INTEGRATIVE CONTENT-ORIENTED APPROACH AS A THEORETICAL AND METHODOLOGICAL BASIS OF THE METHOD FOREIGN LANGUAGE LEARNING SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS

A positive link between open-mindedness and multilingualism suggested in intercultural psychology research (e.g., Dewaele & Botes, 2020; Korzilius et al., 2011; Dewaele & Oudenhoven, 2009) has also been implicitly assumed in Norway’s Core Curriculum (NDET, 2017) and in the curricula for English (NDET, 2019a) and Foreign Languages (NDET, 2019b). However, little empirical research has been conducted to explore how becoming multilingual, especially through learning foreign languages at school, can be connected to the development of students’ open-mindedness. The present study addresses this gap by exploring open-mindedness in lower secondary school students (n=593) learning one or two foreign languages in school. In addition, other factors related to students’ multilingualism, such as their multilingual identity, migration background, experience living abroad and having friends with home languages other than Norwegian, are also considered to better understand the complex relationship between open-mindedness and multilingualism in the school context. By analysing the data collected with the Ungspråk questionnaire (Haukås et al., 2021a), the study reveals no particular relationship between open-mindedness and students’ migration background and experience of living abroad. However, it indicates that open-mindedness is positively linked to L3 learning at school, multilingual identity and having friends who use other languages at home. These findings have significant pedagogical implications suggesting that promoting learning a second foreign language at lower secondary school, developing students’ self-identification as multilingual and encouraging the interaction with peers speaking further languages may contribute to the enhancement of open-mindedness among students. Keywords: open-mindedness, multilingualism, multilingual identity, foreign language learning, L2, L3

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Phonemic Awareness in English as a Foreign Language

EL LE ◽

10.30687/elle/2280-6792/2018/02/005 ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Michela Gronchi

Keyword(s):

Secondary School ◽

Foreign Language ◽

Language Learning ◽

Phonemic Awareness ◽

Classroom Practice ◽

Research Study ◽

Foreign Language Learning ◽

Learning Program ◽

School Students ◽

Early Deprivation

The present paper discusses the results of an action-research study involving a 15-year-old student who was diagnosed with severe dyslexia after coming to Italy through international adoption. The study investigates the literature on language acquisition in cases of early deprivation and the implications of the phonological deficit in students with dyslexia in a foreign language learning environment. The essay also reports the results of a learning program concerning phonological awareness that has been delivered in a two-month period to the student. The program outlines a possible methodological and practical framework for raising phonemic awareness in secondary school students with dyslexia and offers suggestions for classroom practice.

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Investigation the attitudes of secondary school students towards the use of saying and words of wisdom in learning English at secondary level in Gaza

International Journal of research in Educational Sciences ◽

10.29009/ijres.4.3.4 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 4 (3) ◽

pp. 169-199

Author(s):

Wafaa Ibrahim Alnajjar ◽

◽

Reem Yahya Mahmoud Shehadh

Keyword(s):

Secondary School ◽

Foreign Language ◽

Language Learning ◽

Secondary School Students ◽

English Language ◽

Cultural Knowledge ◽

School Students ◽

Efl Learners ◽

Secondary Female ◽

Learning English

This paper examined the attitudes of secondary school students towards the use of saying and words of wisdom in learning English as a foreign language in secondary schools in Gaza. Saying and words of wisdom play a significant role in language learning as a part of gaining cultural knowledge. In addition, this study attempted to find out whether they could motivate students to learn English then improve language acquiring through time. 40 secondary female EFL learners were assigned in questionnaires and interviews. Through observation, the researcher convinced that saying and words of wisdom is an important segment in the English Language, and it is a useful piece that has been used to spread wisdom and truths about life. The study reveals the effectiveness and higher rate of retaining of learning vocabulary through the strategy of sayings and words of wisdom compared to the traditional method.

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Attitudes to Foreign Language Learning in New Zealand Schools

10.26686/wgtn.16999186 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

◽

Sandra Shearn

Keyword(s):

New Zealand ◽

Secondary School ◽

Foreign Language ◽

Language Learning ◽

Foreign Language Learning ◽

The United States ◽

Retention Rates ◽

Current Status ◽

School Students ◽

Wide Range

<p>This thesis examines attitudes towards the learning of languages other than English and Maori among New Zealand school students in years 8 and 9, parents of year 9 students, and a wide range of teachers. The research examined the extent to which participants subscribed to certain commonly held views about second language learning, for example: that it is too hard for most students, that it serves no purpose for future employment, that languages are 'girls' subjects', and so on. The investigation adopted a theoretical framework derived chiefly from the social psychological literature concerning language learning attitudes and motivation. Students were surveyed by means of questionnaires over two successive years in the same part of the country, so that it was possible to discover if the intentions of the year 8 students to study a foreign language when they started secondary school were carried out. Parents and teachers were interviewed to discover their experience of foreign language learning and their thoughts about its place in New Zealand schools and in their children's education. The findings are set against detailed information about each of the seven schools involved, the place of languages in the official curriculum framework and the Ministry of Education's efforts to promote language learning. For comparison, information is also presented on the recent history and current status of foreign language learning in the United Kingdom, the United States of America and Australia. It was found that attitudes towards foreign language learning, of both adults and children, were mostly positive. Although many teachers were pessimistic about the views of their colleagues and students' parents, the majority of all the adults believed that language learning was desirable and possible for all or most students for a range of reasons. The majority also supported an earlier start to language learning, most favouring year 7. The findings suggest that the main reason that the proportion of students starting a foreign language in year 9 remains around 50%, and that retention rates in subsequent years continue to drop, is that languages are optional for most secondary students. This research found that choosing to study a language often meant sacrificing other subjects which students would like to have tried, and thus depended on strong intrinsic motivation, Although no participants claimed that language learning was more suitable for girls, it was found that the majority of students who opted for, and continued, language learning were girls, that boys tended to prefer practical subjects, and that, in the case of one secondary school, the minority of boys who were permitted to start a foreign language were discouraged from continuing by the general organisation and ethos of the school. Ultimately, the research indicated that attitudes towards foreign language learning in schools involved a complex web of factors. External factors often outweighed even the most positive attitudes among students, parents and teachers when option subjects were chosen. The low level of language learning in New Zealand, contrasted with the importance it has in comparable countries, was shown to result not so much from negative attitudes but rather from barriers within the education system as a whole and individual school cultures.</p>

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Crossing the bridge to literacy in foreign languages: C-test as a measure of language development

Multilingua ◽

10.1515/multi-2021-0018 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 0 (0) ◽

Author(s):

Ingrid Gogolin ◽

Birger Schnoor ◽

Irina Usanova

Keyword(s):

Language Development ◽

Secondary School ◽

Foreign Language ◽

Language Learning ◽

Language Proficiency ◽

Language Skills ◽

Panel Study ◽

Foreign Language Learning ◽

Foreign Languages ◽

School Students

Abstract Throughout an educational career, literacy skills become more elaborated. However, little is known about the development of reading and writing skills in foreign languages in adolescents. In this contribution, we focused on the development of language skills in the foreign languages English and French in Germany as measured by a C-Test. Hereby, we aimed to explore the potential of C-tests to provide a differentiated approach to the assessment of foreign language development in secondary school students. We draw on the data from the German panel study “Multilingual Development: a Longitudinal Perspective” (MEZ) on students’ language skills in the foreign languages English (n = 1987) and French (n = 662). We investigated the differences in the means of “classical” and “word recognition” scores in English and French C-tests and the development of these differences. The application of both scores in our study provided differentiated information on students’ receptive and productive aspects of literacy in adolescents and showed that students in secondary school are still on their way of developing spelling skills in both foreign languages. Furthermore, our results reveal that the receptive and productive components of language proficiency show different developmental patterns at various stages of foreign language learning.

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Attitudes to Foreign Language Learning in New Zealand Schools

10.26686/wgtn.16999186.v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

◽

Sandra Shearn

Keyword(s):

New Zealand ◽

Secondary School ◽

Foreign Language ◽

Language Learning ◽

Foreign Language Learning ◽

The United States ◽

Retention Rates ◽

Current Status ◽

School Students ◽

Wide Range

<p>This thesis examines attitudes towards the learning of languages other than English and Maori among New Zealand school students in years 8 and 9, parents of year 9 students, and a wide range of teachers. The research examined the extent to which participants subscribed to certain commonly held views about second language learning, for example: that it is too hard for most students, that it serves no purpose for future employment, that languages are 'girls' subjects', and so on. The investigation adopted a theoretical framework derived chiefly from the social psychological literature concerning language learning attitudes and motivation. Students were surveyed by means of questionnaires over two successive years in the same part of the country, so that it was possible to discover if the intentions of the year 8 students to study a foreign language when they started secondary school were carried out. Parents and teachers were interviewed to discover their experience of foreign language learning and their thoughts about its place in New Zealand schools and in their children's education. The findings are set against detailed information about each of the seven schools involved, the place of languages in the official curriculum framework and the Ministry of Education's efforts to promote language learning. For comparison, information is also presented on the recent history and current status of foreign language learning in the United Kingdom, the United States of America and Australia. It was found that attitudes towards foreign language learning, of both adults and children, were mostly positive. Although many teachers were pessimistic about the views of their colleagues and students' parents, the majority of all the adults believed that language learning was desirable and possible for all or most students for a range of reasons. The majority also supported an earlier start to language learning, most favouring year 7. The findings suggest that the main reason that the proportion of students starting a foreign language in year 9 remains around 50%, and that retention rates in subsequent years continue to drop, is that languages are optional for most secondary students. This research found that choosing to study a language often meant sacrificing other subjects which students would like to have tried, and thus depended on strong intrinsic motivation, Although no participants claimed that language learning was more suitable for girls, it was found that the majority of students who opted for, and continued, language learning were girls, that boys tended to prefer practical subjects, and that, in the case of one secondary school, the minority of boys who were permitted to start a foreign language were discouraged from continuing by the general organisation and ethos of the school. Ultimately, the research indicated that attitudes towards foreign language learning in schools involved a complex web of factors. External factors often outweighed even the most positive attitudes among students, parents and teachers when option subjects were chosen. The low level of language learning in New Zealand, contrasted with the importance it has in comparable countries, was shown to result not so much from negative attitudes but rather from barriers within the education system as a whole and individual school cultures.</p>

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Hoe universeel zijn receptieve meertaligheidsstrategieën?

Dutch Journal of Applied Linguistics ◽

10.51751/dujal9705 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 10 ◽

Author(s):

Eva Knopp ◽

Sabin Jentges ◽

Chrissy Laurentzen ◽

Margot Van Mulken

Keyword(s):

Secondary School ◽

Foreign Language ◽

Language Learning ◽

Language Learners ◽

Effective Means ◽

Foreign Language Learning ◽

School Students ◽

Learning And Teaching ◽

School Settings ◽

Related Language

There are multiple ways in which language learners’ multilingual repertoire can be put to use in foreign language learning and teaching. One such use is receptive multilingualism (RM, cf. Blees & Ten Thije 2017). Despite the fact that RM has been found to be an effective means of communication between adult speakers of typologically related languages, like Dutch and German (see Beerkens, 2010; Van Mulken & Hendriks, 2015; Ribbert & Ten Thije, 2007), there is hardly any research investigating its use and effectiveness in younger learners in school settings (Ten Thije, Gulikers & Schoutsen, 2020). In this contribution, we present the results of a pilot study in which we investigate whether German secondary-school students make use of their multilingual repertoire by employing receptive multilingual strategies when decoding an unknown, but typologically related language (Dutch) and whether they can transfer these skills when decoding a less typologically related, unknown language (Maltese).

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