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: motivación

Resumen:

Future second language (L2) self-images have proven integral to L2 motivation, prompting several attempts to purposefully develop learners’ ideal L2 selves over the past decade through the use of vision-building techniques. Some of these ‘vision interventions’ have reported successfully enhancing learners’ L2 self-images and motivation; other studies, however, diverge from an unqualified success narrative, citing for example a lack of increase in learner effort despite stronger future vision. Data collection has also been typically restricted to the period of the intervention itself, and so insight into the long-term take-up of the introduced techniques, or how potential outcomes develop over time, remains limited. To gain further understanding into such issues, we have charted the evolving nature of the L2 vision intervention over...

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Tipo: artículo

Metodología: estudio empírico

Temas: enseñanza/aprendizaje de vocabulario

Resumen:

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This study examined the effects of involvement load-based tasks on vocabulary learning in a foreign language, as well as the extent to which task effects are predicted by learners’ metacognition (i.e. metacognitive knowledge and regulation). A total of 120 Chinese university students of English as a foreign language (EFL) were randomly assigned to four task conditions: (1) reading; (2) reading + gap-fill; (3) reading + writing; and (4) reading + writing with the use of a digital dictionary. The Vocabulary Knowledge Scale was adapted to measure condition effects. The Metacognitive Awareness Inventory was used to examine learners’ metacognitive knowledge and regulation. Results revealed that the...

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Tipo: artículo

Metodología: estudio empírico

Temas: factores afectivos

Resumen:

Test anxiety restricts learning achievement. Therefore, attention has been paid to individual factors (e.g. self-concept, strategic competence) that can help students reduce the detrimental effects of these factors on learning achievement. This focus leaves external variables such as teacher feedback underexplored. The current study examined whether teacher feedback has the potential to reduce the level of test anxiety and weaken its detrimental effect on students’ English achievement. This cross-sectional study involved 535 12th graders ( M age = 17.97, SD = .60, females = 54%) from a middle school in China. Two questionnaires were delivered to measure students’ test anxiety and perceived teacher feedback. Students’ English achievement was indicated with an in-house English exam. Data were analysed using structural equation modeling...

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Tipo: artículo

Metodología: estudio empírico

Temas: factores afectivos

Resumen:

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The relationship between foreign language anxiety (FLA) and foreign language enjoyment (FLE) experienced during a creative collaborative oral English-as-a-foreign-language task, and the relationships between FLE/FLA and task speech fluency were investigated. The task was performed by mid-intermediate/high-intermediate English learners ( N = 43) in groups and culminated in 2-minute monologues by every participant, the breakdown (the ratio and length of mid- and end-AS unit pauses) and speed (mean length of run, articulation rate, and phonation time ratio) utterance fluency of which was measured. The relationship between FLA and FLE fluctuated between task parts, form negligible to medium-strong...

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Tipo: artículo

Metodología: estudio empírico

Temas: adquisición de segundas lenguas

Resumen:

The maze task is an online activity in which participants continually select between two words to form grammatical sentences. This study investigated whether the maze task facilitates production and perception accuracy in English for Cambodian secondary-school learners. Participants ( N = 101) practiced target sentences in the maze task with either morphological or syntactic choices, whereas a control group practiced unrelated sentences. Learning within the task was assessed via error rates, response times, and the coefficient of variation across 10 rounds. Transfer was evaluated with time-pressured oral translation and grammaticality judgment tests (GJTs). Results showed evidence of proceduralization and automatization for the maze task itself, and all participants improved in both the oral tests and in perceiving morphological...

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Tipo: artículo

Metodología: estudio empírico

Temas: enfoque por tareas

Resumen:

This study investigates the effects of pre-task planning on English as a second language (ESL) learners’ engagement in oral tasks in the face-to-face real-time communication (FTF) and synchronous video-based computer-mediated communication (SvCMC) modes. A total of 36 ESL learners performed two decision-making tasks (with versus without pre-task planning) in dyads in the FTF or the SvCMC mode. Their oral discourse of tasks was analysed via seven indicators in terms of behavioral, cognitive and social engagement. Their emotional engagement was captured via an interview immediately after the task performance. As the results showed, pre-task planning did not significantly affect the learners’ behavioral, cognitive and social engagement in either the FTF or the SvCMC condition. In SvCMC, more negotiations on content were produced when...

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Tipo: artículo

Metodología: estudio empírico

Temas: feedback/retroalimentación

Resumen:

This study investigated the relationship between pre-service English-as-a-second-language (ESL) teachers’ pedagogical beliefs and their actual teaching practices. To determine the nature of this relationship, 99 teachers-in-training with little or no teaching experience were asked to complete a questionnaire seeking information about their teaching beliefs, particularly about oral corrective feedback (i.e. teachers’ responses to students’ language errors). The teachers’ responses were subjected to an exploratory factor analysis which revealed several dimensions underlying their beliefs. To examine how these beliefs affect classroom performance, 10 of the teachers were first asked to indicate how they would correct language errors illustrated in hypothetical (videotaped) classroom scenarios and were then observed teaching an authentic...

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Tipo: artículo

Metodología: estudio empírico

Temas: motivación

Resumen:

While motivational regulation strategies (MRSs) both as a core facet of self-regulated learning and as a pedagogical issue have attracted increasing attention from researchers and practitioners, what motivational regulation strategies learners of English as a foreign language (EFL) or English as a second language (ESL) tend to use and how these strategies may be associated with learner motivational beliefs in English learning remain under-researched. To fill this research gap, this study aims to contribute to a holistic understanding of Chinese EFL students’ use of MRSs and its relations to English learning motivational beliefs. Data were collected from 638 non-English major undergraduate students through two self-report questionnaires in a College English Course context. Results showed that students reported high frequency use of...

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Tipo: artículo

Metodología: estudio empírico

Temas: enseñanza/aprendizaje de lenguas

Resumen:

Researchers and teachers often invoke context to explain their particular research/teaching issues. However, definitions of context vary widely and the direct impact of the context is often unexplained. Based on research showing contextual differences in second language (L2) learner beliefs and interactional behaviors, the current project compared those factors in two distinct contexts: Chilean English as a foreign language (EFL) (n = 19) and Australian English as a second language (ESL) (n = 27) contexts. In this project, the learners completed a set of group discussion activities as part of their regular class work. They then completed a questionnaire pertaining to L2 motivation, perceptions of group work, and first language (L1) use. The group interaction data were analysed for: (1) the frequency of language-related episodes (LREs...

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