be considered as a critical factor impacting upon adult language learning still remains underspecified. Here, we review evidence in support of the view that sociality plays a significant role in communication and language learning, in an attempt to emphasize factors that could facilitate this process in adult language learning. We suggest that sociality should be considered as a potentially influential factor in adult language learning and that future studies in this domain should explicitly target this factor.

How relevant is social interaction in second language learning?

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Verga, Laura; Kotz, Sonja A

2013-09-03

Verbal language is the most widespread mode of human communication, and an intrinsically social activity. This claim is strengthened by evidence emerging from different fields, which clearly indicates that social interaction influences human communication, and more specifically, language learning. Indeed, research conducted with infants and children shows that interaction with a caregiver is necessary to acquire language. Further evidence on the influence of sociality on language comes from social and linguistic pathologies, in which deficits in social and linguistic abilities are tightly intertwined, as is the case for Autism, for example. However, studies on adult second language (L2) learning have been mostly focused on individualistic approaches, partly because of methodological constraints, especially of imaging methods. The question as to whether social interaction should be considered as a critical factor impacting upon adult language learning still remains underspecified. Here, we review evidence in support of the view that sociality plays a significant role in communication and language learning, in an attempt to emphasize factors that could facilitate this process in adult language learning. We suggest that sociality should be considered as a potentially influential factor in adult language learning and that future studies in this domain should explicitly target this factor.

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

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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.

Learning a Language with Web 2.0: Exploring the Use of Social Networking Features of Foreign Language Learning Websites

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Stevenson, Megan P.; Liu, Min

2010-01-01

This paper presents the results of an online survey and a usability test performed on three foreign language learning websites that use Web 2.0 technology. The online survey was conducted to gain an understanding of how current users of language learning websites use them for learning and social purposes. The usability test was conducted to gain…

Learning Analytics: The next frontier for computer assisted language learning in big data age

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Yu Qinglan

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Learning analytics (LA has been applied to various learning environments, though it is quite new in the field of computer assisted language learning (CALL. This article attempts to examine the application of learning analytics in the upcoming big data age. It starts with an introduction and application of learning analytics in other fields, followed by a retrospective review of historical interaction between learning and media in CALL, and a penetrating analysis on why people would go to learning analytics to increase the efficiency of foreign language education. As approved in previous research, new technology, including big data mining and analysis, would inevitably enhance the learning of foreign languages. Potential changes that learning analytics would bring to Chinese foreign language education and researches are also presented in the article.

Self-Regulated Out-of-Class Language Learning with Technology

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Lai, Chun; Gu, Mingyue

2011-01-01

Current computer-assisted language learning (CALL) research has identified various potentials of technology for language learning. To realize and maximize these potentials, engaging students in self-initiated use of technology for language learning is a must. This study investigated Hong Kong university students' use of technology outside the…

Emotions as Learning Enhancers of Foreign Language Learning Motivation

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Méndez López Mariza G.

2013-04-01

Full Text Available The present article reports on a study that explores the effects of the emotional experiences of Mexican language learners on their motivation to learn English. In this qualitative research we present how emotions impact the motivation of university language learners in south Mexico. Results suggest that emotions, both negative and positive, contribute to enhancing and diminishing motivation. Althoughnegative emotions may be considered detrimental to foreign language learning, the findings of this study show that negative emotions serve as learning enhancers. Results also evidence that Mexican language learners perceive negative emotions as positive for their language learning process.En este artículo se presenta una investigación en la que se exploran los efectos que causan las experiencias emocionales en la motivación de estudiantes mexicanos al aprender inglés. Con base en un estudio cualitativo se presenta cómo las emociones inciden en la motivación de estudiantes universitarios en el sur de México. Los resultados sugieren que las emociones, tanto positivas como negativas, contribuyen a potenciar y disminuir su motivación. Se encontró que a pesar de que las emociones negativas pueden afectar el aprendizaje de una lengua extranjera, estas actúan incluso como potenciadoras del aprendizaje. Los resultados también indican que los estudiantes mexicanos perciben las emociones negativas como positivas en su proceso de aprendizaje.

To what extent do science ESP learning materials fit the purpose for ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

To what extent do science ESP learning materials fit the purpose for which they have been devised? An evaluation in terms of Cronje's (1993) criteria. ... Journal for Language Teaching. Journal Home · ABOUT THIS JOURNAL · Advanced ...

Pre-Service EFL Teachers' Beliefs about Foreign Language Learning

Science.gov (United States)

Altan, Mustafa Zulkuf

2012-01-01

Beliefs are central constructs in every discipline which deals with human behaviour and learning. In addition to learner beliefs about language learning, language teachers themselves may hold certain beliefs about language learning that will have an impact on their instructional practices and that are likely to influence their students' beliefs…

Learner Behaviors and Perceptions of Autonomous Language Learning

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Bekleyen, Nilüfer; Selimoglu, Figen

2016-01-01

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the learners' behaviors and perceptions about autonomous language learning at the university level in Turkey. It attempts to reveal what type of perceptions learners held regarding teachers' and their own responsibilities in the language learning process. Their autonomous language learning…

Informal Language Learning Setting: Technology or Social Interaction?

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Bahrani, Taher; Sim, Tam Shu

2012-01-01

Based on the informal language learning theory, language learning can occur outside the classroom setting unconsciously and incidentally through interaction with the native speakers or exposure to authentic language input through technology. However, an EFL context lacks the social interaction which naturally occurs in an ESL context. To explore…

From exemplar to grammar: a probabilistic analogy-based model of language learning.

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Bod, Rens

2009-07-01

While rules and exemplars are usually viewed as opposites, this paper argues that they form end points of the same distribution. By representing both rules and exemplars as (partial) trees, we can take into account the fluid middle ground between the two extremes. This insight is the starting point for a new theory of language learning that is based on the following idea: If a language learner does not know which phrase-structure trees should be assigned to initial sentences, s/he allows (implicitly) for all possible trees and lets linguistic experience decide which is the "best" tree for each sentence. The best tree is obtained by maximizing "structural analogy" between a sentence and previous sentences, which is formalized by the most probable shortest combination of subtrees from all trees of previous sentences. Corpus-based experiments with this model on the Penn Treebank and the Childes database indicate that it can learn both exemplar-based and rule-based aspects of language, ranging from phrasal verbs to auxiliary fronting. By having learned the syntactic structures of sentences, we have also learned the grammar implicit in these structures, which can in turn be used to produce new sentences. We show that our model mimicks children's language development from item-based constructions to abstract constructions, and that the model can simulate some of the errors made by children in producing complex questions. Copyright © 2009 Cognitive Science Society, Inc.

Analysis of Language Learning Strategies Used by Students of Traffic Technology

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Violeta Jurkovič

2005-06-01

Full Text Available Language learning strategies play a vital role in the language acquisition process, and this includes the realm of ESP at the tertiary level of education. This contribution first defines the concept of language learning strategies and gives a historical background to language learning strategy research. The central section focuses on a comparative analysis of language learning strategies used by first year students of traffic technology at the Faculty of Maritime Studies and Transport in Portorož, University of Ljubljana. The analysis, based on Rebecca Oxford’s “Strategy Inventory for Language Learning”, aims to assess the students’ existing awareness of the process of language acquisition and the learning strategies that they use. Objectives of language teachers should include helping students to raise their awareness of language learning strategies and providing them with contexts for their development. Therefore, the concluding section contains sample ESP teaching materials and student instructions focusing on cognitive language learning strategies.

Innovations in Language Learning: The Oregon Chinese Flagship Model

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Carl Falsgraf

2007-01-01

Full Text Available Language learning in the United States suffers from a culture of low expectations. Lacking bilingual role models around them, students often view language class as, at best, a way to become a tourist in a country with a language different from their own. Monolingual policymakers assume that learning another language fluently is impossible and inconsequential, since they themselves are capable professionals with one language. Educators, discouraged by years of inadequate funding and support, have come to hope for nothing more than incremental improvements. The National Flagship Language Program (NFLP aims to break this cycle of low expectations and low results by providing funding to institutions willing to accept the challenge of producing Superior (Level 3 language users through a radical re-engineering of the language learning enterprise. The need for fundamental change in language education is longstanding, but the events of September 11 brought the importance of this need to the awareness of national policymakers. Due to the emphasis of critical languages, responsibility for carrying out this fundamental re-examination of language learning has fallen to those engaged in the less commonly taught languages. 1

Theory-based Support for Mobile Language Learning: Noticing and Recording

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Agnes Kukulska-Hulme

2009-04-01

Full Text Available This paper considers the issue of 'noticing' in second language acquisition, and argues for the potential of handheld devices to: (i support language learners in noticing and recording noticed features 'on the spot', to help them develop their second language system; (ii help language teachers better understand the specific difficulties of individuals or those from a particular language background; and (iii facilitate data collection by applied linguistics researchers, which can be fed back into educational applications for language learning. We consider: theoretical perspectives drawn from the second language acquisition literature, relating these to the practice of writing language learning diaries; and the potential for learner modelling to facilitate recording and prompting noticing in mobile assisted language learning contexts. We then offer guidelines for developers of mobile language learning solutions to support the development of language awareness in learners.

Learning approaches as predictors of academic performance in first year health and science students.

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Salamonson, Yenna; Weaver, Roslyn; Chang, Sungwon; Koch, Jane; Bhathal, Ragbir; Khoo, Cheang; Wilson, Ian

2013-07-01

To compare health and science students' demographic characteristics and learning approaches across different disciplines, and to examine the relationship between learning approaches and academic performance. While there is increasing recognition of a need to foster learning approaches that improve the quality of student learning, little is known about students' learning approaches across different disciplines, and their relationships with academic performance. Prospective, correlational design. Using a survey design, a total of 919 first year health and science students studying in a university located in the western region of Sydney from the following disciplines were recruited to participate in the study - i) Nursing: n = 476, ii) Engineering: n = 75, iii) Medicine: n = 77, iv) Health Sciences: n = 204, and v) Medicinal Chemistry: n = 87. Although there was no statistically significant difference in the use of surface learning among the five discipline groups, there were wide variations in the use of deep learning approach. Furthermore, older students and those with English as an additional language were more likely to use deep learning approach. Controlling for hours spent in paid work during term-time and English language usage, both surface learning approach (β = -0.13, p = 0.001) and deep learning approach (β = 0.11, p = 0.009) emerged as independent and significant predictors of academic performance. Findings from this study provide further empirical evidence that underscore the importance for faculty to use teaching methods that foster deep instead of surface learning approaches, to improve the quality of student learning and academic performance. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Hypnosis and Language Learning.

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Hammerman, Myrna Lynn

A thorough investiqation is attempted of efforts to apply hypnosis and suggestive learning techniques to education in general and specifically to second language learning. Hypnosis is discussed in terms of its dangers, its definition, and its application. Included in this discussion is a comparison of auto- and hetero-hypnosis, an overview of the…

Implications of Multimodal Learning Models for foreign language teaching and learning

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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.

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

Exploring Learner Autonomy: Language Learning Locus of Control in Multilinguals

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Peek, Ron

2016-01-01

By using data from an online language learning beliefs survey (n?=?841), defining language learning experience in terms of participants' multilingualism, and using a domain-specific language learning locus of control (LLLOC) instrument, this article examines whether more experienced language learners can also be seen as more autonomous language…

MOBILE LEARNING IN THE FOREIGN LANGUAGE CLASSROOM – CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES

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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.

Comparing Local and International Chinese Students’ English Language Learning Strategies

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Margreat Aloysious Anthony

2012-07-01

Full Text Available According to Horwitz (1987 learners’ belief about language learning are influenced by previous language learning experiences as well as cultural background. This study examined the English Language Learning Strategies between local and international Chinese students who share the same cultural background but have been exposed to different learning experiences. Given the significant number of local and international Chinese students enrolled in educational institutions, there is a need to understand the differences and similarities in the learning strategies of these two groups. The sample for the study comprised of 60 local and 50 international Chinese students currently enrolled at a local private college. The Oxford Strategy Inventory for Language Learning (SILL was administered as a measure of learning strategy preferences. The study reveals that language learning experiences as well as socioeconomic status impact the learning strategy adopted by both local and international Chinese students. The findings of this study point to the need to address the needs of these students in order to enhance their English language learning experience in Malaysia.

Incorporating E-learning in teaching English language to medical students: exploring its potential contributions

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Navidinia, Hossein; Zare Bidaki, Majid; Hekmati, Nargess

2016-01-01

Background: The spread of technology has influenced different aspects of human life, and teaching and learning are not exceptions. This study aimed to examine the potential contribution of the use of technology in teaching English language to medical students. Methods: This qualitative-action research study was conducted in Birjand University of Medical Sciences (BUMS), with 60 medical students taking a general English course in the Fall Semester of 2015. The class favored different tools and multimedia facilities such as a tube channel, e-dictionaries, educational films, and etextbooks to enhance students’ learning. In addition, the class had a weblog in which students could upload assignments and receive feedback from peers and the instructors. Results: The results revealed that e-learning could enhance students’ language proficiency and facilitate the teaching process. Learners preferred to use more e-dictionaries to learn the meaning of the new words, watch English medical films to boost their speaking and listening skills, and use the electronic version of their textbook as they could carry it wherever they wanted. Conclusion: The students preferred this method of learning English as they became more independent by using the electronic facilities. They found that learning English did not have a fixed institutionalized method, and e-learning activities could provide them with authentic input for language learning even outside of the classroom. PMID:28491837

Incorporating E-learning in teaching English language to medical students: exploring its potential contributions.

Science.gov (United States)

Navidinia, Hossein; Zare Bidaki, Majid; Hekmati, Nargess

2016-01-01

Background: The spread of technology has influenced different aspects of human life, and teaching and learning are not exceptions. This study aimed to examine the potential contribution of the use of technology in teaching English language to medical students. Methods: This qualitative-action research study was conducted in Birjand University of Medical Sciences (BUMS), with 60 medical students taking a general English course in the Fall Semester of 2015. The class favored different tools and multimedia facilities such as a tube channel, e-dictionaries, educational films, and etextbooks to enhance students' learning. In addition, the class had a weblog in which students could upload assignments and receive feedback from peers and the instructors. Results: The results revealed that e-learning could enhance students' language proficiency and facilitate the teaching process. Learners preferred to use more e-dictionaries to learn the meaning of the new words, watch English medical films to boost their speaking and listening skills, and use the electronic version of their textbook as they could carry it wherever they wanted. Conclusion: The students preferred this method of learning English as they became more independent by using the electronic facilities. They found that learning English did not have a fixed institutionalized method, and e-learning activities could provide them with authentic input for language learning even outside of the classroom.

Language effects in second-language learners: A longitudinal electrophysiological study of spanish classroom learning.

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Soskey, Laura; Holcomb, Phillip J; Midgley, Katherine J

2016-09-01

How do the neural mechanisms involved in word recognition evolve over the course of word learning in adult learners of a new second language? The current study sought to closely track language effects, which are differences in electrophysiological indices of word processing between one's native and second languages, in beginning university learners over the course of a single semester of learning. Monolingual L1 English-speakers enrolled in introductory Spanish were first trained on a list of 228 Spanish words chosen from the vocabulary to be learned in class. Behavioral data from the training session and the following experimental sessions spaced over the course of the semester showed expected learning effects. In the three laboratory sessions participants read words in three lists (English, Spanish and mixed) while performing a go/no-go lexical decision task in which event-related potentials (ERPs) were recorded. As observed in previous studies there were ERP language effects with larger N400s to native than second language words. Importantly, this difference declined over the course of L2 learning with N400 amplitude increasing for new second language words. These results suggest that even over a single semester of learning that new second language words are rapidly incorporated into the word recognition system and begin to take on lexical and semantic properties similar to native language words. Moreover, the results suggest that electrophysiological measures can be used as sensitive measures for tracking the acquisition of new linguistic knowledge. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Language, learning and electronic communications media

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Coffin, Caroline; Hewings, Ann

2005-01-01

Guest editorial - article outline\\ud 1. Why is language significant?\\ud 2. Research settings\\ud 2.1. School age students: \\ud (i) text-based conferencing \\ud (ii) multimodal writing\\ud 2.2. University students: \\ud (i) text-based conferencing \\ud (ii) web-based literacy support\\ud 2.3. Informal adult learning: web-based reading\\ud 3. Methodologies for exploring language and learning\\ud \\ud

Deaf Children's Science Content Learning in Direct Instruction Versus Interpreted Instruction

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Kurz, Kim B.; Schick, Brenda; Hauser, Peter C.

2015-01-01

This research study compared learning of 6-9th grade deaf students under two modes of educational delivery--interpreted vs. direct instruction using science lessons. Nineteen deaf students participated in the study in which they were taught six science lessons in American Sign Language. In one condition, the lessons were taught by a hearing…

Challenges for Contextualizing Language Learning

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Eskildsen, Søren; Rehm, Matthias

2013-01-01

To help facilitate language learning for immigrants or foreigners arriving to another culture and language, we propose a context-aware mobile application. To expand on the known elements like location, activity, time and identity, we investigate the challenges on including cultural awareness to e...

Transform Modern Language Learning through Mobile Devices

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Tuttle, Harry Grover

2013-01-01

College professors can transform their modern language classes through mobile devices. Their students' learning becomes more active, more personalized, more contextual, and more culturally authentic as illustrated through the author's modern language mobile learning classroom examples. In addition, their students engage in many diverse types of…

Does Mother Tongue Interfere in Second Language Learning?

OpenAIRE

Denizer, Elif Nur

2017-01-01

Mother tongue largely refers to not only the language one learns from one’s mother but also the speaker’s dominant and home language. It’s also called native language. This study was conducted to find whether mother tongue interferences in second-language learning, and if so; whether it affects the learners’ performance in four language skills, and also in which skill(s) it has the biggest effect. Data collection tool included a questionnaire by which participants were asked to rate the quest...

Learning Theories and Skills in Online Second Language Teaching and Learning: Dilemmas and Challenges

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Petersen, Karen Bjerg

2014-01-01

For decades foreign and second language teachers have taken advantage of the technology development and ensuing possibilities to use e-learning facilities for language training. Since the 1980s, the use of computer assisted language learning (CALL), Internet, web 2.0, and various kinds of e-learning technology has been developed and researched…

Creating an Authentic Learning Environment in the Foreign Language Classroom

Science.gov (United States)

Nikitina, Larisa

2011-01-01

Theatrical activities are widely used by language educators to promote and facilitate language learning. Involving students in production of their own video or a short movie in the target language allows a seamless fusion of language learning, art, and popular culture. The activity is also conducive for creating an authentic learning situation…

Teaching science to English Language Learners: Instructional approaches of high school teachers

Science.gov (United States)

Frank, Betty-Vinca N.

Students who are English Language Learners (ELLs) form the fastest growing segment of the American school population. Prompted by the call for scientific literacy for all citizens, science educators too have investigated the intersection of language and science instruction of ELLs. However these studies have typically been conducted with elementary students. Few studies have explored how high school science teachers, particularly those who have not received any special training, approach science instruction of ELLs and what supports them in this endeavor. This was a qualitative case study conducted with five science teachers in one small urban high school that predominantly served ELLs. The purpose of this study was to examine instructional approaches used by teachers to make science accessible to ELLs and the factors that supported or inhibited them in developing their instructional approaches. This goal encompassed the following questions: (a) how teachers viewed science instruction of ELLs, (b) how teachers designed a responsive program to teach science to ELLs, (c) what approaches teachers used for curriculum development and instruction, (d) how teachers developed classroom learning communities to meet the needs of ELLs. Seven instructional strategies and five perceived sources of support emerged as findings of this research. In summary, teachers believed that they needed to make science more accessible for their ELL students while promoting their literacy skills. Teachers provided individualized attention to students to provide relevant support. Teachers engaged their students in various types of active learning lessons in social contexts, where students worked on both hands-on and meaning-making activities and interacted with their peers and teachers. Teachers also created classroom communities and learning spaces where students felt comfortable to seek and give help. Finally, teachers identified several sources of support that influenced their instructional

Mobility in Learning: The Feasibility of Encouraging Language Learning on Smartphones

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Keith Barrs

2011-09-01

Full Text Available With normalised technology in language learning contexts there is an unprecedented opportunity to re-define the nature of learning. Traditional ideas of classroom-based learning are giving way to modern ideas of ‘24/7 anywhere, anytime’ learning which is accessed and managed in part or in whole by the learners themselves, primarily on mobile devices. This is a "work in progress" article detailing the initial stages of a study investigating normalisation of smart phones in a language classroom in Japan.

Creating an Authentic Learning Environment in the Foreign Language Classroom

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Larisa Nikitina

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Theatrical activities are widely used by language educators to promote and facilitate language learning. Involving students in production of their own video or a short movie in the target language allows a seamless fusion of language learning, art, and popular culture. The activity is also conducive for creating an authentic learning situation where the real world becomes a part of the educational experience and necessitates the use of an authentic language by the learners. This article describes a video project carried out by Russian language learners at Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS. It examines how the work on the project created and supported authenticity of the learning experience. Though the article focuses on the video project done in the context of language learning and teaching this activity could be successfully implemented in teaching various subjects at both secondary and tertiary levels.

Adult language learning after minimal exposure to an unknown natural language

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Gullberg, M.; Robert, L.; Dimroth, C.; Veroude, K.; Indefrey, P.

2010-01-01

Despite the literature on the role of input in adult second-language (L2) acquisition and on artificial and statistical language learning, surprisingly little is known about how adults break into a new language in the wild. This article reports on a series of behavioral and neuroimaging studies that

The Use of Music for Learning Languages

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

和梅

2012-01-01

　　Throughout time, healers, philosophers, scientists, and teachers have recognized the place of music for therapeutic and developmental functions (Bancroft,1985:3-7). Researchers over the last twenty years have made astounding advances in the the⁃ory of language acquisition. Many find the pedagogical conjoining of language and music compelling. The first part of this review focuses on the historical and developmental proofs of music’ s relationship with language learning. In part two, neurological the⁃ory on music and the mind are covered. Part three summarizes scholarly inquiry on the use of music for learning languages, espe⁃cially those studies that could prove most instructive both for language teachers and for music therapists in the development of curricula.

Motivation In Second language learning In China

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

郑葳

2017-01-01

Motivation is the indispensable condition for a student's learning success. As a foreign language teacher, they should motivate the second language learners by promoting positive language-related values. Dornyei identifies three value dimensions. They are intrinsic value, integrative value and instrumental value. In China, the Communicative Language Teaching is an innovation approach and learner- centered. The CLT approach and curriculum have motivated students' interest, appreciation and values in learning English. In English classroom, the teacher should establish the cooperative situation rather than the competitive environment in order to arouse the students' motivation and reduce the psychological pressure.

Using network science in the language sciences and clinic.

Science.gov (United States)

Vitevitch, Michael S; Castro, Nichol

2015-02-01

A number of variables—word frequency, word length—have long been known to influence language processing. This study briefly reviews the effects in speech perception and production of two more recently examined variables: phonotactic probability and neighbourhood density. It then describes a new approach to study language, network science, which is an interdisciplinary field drawing from mathematics, computer science, physics and other disciplines. In this approach, nodes represent individual entities in a system (i.e. phonological word-forms in the lexicon), links between nodes represent relationships between nodes (i.e. phonological neighbours) and various measures enable researchers to assess the micro-level (i.e. the individual word), the macro-level (i.e. characteristics about the whole system) and the meso-level (i.e. how an individual fits into smaller sub-groups in the larger system). Although research on individual lexical characteristics such as word-frequency has increased understanding of language processing, these measures only assess the "micro-level". Using network science, researchers can examine words at various levels in the system and how each word relates to the many other words stored in the lexicon. Several new findings using the network science approach are summarized to illustrate how this approach can be used to advance basic research as well as clinical practice.

Learning foreign languages in teletandem: Resources and strategies

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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.

The Learning Styles and Language Learning Strategies of the EFL Students at Tertiary Level

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Diemroh Ihsan

2016-02-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this study are to discover the learning styles, and the language learning strategies most preferred, correlation among the variables exists, and the degree of influence each independent variable exerts on the dependent variables. For data collection, the Barsch Learning Styles Inventory and the Strategy Inventory of Language Learning were distributed to 156 students of English at the University of Sriwijaya, Palembang. The results showed that: (1 visual is the most preferred learning style, whereas metacognitive ang effective are the most preferred language learning strategies; (2 certain independent variables have a significant correlation with certain dependent variables, for example, visual with memory, auditory with cognitive, tactile with affective, and semester with compensation; (3 females use a greater variety of language learning strategies than males; and (4 semester has a significant correlation with compensation but not with other strategies

Is Online Learning Suitable for All English Language Students?

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Kuama, Settha; Intharaksa, Usa

2016-01-01

This study aimed to examine online language learning strategies (OLLS) used and affection in online learning of successful and unsuccessful online language students and investigate the relationships between OLLS use, affection in online learning and online English learning outcomes. The participants included 346 university students completing a…

The impact of computer-based versus "traditional" textbook science instruction on selected student learning outcomes

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Rothman, Alan H.

This study reports the results of research designed to examine the impact of computer-based science instruction on elementary school level students' science content achievement, their attitude about science learning, their level of critical thinking-inquiry skills, and their level of cognitive and English language development. The study compared these learning outcomes resulting from a computer-based approach compared to the learning outcomes from a traditional, textbook-based approach to science instruction. The computer-based approach was inherent in a curriculum titled The Voyage of the Mimi , published by The Bank Street College Project in Science and Mathematics (1984). The study sample included 209 fifth-grade students enrolled in three schools in a suburban school district. This sample was divided into three groups, each receiving one of the following instructional treatments: (a) Mixed-instruction primarily based on the use of a hardcopy textbook in conjunction with computer-based instructional materials as one component of the science course; (b) Non-Traditional, Technology-Based -instruction fully utilizing computer-based material; and (c) Traditional, Textbook-Based-instruction utilizing only the textbook as the basis for instruction. Pre-test, or pre-treatment, data related to each of the student learning outcomes was collected at the beginning of the school year and post-test data was collected at the end of the school year. Statistical analyses of pre-test data were used as a covariate to account for possible pre-existing differences with regard to the variables examined among the three student groups. This study concluded that non-traditional, computer-based instruction in science significantly improved students' attitudes toward science learning and their level of English language development. Non-significant, positive trends were found for the following student learning outcomes: overall science achievement and development of critical thinking

Language Learning Strategy Use across Proficiency Levels

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Zarei, Abbas, Ali; Baharestani, Nooshin

2014-01-01

To investigate the use of language learning strategies (LLS) by Iranian EFL learners across proficiency levels, a total of 180 Iranian adult female EFL learners were selected and divided into three different proficiency level groups. To collect data, Oxford's (1990) Strategy Inventory for Language Learning (SILL) was used. One-way ANOVA procedures…

Flipped Approach to Mobile Assisted Language Learning

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Yamamoto, Junko

2013-01-01

There are abundant possibilities for using smart phones and tablet computers for foreign language learning. However, if there is an emphasis on memorization or on technology, language learners may not develop proficiency in their target language. Therefore, language teachers should be familiar with strategies for facilitating creative…

Effects of Community Service-Learning on Heritage Language Learners' Attitudes toward Their Language and Culture

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Pascual y Cabo, Diego; Prada, Josh; Lowther Pereira, Kelly

2017-01-01

This study examined the effects of participation in a community service-learning experience on Spanish heritage language learners' attitudes toward their heritage language and culture. Quantitative and qualitative data from heritage language learners demonstrated that engagement in community service-learning activities as part of the Spanish…

Language Learning in Virtual Reality Environments: Past, Present, and Future

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Lin, Tsun-Ju; Lan, Yu-Ju

2015-01-01

This study investigated the research trends in language learning in a virtual reality environment by conducting a content analysis of findings published in the literature from 2004 to 2013 in four top ranked computer-assisted language learning journals: "Language Learning & Technology," "CALICO Journal," "Computer…

Perspectives on competency-based medical education from the learning sciences.

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Swing, Susan R

2010-01-01

A central component of competency-based medical education is a framework of higher-order and more fundamental competencies whose purpose is to focus instruction and learning. In the language of the learning sciences, many of these competencies are complex cognitive-perceptual or cognitive-motor skills. Competency-based medical education has been criticized for being reductionistic, that is, for focusing on atomistic skills and failing to capture the essence of professional activities as manifested by complex, integrated capabilities. The value of identifying fundamental skill components is supported by theory and evidence from the learning sciences, however. Complex skills are constructed from fundamental, component skills. Proficient performance of the former is achieved as components are refined and integrated during repeated performance of the skill in a realistic context and as feedback on performance is provided. Competency-based medical education does not propose specific methods for teaching competencies. The learning and instructional sciences, however, posit a number of conditions for learning that support the acquisition of simple skills and their flexible integration into complex capabilities. Learners' motivation and self-regulation skills will also have an impact on the extent to which they engage in learning processes that result in the integration of knowledge and skills into complex competencies.

E-LEARNING TURKISH LANGUAGE AND GRAMMAR: Analyzing Learners' Behavior

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Panagiotis GEORGALAS

2012-01-01

Full Text Available This study analyses the behavior and the preferences of the Greek learners of Turkish language, who use a particular e-learning website in parallel with their studies, namely: http://turkish.pgeorgalas.gr. The website offers free online material in Greek and English language for learning the Turkish language and grammar. The traffic of several modules of the website has been measured, examined and analyzed. The research was carried out between the years 2010- 2011 and included the analysis of several million clicks. The results show particular attitudes, habits and preferences throughout the e-learning process. There is a preference of users to exercises against theory. Fast cross-link exercises are preferred to slower “fill in” ones. During the weekends, visitors tend to use less e-learning facilities and select more light activities than the rest days of the week. Society trends and fashions like TV serials have a serious impact to the number of people who decide to learn a new foreign language, in particular Turkish. There is a strong preference of the audience to use online TV against online radio facilities for language practice. The subjects that Greek learners of Turkish language spend more time are verbs conjugation and vocabulary learning. They focus on elementary grammar subjects like the Alphabet, the numbers and the formation of plural. Finally, they try to learn the syntax of Turkish language through sentence structure puzzles and give priority to special grammar issues like noun compounds that are not present in Greek language.

Language Learning Shifts and Attitudes towards Language Learning in an Online Tandem Program for Beginner Writers

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Tolosa, Constanza; Ordóñez, Claudia Lucía; Guevara, Diana Carolina

2017-01-01

We present findings of a project that investigated the potential of an online tandem program to enhance the foreign language learning of two groups of school-aged beginner learners, one learning English in Colombia and the other learning Spanish in New Zealand. We assessed the impact of the project on students' learning with a free writing…

Strangers in Stranger Lands: Language, Learning, Culture

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Hong Li

2007-02-01

Full Text Available This study investigates international students’ perceptions of the issues they face using English as a second language while attending American higher education institutions. In order to fully understand those challenges involved in learning English as a Second Language, it is necessary to know the extent to which international students have mastered the English language before they start their study in America. Most international students experience an overload of English language input upon arrival in the United States. Cultural differences influence international students’ learning of English in other ways, including international students’ isolation within their communities and America’s lack of teaching listening skills to its own students. Other factors also affect international students’ learning of English, such as the many forms of informal English spoken in the USA, as well as a variety of dialects. Moreover, since most international students have learned English in an environment that precluded much contact with spoken English, they often speak English with an accent that reveals their own language. This study offers informed insight into the complicated process of simultaneously learning the language and culture of another country. Readers will find three main voices in addition to the international students who “speak” (in quotation marks throughout this article. Hong Li, a Chinese doctoral student in English Education at the University of Missouri-Columbia, authored the “regular” text. Second, Roy F. Fox’s voice appears in italics. Fox is Professor of English Education and Chair of the Department of Learning, Teaching, and Curriculum at the University of Missouri-Columbia. Third, Dario J. Almarza’s voice appears in boldface. Almarza, a native of Venezuela, is an Assistant Professor of Social Studies Education at the same institution.

Languages in a global world learning for better cultural understanding

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Scott, Jessica; Hinton, Christina

2012-01-01

The rise of globalisation makes language competencies more valuable, both at individual and societal levels. This book examines the links between globalisation and the way we teach and learn languages. It begins by asking why some individuals are more successful than others at learning non-native languages, and why some education systems, or countries, are more successful than others at teaching languages. The book comprises chapters by different authors on the subject of language learning. There are chapters on the role of motivation; the way that languages, cultures and identities are interc

Improving Language Learning Strategies and Performance of Pre-Service Language Teachers through a CALLA-TBLT Model

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Guapacha Chamorro, Maria Eugenia; Benavidez Paz, Luis Humberto

2017-01-01

This paper reports an action-research study on language learning strategies in tertiary education at a Colombian university. The study aimed at improving the English language performance and language learning strategies use of 33 first-year pre-service language teachers by combining elements from two models: the cognitive academic language…

Memory, learning and language in autism spectrum disorder

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Jill Boucher

2018-02-01

Full Text Available Background and aims The ‘dual-systems’ model of language acquisition has been used by Ullman et al. to explain patterns of strength and weakness in the language of higher-functioning people with autism spectrum disorder. Specifically, intact declarative/explicit learning is argued to compensate for a deficit in non-declarative/implicit procedural learning, constituting an example of the so-called see-saw effect. Ullman and Pullman extended their argument concerning a see-saw effect on language in autism spectrum disorder to cover other perceived anomalies of behaviour, including impaired acquisition of social skills. The aim of this paper is to present a critique of Ullman et al.’s claims and to propose an alternative model of links between memory systems and language in autism spectrum disorder. Main contribution We argue that a four-system model of learning, in which intact semantic and procedural memory are used to compensate for weaknesses in episodic memory and perceptual learning, can better explain patterns of language ability across the autistic spectrum. We also argue that attempts to generalise the ‘impaired implicit learning/spared declarative learning’ theory to other behaviours in autism spectrum disorder are unsustainable. Conclusions Clinically significant language impairments in autism spectrum disorder are under-researched, despite their impact on everyday functioning and quality of life. The relative paucity of research findings in this area lays it open to speculative interpretation which may be misleading. Implications More research is needed into links between memory/learning systems and language impairments across the spectrum. Improved understanding should inform therapeutic intervention and contribute to investigation of the causes of language impairment in autism spectrum disorder with potential implications for prevention.

New Ways to Learn a Foreign Language.

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Hall, Robert A., Jr.

This text focuses on the nature of language learning in the light of modern linguistic analysis. Common linguistic problems encountered by students of eight major languages are examined--Latin, Greek, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, German, and Russian. The text discusses the nature of language, building new language habits, overcoming…

Language learning and the technology of international communications

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Batley, Edward

1991-03-01

The author posits a reciprocal relationship between the recent popularisation of computer-based technology and the democratisation of Central and Eastern Europe. Brief reference is made to their common denominator, language and language change. The advent of the communicative approach to language learning and the new wave of language authenticity arising from it, both enhanced by the technological revolution, have made the defining of acceptability in the classroom and of communication in the process of testing more problematic than ever, although several advantages have also accrued. Advances in technology have generally outstripped our ability to apply their full or characteristic potential. While technology can personalise learning and in this way make learning more efficient, it can also impede motivation. Old methods, drills and routines are tending to be sustained by it. Lack of technology can also widen the gulf between developed, developing and underdeveloped countries of the world. The author proposes international partnerships as a means of preventing an imbalance which could threaten stability. Single language dominance is another threat to international understanding, given the growing awareness of our multilingual and multicultural environment. Enlightened language policies reaching from the individual to beyond the national community are needed, which adopt these aspects of language learning, explain decisions about the state's choice of languages and, at the same time, promote individual choice wherever practicable.

Virtual language learning environments: the standardization of evaluation

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Francesca Romero Forteza

2014-03-01

Full Text Available Nowadays there are many approaches aimed at helping learners acquire knowledge through the Internet. Virtual Learning Environments (VLE facilitate the acquisition and practice of skills, but some of these learning platforms are not evaluated or do not follow a standard that guarantees the quality of the tasks involved. In this paper, we set out a proposal for the standardization of the evaluation of VLEs available on the World Wide Web. Thus, the main objective of this study is to establish an evaluation template with which to test whether a VLE is appropriate for computer-assisted language learning (CALL. In the methodology section, a learning platform is analysed and tested to establish the characteristics learning platforms must have. Having established the design of the template for language learning environments, we concluded that a VLE must be versatile enough for application with different language learning and teaching approaches.

Papers in Language Learning and Language Acquisition. AFinLA Yearbook 1980. No. 28.

Science.gov (United States)

Sajavaara, Kari, Ed.; And Others

Papers include: (1) "Language Acquisitional Universals: L1, L2, Pidgins, and FLT" (Henning Wode); (2) "Language Acquisition, Language Learning and the School Curriculum" (Norman F. Davies); (3) "Language Teaching and Acquisition of Communication" (Kari Sajavaara, Jaakko Lehtonen); (4) "On the Distinction between…

Media, Information Technology, and Language Planning: What Can Endangered Language Communities Learn from Created Language Communities?

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Schreyer, Christine

2011-01-01

The languages of Klingon and Na'vi, both created for media, are also languages that have garnered much media attention throughout the course of their existence. Speakers of these languages also utilize social media and information technologies, specifically websites, in order to learn the languages and then put them into practice. While teaching a…

The Cultural Dimensions of Language Teaching and Learning

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Risager, Karen

2011-01-01

Language teaching and learning has many different cultural dimensions, and over the years more and more of these have been the subject of research. The first dimension to be explored was that of content: the images of target language countries and the world that were offered in textbooks...... and presented in class. The next dimension was that of the learner: the (inter)cultural learning, competence and identity of the learner or subject. The next dimension was context: the situation and role of language teaching and learning in society and in the world....

Group work in the English language curriculum sociocultural and ecological perspectives on second language classroom learning

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Chappell, P

2014-01-01

This book explores how using small groups in second language classrooms supports language learning. Chappell's experience as a language teacher equips him to present a clear, evidence-based argument for the powerful influence group work has upon the opportunities for learning, and how it should therefore be an integral part of language lessons.

Exploring culture, language and the perception of the nature of science

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Sutherland, Dawn

2002-01-01

One dimension of early Canadian education is the attempt of the government to use the education system as an assimilative tool to integrate the First Nations and Me´tis people into Euro-Canadian society. Despite these attempts, many First Nations and Me´tis people retained their culture and their indigenous language. Few science educators have examined First Nations and Western scientific worldviews and the impact they may have on science learning. This study explored the views some First Nations (Cree) and Euro-Canadian Grade-7-level students in Manitoba had about the nature of science. Both qualitative (open-ended questions and interviews) and quantitative (a Likert-scale questionnaire) instruments were used to explore student views. A central hypothesis to this research programme is the possibility that the different world-views of two student populations, Cree and Euro-Canadian, are likely to influence their perceptions of science. This preliminary study explored a range of methodologies to probe the perceptions of the nature of science in these two student populations. It was found that the two cultural groups differed significantly between some of the tenets in a Nature of Scientific Knowledge Scale (NSKS). Cree students significantly differed from Euro-Canadian students on the developmental, testable and unified tenets of the nature of scientific knowledge scale. No significant differences were found in NSKS scores between language groups (Cree students who speak English in the home and those who speak English and Cree or Cree only). The differences found between language groups were primarily in the open-ended questions where preformulated responses were absent. Interviews about critical incidents provided more detailed accounts of the Cree students' perception of the nature of science. The implications of the findings of this study are discussed in relation to the challenges related to research methodology, further areas for investigation, science

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.

An Analysis of Social Network Websites for Language Learning: Implications for Teaching and Learning English as a Second Language

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Liu, M.; Abe, K.; Cao, M. W.; Liu, S.; Ok, D. U.; Park, J.; Parrish, C.; Sardegna, V. G.

2015-01-01

Although educators are excited about the potential of social network sites for language learning (SNSLL), there is a lack of understanding of how SNSLL can be used to facilitate teaching and learning for English as Second language (ESL) instructors and students. The purpose of this study was to examine the affordances of four selected SNSLL…

A Resource-Oriented Functional Approach to English Language Learning

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Li, Jia

2018-01-01

This article reports on a case study that investigates the learning preferences and strategies of Chinese students learning English as a second language (ESL) in Canadian school settings. It focuses on the interaction between second language (L2) learning methods that the students have adopted from their previous learning experience in China and…

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

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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.

Language Learning Strategies: Classification and Pedagogical Implication

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Ag. Bambang Setiyadi

2001-01-01

Full Text Available Many studies have been conducted to explore language learning strategies (Rubin, 1975, Naiman et . al ., 1978; Fillmore, 1979; O'Malley et . al ., 1985 and 1990; Politzer and Groarty, 1985; Prokop, 1989; Oxford, 1990; and Wenden, 1991. In the current study a total of 79 university students participating in a 3 month English course participated. This study attempted to explore what language learning strategies successful learners used and to what extent the strategies contributed to success in learning English in Indonesia . Factor analyses, accounting for 62.1 %, 56.0 %, 41.1 %, and 43.5 % of the varience of speaking, listening, reading and writing measures in the language learning strategy questionnaire, suggested that the questionnaire constituted three constructs. The three constructs were named metacognitive strategies, deep level cognitive and surface level cognitive strategies. Regression analyses, performed using scales based on these factors revealed significant main effects for the use of the language learning strategies in learning English, constituting 43 % of the varience in the posttest English achievement scores. An analysis of varience of the gain scores of the highest, middle, and the lowest groups of performers suggested a greater use of metacognitive strategies among successful learners and a greater use of surface level cognitive strategies among unsuccessful learners. Implications for the classroom and future research are also discussed.

Computability, complexity, and languages fundamentals of theoretical computer science

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Davis, Martin D; Rheinboldt, Werner

1983-01-01

Computability, Complexity, and Languages: Fundamentals of Theoretical Computer Science provides an introduction to the various aspects of theoretical computer science. Theoretical computer science is the mathematical study of models of computation. This text is composed of five parts encompassing 17 chapters, and begins with an introduction to the use of proofs in mathematics and the development of computability theory in the context of an extremely simple abstract programming language. The succeeding parts demonstrate the performance of abstract programming language using a macro expa

A Study To Determine Instructors Self-Reported Instructional Strategies Which Foster Science Literacy In An EFL (English as a Foreign Language) Environment

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Noseworthy, Mark Joseph

2011-12-01

This research titled 'A Study to Determine Instructors Self-Reported Instructional Strategies Which Foster Science Literacy in an EFL (English as a Foreign Language) Environment' is an ethnographic study based on grounded theory principles and research design. The essence of the research was to answer five research questions that would ultimately create a foundation for instructional strategies allowing science instructors to foster science literacy in an EFL environment. The research attempts to conceptualize the research participants' instructional strategies that promote strong science literacy skills. Further to this, consider the complexities that this learning environment inherently offers, where the learning event is occurring in an English environment that is a second language for the learner. The research was designed to generate personal truths that produced common themes as it relates to the five research questions posed in this thesis; what instructional strategies do current post secondary science instructors at one College in Qatar believe foster science literacy in an EFL environment? As well, do science instructors believe that total immersion is the best approach to science literacy in an EFL environment? Is the North American model of teaching/learning science appropriate in this Middle Eastern environment? Are the current modes of teaching/instruction optimizing student's chances of success for science literacy? What do you feel are the greatest challenges for the EFL learner as it relates to science?

Dyslexia and Learning a Foreign Language: A Personal Experience.

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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…

Second foreign language learning strategies and their variations across language proficiency levels among Iranian EFL learners

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Pazhakh, A

2006-07-01

Full Text Available The present study has attempted to determine weather there is any relationship between language learning strategies employed by language learners, and if so what relationship exists between them. Furthermore, it has tried to investigate what effective and useful strategies the learners employ while learning English as a foreign language correspondent with their proficiency levels. A simulated TOEFL (REA, 1993 test was initially administered to classify the learners into three classes of proficiency levels. Oxford‟s Strategy Inventory, SILL, (Oxford, 1990 was used to determine the frequency of the language learning strategies applied by learners. The results of this study provide confirmation of previous research findings concerning the direct relationship between language learning strategies and language proficiency level, and represent the types of the strategies adopted by advanced, intermediate and elementary language learners. The implications of this study are to suggest both the metacognitive compensatory strategies, the most frequent strategies employed by advanced learners be instructed to the language learners in order to upgrade their proficiency level.

Using principles of learning to inform language therapy design for children with specific language impairment.

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Alt, Mary; Meyers, Christina; Ancharski, Alexandra

2012-01-01

Language treatment for children with specific language impairment (SLI) often takes months to achieve moderate results. Interventions often do not incorporate the principles that are known to affect learning in unimpaired learners. To outline some key findings about learning in typical populations and to suggest a model of how they might be applied to language treatment design as a catalyst for further research and discussion. Three main principles of implicit learning are reviewed: variability, complexity and sleep-dependent consolidation. After explaining these principles, evidence is provided as to how they influence learning tasks in unimpaired learners. Information is reviewed on principles of learning as they apply to impaired populations, current treatment designs are also reviewed that conform to the principles, and ways in which principles of learning might be incorporated into language treatment design are demonstrated. This paper provides an outline for how theoretical knowledge might be applied to clinical practice in an effort to promote discussion. Although the authors look forward to more specific details on how the principles of learning relate to impaired populations, there is ample evidence to suggest that these principles should be considered during treatment design. © 2012 Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists.

Weblogs For English Language Learning: Students’ Perceptions

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WAN, Juida

2011-01-01

The digital explosion of information on the Internet has resulted in a need for a new and up-to-date way for Digital Natives to learn English. Educators have reported numerous benefits of using weblogs in English language learning. This article presents a small scale study on the use of weblogs for English language learning at tertiary level in Malaysia. Twenty six students kept weblogs for a duration of a semester. This study investigated how students perceived the use of weblogs for Eng...

‘Sometimes They Are Fun and Sometimes They Are Not’: Concept Mapping with English Language Acquisition (ELA and Gifted/Talented (GT Elementary Students Learning Science and Sustainability

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Katrina Marzetta

2018-01-01

Full Text Available This study presents an ‘education for sustainability’ curricular model which promotes science learning in an elementary classroom through equity pedagogy. A total of 25 fourth-grade students from an urban, public school in Denver, Colorado participated in this mixed-methods study where concept maps were used as a tool for describing and assessing students’ understanding of ecosystem interactions. Concept maps provide a more holistic, systems-based assessment of science learning in a sustainability curriculum. The concept maps were scored and analyzed using SPSS to investigate potential differences in learning gains of English Language Acquisition (ELA and Gifted/Talented (GT students. Interviews were conducted after the concept maps were administered, then transcribed and inductively coded to generate themes related to science learning. Interviews also encouraged students to explain their drawings and provided a more accurate interpretation of the concept maps. Findings revealed the difference between pre- and post-concept map scores for ELA and GT learners were not statistically significant. Students also demonstrated an increased knowledge of ecosystem interactions during interviews. Concept maps, as part of an education for sustainability curriculum, can promote equity by providing diverse learners with different—yet equally valid—outlets to express their scientific knowledge.

Neural signatures of second language learning and control.

Science.gov (United States)

Bartolotti, James; Bradley, Kailyn; Hernandez, Arturo E; Marian, Viorica

2017-04-01

Experience with multiple languages has unique effects on cortical structure and information processing. Differences in gray matter density and patterns of cortical activation are observed in lifelong bilinguals compared to monolinguals as a result of their experience managing interference across languages. Monolinguals who acquire a second language later in life begin to encounter the same type of linguistic interference as bilinguals, but with a different pre-existing language architecture. The current study used functional magnetic resonance imaging to explore the beginning stages of second language acquisition and cross-linguistic interference in monolingual adults. We found that after English monolinguals learned novel Spanish vocabulary, English and Spanish auditory words led to distinct patterns of cortical activation, with greater recruitment of posterior parietal regions in response to English words and of left hippocampus in response to Spanish words. In addition, cross-linguistic interference from English influenced processing of newly-learned Spanish words, decreasing hippocampus activity. Results suggest that monolinguals may rely on different memory systems to process a newly-learned second language, and that the second language system is sensitive to native language interference. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Skype me! Socially Contingent Interactions Help Toddlers Learn Language

Science.gov (United States)

Roseberry, Sarah; Hirsh-Pasek, Kathy; Golinkoff, Roberta Michnick

2013-01-01

Language learning takes place in the context of social interactions, yet the mechanisms that render social interactions useful for learning language remain unclear. This paper focuses on whether social contingency might support word learning. Toddlers aged 24- to 30-months (N=36) were exposed to novel verbs in one of three conditions: live interaction training, socially contingent video training over video chat, and non-contingent video training (yoked video). Results suggest that children only learned novel verbs in socially contingent interactions (live interactions and video chat). The current study highlights the importance of social contingency in interactions for language learning and informs the literature on learning through screen media as the first study to examine word learning through video chat technology. PMID:24112079

Task-based Language Learning in Bilingual Montessori Elementary Schools: Customizing Foreign Language Learning and Promoting L2 Speaking Skills

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jana Winnefeld

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Foreign language learning has been a part of German elementary schools for several years now. Montessori schools focusing on individual learning, i.e. mostly independent from the teacher and based on auto-education, interest, and free choice, are also asked to teach an L2. The original lack of a concept of L2 learning for this environment has brought forth different approaches. Bilingual education seems to be feasible and applicable in Montessori education. The downside to this is that even in a bilingual classroom the Montessori way of learning may not allow for very much oral production of the foreign language. The role of L2 production (cf. Swain 1985, 1995, 2005 for language acquisition has been theoretically claimed and empirically investigated. Output can have a positive influence on L2 learning (cf. e.g. Izumi 2002, Keck et al. 2006. This also applies to interaction (cf. Long 1996, where negotiation of meaning and modified output are factors supporting L2 development (cf. e.g. de la Fuente 2002, McDonough 2005. Task-based Language Learning (TBLL presents itself as one way to promote oral language production and to provide opportunities for meaning-negotiation. Especially tasks with required information exchange and a closed outcome have been shown to be beneficial for the elicitation of negotiation of meaning and modified output. This paper argues that TBLL is a promising approach for the facilitation of L2 production and thus the development of speaking skills in a Montessori context. It also hypothesizes that TBLL can be implemented in a bilingual Montessori environment while still making the Montessori way of learning possible. Different tasks on various topics, examples of which are presented in this article, can lay the foundation for this. Offering such tasks in a bilingual Montessori elementary classroom promises to foster language production and the use of communication strategies like negotiation of meaning, both being

Visualization Analytics for Second Language Vocabulary Learning in Virtual Worlds

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Hsiao, Indy Y. T.; Lan, Yu-Ju; Kao, Chia-Ling; Li, Ping

2017-01-01

Language learning occurring in authentic contexts has been shown to be more effective. Virtual worlds provide simulated contexts that have the necessary elements of authentic contexts for language learning, and as a result, many studies have adopted virtual worlds as a useful platform for language learning. However, few studies so far have…

An Intelligent Computer Assisted Language Learning System for Arabic Learners

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Shaalan, Khaled F.

2005-01-01

This paper describes the development of an intelligent computer-assisted language learning (ICALL) system for learning Arabic. This system could be used for learning Arabic by students at primary schools or by learners of Arabic as a second or foreign language. It explores the use of Natural Language Processing (NLP) techniques for learning…

Second Language Word Learning through Repetition and Imitation: Functional Networks as a Function of Learning Phase and Language Distance.

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Ghazi-Saidi, Ladan; Ansaldo, Ana Ines

2017-01-01

Introduction and Aim : Repetition and imitation are among the oldest second language (L2) teaching approaches and are frequently used in the context of L2 learning and language therapy, despite some heavy criticism. Current neuroimaging techniques allow the neural mechanisms underlying repetition and imitation to be examined. This fMRI study examines the influence of verbal repetition and imitation on network configuration. Integration changes within and between the cognitive control and language networks were studied, in a pair of linguistically close languages (Spanish and French), and compared to our previous work on a distant language pair (Ghazi-Saidi et al., 2013). Methods : Twelve healthy native Spanish-speaking (L1) adults, and 12 healthy native Persian-speaking adults learned 130 new French (L2) words, through a computerized audiovisual repetition and imitation program. The program presented colored photos of objects. Participants were instructed to look at each photo and pronounce its name as closely as possible to the native template (imitate). Repetition was encouraged as many times as necessary to learn the object's name; phonological cues were provided if necessary. Participants practiced for 15 min, over 30 days, and were tested while naming the same items during fMRI scanning, at week 1 (shallow learning phase) and week 4 (consolidation phase) of training. To compare this set of data with our previous work on Persian speakers, a similar data analysis plan including accuracy rates (AR), response times (RT), and functional integration values for the language and cognitive control network at each measure point was included, with further L1-L2 direct comparisons across the two populations. Results and Discussion : The evidence shows that learning L2 words through repetition induces neuroplasticity at the network level. Specifically, L2 word learners showed increased network integration after 3 weeks of training, with both close and distant language

The Impact of Differentiated Instructional Materials on English Language Learner (ELL) Students' Comprehension of Science Laboratory Tasks

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Manavathu, Marian; Zhou, George

2012-01-01

Through a qualitative research design, this article investigates the impacts of differentiated laboratory instructional materials on English language learners' (ELLs) laboratory task comprehension. The factors affecting ELLs' science learning experiences are further explored. Data analysis reveals a greater degree of laboratory task comprehension…

A call for (trans)languaging: The language profiles at Roskilde University

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Daryai-Hansen, Petra; Barfod, Sonja; Schwarz, Lena

2016-01-01

in the humanities and social sciences. The students in the programme are explicitly asked to use translanguaging in order to enhance their languaging, i.e. they are invited to use translanguaging strategies in order to achieve interactional and social aims. The chapter introduces the design and the learning...... objectives of RUC’s language profiles. Furthermore we discuss, based on the language profiles as an example, how translanguaging practices and policies can be described on a supra, macro, meso, micro and nano level. The analysis focuses on teachers’ and students’ translanguaging practices and their attitudes...... towards translanguaging in language teaching/learning....

Pragmatics & Language Learning. Volume 14

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Bardovi-Harlig, Kathleen, Ed.; Félix-Brasdefer, J. César, Ed.

2016-01-01

This volume contains a selection of papers presented at the 2014 International Conference of Pragmatics and Language Learning at Indiana University. It includes fourteen papers on a variety of topics, with a diversity of first and second languages, and a wide range of methods used to collect pragmatic data in L2 and FL settings. This volume is…

Differential Item Functioning (DIF) among Spanish-Speaking English Language Learners (ELLs) in State Science Tests

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Ilich, Maria O.

Psychometricians and test developers evaluate standardized tests for potential bias against groups of test-takers by using differential item functioning (DIF). English language learners (ELLs) are a diverse group of students whose native language is not English. While they are still learning the English language, they must take their standardized tests for their school subjects, including science, in English. In this study, linguistic complexity was examined as a possible source of DIF that may result in test scores that confound science knowledge with a lack of English proficiency among ELLs. Two years of fifth-grade state science tests were analyzed for evidence of DIF using two DIF methods, Simultaneous Item Bias Test (SIBTest) and logistic regression. The tests presented a unique challenge in that the test items were grouped together into testlets---groups of items referring to a scientific scenario to measure knowledge of different science content or skills. Very large samples of 10, 256 students in 2006 and 13,571 students in 2007 were examined. Half of each sample was composed of Spanish-speaking ELLs; the balance was comprised of native English speakers. The two DIF methods were in agreement about the items that favored non-ELLs and the items that favored ELLs. Logistic regression effect sizes were all negligible, while SIBTest flagged items with low to high DIF. A decrease in socioeconomic status and Spanish-speaking ELL diversity may have led to inconsistent SIBTest effect sizes for items used in both testing years. The DIF results for the testlets suggested that ELLs lacked sufficient opportunity to learn science content. The DIF results further suggest that those constructed response test items requiring the student to draw a conclusion about a scientific investigation or to plan a new investigation tended to favor ELLs.

Teacher change in beliefs and practices in science and literacy instruction with English language learners

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Lee, Okhee

2004-01-01

This study examined patterns of change in beliefs and practices as elementary teachers learned to establish instructional congruence, a process of mediating academic disciplines with linguistic and cultural experiences of diverse student groups. The study focused on six bilingual Hispanic teachers working with fourth-grade, mostly Hispanic students. The results indicated that teacher learning and change occurred in different ways in the areas of science instruction, students' language and culture, English language and literacy instruction, and integration of these areas in establishing instructional congruence. The results also indicated that establishing instructional congruence was a gradual and demanding process requiring teacher reflection and insight, formal training, and extensive support and sharing. Implications for further research in promoting achievement for all students are discussed.

Preferred Learning Styles in the Second Language Classroom.

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Cincotta, Madeline Strong

1998-01-01

Outlines the preferred learning styles of students studying second languages, offering suggestions for their application in second-language classrooms. The paper describes the right-brain/left-brain theory and how the two brain hemispheres are involved in learning; presents four classroom strategies (diversification, contextualization,…

Language Learning of Gifted Individuals: A Content Analysis Study

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Beria Gokaydin

2017-11-01

Full Text Available This study aims to carry out a content analysis of the studies on language learning of gifted individuals and determine the trends in this field. Articles on language learning of gifted individuals published in the Scopus database were examined based on certain criteria including type of publication, year of publication, language, research discipline, countries of research, institutions of authors, key words, and resources. Data were analyzed with the content analysis method. Results showed that the number of studies on language learning of gifted individuals has increased throughout the years. Recommendations for further research and practices are provided.

A Review of Integrating Mobile Phones for Language Learning

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Darmi, Ramiza; Albion, Peter

2014-01-01

Mobile learning (m-learning) is gradually being introduced in language classrooms. All forms of mobile technology represent portability with smarter features. Studies have proven the concomitant role of technology beneficial for language learning. Various features in the technology have been exploited and researched for acquiring and learning…

Teaching of science and language by elementary teachers who emphasize the integrated language approach: A descriptive study

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Blouch, Kathleen Kennedy

This research involved investigating the nature of science and language instruction in 13 elementary classrooms where teachers have restructured their language programs to reflect an integrated or holistic view of language instruction. The teachers were identified by school administrators and other professionals as teachers who have implemented instructional reforms described in the Pennsylvania Framework for Reading, Writing and Speaking Across the Curriculum (PCRPII), (Lytle & Botel, 1900). The instruction utilized by these teachers was described as atypical when compared to that of teachers utilizing the more traditional didactic skills oriented approach to language literacy. The research involved observing, recording and categorizing teaching behaviors during both science and language instruction. Videotaped observations were followed by analyses and descriptions of these behaviors. Interviews were also conducted to ascertain the basis for selection of the various instructional approaches. The instruction was compared on four dimensions: participation patterns, time the behaviors were practiced, type of tasks and levels of questioning. The instruction was then described in light of constructivist teaching practices: student collaboration, student autonomy, integration and higher order thinking. Constructivist practices differed among teachers for science and language instruction. During science instruction teachers spent more time involved in teacher-whole group participation patterns with more direct questioning as compared to language instruction in which children participated alone or in groups and had opportunity to initiate conversations and questions. Student inquiry was evidenced during language instruction more so than during science. The 13 teachers asked a variety of levels and types of questions both in science and language instruction. More hands-on science experiences were observed when science was taught separately compared to when integrated with

Early Language Learning and the Social Brain.

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Kuhl, Patricia K

2014-01-01

Explaining how every typically developing child acquires language is one of the grand challenges of cognitive neuroscience. Historically, language learning provoked classic debates about the contributions of innately specialized as opposed to general learning mechanisms. Now, new data are being brought to bear from studies that employ magnetoencephalograph (MEG), electroencephalograph (EEG), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) studies on young children. These studies examine the patterns of association between brain and behavioral measures. The resulting data offer both expected results and surprises that are altering theory. As we uncover what it means to be human through the lens of young children, and their ability to speak, what we learn will not only inform theories of human development, but also lead to the discovery of neural biomarkers, early in life, that indicate risk for language impairment and allow early intervention for children with developmental disabilities involving language. Copyright © 2014 Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press; all rights reserved.

Bridging the language gap: Exploring science teachers' dual role as teachers of content and English literacy

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Arnold, Suzanne C.

Responsibility for educating English language learners is increasingly falling on the shoulders of content specialists at the secondary level, as students are mainstreamed into classes. Therefore, providing these students an opportunity to achieve academic success depends largely on the quality of mainstream instruction (Cornell, 1995). Most teachers receive little or no preparation in how to work with English language learners. In my study, I address the instructional issues confronting three white, monolingual English-speaking middle school science teachers who must meet the demands of an increasing English language learner population. Specifically, this study explores teacher beliefs and enactment of reform-oriented science and sheltered instructional approaches to develop English language learners scientific and English literacy skills. I also explore the relationships that exist between these two dynamics in an effort to determine the extent to which teachers take on a dual role as teachers promoting English language and science proficiency. Using a participant observation case study method and my adaptation of Schwab's commonplaces heuristic, I analyzed the relationship between teacher beliefs, milieu, subject matter, and enactment in bridging the language gap in the science classroom for English language learners. The most noteworthy finding of this study was the significant role of milieu in enacting lessons that bridge the language gap and foster the development of English language learners science and English literacy skills. The findings suggest that greater attention be given to helping teachers establish a relationship-driven classroom milieu. You can provide all kinds of courses or professional learning experiences to improve teachers' instructional practices, but they must also recognize the importance of establishing relationships with their students; the coursework they take will not supplant the need to foster a warm and safe environment for all

Statistical learning in a natural language by 8-month-old infants.

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Pelucchi, Bruna; Hay, Jessica F; Saffran, Jenny R

2009-01-01

Numerous studies over the past decade support the claim that infants are equipped with powerful statistical language learning mechanisms. The primary evidence for statistical language learning in word segmentation comes from studies using artificial languages, continuous streams of synthesized syllables that are highly simplified relative to real speech. To what extent can these conclusions be scaled up to natural language learning? In the current experiments, English-learning 8-month-old infants' ability to track transitional probabilities in fluent infant-directed Italian speech was tested (N = 72). The results suggest that infants are sensitive to transitional probability cues in unfamiliar natural language stimuli, and support the claim that statistical learning is sufficiently robust to support aspects of real-world language acquisition.

Language Learning of Gifted Individuals: A Content Analysis Study

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Gokaydin, Beria; Baglama, Basak; Uzunboylu, Huseyin

2017-01-01

This study aims to carry out a content analysis of the studies on language learning of gifted individuals and determine the trends in this field. Articles on language learning of gifted individuals published in the Scopus database were examined based on certain criteria including type of publication, year of publication, language, research…

Formulaic Sequences and the Implications for Second Language Learning

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Xu, Qi

2016-01-01

The present paper is a review of literature in relation to formulaic sequences and the implications for second language learning. The formulaic sequence is a significant part of our language, and plays an essential role in both first and second language learning. The paper first introduces the definition, classifications, and major features of…

Teaching Language and Content: Instructor Strategies in a Bilingual Science Class at a Chinese University

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Liang, Xiaoping; Smith, Sara W.

2012-01-01

The present research analyzes instructional strategies used to integrate the learning of content and English as a foreign language in a bilingual physics class at a university in Shanghai, China. It examines how the instructor handles meaning and form of new English science vocabulary in concept-focused physics lectures and the strategies he used…

Skype me! Socially contingent interactions help toddlers learn language.

Science.gov (United States)

Roseberry, Sarah; Hirsh-Pasek, Kathy; Golinkoff, Roberta M

2014-01-01

Language learning takes place in the context of social interactions, yet the mechanisms that render social interactions useful for learning language remain unclear. This study focuses on whether social contingency might support word learning. Toddlers aged 24-30 months (N = 36) were exposed to novel verbs in one of three conditions: live interaction training, socially contingent video training over video chat, and noncontingent video training (yoked video). Results suggest that children only learned novel verbs in socially contingent interactions (live interactions and video chat). This study highlights the importance of social contingency in interactions for language learning and informs the literature on learning through screen media as the first study to examine word learning through video chat technology. © 2013 The Authors. Child Development © 2013 Society for Research in Child Development, Inc.

Literacy learning in secondary school science classrooms: A cross-case analysis of three qualitative studies

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Dillon, Deborah R.; O'Brien, David G.; Moje, Elizabeth B.; Stewart, Roger A.

The purpose of this cross-case analysis is to illustrate how and why literacy was incorporated into science teaching and learning in three secondary classrooms. Research questions guiding the analysis include: (a) How were literacy events shaped by the teachers' philosophies about teaching science content and teaching students? and (b) How was literacy (reading, writing, and oral language) structured by the teachers and manifested in science lessons? The methodology of ethnography and the theoretical framework of symbolic interactionism were employed in the three studies on which the cross-case analysis was based. The researchers assumed the role of participant observers, collecting data over the period of 1 year in each of the three classrooms. Data, in the form of fieldnotes, interviews, and artifacts, were collected. In each study, data were analyzed using the constant comparative method (Glaser & Strauss, 1967) to determine patterns in the teachers' beliefs about learning and how these influenced their choice of literacy activities. The cross-case analysis was conducted to determine patterns across the three teachers and their classrooms. The findings from this analysis are used to compare how the teachers' philosophies of teaching science and their beliefs about how students learn influenced their use of literacy practices during lessons. Specifically, each teacher's use of literacy activities varied based on his or her beliefs about teaching science concepts. Furthermore, reading, writing, and oral language were important vehicles to learning science concepts within daily classroom activities in the three classrooms.Received: 1 April 1993; Revised: 30 August 1993;

TYPES OF LANGUAGE LEARNING STRATEGIES USED BY TERTIARY ENGLISH MAJORS

OpenAIRE

TAN KHYE CHUIN; SARJIT KAUR

2015-01-01

This study investigated the types of language learning strategies used by 73 English majors from the School of Humanities in Universiti Sains Malaysia. Using questionnaires adopted from Oxford’s (1990) Strategy Inventory of Language Learning (SILL) and focus group interviews, the study also examined the English major students’ perceptions of using language learning strategies while learning English. The results revealed that the English majors were generally high users of all six types of lan...

Language Learning Strategies used by Students learning Kiswahili1 ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Success in learning a second language nevertheless an African language has proven a tremendous effort on the part of foreign adult learners enrolled in universities. Motivation and attitude as well as the strategies used by the learners themselves play an important role. However, the greatest challenge for this group of ...

Students' Evaluation of Their English Language Learning Experience

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Maizatulliza, M.; Kiely, R.

2017-01-01

In the field of English language teaching and learning, there is a long history of investigating students' performance while they are undergoing specific learning programmes. This research study, however, focused on students' evaluation of their English language learning experience after they have completed their programme. The data were gathered…

Learning science through the medium of English: what do Grade 8 ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The TIMSS-R (Third International Mathematics and Science Study1 report) results served to focus attention on the long-standing problem of teaching and learning though the medium of English when it is not the home language of learners or teachers and proficiency levels are too low for learners to engage with the ...

Learning Achievement Packages in Sciences-Biology: Cell Theory, Mitosis, Magnification, Wounds.

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Solis, Juan D.

This publication presents four science curriculum units designed to meet the learning problems of students with special language handicaps. The materials are written in both English and Spanish, and deal with topics in biology suitable for students in grades 7 through 11. All four units were classroom tested during 1970-1972 in the Calexico…

Some psycholinguistic conditions for second language learning

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Bernard Spolsky

2013-02-01

Full Text Available The author discusses some psycho linguistic conditions for second language learning based on a preference rr ode! in linguistics. The outcome of second language learning depends on a number of conditions. Second language learning takes place in a social context, and social conditions determine a learner's attitudes. These attitudes are twofold in nature, namely those towards the community speaking the target language and those towards the learning situation. The two kinds of attitudes lead to motivation. The social context also provides opportunities for language learning and can be divided into formal and informal situations. There are also individual conditions of the learner. The author is concerned with the exploration of several specific psycholinguistic factors, as well as the kinds of rules which they contribute to the theory. Die skrywer bespreek enkele psigolinguistiese voorwaardes vir die aanleer van 'n tweede taal, gebaseer op 'n voorkeurmodel in die l!nguistiek. Die aanleer van 'n tweede taal geskied bin ne 'n sosiale konteks, en sosiale omstandighede bepaal 'n leerder se houding. Hierdie houding kan bestaan ten opsigte van die gemeenskap wat die teikentaal praat, sowel as ten opsigte van die leersituasie. Motivering word bepaal deur hierdie tweeledige houding. Die sosiale konteks bepaal ook geleenthede vir die aanleer van 'n taal en kan verdeel word in forme le en informele situasies. Verder is daar die individuele omstandighede van elke leerder. Die skrywer hou horn besig met 'n verkenning van spesifieke psigolinguistiese faktore, sowel as die soort reels wat hydra tot die teorie.

Native language change during early stages of second language learning.

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Bice, Kinsey; Kroll, Judith F

2015-11-11

Research on proficient bilinguals has demonstrated that both languages are always active, even when only one is required. The coactivation of the two languages creates both competition and convergence, facilitating the processing of cognate words, but slowing lexical access when there is a requirement to engage control mechanisms to select the target language. Critically, these consequences are evident in the native language (L1) as well as in the second language (L2). The present study questioned whether L1 changes can be detected at early stages of L2 learning and how they are modulated by L2 proficiency. Native English speakers learning Spanish performed an English (L1) lexical decision task that included cognates while event-related potentials were recorded. They also performed verbal fluency, working memory, and inhibitory control tasks. A group of matched monolinguals performed the same tasks in English only. The results revealed that intermediate learners demonstrate a reduced N400 for cognates compared with noncognates in English (L1), and an emerging effect is visually present in beginning learners as well; however, no behavioral cognate effect was present for either group. In addition, slower reaction times in English (L1) are related to a larger cognate N400 magnitude in English (L1) and Spanish (L2), and to better inhibitory control for learners but not for monolinguals. The results suggest that contrary to the claim that L2 affects L1 only when L2 speakers are highly proficient, L2 learning begins to impact L1 early in the development of the L2 skill.

Surveying and Modeling Students' Motivation and Learning Strategies for Mobile-Assisted Seamless Chinese Language Learning

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Chai, Ching Sing; Wong, Lung-Hsiang; King, Ronnel B.

2016-01-01

Seamless language learning promises to be an effective learning approach that addresses the limitations of classroom-only language learning. It leverages mobile technologies to facilitate holistic and perpetual learning experiences that bridge different locations, times, technologies or social settings. Despite the emergence of studies on seamless…

Dictionary Usage in English Language Learning

OpenAIRE

Rohmatillah, Rohmatillah

2016-01-01

This article examined about the important of using dictionary in English language learning. We cannot deny in learning a foreign language, we need to consult a dictionary. It is supported by Laufer in Koca believes that when word looks familiar but the sentence in which it is found or its wider context makes no sense at all, the learner should be encouraged to consult a dictionary. Sometimes the learners are reluctant to find out the other meaning of word from dictionary, as a result the mea...

Emerging Technologies for Autonomous Language Learning

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mark Warschauer

2011-09-01

Full Text Available Drawing on a lengthier review completed for the US National Institute for Literacy, this paper examines emerging technologies that are applicable to self-access and autonomous learning in the areas of listening and speaking, collaborative writing, reading and language structure, and online interaction. Digital media reviewed include podcasts, blogs, wikis, online writing sites, text-scaffolding software, concordancers, multiuser virtual environments, multiplayer games, and chatbots. For each of these technologies, we summarize recent research and discuss possible uses for autonomous language learning.

E-Learning Turkish Language and Grammar: Analyzing Learners' Behavior

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Georgalas, Panagiotis

2012-01-01

This study analyses the behavior and the preferences of the Greek learners of Turkish language, who use a particular e-learning website in parallel with their studies, namely: http://turkish.pgeorgalas.gr. The website offers free online material in Greek and English language for learning the Turkish language and grammar. The traffic of several…

Use of English Vocabulary Learning Strategies by Thai Tertiary-Level Students in Relation to Fields of Study and Language-Learning Experiences

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Boonkongsaen, Nathaya; Intaraprasert, Channarong

2014-01-01

The present study was intended to examine the effects of 1) fields of study (arts, business and science-oriented); and 2) language-learning experiences (whether limited or non-limited to formal classroom instructions) on the use of VLSs among Thai tertiary-level students. The participants were 905 Thai EFL students studying in the Northeast of…

The method of global learning in teaching foreign languages

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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.

The notion of intercultural and teaching-learning process of foreign languages in Brazil: representations and realities of FFL

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Joice Armani Galli

2015-09-01

Full Text Available Although the history of humanity is merged with the history of languages, studies related to the field of language sciences have been very recent. Several elements compose the broad field of human sciences, such as behavioral analysis and the sense of belonging and exclusion. Situated in this context, the epistemological reflection about Foreign Languages (FL represents a sign of contemporaneity. This fact is maximized by its interdisciplinary character, making the lines that delimit the linguistic field research in FL very tenuous. The degree of variants of the object Language makes the research on teaching and learning highly complex due to the subjectivity it involves. Therefore, it is necessary to discuss issues such as representation and interculturalism in the research methodology. Such dimension allows some outlines for the development of linguistic research to be drawn, establishing an interface with the process of teaching and learning in FL. Cuq (2010, Puren (2009, Courtillon (1998 and De Carlo (1998 are some of the theoretical references on which this reflection is based on. Some representations related to literacy will be pointed out in order to highlight aspects related to the reality of current teaching of French as a Foreign Language (FFL in Brazil.

Game Based Language Learning for Bilingual Adults

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hautopp, Heidi; Hanghøj, Thorkild

2014-01-01

experiences with the central goals in communicative language teaching (CLT). The paper is based on a study of The Danish Simulator when integrated in a game‐based language course with 15 students at a language center in Copenhagen during spring, 2013. The Danish Simulator consists of language drills......, the analysis presents preliminary findings in relation to students’ different experiences of The Danish Simulator and the teacher’s redesign of the game based teaching. It is concluded that the meaningful use of The Danish Simulator in a game‐based language course for bilingual adults depends on the students......What happens when a single‐player training game enters a classroom context? The use of training activities in game‐based learning (GBL) has often been criticized for letting players perform mechanical operations with no reflection upon the learning experiences involved (e.g. Egenfeldt‐Nielsen, 2005...

Mobile Collaborative Language Learning: State of the Art

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Kukulska-Hulme, Agnes; Viberg, Olga

2018-01-01

This paper presents a review of mobile collaborative language learning studies published in 2012-16 with the aim to improve understanding of how mobile technologies have been used to support collaborative learning among second and foreign language students. We identify affordances, general pedagogical approaches, second- and foreign-language…

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…

Malaysian Gifted Students' Use of English Language Learning Strategies

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Yunus, Melor Md; Sulaiman, Nur Ainil; Embi, Mohammed Amin

2013-01-01

Many studies have been done on language learning strategies employed by different type of learners and in various contexts. However, very little studies have been done on gifted students regarding language learning. Gifted students have unique characteristics and have different ways of thinking and learning. These characteristics affect how they…

Social Interaction Affects Neural Outcomes of Sign Language Learning As a Foreign Language in Adults.

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Yusa, Noriaki; Kim, Jungho; Koizumi, Masatoshi; Sugiura, Motoaki; Kawashima, Ryuta

2017-01-01

Children naturally acquire a language in social contexts where they interact with their caregivers. Indeed, research shows that social interaction facilitates lexical and phonological development at the early stages of child language acquisition. It is not clear, however, whether the relationship between social interaction and learning applies to adult second language acquisition of syntactic rules. Does learning second language syntactic rules through social interactions with a native speaker or without such interactions impact behavior and the brain? The current study aims to answer this question. Adult Japanese participants learned a new foreign language, Japanese sign language (JSL), either through a native deaf signer or via DVDs. Neural correlates of acquiring new linguistic knowledge were investigated using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). The participants in each group were indistinguishable in terms of their behavioral data after the instruction. The fMRI data, however, revealed significant differences in the neural activities between two groups. Significant activations in the left inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) were found for the participants who learned JSL through interactions with the native signer. In contrast, no cortical activation change in the left IFG was found for the group who experienced the same visual input for the same duration via the DVD presentation. Given that the left IFG is involved in the syntactic processing of language, spoken or signed, learning through social interactions resulted in an fMRI signature typical of native speakers: activation of the left IFG. Thus, broadly speaking, availability of communicative interaction is necessary for second language acquisition and this results in observed changes in the brain.

Language Acquisition and Language Learning: Developing the System of External and Internal Perspectives

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Zascerinska, Jelena

2010-01-01

Introduction. The use of three-five languages is of the greatest importance in order to form varied cooperative networks for the creation of new knowledge. Aim of the paper is to analyze the synergy between language acquisition and language learning. Materials and Methods. The search for the synergy between language acquisition and language…

Finding science in students' talk

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Yeo, Jennifer

2009-12-01

What does it mean to understand science? This commentary extends Brown and Kloser's argument on the role of native language for science learning by exploring the meaning of understanding in school science and discusses the extent that science educators could tolerate adulterated forms of scientific knowledge. Taking the perspective of social semiotics, this commentary looks at the extent that school science can be represented with other discourse practices. It also offers an example to illustrate how everyday language can present potential hindrance to school science learning.

MUET Preparation Language Learning Strategies

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Yoong Li Kuen

2012-01-01

Full Text Available The main objective of the study was to examine the English language learning strategies (LLS used by Lower Six students in secondary schools who are sitting for their MUET test. It analyzed the language learning strategies that students use in order to prepare for the MUET test. Data were collected using a survey questionnaire with 300 students. The instrument used in this study called “MUET Preparation Language Strategy Use Inventory” is an adapted and bilingual questionnaire designed by Cohen, Oxford and Chi (2005 known as Language Strategy Use Inventory. Forty items were analyzed and they comprised of the four skills tested in MUET which is listening, speaking, reading and writing. Data were analyzed by performing frequency analysis. The findings revealed that the listening skill is the most frequently used, while the writing skill is the least frequently used. Only the listening skill has high frequency of use, while the reading, speaking and writing skills fall under the range of moderate frequency of use. There were variations in responses with regard to the use of LLS among Form Six students in secondary schools. The findings had practical implications.

Toward Mobile Assisted Language Learning Apps for Professionals That Integrate Learning into the Daily Routine

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Pareja-Lora, Antonio; Arús-Hita, Jorge; Read, Timothy; Rodríguez-Arancón, Pilar; Calle-Martínez, Cristina; Pomposo, Lourdes; Martín-Monje, Elena; Bárcena, Elena

2013-01-01

In this short paper, we present some initial work on Mobile Assisted Language Learning (MALL) undertaken by the ATLAS research group. ATLAS embraced this multidisciplinary field cutting across Mobile Learning and Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL) as a natural step in their quest to find learning formulas for professional English that…

Autonomy and independence in language learning

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Benson, Phil

2014-01-01

The topics of autonomy and independence play an increasingly important role in language education. They raise issues such as learners' responsibility for their own learning, and their right to determine the direction of their own learning, the skills which can be learned and applied in self-directed learning and capacity for independent learning and the extents to which this can be suppressed by institutional education. This volume offers new insights into the principles of autonomy and independence and the practices associated with them focusing on the area of EFL teaching. The editors' introduction provides the context and outlines the main issues involved in autonomy and independence. Later chapters discuss the social and political implications of autonomy and independence and their effects on educational structures. The consequences for the design of learner-centred materials and methods is discussed, together with an exploration of the practical ways of implementing autonomy and independence in language ...

The Linguistic Landscape as a Learning Space for Contextual Language Learning

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Aladjem, Ruthi; Jou, Bibiana

2016-01-01

One of the challenges of teaching and learning a foreign language is that students are not being sufficiently exposed to the target language. However, it is quite common to find linguistic and cultural exponents of different foreign languages in authentic contexts (termed the "Linguistic landscape"). Using the Linguistic landscape as a…

Minority Languages Learned Informally: The Social Construction of Language Skills through the Discourse of Ontario Employers. NALL Working Paper.

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Goldberg, Michelle; Corson, David

Many immigrants, refugees, and aboriginal Canadians learn their own languages in the normal, informal way. These minority languages learned informally are not valued as a skill that yields returns in the labor market in the same way the official languages or formally learned languages do. What counts as a skill in a society, in a given point in…

Modeling the language learning strategies and English language proficiency of pre-university students in UMS: A case study

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Kiram, J. J.; Sulaiman, J.; Swanto, S.; Din, W. A.

2015-10-01

This study aims to construct a mathematical model of the relationship between a student's Language Learning Strategy usage and English Language proficiency. Fifty-six pre-university students of University Malaysia Sabah participated in this study. A self-report questionnaire called the Strategy Inventory for Language Learning was administered to them to measure their language learning strategy preferences before they sat for the Malaysian University English Test (MUET), the results of which were utilised to measure their English language proficiency. We attempted the model assessment specific to Multiple Linear Regression Analysis subject to variable selection using Stepwise regression. We conducted various assessments to the model obtained, including the Global F-test, Root Mean Square Error and R-squared. The model obtained suggests that not all language learning strategies should be included in the model in an attempt to predict Language Proficiency.

Enlightenment From Motivation In Foreign Language Learning

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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.

Computer-Assisted Language Learning: Diversity in Research and Practice

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Stockwell, Glenn, Ed.

2012-01-01

Computer-assisted language learning (CALL) is an approach to teaching and learning languages that uses computers and other technologies to present, reinforce, and assess material to be learned, or to create environments where teachers and learners can interact with one another and the outside world. This book provides a much-needed overview of the…

OBJECTIVES AND PROCESSES OF SECOND LANGUAGE LEARNING.

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SIZEMORE, MAMIE

THE OBJECTIVES OF SECOND LANGUAGE TEACHING, AND SPECIFIC DIRECTIONS FOR PRESENTING AND DRILLING STRUCTURES BY THE USE OF CERTAIN GESTURES, WERE PRESENTED. RECOMMENDATIONS FOR CONCENTRATING EFFORTS ON THE ESSENTIALS OF LANGUAGE LEARNING REVOLVED AROUND AN EMPHASIS ON THE TEACHING OF THE LANGUAGE ITSELF RATHER THAN ABOUT ITS HISTORY, VOCABULARY,…

‘ELENA goes mobile’: a mobile assisted early language learning pilot for familiarizing children with neighbouring languages

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Rusman, Ellen; Ternier, Stefaan; Sassen, Derk

2013-01-01

Rusman, E., Ternier, S., & Sassen, D. (2013). ‘ELENA goes mobile’: a mobile assisted early language learning pilot for familiarizing children with neighbouring languages. In Pixel (Ed.), Proceedings of ICT for Language Learning, Conference Proceedings 2013, 6th Conference edition (pp. xx-xx).

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

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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

"Language Learning" Roundtable: Memory and Second Language Acquisition 2012, Hong Kong

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Wen, Zhisheng; McNeill, Arthur; Mota, Mailce Borges

2014-01-01

Organized under the auspices of the "Language Learning" Roundtable Conference Grant (2012), this seminar aimed to provide an interactive forum for a group of second language acquisition (SLA) researchers with particular interests in cognitive linguistics and psycholinguistics to discuss key theoretical and methodological issues in the…

Design of Feedback in Interactive Multimedia Language Learning Environments

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Vehbi Türel

2012-01-01

Full Text Available In interactive multimedia environments, different digital elements (i. e. video, audio, visuals, text, animations, graphics and glossary can be combined and delivered on the same digital computer screen (TDM 1997: 151, CCED 1987, Brett 1998: 81, Stenton 1998: 11, Mangiafico 1996: 46. This also enables effectively provision and presentation of feedback in pedagogically more efficient ways, which meets not only the requirement of different teaching and learning theories, but also the needs of language learners who vary in their learning-style preferences (Robinson 1991: 156, Peter 1994: 157f.. This study aims to bring out the pedagogical and design principles that might help us to more effectively design and customise feedback in interactive multimedia language learning environments. While so doing, some examples of thought out and customized computerised feedback from an interactive multimedia language learning environment, which were designed and created by the author of this study and were also used for language learning purposes, will be shown.

The prevalence of synaesthesia depends on early language learning.

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Watson, Marcus R; Chromý, Jan; Crawford, Lyle; Eagleman, David M; Enns, James T; Akins, Kathleen A

2017-02-01

According to one theory, synaesthesia develops, or is preserved, because it helps children learn. If so, it should be more common among adults who faced greater childhood learning challenges. In the largest survey of synaesthesia to date, the incidence of synaesthesia was compared among native speakers of languages with transparent (easier) and opaque (more difficult) orthographies. Contrary to our prediction, native speakers of Czech (transparent) were more likely to be synaesthetes than native speakers of English (opaque). However, exploratory analyses suggested that this was because more Czechs learned non-native second languages, which was strongly associated with synaesthesia, consistent with the learning hypothesis. Furthermore, the incidence of synaesthesia among speakers of opaque languages was double that among speakers of transparent languages other than Czech, also consistent with the learning hypothesis. These findings contribute to an emerging understanding of synaesthetic development as a complex and lengthy process with multiple causal influences. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Self-Efficacy in Second/Foreign Language Learning Contexts

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Raoofi, Saeid; Tan, Bee Hoon; Chan, Swee Heng

2012-01-01

This study reviews the empirical literature of self-efficacy, a central component of social cognitive theory, in the area of second language learning by focusing on two research questions: first, to what extent, has self-efficacy, as a predicting variable, been explored in the field of second language learning? Second, what factors affect…

Understanding of Foreign Language Learning of Generation Y

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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…

A longitudinal study of adult foreign language learning

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nielsen, Andreas Højlund; Horn, Nynne Thorup; Sørensen, Stine Derdau

Models of speech learning suggest that adaptations to foreign language sound categories should happen early in the acquisition process. Results from laboratory language training show effects on non-native perception within one to three weeks of training. Results from linguistic immersion studies...... show differences in adaptations when contrasting averages of 1-2 yrs of experience with 6-7 yrs of experience. We investigated this apparent discrepancy in a longitudinal study on Danish language officer cadets learning either Arabic (MSA and Egyptian dialect) or Dari (Afghan Farsi) through intensive...... (emphatic frication) and a phonemic Dari contrast (fricative voicing) as stimuli for both groups. We saw an effect of learning on the Dari learners’ identification of the Dari stimuli already after three weeks of language training, which was sustained, but not improved, after six and 20 months. The extents...

ATTITUDES OF STUDENTS TOWARDS LEARNING OBJECTS IN WEB-BASED LANGUAGE LEARNING

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Ahmet BASAL

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Language education is important in the rapidly changing world. Every year much effort has spent on preparing teaching materials for language education. Since positive attitudes of learners towards a teaching material enhance the effectiveness of that material, it is important to determine the attitudes of learners towards the material used. Learning objects (LOs are a new type of material on which many studies have been conducted in recent years. The aim of this study is to determine the attitudes of students towards LOs in web-based language learning. To this end, the study was conducted in English I Course at the Department of Computer Programming in Kırıkkale University in 2010-2011 Fall Semester. Seventy LOs appropriate for six-week long lecture program were integrated into the Learning Management System (LMS of Kırıkkale University. The study group consisted of 38 students. After the six weeks long implementation period of the study, an attitude scale was administered to the students. The findings indicated that students in web based language education have positive attitudes towards LOs.

The Role of Mother Tongue Literacy in Language Learning and Mathematical Learning: Is There a Multilingual Benefit for Both?

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Dahm, Rebecca; De Angelis, Gessica

2018-01-01

The present study examines the multilingual benefit in relation to language learning and mathematical learning. The objective is to assess whether speakers of three or more languages, depending on language profile and personal histories, show significant advantages in language learning and/or mathematical learning, and whether mother tongue…

Students with Learning Disabilities in the Foreign Language Learning Environment and the Practice of Exemption

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