French Immersion “So Why Would You do Something Like That to a Child?”

French Immersion (FI) continues to grow in popularity and diversity across Canada. However, the suitability of immersion for academically challenged students has often been questioned. This study explored English teachers' beliefs and practices, particularly as they relate to the suitability of French immersion for various learners. It also explored ways by which English teachers frame issues of accessibility to FI for students at risk for academic difficulties. Data revealed that myths about second language education still permeate the system in ways that potentially impact who as access to the FI program. Findings also highlight that the sociocultural and sociopolitical context of this study influences and is being influenced by beliefs about and attitudes toward second language learning. The widespread existence of beliefs and practices grounded in myths or traditional views about second language acquisition points to a need for greater education about issues that potentially limit access to FI.

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The Coupling of Second Language Learning Motivation and Achievement According to Gender

Theory and Practice in Language Studies ◽

10.17507/tpls.0712.01 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 7 (12) ◽

pp. 1149 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Callie Mady ◽

Alexandra Seiling

Keyword(s):

Second Language ◽

Language Learning ◽

Multiple Regression ◽

Language Education ◽

French Immersion ◽

Contributory Factor ◽

Second Language Education ◽

Significant Difference ◽

French Test ◽

Motivation And Achievement

Despite research investigating gender differences in second language motivation, the examination of such differences with a coupling of motivation and achievement evidence is less common. Given that increased motivation is a contributory factor of achievement (e.g., Schmidt et al., 2001) where gender can also be an influencing variable, it is important to examine the influence of gender on motivation and proficiency in second language education. The following article explores the motivation of 87 Grade 6 early French immersion students through the means of a questionnaire, grounded in Gardner’s socio-educational (1985) and MacIntyre’s (1994) willingness to communicate models. Through multiple regression analysis, the questionnaire findings were examined to see, which if any, variables predicted French proficiency as measured through a multi-skills French test. The female participants outperformed the males in French reading, writing and speaking, whereas only one significant difference was found on the questionnaire items (i.e., language awareness). Although the multiple regression analyses showed both increases and decreases in French achievement according to questionnaire items, where there were significant differences being female was associated with increases in French achievement. These findings offer a gateway to further research, as educators strive to offer quality second language education to all.

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Learning opportunities in peer-peer interaction: A case study of two L2 Mandarin Chinese learners

Chinese as a Second Language Research ◽

10.1515/caslar-2020-0008 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 9 (2) ◽

pp. 199-226

Author(s):

Dan Jiang

Keyword(s):

Second Language ◽

Second Language Acquisition ◽

Language Learning ◽

Mandarin Chinese ◽

Learning Opportunities ◽

French Immersion ◽

Chinese Learners ◽

Instructed Second Language Acquisition ◽

Negotiation For Meaning

AbstractThe roles of interaction have been studied for several decades. Recent studies have turned to investigate “the details of which components of interaction might be more or less effective in which contexts with which learners” (Loewen, Shawn & Masatoshi Sato. 2018. Interaction and instructed second language acquisition. Language Teaching 51(3). 285–329: 286). This case study, based on three unstructured interactions outside the classroom between two L2 Mandarin Chinese learners, investigates the learning opportunities these interactions brought about in terms of helping them to increase in control over forms that had already been encountered inside the classroom. Using the concept of the language-related episode (Swain, Merrill & Sharon Lapkin. 1998. Interaction and second language learning: Two adolescent French immersion students working together. The Modern Language Journal 82(3). 320–337), this study sets focus on learning opportunities for lexis- and grammar-related items. It finds learning opportunities arise as the two peers negotiate for meaning motivated by the need to comprehend, strive to use the L2 to express/co-express themselves, and improve their form through the other’s feedback. In addition, lexis-related learning is found to be very positive in this study. The dictionary played an indispensable role in facilitating the learners when they encountered lexis-related issues. Further, it enabled the learners to learn new vocabulary when driven by communicative needs. In comparison, the grammar-related learning is found to be relatively complicated. And the fact the learners had nowhere to resort to concerning grammatical issues attributed to it. In terms of the different types of interactions, compared to learning through negotiation for meaning and feedback, output and co-construction/collaboration were found to be most productive in promoting the learning.

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A Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game and Its Effects on Interaction in the Second Language

Handbook of Research on Integrating Technology Into Contemporary Language Learning and Teaching - Advances in Educational Technologies and Instructional Design ◽

10.4018/978-1-5225-5140-9.ch018 ◽

2018 ◽

pp. 367-389 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Nuttakritta Chotipaktanasook ◽

Hayo Reinders

Keyword(s):

Second Language ◽

Second Language Acquisition ◽

Language Learning ◽

Language Education ◽

Role Playing ◽

Computer Assisted ◽

Face To Face ◽

Role Playing Games ◽

Role Playing Game ◽

Massively Multiplayer

Massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs) have been dramatically used in language education and identified in computer-assisted language learning (CALL) research as playing a central role in second language acquisition (SLA). This chapter addresses the integration of a commercially developed MMORPG Ragnarok Online into a language course as a basis for digital game-based language learning and reports on its effects on second language (L2) interaction. Thirty Thai learners of English who enrolled in a 15-week university language course were required to complete 18 face-to-face classroom lessons and six gameplay sessions. Learners' language use in both text and voice chats during gameplay was recorded and analysed to measure the effects of the game. The findings show that participating in MMORPG resulted in a significantly more considerable increase in L2 interaction that used a wider range of discourse functions compared with English interaction in the classroom. The authors discuss some of the theoretical and pedagogical implications of these findings.

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Adventure in a new language: what a first generation Canadian immigrant’s narrative holds for ESL teachers

Journal of Language and Cultural Education ◽

10.1515/jolace-2016-0033 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 4 (3) ◽

pp. 222-232

Author(s):

Xing Fang

Keyword(s):

Second Language ◽

Second Language Acquisition ◽

Narrative Inquiry ◽

First Generation ◽

Learning Experience ◽

Language Education ◽

Language Teachers ◽

Esl Teachers ◽

Teaching And Research ◽

Second Language Education

Abstract This paper explored the value of learner’s stories for ESL (English as a Second Language) teachers’ teaching and research through a narrative inquiry of the lived English learning experience of a first generation Canadian immigrant. It first reviewed the concept of narrative and the significance of launching narrative inquiry. Then, it presented an interview conducted with the Canadian immigrant as a model of narrative inquiry. Themes of the narrative interview were found to resonate with theoretical issues of SLE (Second Language Education), ESL and SLA (Second Language Acquisition). Considering the themes and the entire interviewing process, this paper closed with a discussion of the benefits of narrative inquiry for ESL teachers’ teaching and research.

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A Systematic Review of Video Games for Second Language Acquisition

10.4018/978-1-6684-3710-0.ch064 ◽

2022 ◽

pp. 1345-1371

Author(s):

Juan Li

Keyword(s):

Second Language ◽

Second Language Acquisition ◽

Language Acquisition ◽

Video Games ◽

Language Learning ◽

Language Instruction ◽

Future Research ◽

Second Language Education ◽

Role Playing Games ◽

Systematic Understanding

This study overviews contemporary studies on the use of video games for second language acquisition within the past ten years spanning the development of computer-assisted language learning (CALL) and its connections to SLA, definitions of video games, empirical studies on the facilitative roles played by video games for second language (L2) learning and utilizing massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs) for language learning. The purpose of this chapter is to help the readers obtain a systematic understanding of the development and application of video games in second language education. Findings of this study suggests that players are able to acquire L2 knowledge while playing video games. It also suggests that future research should focus more on the actual integration of video games into language instruction.

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The meaning(s) of practice: Puzzling through performative language practice with refugee learners

Applied Theatre Research ◽

10.1386/atr_00040_1 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 8 (2) ◽

pp. 227-244 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Erika Piazzoli ◽

Elif Kir Cullen

Keyword(s):

Second Language ◽

Language Learning ◽

Asylum Seekers ◽

Second Language Learning ◽

Qualitative Interviews ◽

Language Education ◽

Language Pedagogy ◽

Second Language Education ◽

Performative Language ◽

Refugees And Asylum Seekers

This article features an investigation into the semantics of the term ‘practice’ coexisting in a multidisciplinary research context. The background of the discussion is a government-funded study with refugees and asylum seekers in Ireland, where process drama, music and dance were used to facilitate second language learning – an approach known as performative language pedagogy. The research is framed by exploratory practice, a methodology that considers ‘practice-as-research’ and ‘understanding-for-practice’ in second language education. An investigation of the meaning(s) of the term ‘practice’ was imperative as a semantic gap existed between the use of the term ‘practice’ in exploratory practice (the research methodology underpinning the study) and the concept of ‘practice’ in performative language pedagogy (the teaching approach used in the study). This article presents findings from twelve qualitative interviews with teacher/artists and practitioners that point towards a shared understanding of practice when working with refugees in language education settings.

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Multi-User Virtual Environments

Teaching through Multi-User Virtual Environments ◽

10.4018/978-1-61692-822-3.ch016 ◽

2010 ◽

pp. 283-305 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Julie M. Sykes

Keyword(s):

Second Language ◽

Language Learning ◽

Virtual Environments ◽

Small Body ◽

Language Education ◽

Lessons Learned ◽

Classroom Implementation ◽

Second Language Education ◽

Design Considerations ◽

Language Classroom

Various features of multiuser virtual environments (MUVEs) make them promising and, potentially transformational, contexts for the development of second language (L2) skills. While there has been a surge of interest in the use of MUVEs for language learning, there is still a relatively small body of empirical evidence that supports our understanding of how these immersive spaces can best be utilized for second language education. After a brief introduction to relevant research on MUVEs and language learning, this chapter is divided into two primary sections. The first section describes one component of a larger empirical study of the first MUVE built specifically for learning Spanish pragmatics. The following section utilizes the empirical findings, combined with lessons learned from classroom implementation, to suggest design considerations for those wishing to implement MUVEs in the language classroom. While the specific focus of the chapter is language learning, the findings are intended to be generally applicable in other disciplines as well.

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Implementing a Flipped Classroom in Teaching Second Language Pronunciation

Blended Learning ◽

10.4018/978-1-5225-0783-3.ch090 ◽

2016 ◽

pp. 1882-1897

Author(s):

Kazuhiro Yonemoto ◽

Asami Tsuda ◽

Hisako Hayashi

Keyword(s):

Information Technology ◽

Second Language ◽

Technology Integration ◽

Language Learning ◽

Flipped Classroom ◽

Language Education ◽

Language Teachers ◽

Second Language Education ◽

Second Language Teachers ◽

Self Learning

While the philosophy of flipped classroom has recently been drawing much attention of second language teachers, integrating technology into pedagogy is often an issue. This is also the case in pronunciation teaching. Second language pronunciation teaching has been largely dependent on teachers' intuition and beliefs, realized by repetition. Although recent technology developments in the field of linguistics, namely ultrasound imaging, enable visualization of movement and motion inside the mouth, it has not yet been widely used in second language education. In this chapter, taking a self-learning website for Japanese language pronunciation, the authors explore what makes teachers stay away from technology integration into language learning and how this barrier can be overcome to implement a flipped classroom. Specifically, the authors address the importance of taking initiative in planning how technology can be integrated into pedagogy while closely collaborating with and involving other fields of study, like linguistics, as well as information technology.

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Social Robots for Language Learning: A Review

Review of Educational Research ◽

10.3102/0034654318821286 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 89 (2) ◽

pp. 259-295 ◽

Cited By ~ 32

Author(s):

Rianne van den Berghe ◽

Josje Verhagen ◽

Ora Oudgenoeg-Paz ◽

Sanne van der Ven ◽

Paul Leseman

Keyword(s):

Second Language ◽

Language Learning ◽

Second Language Learning ◽

Reading Skills ◽

Age Groups ◽

Language Education ◽

Social Robots ◽

Future Research ◽

Robot Assisted ◽

Second Language Education

In recent years, robots have increasingly been implemented as tutors in both first- and second-language education. The field of robot-assisted language learning (RALL) is developing rapidly. Studies have been published targeting different languages, age groups, and aspects of language and using different robots and methodologies. The present review presents an overview of the results obtained so far in RALL research and discusses the current possibilities and limitations of using social robots for first- and second-language learning. Thirty-three studies in which vocabulary, reading skills, speaking skills, grammar, and sign language were taught are discussed. Beside insights into learning gains attained in RALL situations, these studies raise more general issues regarding students’ motivation and robots’ social behavior in learning situations. This review concludes with directions for future research on the use of social robots in language education.

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