Tipo: artículo

Metodología: estudio empírico

Temas: aprendizaje basado en proyectos

Resumen:

Developing critical thinking skills (CTS) and reading comprehension ability (RCA) is crucial for English as a foreign language (EFL) learners, yet many struggle with these cognitive competencies. Although project-based learning (PBL) has been widely recognized for its pedagogical benefits, existing research has primarily focused on quantitative evidence of its effectiveness, with limited understanding of the underlying mechanisms through which PBL fosters these skills. Moreover, few studies have explored how PBL supports CTS and RCA development in Chinese college EFL contexts. To address these gaps, this study explores how PBL facilitates the development of CTS and RCA by employing a qualitative case study approach. Data were collected through in-depth interviews, classroom observations, and journals. Purposive sampling with maximum...

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Tipo: artículo

Metodología: trabajo teórico

Temas: metodología de investigación

Resumen:

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El presente artículo pretende hacer una revisión de la experiencia de la autora durante el periodo de doctorado entre 2016 y 2018, de los escollos que surgieron durante el mismo y la reflexión metodológica que estos desencadenaron. Se presentan las características del proyecto y el diseño de investigación, con referencia a los principios generales de la investigación etnometodológica de lenguas extranjeras, así como a los aspectos concretos de recopilación de datos, del aprendizaje de lenguas como complejo constructo de factores y de los modelos de persona en la investigación de lenguas extranjeras.

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Tipo: artículo

Metodología: estudio empírico

Temas: motivación

Resumen:

Directed motivational currents (DMCs) are portrayed as highly intense and prolonged periods of motivation oriented to a much-desired goal of personal significance. While we have seen a recent growth in studies examining aspects of DMCs, evidence on the negative side-effects of DMCs remains inadequate to date. In response to repeated calls for research into this area, we conducted a qualitative study to scrutinize the negative side-effects of DMCs as experienced by 5 trainee teachers of English as a foreign language (EFL) in Turkey. The database comprised in-depth, semi-structured interviews carried out twice per participant. Interview transcripts were analysed in line with the principles of interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA). The findings suggest that the negative side-effects of DMCs manifest themselves as showing signs...

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Tipo: artículo

Metodología: estudio empírico

Temas: colocaciones

Resumen:

This study investigated the effects of different retrieval formats on the acquisition and processing automaticity of second language (L2) verb–noun collocations. Chinese learners of English completed retrieval practice that included a familiarization stage (using flashcards and form–meaning matching practice) and two spaced retrieval attempts (i.e. verb-retrieval-twice, noun-retrieval-twice, verb/noun-retrieval-once) with corrective feedback for each target collocation. In near-immediate and one-week delayed posttests, the acquisition of L2 collocations was assessed by an off-line form recall task (explicit knowledge), and the processing automaticity was operationalized as collocation processing advantage (automatized-explicit knowledge) in an online acceptability judgment task and collocation priming (implicit knowledge) in an online...

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Tipo: artículo

Metodología: estudio empírico

Temas: factores afectivos

Resumen:

Effective learning strategies have been proven to be advantageous to lower learners’ foreign language anxiety (FLA) and improve their language proficiency. However, many studies have devoted to students’ learning strategies but ignored the important role of teachers in reducing FLA. In addition, the effectiveness of the FLA-reducing strategies proposed by these studies has rarely been verified in natural classroom environment. The present study was conducted to explore the systematic effects of the teaching strategies on FLA after constructing a 34-item observation instrument Teaching Strategies Intervention Scale (TSIS), and investigated the changes of 306 English as a foreign language (EFL) graduate students’ English learning anxiety levels influenced by the anxiety-reducing teaching strategies in China. Results showed that the...

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Tipo: artículo

Metodología: estudio empírico

Temas: motivación

Resumen:

Adopting a quasi-experimental design, this study investigated the effects of motivational interventions on second language (L2) willingness to communicate (WTC), self-confidence, and anxiety over a period of 27 weeks. A total of 391 Chinese junior secondary students were assigned to four instructional conditions: Instruction incorporating no motivational strategies (control condition), instruction supported by experience-related motivational strategies (Intervention 1), instruction utilizing vision-related motivational strategies (Intervention 2), and instruction drawing on experience-related and vision-related motivational strategies (Intervention 3). The effects of the interventions were assessed through measures administered at three timepoints to track changes in participants’ WTC, self-confidence, and anxiety. A combination of...

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Tipo: artículo

Metodología: estudio empírico

Temas: inteligencia artificial

Resumen:

This study investigates the effects of generative pre-trained transformer (GPT) generated vs. human-written moral dilemma stories on English as a foreign language (EFL) learners’ speaking skills, storytelling ability, and behavioral regulation, framed within the theoretical context of embodied cognition. A total of 120 university students were divided into two groups: the experimental group, which engaged with GPT-generated moral dilemma stories, and the control group, which worked with human-authored moral dilemma stories. Over an 11-week experimental period (including pre-test, 10-week intervention, and post-test), each group was exposed to weekly dilemma stories, followed by speaking assessments using IELTS Part 2 tasks. Analysis of covariance results demonstrated that the GPT group significantly outperformed the control group in...

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Tipo: artículo

Metodología: estudio empírico

Temas: aula invertida/flipped learning

Resumen:

This study investigates the effects of the flipped classroom approach on five aspects of written communicative competence of learners of English as a foreign language (EFL): lexis, syntax, cohesion, pragmatics, and discourse. It experimented on two groups of Chinese undergraduates in a regular college English course, using a flipped learning approach on one group and a traditional lecture approach on the other. The results from a pre-test and post-test revealed that the flipped approach had differential effects on the aforementioned five sub-competencies. More specifically, the flipped group’s overall performance was better than the control group in the post-test, indicating an overall positive role of the flipped approach on EFL learners’ development of communicative competence. However, significant group differences were found only...

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Tipo: artículo

Metodología: estudio empírico

Temas: inteligencia artificial

Resumen:

The integration of artificial intelligence (AI) writing tools in second language (L2) academic writing presents both opportunities and challenges for medical education. This study employed a SWOT (strengths–weaknesses–opportunities–threats) analysis to examine medical students’ perspectives on using AI writing tools in their academic writing practice. Forty-two medical students from a major Iranian university participated in the study, providing weekly reflections and a final SWOT analysis over a 15-week academic writing course. Thematic analysis revealed that AI writing tools offer significant strengths in linguistic skill development, particularly in academic vocabulary enhancement, sentence improvement, and grammar and proofreading. However, weaknesses such as over-reliance on AI, lack of contextual understanding, and occasional...

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Tipo: artículo

Metodología: estudio empírico

Temas: AICLE/CLIL

Resumen:

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This study examines the effectiveness of content and language integrated learning (CLIL) in primary school English teaching, focusing its impact on the English learning ability and interest of lower-grade students. Two hundred and forty first-grade students were selected from three primary schools in Shenzhen (115 in the experimental group and 125 in the control group) for a one-week intervention. Results showed that students in the experimental group significantly outperformed those in the control group in terms of English learning ability, maintaining a stable advantage across three tests. Additionally, the experimental group’s learning interest increased significantly from pre-test to post-...

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