scholarly journals E-books in foreign language learning from the students' perspective: A review of research

2020 ◽  
Vol 69 (3) ◽  
pp. 331-344
Author(s):  
Dragana Pavlović ◽  
Dina Petrović
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Student Perceptions ◽  
Relevant Literature ◽  
Foreign Language Learning ◽  
Printed Books ◽  
Language Students ◽  
Students Attitudes ◽  
Foreign Language Students

This paper looks at the use of e-books in higher education, with special reference to the perceptions of foreign language students, as over the last decade there has been a noticeable tendency in this population towards increased use of e-books for their studies. Due to their technical characteristics, primarily multimediality and interactivity, e-books have great potential for foreign language learning at all levels. Therefore, in the relevant literature there is an increasing number of studies dealing with various aspects of e-book use in foreign language acquisition. The aim of this paper is to present a review of published studies pertaining to student perceptions of the potential, advantages and drawbacks of e-books in content learning in the field of foreign languages. The structure of the paper comprises an introductory section, a section on the emergence of e-books, a review of research in higher education, and a review of studies in which data on foreign language students' perceptions of the use of e-books in their studies were obtained using empirical methods. In the conclusion, it is noted that students use e-books, that they are acquainted with their advantages and drawbacks, but that they nevertheless prefer the use of printed books for studying. Students' attitudes suggest that e-books, due to their technical characteristics, can have high applicability in foreign language learning in terms of vocabulary expansion, better comprehension, the development of reading habits and text analysis.

scholarly journals SPEAKING STRATEGIES USED BY INDONESIAN TERTIARY STUDENTS

2016 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 231
Author(s):  
Wawa Puja Prabawa
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Learning Strategies ◽  
Cognitive Strategy ◽  
Compensation Strategy ◽  
Descriptive Research ◽  
Speaking Skill ◽  
Language Students ◽  
Foreign Language Students

Speaking is considered to be difficult thing, moreover English as a foreign language. Students' performance depends on their personalities. Students who have low participation in speaking activity in the classroom lose their opportunity to practice their speaking skill which may cause poor speaking skill and achievement. However, some of students are active in speaking activity in the classroom that leads them to have good skill and achievement in speaking. This study attempts to reveal: (1) speaking strategies used by Indonesian tertiary students in terms of speaking English and strategies to improve their speaking ability, and (2) to identify speaking strategies mostly used by the students when they speak English and improve their speaking ability. This study is a descriptive research since its purpose is to describe the Indonesian tertiary students’ learning strategies in learning speaking English. The data from 15 tertiary students, who have good performance and achievement in speaking, from one of schools of higher education in Cimahi were collected using a 21 items questionnaire of a modified version of Strategy Inventory Language Learning (SILL) and 5 items interview questions. The result of the study revealed that some speaking strategies are used in terms of speaking English and improve speaking ability, namely cognitive, metacognitive and compensation strategy. In the type of speaking strategy that mostly used by the student in terms of speaking English is compensation strategy, while cognitive strategy was indicated as the mostly speaking strategies used by the Indonesian tertiary students in improving their speaking ability.  Considering to the study conducted, it is recommended to students that they should know what strategies that appropriate and can help them in learning speaking English. The students should be able to choose strategies they need in learning and analyze which strategies that give better effect on their own learning.Keywords: Speaking, strategy, speaking strategy, tertiary students

Student approaches and attitudes towards writing in German as a foreign language, using corpus-linguistic tools

2021 ◽  
Vol 53 (2) ◽  
pp. 27-51
Author(s):  
Gwyndolen J. Ortner ◽  
Undine S. Weber
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Student Perceptions ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Academic Writing ◽  
Foreign Language Learning ◽  
German Studies ◽  
Students Attitudes ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Corpus Tools

Linguistic researchers are optimistic about what corpora can offer language learners; however, very little empirical assessment of the direct use of corpus tools is reported on in context, especially for languages other than English. One method of assessing the effectiveness and value of corpus tools is by collecting students’ experiences of using them and establishing if they perceive benefits through using corpus tools. Following a qualitative questionnaire which examined student approaches to writing in German as a  foreign language, and a quantitative analysis of their writing, a writing module was designed and instituted at Rhodes University for third-year German Studies students. The writing module made use of both indirect (paper-based) and direct (computer-based) corpus-based methods to teach everyday academic vocabulary and formulaic expressions, based on materials developed for the WHiG project in the UK. This study presents an overview of the students’ attitudes and perspectives (as recorded in questionnaires and interviews), in order to give voice to the qualitative and subjective dimension of foreign language learning, which is often neglected in corpus-based studies. The participating students perceived an improvement in their writing through a changed approach to researching and using everyday academic German. Keywords: German as a foreign language; student perceptions; teaching with corpora; everyday academic language; Deutsch als alltägliche Wissenschaftssprache; academic writing; students as co-creators of teaching materials.

scholarly journals Online Foreign Language Learning in Higher Education and Its Correlates during the COVID-19 Pandemic

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 781
Author(s):  
Maria-Anca Maican ◽  
Elena Cocoradă
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Language Proficiency ◽  
Foreign Language Learning ◽  
Protective Role ◽  
Teacher Student ◽  
Quantitative Results ◽  
Mixed Approach ◽  
Student Relationship

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the online learning of foreign languages at higher education level has represented a way to adapt to the restrictions imposed worldwide. The aim of the present article is to analyse university students’ behaviours, emotions and perceptions associated to online foreign language learning during the pandemic and their correlates by using a mixed approach. The research used the Foreign Language Enjoyment (FLE) scale and tools developed by the authors, focusing on task value, self-perceived foreign language proficiency, stressors and responses in online foreign language learning during the pandemic. Some of the results, such as the negative association between anxiety and FLE, are consistent with those revealed in studies conducted in normal times. Other results are novel, such as the protective role of retrospective enjoyment in trying times or the higher level of enjoyment with lower-achieving students. Reference is made to students’ preferences for certain online resources during the pandemic (e.g., preference for PowerPoint presentations) and to their opinions regarding the use of entirely or partially online foreign language teaching in the post-COVID period. The quantitative results are fostered by the respondents’ voices in the qualitative research. The consequences of these results are discussed with respect to the teacher-student relationship in the online environment and to the implications for sustainable online foreign language learning.

English Major Students' Attitudes towards Movies and Series as Language Learning Resources

2015 ◽  
pp. 276-295
Author(s):  
Buğra Zengin ◽  
Duygu Doğan ◽  
Feryal Çubukçu
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
English Language ◽  
Foreign Language Learning ◽  
English Language Teaching ◽  
Learning Resources ◽  
Original Language ◽  
English Major ◽  
Students Attitudes ◽  
Low Exposure

This chapter focuses on the attitudes of the fourth-year English Language Teaching (ELT) students towards strategies related to using movies and series as foreign language learning resources. The subjects were teacher candidates (at a state university in the west of Turkey). The current study demonstrates that foreign-language majors are not immune to downsides of a low-exposure EFL setting. The participants also state that only their family members - but not friends - are likely to cause a shift to the dubbed version of movie/series they want to view in the original language and with L2 captions (intralingual captions / in the source language) otherwise. This study suggests that backseat TV systems on buses can provide solutions. The backseat TV systems are welcome by most of the participants, in particular by those whose intercity travelling habits are found to be quite high.

scholarly journals The Impact of a Cultural Research Course Project on Foreign Language Students’ Intercultural Competence and Language Learning

2017 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 97 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fang Li ◽  
Yingqin Liu
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Mandarin Chinese ◽  
Intercultural Competence ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Cultural Research ◽  
Language Students ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Foreign Language Students

This study explores whether using a cultural research course project can positively impact foreign language students’ intercultural competence and language learning. Using a case study method, the researchers recruited 12 student participants from an Intermediate Mandarin Chinese I class and from an Introduction to Mandarin Chinese I class in the Fall 2014 semester at a small public southwest university in USA. The project asked the participants to do a PowerPoint oral presentation on special topics from the target language culture and then to write a reflective cultural comparison English essay on this learning experience during the final exam. The findings show that, through doing the project, the students have improved their intercultural competence in that they have a more positive attitude towards “otherness,” enriched their cultural knowledge of the target language society and  that of their own, and obtained skills in critically appreciating and evaluating both similarities and differences  between the target language culture and their own. The students also expanded their language learning experience beyond the classroom and textbook and acquired better language skills in listening, speaking, and writing Chinese characters while they became more interested in and motivated by learning the target language and culture. Recommendations for future study are discussed.

scholarly journals USING SOCIAL MEDIA AS A LEARNING MEDIA OF FOREIGN LANGUAGE STUDENTS IN HIGHER EDUCATION

2019 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Agung Rinaldy Malik ◽  
Muhammad Nur Ashar Asnur
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Foreign Language Learning ◽  
Survey Method ◽  
Foreign Language Study ◽  
Study Programs ◽  
Information And Communication ◽  
Media Learning

ABSTRACT  Foreign language is an important component of someone in facing the era of Industry 4.0. The development of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) will have an impact on the creation of a learning media innovation that will facilitate users in the learning process in higher education. Likewise in foreign language learning. Online-based learning has been designed in such a way as to increase learning knowledge and motivation. This study uses a qualitative approach with the survey method. Data and Sources of data in this study are students of foreign language study programs at universities in Indonesia. The results of the study show that students generally always use smartphones and use social media in all their activities. Students use a lot of social media in exploring vocabulary and increasing vocabulary mastery, learning as well as building networks for native speakers (Muttersprachler), and making social media a means of learning by accessing foreign-language songs and interesting media in student foreign language learning. Thus social media can be one of the means of education for students which ends in improving foreign language skills.  Keywords: Social Media, Learning Media, Learning Foreign Languages, Higher Education

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