Tipo: artículo

Metodología: estudio empírico

Temas: expresión escrita

Resumen:

This study explored how the iterative continuation task can be incorporated into a writing course in a setting for English as a foreign language (EFL). It investigated the effectiveness of the iterative continuation task in influencing senior high school students’ writing performance and their writing attitudes. Eighty-four year-one students from a China’s provincial senior high school participated in the study. They were divided into two groups: an experimental group and a control group, each consisting of 42 students. The experimental group was subjected to six turns of reading–writing continuation tasks, whereas the control group continued with the previous practice of a single turn of reading–writing continuation tasks. Data were collected from writing tests and questionnaires. The results show that the iterative continuation task...

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Tipo: artículo

Metodología: estudio empírico

Temas: disponibilidad léxica

Resumen:

Lexical availability studies provide valuable insights into learners’ breadth and depth of controlled productive vocabulary, and structure of their lexicon. Yet, little is known about the performance of different-L1 learners on different prompts. Likewise, this study compared the available lexicon of three different-L1 groups of learners of English as a foreign language (EFL) (L1-Persian, L1-Arabic, and L1-Turkish) to explore whether first language (L1) background and type of prompt (concrete vs. abstract) yield quantitative and qualitative differences in retrieving available lexicon. An online New Vocabulary Levels Test and a lexical availability task were administered to 116 tertiary different-L1 EFL learners. Studying concrete and abstract prompts would uncover the intricate cognitive processes in word processing and retrieval, and...

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Tipo: artículo

Metodología: estudio empírico

Temas: factores afectivos

Resumen:

The present study sought to understand the nature and level of foreign language (FL) anxiety among primary school students and the relationship between FL anxiety and FL achievement. Changes in FL anxiety across groups of three primary school years were also examined. A total of 631 (324 male, 307 female) primary school students aged 9–11 years completed the Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (FLCAS) that measured students’ FL anxiety. Our participants’ FL achievements as measured by low-stakes regular assessments and high-stakes formal examinations were also collected. On average, primary school students reported levels of FL anxiety comparable to those of adults observed in previous studies. Factor analysis on FLCAS generated four components of FL anxiety: communication apprehension, fear of negative evaluation, test anxiety...

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Tipo: artículo

Metodología: estudio empírico

Temas: comprensión oral

Resumen:

Few studies have explored the influence of a speaker’s accent and visual (facial and gestural) cues on second-language (L2) listening comprehension. The current mixed-methods between-groups design investigated: (1) the effects of accent and visual cues on Arab students’ comprehension of recorded lectures delivered by two speakers: first language (L1) American English and second language (L2) English (strong Vietnamese accent), (2) students’ assessments of the comprehensibility and English nativelikeness of the accents, and (3) students’ perceptions of and preferences for visual cues in communication. A total of 120 Arab university students were distributed across three stimulus conditions: auditory-visual (AV)-gesture-face, AV-face, and A-only within two accent conditions (L1, L2 English). Materials included: a listening comprehension...

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Tipo: artículo

Metodología: estudio empírico

Temas: factores afectivos

Resumen:

This article recounts my experience in enhancing my students’ boredom regulation by designing, implementing, and evaluating a strategy instruction project. The project was undertaken with 25 Thai university students enrolled in my English oral communication course for 15 weeks. The project began with exploring how and why my students experienced boredom in my classroom and their habitual boredom coping strategies while examining and modifying the initial design of my strategy instruction. Between weeks 8 and 12, I implemented five boredom regulation strategy sessions by using reappraisals and boredom coping as key components. Students engaged in guided practice, developed their own boredom regulation strategy toolkit, shared their ideas with peers, and reflected on their strategy use. Triangulating data from whole-class surveys, focus...

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Tipo: artículo

Metodología: estudio empírico

Temas: factores afectivos

Resumen:

Although research into emotions has flourished in second language (L2) / foreign language (FL) learning in recent decades, few attempts have been made to examine learners as clusters based on their emotional profiles. The current study set out to first investigate the nature of 98 Grade-4-to-5 English as a foreign language (EFL) learners’ emotional profiles, as represented by classroom anxiety, boredom, and enjoyment. The hierarchical clustering analysis revealed three distinct profiles: Negative Emotion (NE; 21.43%), High Enjoyment (HE; 46.93%), and high in both Enjoyment and Anxiety (EA; 31.63%). We then analysed FL motivation and family background (household income and parental education) between the three groups. We also compared the FL proficiency levels (listening, reading, speaking, and writing) between the three groups from...

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Tipo: artículo

Metodología: estudio empírico

Temas: feedback/retroalimentación

Resumen:

In many compulsory second language (L2) classrooms, learners routinely encounter linguistically difficult L2 reading tasks. However, it is unclear (1) how learners behaviorally engage and perform on such tasks, (2) what motivational characteristics predict their reactions, and (3) whether maladaptive learner reactions can be ameliorated. This study examined the role of two motivational constructs (attributions and self-efficacy) and a common teaching practice (effort feedback) in predicting and ameliorating learners’ behavioral engagement and performance on linguistically difficult L2 reading tasks. Japanese high school students ( N = 238) studying English were recruited for an experimental study and randomly assigned to either the treatment group (n = 124) or the comparison group (n = 114). Both groups first performed a...

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Tipo: artículo

Metodología: propuesta didáctica

Temas: literatura

Resumen:

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En el momento actual, ya casi nadie parece poner en duda la utilidad de los textos literarios en la enseñanza y aprendizaje de una lengua extranjera. En el presente artículo, utilizamos un conjunto de textos literarios situados en la ciudad de Valencia (España), con lo cuales proponemos al alumnado actividades que mejoren, por un lado, sus destrezas lingüísticas y, por otro, les ayuden a apreciar las características del texto literario.

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Tipo: artículo

Metodología: estudio empírico

Temas: comprensión lectora

Resumen:

While online lexical analysis tools can help reading teachers determine whether materials are suitable for their students of English as a second language, one aspect of the analysis that teachers may be unsure how to approach is proper names. It is commonly assumed in second language (L2) vocabulary and reading research that proper names are known, though there is little empirical support for this assumption. This study investigates how L2 readers handle proper names in continuous text. Japanese readers of English ( N = 49) were given texts of varying difficulty, and asked to mark any unknown vocabulary. Choosing from marked vocabulary, participants listed items to check in a dictionary. It was found that participants did mark proper names as unknown vocabulary. A Chi-square test of independence indicated a significant dependence...

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Tipo: artículo

Metodología: estudio empírico

Temas: enfoque por tareas

Resumen:

This study investigated the relationship between task-based teacher training and novice English language teachers’ cognitions and implementations of tasks in Honduran bilingual schools. After participating in a four-week training program on task-based language teaching, teachers with little or no prior teaching experience designed task-based lessons and were video-recorded implementing those lessons with English language learners ages 5 to 12. Following the classroom observation, teachers participated in a stimulated recall interview. A rubric aligned with 10 key principles of task-based language teaching (TBLT) as outlined by Long (2015) was used to rate teachers’ performance and code stimulated recalls. Ratings of video observations showed varied success in TBLT implementation after training, with some teachers’ lessons clearly...

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