Purpose: This study aims to investigate the use of diacritics in the Arabic script of Malay to facilitate Arab postgraduate students of UKM to read the Malay words accurately. It is hypothesised that the Arabic script could facilitate the reading of Malay words among the Arab students because of their earlier exposure to the Arabic script in comparison to the Romanised script. Method: Twelve Arabic first language speakers participated in a reading experiment that used DMDX, a Win 32-based...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Semitic Languages, Distinctive Features (Language), Native Speakers, Written...
The use of formulaic sequences in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) lessons plays an integral role in language teaching and learning, but it seems still widely neglected in the Thai school context. To call attention to this issue, this study aims at identifying formulaic sequences used in a Thai primary school. The data were taken from three native English teachers in their young learners' EFL lessons, and were analysed with the use of corpus software to identify the formulaic sequences used...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Foreign Countries, English (Second Language), Second Language Instruction, Native...
Affective learner factors were first considered as a cause of success in language learning. This was followed by a change in approach and recently authors (e.g., Edelenbos, Johnstone, & Kubanek, 2006) have considered them an important outcome, especially in early foreign language learning (FLL). Current research into affective learner factors in early FLL tries to catch the developmental aspects too, and studies are emerging that take a contextual view as well. This paper describes a study...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Affective Behavior, Second Language Learning, English (Second Language), Case...
Vision, that is, the mental representation of the sensory experience of a future goal state (involving imagination and imagery), is currently at the forefront of motivational innovation, and in recent years it has been seen increasingly more often in the motivational tool kit of practicing language teachers. Theories such as Dörnyei's L2 motivational self system have explored the power that creating effective visions can harness (see, e.g., Dörnyei & Kubanyiova, 2014) and when viewed in...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Motivation, Motivation Techniques, Imagination, Imagery, Educational Theories,...
In the related literature, it has been discussed that issues related to foreign language lexicon have been ignored; therefore, a solid theory of foreign language lexicon has not been constructed yet. In the framework of Turkish as a foreign language, the literature lacks both cross-sectional and longitudinal studies. To this end, this longitudinal study tries to find out the lexical progress of learners of Turkish as a foreign language. 20 teaching foreign languages (TFL) learners from a...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Vocabulary Development, Second Language Learning, Second Language Instruction,...
Humour is a universal phenomenon and has been studied in many fields of research such as literature, linguistics, psychology, sociology and philosophy. Humour is often expressed through language and it is little wonder that failure to understand humorous language causes breakdowns in communication. What is humorous might be culturally defined, and therefore it is difficult to grasp or to teach. Yet, people convey too much through humour to be neglected in the language classroom. Even if we need...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Preservice Teachers, Language Teachers, English (Second Language), Second Language...
Many research studies into Extensive reading (ER) have recognized its potential for improving language learners' reading proficiency and other language skills. However, some recent reviews of ER research (e.g., Waring & McLean 2015; Nakanishi, 2015; Mori, 2015) have argued for more refinement in research design so that ER research can be more effectively interpreted. Some areas of disconnection include (a) how extensive reading is conceptualized, (b) the lack of long-term studies, and (c) a...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Telecommunications, Handheld Devices, Second Language Learning, Second Language...
The paper explores how various teaching methods, namely Phonology-Based Instruction (PBI) and Translation-Based Instruction (TBI), have an effect on students' acquisition of formulaic sequences. 20 multiword expressions were taught to 48 Vietnamese EFL students from three intact classes as 2 treatment groups (PBI and TBI) and 1 control group. Right after completing the tasks, the three groups were tested on their ability to identify (Form Recognition) and produce (Form and Meaning Recall) the...
Topics: ERIC Archive, English (Second Language), Second Language Learning, Second Language Instruction,...
Educational improvement is at the forefront of ongoing international concern, with the quality of teaching recognised as a crucial variable in this endeavour. While in the past, instructional practices identified as effective were thought to be generic, it has become increasingly clear that the identification of contextually relevant practices is more likely to inform the notion of what constitutes effective teaching in a given context. This study addresses this issue in the context of English...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Educational Practices, Teacher Effectiveness, Elementary School Teachers, English...
The present article reports the findings of a study that explored(1) whether direct written corrective feedback (CF) can help high-proficient L2 learners, who has already achieved a rather high level of accuracy in English, improve in the accurate use of two functions of English articles (the use of "a" for first mention and "the" for subsequent or anaphoric mentions); and (2) whether there are any differential effects in providing the two different types of direct written...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Grammar, English (Second Language), Second Language Instruction, Accuracy, Feedback...
This paper discusses how teachers explore teaching controversial issues in the Japanese language classroom to Japanese language learner (JLL) or culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) students who have different cultural and political backgrounds. Assuring educational opportunities with consideration of JLLs' background is important especially in this globalized world. Students who spent several years in their home countries had missed the earlier part of the culture in the host countries,...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Foreign Countries, Controversial Issues (Course Content), Japanese, Second Language...
This study is based on the "2014 the Schweitzer Program" in Taiwan which spanned for four weeks from the 2nd to 29th of August. The lessons included four classes of multimedia picture books and eight game-based lessons. The aim of this research is to describe how to integrate the theory of "Multiple Intelligence (MI)" by Howard Gardner as well as the theories of "Cooperative Learning", and "Game-Based Teaching" into summer intensive English classes among...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Action Research, Multiple Intelligences, Cooperative Learning, Educational Games,...
This paper reports on a qualitative study investigating the experience and perspectives of students using English as an international language studying transdisciplinary master's degrees related to culture industries at Goldsmiths, University of London. The particular focus of this paper concerns their experiences of writing several different genres on their degree programmes, including a category of written assessment that, in keeping with the transdisciplinary project of opening up...
Topics: ERIC Archive, English for Academic Purposes, Second Language Learning, Second Language Instruction,...
Nation (2006) has calculated that second language (L2) learners require much more vocabulary than previously thought to be functional with language (e.g., 8,000-9,000 word families to read independently). This level is far beyond the highest graded reader, and would be difficult to explicitly teach. One way for learners to be exposed to mid-frequency vocabulary is to read authentic materials. The original "A Clockwork Orange" study (Saragi, Nation, & Meister, 1978) showed...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Spelling, Vocabulary Development, Novels, Incidental Learning, Second Language...
Catholic elementary schools underserve Latino students, especially those who are bilingual. This paper presents a conceptual argument for Catholic elementary schools to improve this by pursuing the two-way immersion model of bilingual service delivery in Spanish and English. The argument is presented in three stages. First, we show that Catholic elementary schools underserve Latino families in general, and bilingual Latino students with limited proficiency in English in particular. Next, we...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Catholic Schools, Private Schools, Elementary Schools, Bilingual Students, Immersion...
This study was conducted to investigate the extent to which scores on depth and breadth of vocabulary knowledge as two dimensions of vocabulary knowledge would contribute to predicting the EFL learners' reading performance with a minimum vocabulary size of 3000 word families and also to find out the difference, if any, between the reading comprehension performance of two groups as having high and low depth and breadth of vocabulary knowledge. All instruments (Word-Associate Test (WAT) (Read,...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Reading Comprehension, Vocabulary Development, Foreign Countries, English (Second...
In order to give language learners a fighting chance outside the classroom, teachers must provide them with consciousness-raising opportunities for developing pragmatic awareness. By attending to pragmatic factors in second-language (L2) situations, student will be better able to make informed choices in negotiating effective communication. This article examines the potential use of the pragmatic discourse completion task (DCT) as a springboard for discussion in the L2 classroom. A description...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Pragmatics, Second Language Learning, Second Language Instruction, Consciousness...
This article is concerned pragmatically with how recent research findings in assessment for learning (AfL) can bring about higher quality learning in the day-to-day classroom. The first half of this paper reviews recent studies within Black and Wiliam's (2009) framework of formative assessment and looks for insights on how pedagogical procedures could be arranged to benefit from and resonate with research findings. In the second half, based on lessons drawn from the review, the findings were...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Foreign Countries, English (Second Language), Second Language Instruction,...
The inservice program for which this is the teacher's guide consists of a series of video cassette tapes illustrating various methods that have proven successful in teaching foreign languages and English as a second language (ESL). Although the program is intended for teachers of Indochinese refugee children, it is applicable to a wide variety of second language instructional settings. The five lessons, four of which are in two parts, cover the following subjects: (1) goals and techniques in an...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Auditory Discrimination, Classroom Techniques, Elementary Secondary Education,...
This guide develops aspects of the worker role and focuses on the situations that arise and language skills that are needed when a person is seeking a job and functioning on a job. The guide is modular in form and provides sample lesson materials and procedures for three levels of language proficiency. The introductory material gives the philosophy and goals of the course, some notes on general competence in English, definitions of proficiency levels, notes on features of the guide and its use,...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Adults, Curriculum Guides, Employment, English (Second Language), Immigrants,...
In July and August of 1980, material writers at the University of California-Los Angeles designed a course that would focus on the various reading and writing skills that science scholars would need for successful graduate study in the United States. The scholars were advanced learners of English from various science fields, and the course was to be taught in the People's Republic of China. Integration of reading and writing was accomplished through the careful selection of a series of articles...
Topics: ERIC Archive, English for Special Purposes, Graduate Study, Higher Education, Reading Instruction,...
This paper reviews the research on second language acquisition and bilingualism conducted in Canada over the past decade (1970-79). The material on second language acquisition is presented under the followinq headings: approaches to second language instruction, individual differences and second language acquisition, and effects of second language acquisition on individual characteristics. The literature on bilingualism is discussed under these headings: perceptual processes, the representation...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Bilingualism, Cognitive Processes, Communication Skills, Individual Differences,...
One program model for limited English proficient (LEP) adults incorporating job-related English as an important component is bilingual vocational education, authorized by the federal Vocational Education Act. Its objective is to make LEP adults more employable by teaching them both English and job skills. Such a project uses a team of two teachers, a vocational and a language instructor. A major advantage of this model is that students do not have to wait to learn English in order to learn job...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Adult Education, Bilingual Education, Employment Potential, Federal Government,...
A bibliography of published work on computer-assisted language learning (CALL) includes, in addition to work specifically concerning CALL, selected titles from related areas. These include: (1) artificial intelligence, particularly in recent developments toward "intelligent" computer assisted instruction (CAI) and CALL; (2) audio and video technology, especially concerning the language laboratory and the technology that will affect the expansion of CALL and CAI; (3) computer hardware,...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Artificial Intelligence, Computer Assisted Instruction, Computer Literacy, Computer...
An Ames, Iowa elementary school program of foreign language instruction adapted instructional approaches geared to older students to the needs of elementary school children by examining children's stages of development and the effects of these stages on the students' ways of thinking and acting. This examination of child development yielded results which were translated into the curriculum in: (1) the use of real objects that are attractive, sturdy, and clear symbols useful in language...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Children, Class Activities, Classroom Techniques, Creativity, Dramatics, Educational...
A revised and updated version of the San Francisco Community College District's (SFCCD's) master plan for the English as a Second Language (ESL) program in adult education is presented. Introductory materials discuss the scope of the ESL program, the master plan, instructional methods and approaches, communication competence, limiting context and language, methods to develop language skills, and testing and evaluation. A description of the District's multi-level ESL classes is followed by...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Adult Education, College Planning, Community Colleges, English (Second Language),...
It is no longer possible to approach the teaching of foreign cultures with an ethnographic and objectivist perspective that allows students to believe in the absolute value of a given definition of culture. The first goal of foreign language and culture teaching is the acquisition of communicative competence in the broadest sense of this expression. Courses offered in foreign language and culture departments should be oriented toward contrastive and comparative analyis of cultures more than...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Classroom Techniques, College Second Language Programs, Communicative Competence...
The document describes the Changes Project, a participatory action research project conducted by adult learners at five adult literacy and education programs in Western Massachusetts. It is a 3-year project aimed at examining the impact of welfare reform, immigration reform, and the changing workplace on adult learners. The Changes Project is significant for four reasons: (1) through the use of participatory action research, it brings knowledge of adult learners into the national conversation...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Action Research, Adult Education, Adult Literacy, English (Second Language), Federal...
Music can be used in the adult English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) classroom to create a learning environment; to build listening comprehension, speaking, reading, and writing skills; to increase vocabulary; and to expand cultural knowledge. This digest looks briefly at research and offers strategies for using music in the adult ESL classroom. Specifically highlighted are using songs in instruction and strategies to use with songs, including listening and oral activities, reading and writing...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Adults, English (Second Language), Listening Skills, Literacy, Music, Oral Language,...
Since independence, the government of Botswana has allowed only the use of English in government circles, excluding the other 26 languages represented in the country and allowing only limited use of the national language, Setswana. Since 1995, however, restrictions have been relaxed and non-government organizations are developing the use of other languages. One such organization, the Kamanakao Association, is working to revive Shiyeyi, the language and culture of the Wayeyi people of...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Adult Basic Education, African Languages, Cultural Maintenance, Developing Nations,...
This paper examines the importance of political and sociocultural factors in foreign language education, focusing on English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) learning in Lebanon. It begins with a historical review of foreign language education in Lebanon, then discusses the current role and status of English in the Lebanese context, which reveals several interrelated political and sociocultural factors that play a crucial role in ESL learning. These include religious background (Lebanon is...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Arabic, Elementary Secondary Education, English (Second Language), Foreign Countries,...
This qualitative study provides a deeper understanding of foreign language learners' attitudes toward authentic input and examines their changes in attitude and proficiency after instruction using authentic input in the foreign language classroom. Twenty-six Korean university students from two groups were randomly selected and interviewed. The experimental group was instructed with both graded and ungraded input, whereas the control group was instructed with only graded input. Each subject was...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Attitude Change, College Students, English (Second Language), Foreign Countries,...
This collection papers begins with "Introduction: The Dynamics of Successful Leadership in Foreign Language Programs," then features the following: "The Undergraduate Program: Autonomy and Empowerment" (Wilga M. Rivers); "TA Supervision: Are We Preparing a Future Professoriate?" (Cathy Pons); "Applied Scholarship in Foreign Languages: A Program of Study in Professional Development" (Katherine Arens); "The Dynamics and Visibility of Foreign Language...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Elementary Secondary Education, High Risk Students, Higher Education, Language...
The general education program at UNC-Chapel Hill has abandoned the concept of a core curriculum. Instead, students choose their "required" classes from lists of thousands of courses that may be as narrow and idiosyncratic as Love, Sex and Marriage in Soviet Culture (RUSS 277) or The Gardens, Shrines and Temples of Japan (ASIA 586). General education consists of the courses that a college or university requires a student to take in order to be a "well-rounded person."...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Higher Education, Core Curriculum, College Curriculum, College Students, Course...
This study builds on previous work exploring reading and listening lexical thresholds (Nation, 2006; Laufer & Ravenhorst-Kalovski, 2010; Schmitt, Jiang, & Grabe, 2011) in order to investigate productive vocabulary targets that mark successful entry-level undergraduate writing. Papers that passed the Effective Writing Test (EWT) were chosen to create a corpus of novice university level writing (N = 120). Vocabulary profiles were generated, with results indicating the General Service List...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Undergraduate Students, Novices, English for Academic Purposes, Curriculum...
This research aims to consider literature as a significant tool for teaching fundamental language skills including speaking, listening, reading and writing. Reasons for the use of literature in language classrooms and major factors for choosing appropriate kinds of literary texts in such classes should be highlighted in order to make readers aware of the primary reasons that why language instructors are suggested to use literary texts. Furthermore, teaching language skills through literature,...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Literature, Second Language Instruction, Language Skills, Literary Genres, Babaee,...
English as a second language (ESL) becomes inseparable and unavoidable in Indian Education system. To learn a second language, a physical, intellectual and emotional involvement is needed to successfully send and interpret linguistic messages. This study is an analysis of some causes of the problems in learning ESL. The objectives of the study were to find out the leading cause of the problems in learning ESL; to find out whether there was any significant difference in the causes of problems...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Secondary School Students, Student Attitudes, English (Second Language), Second...
This study is situated in the fields of language education, study abroad (SA) and intercultural communication. The interest in SA is increasing on the part of students, administrators, educators, and business companies for the learning opportunities that it offers. However, SA students are not always prepared to maximize their learning opportunities at the foreign site, to effectively interact with locals, to develop cultural awareness, and to respond to challenging situations occurring abroad....
Topics: ERIC Archive, Study Abroad, Intercultural Communication, Cultural Awareness, Second Language...
In the contemporary age of high professional requirements such as excellent communicative skills, the need for successful learning of communicative skills of English language suggests communicative ability to be the goal of language teaching. In other words, to teach English language using communicative approach becomes essential. Studies to measure teachers' classroom behavior indicate that the implementation of communicative approach in the classroom is rare. Although teachers claim to be...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Second Language Learning, Second Language Instruction, Communicative Competence...
From the connotation of bilingual education in higher education in China, this paper analyzes the factors that may affect the quality and result of bilingual education, such as faculty and students' English level, teaching materials, curriculum system, classroom instruction, teaching quality control, as well as incentives and other factors. The paper focuses on Fuzzy-AHP model as a university bilingual education quality evaluation system, and build an evaluation index system for quality control...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Foreign Countries, Bilingual Education, Business Administration Education, English...
Nowadays, writing has received a great degree of attention not only because it plays a significant role in transforming knowledge and learning but also in fostering creativity and when acquiring of a special language skill is seen as important, its assessment becomes important as well and writing is no exception. This study intended to investigate the effect of portfolio assessment technique as a teaching, learning and assessment tool on writing performance of EFL learners. Writing sub-skills...
Topics: ERIC Archive, English (Second Language), Second Language Learning, Portfolios (Background...
These days, the innovations of technologies are contributing significantly to the quality of education in spite of their limitations. Mobile technologies are rapidly attracting new users, providing increasing capacity, and allowing more sophisticated use. Since they are becoming very accessible for individuals in most parts of the world, it has a great role in facilitating learning both in formal and informal context. Due to this, Mobile Learning (ML) was introduced and attracted the attention...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Second Language Learning, Handheld Devices, Telecommunications, Teaching Methods,...
Vocabulary learning and teaching has been one of the main issues in ESL/EFL learning and teaching research. EFL teachers in China, in particular, are grappling with the effective vocabulary teaching methods. This paper is doing part of this job in a different way. It discusses three principles based on Cognitive Linguistics (CL), namely the study of categorization, prototype, and metaphor, and implications of these principles in formal vocabulary instruction in a Chinese context of English...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Foreign Countries, English (Second Language), Second Language Instruction, Second...
Colleges and universities in China have been bent on remolding the existing unitary teacher-centered education mode and enhancing students' individualized and autonomous learning with the help of multimedia and cyber technology in order to meet the College English Curriculum Requirements instituted by the Ministry of Education in 2004. Admittedly Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL) has shed some light on the enhancement of individualized and autonomous learning. Yet a lot more work needs...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Foreign Countries, Teaching Methods, Computer Assisted Instruction, Educational...
The primary aim of the study was to study the effect of constructivist approach of teaching on the learning of English Language on Primary School Students. The study consisted of 60 students of class VI from Janta Brahmi Sr. Secondary School, Nathupur, Sonipat. A single quasi experimental pre-test and post-test design was applied in the present study. After conducting the pre-test in English Language subject the experiment was conducted. The group was taught the concepts related to English...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Foreign Countries, Constructivism (Learning), English (Second Language), Second...
Finding an effective instruction mode for ESL students in the US educational system has not been an easy task. The country's secondary and tertiary institutions continue to struggle to meet the needs of their large non-native student populations. The article revisits the debate whether sheltered instruction is an effective model to follow. In our study, a sheltered section of a college-level reading class was more effective in improving students' reading abilities compared to mainstream...
Topics: ERIC Archive, English (Second Language), Second Language Instruction, Teaching Methods,...
The aim of this research paper is to find out by comparing and contrasting between the adults and children in second language learning process how language ego of adult learners affects them to learn second language, and how it becomes a barrier for them in second language learning process. Nowadays learning English as foreign and second language is one of the most dominant socio-cultural requirements of people for seeking employment, foreign tour, business, education and other basic...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Foreign Countries, Self Concept, Second Language Learning, English (Second Language),...
The beliefs a teacher carries into the classroom are a strong predictor of behaviour and, thus, have educational implications. With more English Language Learners (ELLs) worldwide, in mainstream classrooms in English speaking countries and in content-based classes in other countries around the globe than ever before, it is essential that pre-service teachers' beliefs about these students are understood and, when possible, altered to ensure positive and productive educational experiences. This...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Preservice Teachers, Beliefs, English (Second Language), Second Language Instruction,...
This article presents the outcomes of an investigation whose main goal was to implement the methodology of project work and a process approach in order to improve writing production in an English class of Colombian university students since their diagnostic tests showed that their written production had the lowest score. Based on data collected, four factors were developed in the process of learning to write when project work and the writing process method are implemented: accuracy, fluency,...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Foreign Countries, Student Projects, Writing Skills, English (Second Language),...
This literature review surveys fifty years of English language teaching scholarship on the topic of culture teaching. The review segments the available literature according to decade and applies two guiding questions to each resource found: "How is culture defined" and "What does culture teaching look like." The report of findings details how authors in each decade literature set define culture and culture teaching. Discussion of the findings offers general observations of...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Cultural Education, Literature Reviews, Scholarship, Definitions, Educational...
