Post-secondary ESL learners’ foreign language anxiety and management strategies in an intensive English program

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yafei Ye
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Language Anxiety ◽  
Foreign Language Anxiety ◽  
Intensive English ◽  
Intensive English Program ◽  
Post Secondary ◽  
English Program ◽  
Esl Learners

scholarly journals The Effect of an Intensive English Program on the Vocabulary Size of Lebanese English Foreign Learners

2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (6) ◽  
pp. 281 ◽  
Author(s):  
Reema Abouzeid
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Word List ◽  
Receptive Vocabulary ◽  
Intensive English ◽  
Intensive English Program ◽  
Vocabulary Size ◽  
Post Test ◽  
Language Context ◽  
English Program ◽  
Dependent Samples

The research concerning intensive programs in general has yielded conflicting results and as such, whether or not such time-shortened courses are effective in achieving their learning objectives is a matter of controversy. This study hopes to contribute to the current body of research available and perhaps aid in clearing the uncertainty surrounding such compact programs in a foreign language context by evaluating the effectiveness of one IEP at an English-medium university in Lebanon through the construct of vocabulary size. The vocabulary size of 100 English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners enrolled in an Intensive English Program (IEP) was measured pre and post instruction using the New Vocabulary Levels test (NVLT). Test results were examined and compared using a dependent samples t-test to determine the effectiveness of the IEP in improving students’ vocabulary size. Results revealed that across the NVLT’s 6 receptive vocabulary lists (1000, 2000, 3000, 4000, and 5000 most frequent words in addition to the Academic Word List), students showed a statistically significant improvement on the post test (p=0.000< 0.05), endorsing the effectiveness of IEP in a foreign language context in enhancing students’ receptive vocabulary size. This study concludes with practical implications for EFL IEP teachers and syllabus designers.

Pronunciation’s role in English speaking-proficiency ratings

2018 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 73-102 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rui Ma ◽  
Lynn E. Henrichsen ◽  
Troy L. Cox ◽  
Mark W. Tanner
Keyword(s):  
The United States ◽  
Intensive English ◽  
Intensive English Program ◽  
Speaking Proficiency ◽  
Proficiency Assessment ◽  
English Speaking ◽  
Oral Proficiency Assessment ◽  
Sentence Stress ◽  
English Program ◽  
Esl Learners

Abstract Although pronunciation is an integral part of speaking, the role pronunciation plays in determining speaking-proficiency levels is unclear (Higgs & Clifford, 1982; Kang, 2013). To contribute to our understanding of this area, the research reported here investigated the relationship between English as a Second Language (ESL) learners’ pronunciation ability and their speaking-proficiency ratings. At an intensive English program (IEP) in the United States, a speaking test was administered to 223 ESL students. Their speaking proficiency was rated using an oral proficiency assessment based on standardized guidelines. In addition, their pronunciation was rated in six categories (vowels, consonants, word stress, sentence stress, intonation, and rhythm) by 11 raters using a rubric specifically developed and validated for this study. Many-Facet Rasch Measurement (MFRM) was used to estimate the students’ pronunciation ability, which was then compared to their speaking ability. The study found that sentence stress, rhythm, and intonation accounted for 41% of the variance in the speaking-proficiency test scores with sentence stress being the most powerful factor.

scholarly journals Foreign Language Anxiety and Student Interpreters’ Learning Outcomes: Implications for the Theory and Measurement of Interpretation Learning Anxiety

2010 ◽  
Vol 55 (3) ◽  
pp. 589-601 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yung-Nan Chiang
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Learning Outcomes ◽  
Outcome Measures ◽  
Trait Anxiety ◽  
Language Anxiety ◽  
Foreign Language Anxiety ◽  
Learning Anxiety ◽  
Exam Scores

Although anxiety has been documented as an important variable in both interpretation performance and second language acquisition, there has been virtually no research on the interconnections between the anxiety reactions induced by these two cross-linguistic / cultural endeavors. A review of the literature on anxiety and interpretation performance finds that most of the existing studies have treated the anxiety induced by interpretation as a transfer of other general types of anxieties, such as trait anxiety, without considering the probable role of second language anxiety in interpretation performance. In order to determine the role of foreign language anxiety in 213 Chinese-English interpretation students’ learning outcomes, which were indexed by the participants’ mid-term exam scores and semester grades, this study employed Spielberger’s (1983)Trait Anxiety Inventoryto measure the students’ trait anxiety, while utilizing Horwitz, Horwitzet al.’s (1986)Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale(FLCAS) to measure the participants’ foreign language anxiety. Results of correlation analyses showed that a) trait anxiety was not related to either mid-term exam scores or semester grades, b) foreign language anxiety was significantly and negatively associated with both outcome measures, c) after controlling for the effect of trait anxiety, the relationship between foreign language anxiety and interpretation learning outcomes remained significant, and d) a vast majority of theFLCASitems had significant and negative associations with both outcome measures. Implications for developing a theory of and a measurement instrument for interpretation learning anxiety are suggested.

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