scholarly journals Open Education and Second Language Learning and Teaching

2021 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Open Access ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Second Language Learning ◽  
Open Education ◽  
Learning And Teaching

This book contextualizes open education in foreign language (FL) learning and teaching; fills a gap in the research by exploring aspects of open second language learning and teaching across a range of educational contexts; and illustrates new ways of creating freely shared FL materials. This book is open access under a CC BY ND licence.

scholarly journals Editorial

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 11-13
Author(s):  
Mirosław Pawlak
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Second Language Learning ◽  
Word Association ◽  
Teaching English ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Learning And Teaching ◽  
Generalist Teachers

It is my immense pleasure to share with you the first 2021 issue of Studies in Second Language Learning and Teaching. It brings together five papers reporting the findings of empirical studies as well as two reviews of very recent publications. The issue opens with the contribution by Mariusz Kruk, Mirosław Pawlak, and Joanna Zawodniak, who investigate changes in the levels of boredom experienced by 13 Polish university students majoring in English during four EFL classes as well as factors responsible for such fluctuations. Multiple sources of data were applied which included boredom-grids, where participants indicated the intensity of this negative emotion on a 7-point Likert scale at 5-minute intervals, class evaluation forms, narratives, semi-structured interviews with four students after each class, and lesson plans. A combination of quantitative and qualitative analysis demonstrated that boredom was indeed subject to between- and within-class variation, which resulted from various constellations of variables, with repetitiveness, monotony and predictability playing a key role. In the second paper, Xiaowan Yang and Mark Wyatt report a qualitative case study which examined teachers’ beliefs about learners’ motivation and their own motivational practices, and the actions they actually took in this respect in the classroom in the context of teaching English for Specific Purposes (ESP) in China. The analysis of the data collected from three university-level teachers of business English by means of pre-observation interviews, in-class observations and stimulated recall interviews yielded evidence for tensions between participants’ cognitions and practices they engaged in, showing that such mismatches negatively affect their self-determination. The existence of this cognitive disharmony is attributed to scarce opportunities for professional development, outdated knowledge about motivation and cultural influences. The theme of ESP also features in the following paper by Cailing Lu, Frank Boers and Averil Coxhead, who explored understanding of technical terms included in a list of technical words related to Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) with the aim of determining which of these terms should be emphasized during instruction. The requisite data were collected by means of a word association task, drawing on Read’s (1998) Word Association Test, as well as retrospective interviews from 21 BA students in China and New Zealand. The analysis showed that although the students manifested good understanding of the targeted items, especially high-frequency ones, some Chinese participants experienced difficulty understanding mid- and low-frequency words. By contrast, the Western learners mainly struggled with Chinese loan words, but their comprehension was not impacted by cultural differences. In the fourth paper, Bryła-Cruz reports the findings of a study which looked into the role of gender in the perception of English segments by Polish learners of English as a foreign language. The data were collected from 40 male and 40 female secondary school students who were asked to indicate the sound they heard in 20 sentences containing minimal pairs. The differences between males and females failed to reach statistical significance for most targeted segments and while the hierarchy of perceptual difficulty was not identical for both groups, it was similar, which suggests that differences between the sound systems of the first and second language might trump the mediating role of gender. In the final paper, Jesús Izquierdo, Silvia Patricia Aquino Zúñiga, and Verónica García Martínez shift the focus to the context of foreign language education in rural schools in southeast Mexico, zooming in on the challenges faced by generalist teachers, or non-language specialists, tasked with the job of teaching English. The data were collected by means of questionnaires administered to 155 such teachers in 17 schools and semi-structured interviews with those who manifested the greatest involvement in professional development. Using frequency analysis and categorical aggregation, the researchers show that generalist teachers are confronted with a wide array of problems related to their professional preparation, instructional techniques used as well as the sociocultural realities of L2 instruction in rural communities. In addition, only a few teachers are prepared to develop professionally, relying instead on limited strategies that help them combat the challenges they encounter. The issue also includes two book reviews by Jarosław Krajka and Mirosław Pawlak. The first book deals with the assessment of English proficiency among young learners while the second is devoted to research into learning and teacher psychology from the perspective of complex dynamic systems theory (Larsen-Freeman & Cameron, 2007). I am hopeful that all the contributions will provide food for thought to our readers and inspire them to further disentangle the intricacies of second language learning and teaching.

scholarly journals EMERGING FACTORS OF COMMUNICATIVE LANGUAGE TEACHING (CLT) AND ITS APPLICATION IN INDONESIAN ENGLISH AS A FOREIGN LANGUAGE (EFL) CLASSROOMS

2018 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 169
Author(s):  
Abd Rahman
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Second Language Learning ◽  
Language Teaching ◽  
Communicative Language Teaching ◽  
Learning And Teaching ◽  
Efl Context ◽  
Main Factors

Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) has been adopted in many countries and has influenced the foreign and second language learning and teaching. This article aims to explore the emerging factors of CLT and how CLT is practiced in Indonesian EFL classroom. This study finds that there are three main phases of the development of CLT. Started from the works of Hymes (1967, 1972), Canale and Swain (1980) and Bachman (1990). Moreover, recent theories in second language acquisition and globalization are two main factors which lead to the widespread of CLT. Finally, in the EFL context the application of CLT has faced many challenges. Socio-cultures, grammar and reading-based exam, and teachers’ low English proficiency make the application of CLT in Indonesian EFL classroom has not reached its objectives yet.  

scholarly journals Investigating Students' and Teachers' Perceptions of Using the iPad in an Italian English as a Foreign Language Classroom

2020 ◽  
pp. 881-902
Author(s):  
Valentina Morgana ◽  
Prithvi N Shrestha
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Second Language Learning ◽  
English Language ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Mobile Technologies ◽  
Action Research Project ◽  
Teachers Perceptions ◽  
Learning And Teaching

Recent research indicates that mobile technologies can support second language learning. However, studies focused on the use of the iPad and teaching in schools is still scarce. This study reports on an action research project that investigated the use of the iPad in the English as a foreign language (EFL) context in an Italian school. The study sought to investigate learners' and teachers' perceptions of mobile learning through the use of the iPad. The data was collected through a survey (N=41), classroom observations (N=4), interviews (N=20), and recorded teacher meetings (N=5). Results show a positive impact on student motivation and on the approach to second language learning tasks. We found that within the duration of the study students and teachers became increasingly independent in the use of the iPad for English language learning and teaching. This study provides educators with hints on how to start integrating mobile devices to perform specific language learning/teaching tasks.

scholarly journals Editorial

2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 559-560
Author(s):  
Mirosław Pawlak
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Critical Thinking ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Adult Learners ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Second Language Learning ◽  
Individual Factors ◽  
Learning And Teaching

The last 2016 issue of Studies in Second Language Learning and Teaching includes six papers, five of which are reports of original research projects and one is a conceptual piece. The initial two contributions are concerned with different aspects of pragmatics, both with respect to the teaching of this subsystem and the process of its acquisition. In the first of these, Andrew D. Cohen addresses the crucial issue of how native and non-native teachers of second and foreign languages deal with sociopragmatic and pragmalinguistic features in their classes. He reports the findings of an online survey of 113 teachers of different additional languages from across the world, which demonstrated that while there exist many similarities between the native and non-native instructors, the former are often at an advantage, although they by no means confine themselves to reliance on their intuition. In the second, Qiong Li undertakes a synthesis of 26 original longitudinal research studies on naturalistic pragmatic development in adult learners with the purpose of identifying patterns of variation in the acquisition of pragmatic features and providing potential explanations for the occurrence of such variation. The analysis showed that there are differences in the rate of development of various aspects of pragmatics (e.g., speech acts vs. lexical features), which can be accounted for in terms of factors related to the target language (e.g., the frequency of the feature in the input), the situation (e.g., social status) and the learner (e.g., initial knowledge about the target feature). The following two papers shift the emphasis to the role of individual factors in the process of second language acquisition, more specifically the contributions of motivation and willingness to communicate (WTC). Ali Al-Hoorie reports the results of a survey study conducted among 311 young Arabic adult learners of English as a foreign language, providing evidence, somewhat in contrast to much previous research, that achievement in second language learning is a function of implicit attitudes to L2 speakers and L2 learning experience rather than the ought-to self or attachment to the L1 group, with such constructs as the ideal L2 self or intended effort being unrelated to success. The study by Mystkowska-Wiertelak investigated fluctuations in WTC of advanced learners of English during seven conversation classes which she taught over the period of one semester. Quantitative and qualitative analysis of the data gathered by means of self-assessment girds, interviews, questionnaires and detailed lesson plans indicated that WTC was indeed in a state of flux, both within single lessons and over time, with such changes being attributed to an intricate interplay of contextual and individual factors. The last two contributions focus on the role of critical thinking in foreign language learning. Jelena Bobkina and Svetlana Stefanova present a model of teaching critical thinking skills with the help of literature, arguing that such skills can be fostered through encouraging critical reader response to fictional work embedded in social phenomena as well as illustrating how this model can be applied to classroom practice. In the last paper, Paweł Sobkowiak underscores the interdependence of critical thinking and the development of intercultural competence, discussing the findings of a study of 20 coursebooks used in the Polish contexts and concluding that activities used in these coursebooks fall short of achieving either goal. As always, I am confident that all of the papers included in the present issue will provide food for thought to the readers and serve as a springboard for future empirical investigations that will help us better understand the exceedingly complex processes of second language learning and teaching.

scholarly journals Investigating Students' and Teachers' Perceptions of Using the iPad in an Italian English as a Foreign Language Classroom

2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 29-49 ◽  
Author(s):  
Valentina Morgana ◽  
Prithvi N Shrestha
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Second Language Learning ◽  
English Language ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Mobile Technologies ◽  
Action Research Project ◽  
Teachers Perceptions ◽  
Learning And Teaching

Recent research indicates that mobile technologies can support second language learning. However, studies focused on the use of the iPad and teaching in schools is still scarce. This study reports on an action research project that investigated the use of the iPad in the English as a foreign language (EFL) context in an Italian school. The study sought to investigate learners' and teachers' perceptions of mobile learning through the use of the iPad. The data was collected through a survey (N=41), classroom observations (N=4), interviews (N=20), and recorded teacher meetings (N=5). Results show a positive impact on student motivation and on the approach to second language learning tasks. We found that within the duration of the study students and teachers became increasingly independent in the use of the iPad for English language learning and teaching. This study provides educators with hints on how to start integrating mobile devices to perform specific language learning/teaching tasks.

scholarly journals Application of Learner Corpora to Second Language Learning and Teaching: An Overview

2016 ◽  
Vol 9 (8) ◽  
pp. 46 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qi Xu
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Corpus Linguistics ◽  
Second Language Learning ◽  
Language Teaching ◽  
Foreign Language Teaching ◽  
Learning And Teaching ◽  
Learner Corpus ◽  
Learner Corpora

<p>The paper gives an overview of learner corpora and their application to second language learning and teaching. It is proposed that there are four core components in learner corpus research, namely, corpus linguistics expertise, a good background in linguistic theory, knowledge of SLA theory, and a good understanding of foreign language teaching issues (Granger, 2009). Based on the above components, the present paper first introduces learner corpora, then reviews literature concerning the application of corpus linguistics to SLA by means of contrastive interlanguage analysis, and at last discusses the relationship between learner corpora and foreign language teaching.</p>

scholarly journals An evaluation of the contemporary status of pragmatics within the field of second language learning and teaching

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ahmed Mahfoodh
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Second Language Learning ◽  
Pragmatic Competence ◽  
Current Position ◽  
Learning And Teaching ◽  
The Status ◽  
Contemporary Status

<p>This paper aims to evaluate the current position of pragmatics in the field of second language acquisition (SLA) with focus on teaching of English as a foreign language (TEFL). First it attempts to reach an overall understanding of pragmatics by looking into its history and its main definitions in the relative literature. Building on this understanding, pragmatics is given a definition that suits the SLA paradigm, including second language learning and teaching (SLLT). Then the concept of pragmatic competence will be discussed and how it can be achieved. This paves the way for shedding light on the status of teaching of pragmatics within the field of SLA/TEFL. This will include its representation in published TEFL materials and the difficulties that face assessing pragmatic competence.</p>

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