Tipo: artículo

Metodología: revisión bibliográfica

Temas: enseñanza en línea e híbrida

Resumen:

This systematic review examines existing empirical second language studies on the approaches to conceptualizing and measuring online second language learner engagement in technology-mediated second-language learning/teaching settings, identifying strengths and limitations of current measures and outlining potential improvements. Using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) procedure, we conducted a systematic review of empirical studies on online second language learner engagement. The review focused on several key areas, including the characteristics of second language research investigating online learner engagement, the ways in which the concept of online learner engagement is conceptualized, the indicators used to operationalize it, and the primary areas of focus and key findings emerging...

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Tipo: artículo

Metodología: estudio empírico

Temas: enseñanza/aprendizaje de vocabulario

Resumen:

This study investigated the influence of practice distribution (i.e. spacing between practice sessions) on successful vocabulary learning by examining two different time distributions, i.e. 1-day spacing (1-DS) vs. 7-day spacing (7-DS) using a freely available computer-assisted language learning programme (Quizlet). The study achieved high ecological validity through a classroom-based study with low proficiency second language (L2) English language learners at an Omani college of technology. The sample consisted of 96 participants in control (n = 33), 1-DS (n = 34) and 7-DS (n = 29) groups. The control group was a test-only group with no explicit practice activities for the target words (34 nouns). Meanwhile, the 1-DS group (one day spacing between each practice session) and 7-DS group (seven day spacing between each practice session...

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Tipo: artículo

Metodología: estudio empírico

Temas: español como lengua de herencia

Resumen:

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This study explores the cognitive processing of discourse construction mechanisms in Spanish, focusing on counter-argumentative relations that involve anaphoric encapsulation through either pronominal (e.g., a pesar de ello) or lexical forms (e.g., a pesar de [NP]). These constructions combine procedural meaning with referential retrieval, placing complex demands on discourse integration. Using eye-tracking data from 77 participants across three speaker groups, namely, L1, heritage, and L2 speakers, this study yields three main findings: (1) nominal expressions do not incur greater processing effort than pronominal ones under optimal communicative conditions; (2) heritage and L2 speakers exhibit higher processing...

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Tipo: artículo

Metodología: estudio empírico

Temas: evaluación

Resumen:

Diagnostic language assessment has received increased research interest in recent years, with particular attention on methods through which diagnostic information can be gleaned from standardized proficiency tests. However, diagnostic procedures in the broader sense have been inadequately theorized to date, with the result that there is still little agreement on precisely what diagnosis in second and foreign language learning actually entails. In order to address this problem, this article investigated how diagnosis is theorized and carried out in a diverse range of professions with a view to finding commonalities that can be applied to the context of language assessment. Ten semi-structured interviews were conducted with professionals from the fields of car mechanics, IT systems support, medicine, psychology and education. Data were...

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Tipo: artículo

Metodología: estudio empírico

Temas: factores afectivos

Resumen:

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The majority of recent research studies show the emotional state of language learners at the onset of the Covid-19. Although the language students themselves identified issues limiting their learning, such as lack of interaction, lack of motivation and feedback, isolation, problems with the Internet, language teachers have admitted their concerns about students learning and confessed to being flexible, tolerant, and more humane. Today, there is a need to follow up on those student issues regarding their language learning beyond the Spring of 2020. This paper sheds light on the evolution of life, emotions, and wellbeing of the students, and their language learning beyond the rapid...

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Tipo: artículo

Metodología: estudio empírico

Temas: prosodia

Resumen:

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Little research has been carried out on L2 acted emotional speech, either from the production or from the perceptual point of view (Pellegrino and Maffia, 2016), which may be due to the widespread acceptance of the theory that states that a second language is less emotional for the late learner than the L1 (Harris, 2004). Whether this emotional distance is due to the lack of emotion in the contexts where a second language is acquired (Ivaz et al., 2016) or not, the communicative competence of L2 speakers also depends on their ability to convey the emotions they intend to convey when communicating in L2. Several authors have recently studied the specific acoustic cues of L1 Spanish...

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Tipo: artículo

Metodología: revisión bibliográfica

Temas: metodología de investigación

Resumen:

Scholars and community members have long utilized participatory action research (PAR) to strategize local efforts to address real-world problems across various disciplines, including education. Applied linguistics and language education have also embraced and echoed the PAR tenets that situate the locus of knowledge production within local communities, aiming to co-construct ethical praxis for socially just change. However, there are few methodological syntheses of PAR studies in additional language education, despite ongoing calls to promote such a democratic research methodology to effect societal change. Aiming to bring greater methodological clarity regarding PAR in language education research, this article reviews methodological issues, synthesizing PAR in theory and PAR in practice. Drawing on a methodological review approach,...

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Tipo: artículo

Metodología: estudio empírico

Temas: comprensión oral

Resumen:

With the advancements in technology and a growing number of mobile/computer-accessed platforms, opportunities for spoken foreign language (FL) exposure have increased considerably. While some learners seize these opportunities to engage in FL listening beyond the classroom (e.g., watching FL movies), others remain demotivated to do so. This mixed-methods study set out to examine 275 Grade-10-to-12 English-as-a-FL (EFL) learners' motivation and perceptions based on the amount of voluntary English listening they engaged with outside class. The findings from the e-questionnaire revealed that most participants had little-to-some such exposure. Through the lens of self-determination theory, we found that those having a lot of exposure showed the highest (FL listening) intrinsic motivation; however, it was the little-to-some group that...

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Tipo: artículo

Metodología: estudio empírico

Temas: enseñanza/aprendizaje de vocabulario

Resumen:

We investigated whether learning and retaining vocabulary in a second language (L2) can be improved by leveraging a combination of memory enhancement techniques. Specifically, we tested whether combining retrieval practice, spacing, and related manipulations in a 'multidomain' pedagogical approach enhances vocabulary acquisition as compared to a typical learning approach. In a classroom-laboratory design, 48 Turkish university students studying L2 English were trained on 64 English words over 17 days. They were assigned to either a 'typical' study regimen of (re)studying the words on the first day (initial study) and last day (cramming) of training, or an 'optimized' regimen of retrieval practice (retrieving the words), moreover with feedback, spaced throughout the period, moreover with expanding gaps. The target words were tested...

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Tipo: artículo

Metodología: estudio empírico

Temas: adquisición de segundas lenguas

Resumen:

This study addresses the acquisition of second language (L2) Spanish grammatical gender by native speakers of two typologically different languages: English (n = 39) and Russian (n = 37). We aim to explore if the presence or absence of gender features in the first language (L1) influences the acquisition of Spanish grammatical gender. Participants completed an acceptability judgment task consisting of 40 sentences with grammatical and ungrammatical Spanish Determiner Phrases (DPs). They included masculine and feminine Ns (Nouns) with transparent or opaque endings. Our findings show that (1) both groups are sensitive to gender non-matching structures, although L1 Russian speakers gave the lowest scores to ungrammatical structures in Spanish; (2) higher rating scores to masculine matching DPs point to the use of masculine as default by...

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