Tipo: artículo

Metodología: estudio empírico

Temas: factores afectivos

Resumen:

This qualitative study explores learners’ perceptions of the sources of language anxiety in Chinese as a second language (L2) learning in online environments, and how they cope with it. Nine participants, all of whom experienced high levels of L2 anxiety, were selected from a group enrolled in synchronous online Chinese classes during the Covid-19 pandemic. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and analysed using thematic analysis. The findings reveal that learning languages online presents a unique anxiety-provoking situation, resulting in several distinctive sources of L2 anxiety, such as a lack of self-discipline, difficulty adjusting to the transition, fear of online exposure, unnatural online environment for interaction, etc. In response, learners employed a variety of strategies, such as snacking, reviewing...

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Tipo: artículo

Metodología: estudio empírico

Temas: mediación

Resumen:

After the publication of the CEFR Companion Volume in 2018, a revision of the curriculum in force for the English subject in the Bilingual Sections in the Community of Madrid has been implemented. One of the main changes is the inclusion of the concept of linguistic mediation in the subject ‘Advanced English’ in the last stage of secondary education. In an attempt to understand how linguistic mediation strategies and activities are being developed in real classroom contexts, this study has focused on teachers’ perceptions of linguistic mediation. A questionnaire and a focus group were used to examine teachers’ understanding and awareness of linguistic mediation, as well as the type of mediation activities that are relevant for their students and the extent to which they include linguistic mediation activities and strategies in their...

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Tipo: artículo

Metodología: estudio empírico

Temas: materiales didácticos

Resumen:

While the importance of materials in second language (L2) learning and instruction has been widely acknowledged, research on how materials mediate classroom interactions are still relatively scarce. This, however, is crucial considering the complex interplay among teacher, students and materials in classroom interactions. The study investigates this issue from an ecological perspective, regarding students’ learning through material use as holistic, dynamic, and emergent. Multiple data were collected combining classroom discourse analysis with students’ reflection and interview data. Findings revealed that: (1) different materials catalyse different patterns of classroom interactions as well as teacher and students’ talk; and that (2) while students tended to be more expressive in texts that are personally relevant, texts with literary...

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Tipo: artículo

Metodología: estudio empírico

Temas: AICLE/CLIL

Resumen:

Content and language integrated learning (CLIL) requires a synthesis of language and content teaching. However, language teachers who are employed to teach CLIL may lack the preparation and knowledge to teach other curriculum subjects. It is therefore necessary to understand how language CLIL teachers make subject-specific language comprehensible to students when they themselves are unfamiliar with subject-specific terms and concepts. However, no research has yet been conducted to explore this in the Thai context. To address this gap, this article presents the findings of a qualitative study exploring pre-service teachers’ use of language modification as negotiation of meaning (NoM) strategies to make accessible subject-specific terms or concepts in the target language to students. Data are drawn from language-driven CLIL classroom...

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Tipo: artículo

Metodología: estudio empírico

Temas: enseñanza/aprendizaje de lenguas

Resumen:

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Drama-based pedagogy (DBP) has been proposed as a way to enhance learner engagement, performance, and motivation, particularly in contexts where opportunities to practice English are limited, such as the context of this study: a small, private college in a second-tier Chinese city. This study employed a mixed methods concurrent case study design to investigate DBP’s benefits, challenges, and relationship to motivation. Quantitative data were collected through a motivational questionnaire based on the second language motivational self system (L2MSS) and international posture (IP) models, administered to 31 participants after a semester-long DBP course. Qualitative data were gathered through...

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Tipo: artículo

Metodología: estudio empírico

Temas: comprensión lectora

Resumen:

Myriad studies have been conducted to test the benefits of extensive reading (ER) on second language (L2) acquisition, while limited research has addressed or sought solutions to the unpopularity of ER in L2 classrooms, especially in secondary teaching contexts. With the aim of exploring both teachers’ and students’ perceptions and practice of ER, this study reports on two reading programmes carried out in Chinese secondary schools with variations in educational development, teacher training opportunities, and students’ overall competence. Data were collected from a student questionnaire survey (n = 86), two interviews with teacher participants (n = 2), and one interview with student participants (n = 9), teachers’ reflective journals, and various documents related to the reading programmes. Thematic analysis was adopted to analyse...

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Tipo: artículo

Metodología: estudio empírico

Temas: enfoque por tareas

Resumen:

This qualitative study examined factors mediating a novice’s and an experienced English as a foreign language (EFL) teacher’s different adherence to critical components based on a tentative framework of fidelity of implementation (FoI) for task-based language teaching (TBLT). The 18-week study involved two teachers and 109 students at a Chinese University. Qualitative findings suggested that, compared with the experienced teacher, the novice teacher implemented with lower fidelity to three pedagogical principles, encouraging inductive (“chunk”) learning, focusing on form and providing negative feedback. Elicited data from observation logs and interviews indicated that factors influencing the teachers’ variation entailed their beliefs, teaching experience, and teacher–student relationship. Implications for upskilling and supporting...

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Tipo: artículo

Metodología: estudio empírico

Temas: factores afectivos

Resumen:

Teacher enthusiasm is attracting growing attention in educational and learner psychology research. There is evidence that teacher enthusiasm is contagious in class and positively affects student emotions. Their fundamental role in shaping student engagement has also been well documented. However, the links – between teacher enthusiasm and student emotions, and between student emotions and engagement – remain underexplored in instructed second language acquisition. The present study adopted a mixed-method approach to examine the complex relationships between perceived teacher enthusiasm, emotions (enjoyment and boredom), and social-behavioral learning engagement among 2,002 learners of English as a foreign language (EFL) from 11 universities in China. Quantitative analyses showed small to large correlations between perceived teacher...

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Tipo: artículo

Metodología: estudio empírico

Temas: diferencias individuales

Resumen:

Although the number of studies into grit in second/foreign language (L2) learning is on the rise, available empirical evidence is still scant, particularly in relation to links between the two facets of (L2) grit (i.e. perseverance and interest), positive (i.e. enjoyment, curiosity) and negative (i.e. in-class and after-class boredom, anxiety) emotions as well as motivation. In addition, most research has been quantitative in nature and has mainly targeted Asian contexts. In order to fill these gaps, a mixed-methods study was undertaken among English majors and English student teachers in Hungary. It aimed to: (1) characterize the participants in terms of the variables under investigation, (2) identify their profiles in relation to general grit and L2 grit, and (3) determine the differences between the identified clusters with respect...

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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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