Tipo: artículo

Metodología: estudio empírico

Temas: factores afectivos

Resumen:

Learners’ anxiety has drawn widespread attention in the field of second language / foreign language (L2/FL) teaching and learning (e.g. classroom anxiety, communication (with foreigners) anxiety, and anxiety associated with the four macro-skills, namely listening, reading, speaking, and writing). However, this topic is under-explored in L2/FL public speaking (e.g. oral presentations in academic studies), in which anxiety is especially prominent. This study investigated the relationships between EFL (English as a foreign language) learners’ anxiety in public speaking, self-perceived pronunciation competence, and actual speaking proficiency. 176 tertiary-level EFL students in Hong Kong participated in this mixed-methods study using questionnaires and interviews. Overall, different aspects of self-perceived pronunciation were negatively...

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Tipo: artículo

Metodología: estudio empírico

Temas: enseñanza/aprendizaje de lenguas

Resumen:

Recently, a surge of scholarly attention has been paid to the impacts of Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools on second/foreign language (L2) education. Nonetheless, there is a lack of evidence on the role of AI-assisted robots or robot-assisted language learning (RALL) in English as a foreign language (EFL) students’ psycho-emotional factors and academic behaviors. To address this gap, drawing on the technology acceptance model (TAM), the present study probed into the impact of robot-assisted L2 education on Chinese EFL students’ classroom engagement and willingness to attend classes (WTAC). Two questionnaires were filled out by a sample of 155 students at the start and end of a four-month period of intervention. The participants were randomly assigned to a control group (n = 80) and an experimental group (n = 75). Robot-assisted...

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Tipo: artículo

Metodología: estudio empírico

Temas: pensamiento crítico

Resumen:

Focusing on multiple intelligence (MI) and critical thinking (CT), which are often thought to be the important factors in improving second language (L2) learners’ skills, has been the major concern of researchers in recent decades. This study investigated the (possible) relationship among MI, CT, and Iranian English as a foreign language (EFL) learners’ speaking skill. Seventy intermediate participants were chosen from Shahrekord University, Iran, and a language institute in Yazd, Iran. To identify the participants’ MI profiles, the Persian translation of McKenzie’s MI Inventory Questionnaire was administered to the participants. Also, to determine the participants’ CT, the Persian translation of California CT Skill Test was used. Thereafter, the participants’ speaking skill was measured by the IELTS (International English Language...

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Tipo: artículo

Metodología: estudio empírico

Temas: feedback/retroalimentación

Resumen:

Although the learning benefits of peer feedback in English-as-a-foreign-language writing instruction have been well recognized, the process and effects of peer feedback are largely reliant on teacher agency in conducting such activities. However, inadequate research has been conducted on this issue, leaving the dynamic features and causes of teacher agency in peer feedback largely unknown. Drawing on an ecological perspective, this comparative case study examined how two English-as-a-foreign-language teachers from two universities enacted agency in organizing peer feedback activities in their writing instructions. Multiple data including classroom observation, interviews and relevant teaching documents were collected and coded for themes. The study revealed that both teachers exerted dynamic agency in creating peer feedback...

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Tipo: artículo

Metodología: estudio empírico

Temas: factores afectivos

Resumen:

This quantitative study examines whether and to what extent affective factors (i.e. motivation, self-confidence, risk-taking, L2 speaking anxiety, and grit) and virtual intercultural experiences are linked to willingness to communicate in a second language (L2 WTC) in in-class, out-of-class, and digital settings. Participants included 176 Korean undergraduate and graduate students of English as a foreign language (EFL). After adjusting for demographic factors, hierarchical regression analyses revealed three major results: first, those with higher levels of L2 motivation and grit as well as a lower level of L2 speaking anxiety had higher L2 WTC inside the classroom. Second, students who majored in English and had higher levels of L2 self-confidence and risk-taking had higher L2 WTC outside the classroom. Third, individuals who were...

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Tipo: artículo

Metodología: estudio empírico

Temas: enfoque por tareas

Resumen:

In the literature on task-based language teaching (TBLT), task repetition and task rehearsal have frequently been used interchangeably. However, this distinction, identified as potentially significant (Ellis, 2019), is noteworthy due to the potential impact of participants’ awareness of future repetitions on second language (L2) task performance. Given the lack of empirical exploration regarding task repetition and task rehearsal distinction in the context of L2 writing, this study investigates how task rehearsal and task repetition affect the narrative and argumentative writing performances of 120 students of English as a second language (ESL) from a U.S. university. They were randomly assigned to four groups. Groups 1 and 3 wrote the narrative text initially, repeated the same task, and then proceeded to write the argumentative text...

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Tipo: artículo

Metodología: estudio empírico

Temas: multimodalidad

Resumen:

In response to the growing prevalence of online second language learning and the burgeoning field of international Chinese language education, this study examines the impact of multimodal inputs (MMI) on vocabulary acquisition within online environments among learners of Chinese as a second language (CSL). A teaching intervention was conducted with 90 Mongolian CSL learners, who were grouped into audiovisual, audio, and visual groups. The findings indicate that the audiovisual condition significantly improved vocabulary retention compared to the single-modality conditions in a delayed post-test. Nevertheless, the efficacy of the MMI treatment was observed to vary with learners’ proficiency levels, with beginner-level CSL learners deriving greater benefit from MMI than intermediate-level learners. Furthermore, participants expressed...

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Tipo: artículo

Metodología: estudio empírico

Temas: interacción

Resumen:

This classroom study investigated the effectiveness of form-focused instruction and peer feedback training to improve grammatical accuracy and thereby maximize learning opportunities during peer interaction. Eighty-seven third-semester learners of German were assigned to a PI group (peer interaction only), an FFI group (peer interaction and form-focused instruction), or a PFT group (peer interaction, form-focused instruction, and peer feedback training). During an instructional intervention over 3 class periods, participants in all 3 groups engaged in the same peer interaction activities, but only the FFI group and the PFT group received form-focused instruction on the grammatical target structure, the German present perfect tense. Critically, only the PFT group was trained to provide corrective feedback to peers. Results from a...

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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: expresión oral

Resumen:

Language learning activities involving time-pressured repetition of similar content have been shown to facilitate improvements in fluency. However, concerns have been voiced about whether these gains might be offset by reduced levels of grammatical accuracy. This descriptive study tracked the oral proficiency of 32 Japanese university students enrolled in English as a foreign language (EFL) classes over one academic semester during which they regularly completed 3/2/1 fluency development activities. Measures of complexity, accuracy, and fluency (CAF) were analysed to investigate whether any developmental patterns could be identified. The results indicated that over the semester, the students made small, but significant gains in two fluency measures, the mean length of pause and the phonation/time ratio. Despite the relatively small...

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