scholarly journals Kingsbury Brunetto, K. (2015). Performing the Art of Language Learning: Deepening the Language Learning Experience through Theatre and Drama. Blue Mounds, WI: Deep University Press.

2017 ◽  
Vol XI (2) ◽  
pp. 94-98
Author(s):  
Serafina Morrin
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
Theoretical Background ◽  
Language Function ◽  
Language Courses ◽  
In The Beginning ◽  
Learning Language ◽  
Socially Situated ◽  
Social Act

In this book, Kingsbury Brunetto describes her research on the language learning experience through theatre. Doing so, she analyses interviews with undergraduate students, which she collected from two theatre-based language courses (French and Spanish as L2) at different survey dates. The focus lies on the use of language as a social act that demonstrates the multifaceted nature of theatre-based language learning. Language is not only seen as something shown in evident linguistic objects here; rather it is a result of activities in complex contexts. The author wants to find out how learners of a second language function within a theatre-based language learning environment. She tries to understand the complexity of language learning as a socially situated human activity by looking at the perspectives of the participants. The particular charm of the book is that it is structured like a theatre play. Kingsbury Brunetto refrains from classic terms such as "theoretical background" or "research method", and instead entitles the chapters analogously to the procedure for a theatre performance, such as "Playbill", "Before the Curtain Rises" or "The Critics’ Reviews". In the beginning, Kingsbury Brunetto presents her approach to this research by briefly sketching her own background and providing a short insight ...

Collaborative Learning in Virtual English Class

2013 ◽  
pp. 343-370 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lan Li ◽  
Dora Wong ◽  
Dean A. F. Gui ◽  
Gigi Au Yeung
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Second Life ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
Group Discussion ◽  
Virtual Learning Environment ◽  
English Class ◽  
Survey System ◽  
Collaborative Language

This chapter demonstrates how Second Life (SL) is used to enhance collaborative language learning on a virtual campus of a Hong Kong university. The case study reports on the learning experience of a number of undergraduate students as they navigated through a virtual task in an existing course: English for Technical and Web-Based Writing. Student avatars assessed each other’s work and shared learning experiences and comments via SL-enabled tools such as voting bars and note cards. To determine if this practice was more effective as a learning tool than a traditional classroom or two-dimensional discussion on the Internet, the students’ feedback on SL was collected through the university’s online survey system (i-Feedback), camera recorded focus group discussion and audio recorded tutor feedback. The findings suggest that different tasks in a virtual learning environment may stimulate students’ interest in their learning process, even though the technical complexities might frustrate them. The possibilities, shortcomings, and technical challenges of cultivating a community of collaborative language learning are also discussed.

scholarly journals Exploring the perceptions of Kurdish EFL university students towards culture as the fifth language skill

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 70-82
Author(s):  
Omar Fouad Ghafor
Keyword(s):  
University Students ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Cultural Awareness ◽  
English Language ◽  
Human Life ◽  
Theoretical Background ◽  
Language Skill ◽  
Teaching Culture ◽  
Teaching Learning

Culture has been defined and viewed in different ways. These differences are due to its involvement with various facets of human life. Some of these definitions and viewpoints are related to the process of teaching/learning a language and understanding the habits of the native speakers of the language. In this regard, many linguists consider it the fifth language skill alongside the other four traditional skills that help language learners to master the language better. This paper addresses this issue by exploring the perceptions of Kurdish EFL university students concerning the role of English culture in learning the language. The researcher attempts to achieve this aim by providing a theoretical background about culture and culture as the fifth language skill and utilizing a questionnaire to a sample of senior undergraduate students selected for this purpose. The findings of the study show that cultural awareness has an essential role in the process of English language learning. Hence, culture should always be integrated with the process because it is an inseparable part of language teaching/learning. Teaching culture is as crucial as teaching other aspects and skills of the language.

scholarly journals Autonomous Language Learning Project: Catering to Less Widely Used Languages

2010 ◽  
Vol 17 ◽  
pp. 3
Author(s):  
Aisling O'Donovan
Keyword(s):  
Blended Learning ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Technological Innovations ◽  
Methodological Framework ◽  
Specific Context ◽  
Student Autonomy ◽  
Language Courses ◽  
Funded Project ◽  
Learning Language ◽  
Learning Sets

<p>This article describes the aims and outputs of the Autonomous Language Learning (ALL) project. It describes the challenges and targets of the project from methodological and curriculum development, to activity and platform design. It further collates feedback from the project pilots. Finally it situates the project in terms of material currently available online both in the specific context of the less widely used languages of the project, and, in the broader context of recent technological innovations in language learning in general. The ALL EU-funded project developed blended learning language courses at A2 level for Lithuanian, Romanian, Bulgarian and Turkish. Courses have multilingual access in French, Italian, Spanish and English. Designers and platform developers faced a dual challenge: to innovate in terms of methodology and to innovate in terms of technology. The methodological framework of the project was to develop CEF competence based syllabi and material that promoted student autonomy and collaboration, using a constructivist task-based approach. The languages share a VLE, specifically adapted to the needs of each language. Project outputs include student and teacher guides, on and offline material and printed blended learning sets for each language.</p>

Omani Undergraduate Students' Writing Errors

2015 ◽  
pp. 288-306
Author(s):  
Muhammed Ali Chalikandy
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Learning Strategies ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Positive Relationship ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
Linguistic Competence ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Writing Errors

This chapter analyses learners' writing errors. It focuses on error types and sources because these will reveal learners' current linguistic competence and what they need now for improvement. Data was collected mainly from the written work of English Department students at Al Buraimi University College. Results show that their errors are both interlingual and intralingual and that there is a positive relationship between these and learning strategies. Not only does the learners' previous language-learning experience influence the process of second language acquisition; target language learning experience does so as well.

Production Practice During Language Learning Improves Comprehension

2018 ◽  
Vol 29 (6) ◽  
pp. 961-971 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elise W. M. Hopman ◽  
Maryellen C. MacDonald
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
Learning Condition ◽  
Comprehension Skill ◽  
Production Practice ◽  
Vocabulary Comprehension ◽  
Learning Language ◽  
Attention Demands ◽  
Grammatical Dependencies

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.

scholarly journals Developing the proficient language learner: motivation, strategies, and the learning experience of Irish learners of French in a university setting

2019 ◽  
Vol 22 ◽  
pp. 28-52
Author(s):  
Rachel Hoare
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
Learning Strategies ◽  
Language Proficiency ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
Language Learner ◽  
First Year ◽  
Learner Motivation ◽  
Motivation For Learning ◽  
French Grammar

The purpose of this study is to simultaneously examine the relationships between motivation for learning French, preferences for class activities, language learning strategies, and language proficiency for a cohort of first-year Irish university undergraduate students of French. More specifically, it examines these relationships with reference to the attitudes of the learners towards, and their motivation for, learning French grammar. The research was stimulated by both practical and theoretical concerns.

Developing crosslinguistic awareness through plurilingual consciousness-raising tasks

2021 ◽  
pp. 136216882110565
Author(s):  
Nina Woll ◽  
Pierre-Luc Paquet
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
Perceived Usefulness ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Metalinguistic Awareness ◽  
Consciousness Raising ◽  
Language Courses ◽  
Mixed Feelings ◽  
University Level ◽  
The University

If maximal exposure were the key to success in language learning, then adult learners at the university level would be doomed to fail. Not only are they presumably too old to learn additional languages effectively, but target language (TL) input appears to be insufficient, especially when other languages are allowed in class. Nevertheless, learners were shown to build on knowledge of previously acquired languages, to rely on language learning experience and to develop metalinguistic awareness. This study explores the perceived usefulness of a plurilingual consciousness-raising task that aims at helping learners make and strengthen connections between the TL and other previously acquired languages. Two university-level language courses were targeted: Spanish in Quebec and French in Mexico. Two customized tasks were implemented and recorded in each course throughout the semester. Each task included an input-based (discovery) phase, a reflective (metalinguistic) phase during which participants were asked to make assumptions on underlying patterns and correspondences across languages, and a validation phase where they presented their assumptions until reaching a consensus as a group. While tasks were generally perceived as useful, analyses of post-task questionnaires also revealed mixed feelings regarding its inductive stance. However, the verbal data collected demonstrated that the collaborative and metalinguistic reflective nature of the task permitted learners to find correspondences between languages and to engage in knowledge construction. Moreover, the various reflections collected indicate that learners benefitted from the task as groups engaged in metalinguistic reflections, activated their plurilingual repertoire and were able to create accurate assumptions regarding the targeted structure.

scholarly journals Changes in Prospective Teachers’ Beliefs about Foreign Language Learning in a Teacher Training Program

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 37
Author(s):  
Adel Abu Radwan
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Prospective Teachers ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
Foreign Language Learning ◽  
Teaching Experience ◽  
Sultan Qaboos University ◽  
Learning And Teaching ◽  
The Right

This study examines changes in the beliefs of a group of undergraduate students about learning and teaching English as a foreign language. Learners’ beliefs are thought to shape students’ language learning experience and often guide their future teaching practices. Thus, any mistaken beliefs could negatively affect student learning and teaching experience for decades (Peacock, 2001). While some studies suggest that students’ beliefs are stable, inflexible and resistant to change, others show that students’ beliefs are amenable to change with proper intervention. This study uses a questionnaire to collect data from 212 students in the English Department at Sultan Qaboos University. The results show that learners hold strong beliefs about the role of vocabulary, grammar and practice in learning a foreign language. Moreover, their beliefs did not undergo any significant changes during the duration of the program though slight shifts in their beliefs could be noticed in the final year of their training. The study suggests that special attention should be given to this area to eliminate any detrimental beliefs held by prospective teachers. Early intervention may steer students in the right direction and could equip them with the theoretical and pedagogical beliefs necessary to positively influence their future students.   

scholarly journals Interactive Learning: The Sounds of Bonne Chance

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wesley Fowler ◽  
Alex Gray
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
Mobile App ◽  
French History ◽  
Music Production ◽  
The Arts ◽  
Language Courses ◽  
Conducting Research ◽  
French Composers ◽  
Ecology Of Learning

Our Project, Bonne Chance, meaning good luck in French, is an immersive language learning game that manifests in the form of a mobile app. The game is designed as a course-companion for French 111 and 112 beginning language courses for college students. Instead of merely computerizing old teaching practices or creating grammar practice cards, we are radically re-envisioning the design of the learning experience. This project endeavors to build an “ecology of learning that extends beyond the four walls of an institution and engages [students] in ways that are exciting, empowering and culturally relevant” (Salen et al., 201100. The Project functions under four teams: the coding team, the user experience engagement team, the music curation and production team, and the app development team. As the music team, we focus on the music and sounds of Bonne Chance. The music and sounds of Bonne Chance contribute to this ecology by curating an authentically French soundtrack of pre-composed and original music, stimulating the learning environment, creating a sense of historical accuracy, and channeling the primary purpose of the game, which is to help immerse students in the French language. By conducting research into French composers and cultural trends throughout the ages, French musical history can be characterized as a diverse and central figure in the arts of humanity. French history has shaped human history, and its music sheds light on the roots of its global influence. The game itself is currently still in a series of prototype phases as we continue to test our most viable product [MVP]. Through our game-based learning application, our audience of elementary-level French students will gain language learning skills and intercultural empathy. Working in an innovative studio environment has allowed us to grow in the domains of collaboration, project management, programming, music history, research, music composition, music arranging, and music production. ­

An Exploratory Study of Self Reported Language Learning Behaviors and their Relation to Achievement

1983 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 54-68 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert L. Politzer
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Classroom Participation ◽  
Learning Behavior ◽  
Learning Behaviors ◽  
Language Courses ◽  
Treatment Interaction ◽  
Foreign Language Courses

Ninety undergraduate students enrolled in Foreign language courses in French, Spanish and German were asked to respond to a questionnaire concerning their engagement in certain selected learning behaviors culled from recent literature on good language learners. The data reported by the students are described and analyzed according to level of language course, and language. They are also related to student's grades and instructors' evaluations of students' progress, effort and voluntary classroom participation. The main finding is that there is some evidence for a link between certain behaviors and student achievement. However, links between learning behavior and achievement seem dependent on course level and methodology, and suggest the possibility of a learning behavior/treatment interaction.

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