scholarly journals Difficult contrasts: an analysis of phonemic distinctions in the English of young Norwegian learners seen against the backdrop of incidental foreign language learning

2014 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 10
Author(s):  
Kåre Nitter Rugesæter

Norwegian children in the 21st century are quite massively exposed to English as an L2, primarily through subtitled television programmes, films and various computer-based activities. The article investigates to what extent this passive exposure influences their basic phonological competence in the L2 by analyzing their ability to actively distinguish between certain phoneme pairs in English which are considered difficult for Norwegian learners, mainly due to interference from the phonemic system in their L1. The data material was collected through 136 recordings of 11-16 year old pupils in ten Norwegian state schools. By comparing the results to similar studies made in Norway 20-35 years ago, at a time when young people's exposure to English was considerably more limited, the article discusses the effects of incidental foreign language acquisition on young people's L2 competence. The discussion is also placed in the light of recent, international research in this field. By critically investigating some of the findings of that research, the article furthermore attempts at problematizing the concept of L2 acquisition by focusing on the distinction between active and passive language competence. The findings indicate that basic L2 phonological competence is in no way automatically enhanced by passive exposure to the language. The article points to the necessity of structured teaching programmes to counterweight the complexity and variations in the L2 input that young people encounter in their media based exposure to the L2.

Author(s):  
Violeta Jurkovič

Smartphones can significantly affect the development of foreign languages in two distinct ways. Firstly, online informal learning of languages may result in naturalistic foreign language acquisition while mobile assisted language learning implies the use of smartphones following a conscious decision to engage in language learning activities that would result in the improvement of one's language competence. Based on quantitative and qualitative methodology applied on a sample of undergraduate students in Slovenia, the main objective of this chapter is to explore the use of smartphones for self-regulated English language learning activities beyond the language classroom.


2014 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 107-118
Author(s):  
Fahri Haswani

In  response  to  an  appeal  from  Indonesia’s  Ministry  of  Education  and  Culture  to  all universities and colleges to improve the quality of tertiary  education toward regional and international standard, language institutions are making great efforts to further promote the  foreign  language  learning  process.  In  the  last  few  years  there  have  been  dramatic changes  in  the  ways  that  languages  are  taught  by communicative  approach  and  the introduction of technological tools. In recent years, the use of technological aids, especially those related to computers, has increasingly become  a common feature of the classroom. There is no doubt that computer based instruction will occupy a more central role in the foreign language classroom in the future. Information technology has drawn the interest of teachers of English as a second or foreign language in non-English speaking countries. The technology integration into  the curriculum is not a single concept which is generated from one  single  theory  nor  does  it  give  full  guidelines  for  the  implementation  in  practical situation. This issue constitutes ideas from many different theories. This paper  discusses the issue of technology contributions in EFL classroom. The question raised in this paper is how technology facilitates  the attainment of course goals.  The answer of the question will help  English  teachers  to  clarify  the  real  problems  of  the  initiative  so  that  the  innovation and possible changes can be aligned with the need of the students. However, this literature review  only  covers  limited  issues  related  with  the  role  of  technology  in  EFL  classroom. Further  discussion  from  other  different  points  of  view  is  still  needed  to  create  more complete description of conceptual foundation of the innovation.


2016 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 91-104
Author(s):  
Józef Jarosz

Abstract The contemporary teaching of foreign languages assumes the development of the ability to use a foreign language in different communication situations. Apart from language competence, also the cultural competence is developed as it is a necessary component of communication. A successful transfer of knowledge and language skills in the process of foreign language learning is determined by a textbook (in addition to other factors). The goal of this article is to analyze the content and assess three Danish textbooks, which were published in Germany in the years 2008-2010. The textbooks are examined in terms of knowledge about Danish life and institutions, the transfer of intercultural competence and the presence of stereotypes. The textbooks were studied based on the list of criteria and it resulted in stating that the textbooks fulfill the objective of providing the knowledge about the country to a great degree. The intercultural component and the issue of stereotypes are dealt with in a different manner.


2018 ◽  
Vol 41 ◽  
pp. 04041
Author(s):  
Roman Islamov ◽  
Oksana Greenwald ◽  
Nina Tunyova

Being one of the leading coal mining regions in the world, Kuzbass (Russia) demands from its regional higher educational institutions to master a range of competences of the graduates, namely mining engineers. Foreign language competence is considered to be among the key ones. The article reveals the concept of the competence, its relevance for mining engineers. We also analyze existing mobile applications from the point of view of their educational potential and present the results of the experiment conducted to assess effectiveness of mobile applications in mastering foreign language competence of mining engineering undergraduates. Our methods included interviews with students, classroom observations and surveys of students. The results suggest that integrating mobile applications in educational process is likely to have a positive impact on foreign language competence and increase students’ motivation and satisfaction with foreign language learning.


2020 ◽  
Vol 23 (4) ◽  
pp. 763-771 ◽  
Author(s):  
Johan Mårtensson ◽  
Johan Eriksson ◽  
Nils Christian Bodammer ◽  
Magnus Lindgren ◽  
Mikael Johansson ◽  
...  

AbstractAdult foreign language acquisition is challenging, and the degree of success varies among individuals. Anatomical differences in brain structure prior to training can partly explain why some learn more than others. We followed a sample of conscript interpreters undergoing intense language training to study learning-related changes in white-matter microstructure (FA, MD, RD and AD) and associations between differences in brain structure prior to training with acquired language proficiency. No evidence for changes in white matter microstructure relative to a control group was found. Starting values of RD, AD and MD were positively related to final test scores of language proficiency, corroborating earlier findings in the field and highlighting the need for further study of how initial brain structure influences and interacts with learning outcomes.


LingTera ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 27 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lilis Afifah ◽  
Pratomo Widodo

Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui kesalahan-kesalahan yang terdapat dalam penggunaan deiksis persona, deiksis tempat, dan deiksis waktu dalam karangan mahasiswa pada Niveau A2 di Jurusan Sastra Jerman UM serta mengetahui faktor-faktor penyebabnya. Subjek penelitian adalah karangan mahasiswa yang dihasilkan dalam matakuliah Aufsatz II. Objek penelitiannya adalah kesalahan deiksis persona, kesalahan deiksis tempat, dan kesalahan deiksis waktu. Proses pengumpulan data menggunakan metode simak yang terdiri dari teknik dasar yang berwujud teknik sadap dan dilanjutkan dengan teknik simak bebas libat cakap. Instrumen penelitian adalah peneliti (human instrument). Keabsahan data dicapai melalui intrarater dan interrater. Selanjutnya data dianalisis dengan metode agih. Hasil penelitian ini adalah sebagai berikut. Dalam karangan mahasiswa ditemukan kesalahan-kesalahan yang terkandung dalam deiksis persona, deiksis tempat, dan deiksis waktu. Faktor yang menyebabkan kesalahan tersebut adalah interferensi, over generalisasi, strategi komunikasi, elemen pembelajaran bahasa asing, kurangnya kontras, kondisi sosial psikologis pembelajar, efek domino, dan redundansi. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ DEIXIS ERRORS IN STUDENTS’ ESSAYS IN THE DEPARTMENT OF GERMAN LITERATURE OF UM Abstract This study aimed at determining the erros in using personal deixis, spatial deixis, and temporal deixis in students’ essays on Niveau A2 in the Department of German Literature of UM and also aimed at determining the factors that motivate the occurrence of deixis errors. The subjects were essays written by students which were made in the course of Aufsatz II. The research objects were personal deixis errors, spatial deixis errors, and temporal deixis errors. The data were collected using the observation method which consisted of basic techniques in the form of recording techniques and continued by using the technique of uninvolved-conversation observation. The research instrument in this study was the researcher (human instrument). The data trustworthiness was gained through intrarater and interrater. Furthermore, the data were analyzed by using the distributional method.The results of this study are as follows. In the essay of Niveau A2 students in the German Literature Department of UM, there are some errors in using personal deixis, spatial deixis, and temporal deixis. Errors of personal deixis are realized in six forms of pronouns: personal pronouns, relative pronouns, indefinite pronouns, demonstrative pronouns, and possessive pronouns. Errors of spatial deixis are realized in adverbs and verbs. Errors of temporal deixis are realized in adverbs and tenses. The occurrences of those errors are motivated by a variety of factors, i.e. interference, over-generalization, communication strategies, elements of foreign language learning, a lack of contrast, the students’ social psychological conditions, domino effect, and redundancy. Keywords: errors, deixis, essay


Author(s):  
Marni Manegre ◽  
Mar Gutiérrez-Colón

This study presents the results of an experiment designed to determine whether knowledge building can facilitate foreign language acquisition. We examined how groups of Catalan students in secondary schools worked together on collaborative writing tasks in English, their foreign language. The students were participating in the Knowledge Building International Project (KBIP), which is based on the concept that students can learn while working together in computer-assisted learning environments. The quantitative data was collected through a pre-test and post-test. The pre- and post-tests were divided into four sections, which were grammar, vocabulary, long answer, and multiple-choice. The results show an increase overall in the performance of the foreign language, English. In particular, the analysis determined that the comprehension of the subject matter and writing abilities in the L2 showed an increase at high confidence levels, however, there are challenges in determining whether the students have acquired new vocabulary or developed a better understanding of grammatical rules, since it is difficult to predict which words and sentence structures they will use when participating in this project.


2019 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
pp. 61-71
Author(s):  
Галина ЧЕРЕДНИЧЕНКО

The article examines the current situation of training of future food industry engineers in Ukraine, syllabuses, competences they have to obtain, skills. Communicating skill is considered the number one skills by 94% of employers of Food and Technology market. This skill category includes writing, reading and presenting information, listening and understanding instructions and ability to speak other languages (specifically English). The author offers to implement the innovative system of foreign language learning into educational process of future food industry engineers. The pedagogical system should be based on the principles of continuity, additionality, the combination of heuristic and reproductive methods, interdisciplinary integration, socio-cultural and professional orientation, the variability of group interaction. The techniques which foster the formation of foreign language competence of future food industry engineers are proposed.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document