Tipo: artículo

Metodología: estudio empírico

Temas: comprensión lectora

Resumen:

The aim of this experiment was to investigate how glossing influences second language (L2)reading comprehension in relation to text difficulty and the two local and global meaning representations. Fifty-eight undergraduate students were asked to read three easy, moderate, and difficult texts and, following each passage, answer twenty comprehension questions targeting local and global concepts in one of the two first-language-glossed and unglossed conditions. Half of the participants in each group were supposed to think aloud while reading. The results revealed a significant difference between the performance of glossed and unglossed groups on comprehension of local concepts in all three difficulty levels. However, the impact of glossing on comprehension of global concepts was significantly influenced by text difficulty. The...

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Tipo: artículo

Metodología: estudio empírico

Temas: inclusión y equidad

Resumen:

Framed within cognitive and sociocultural perspectives on second language learning, which draws together individual, social and environmental factors, this phenomenological qualitative study aims to shed some light on the largely unknown reality of Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) in rural multigrade classrooms as clear evidence of diversity within diversity, with a particular focus on English as a foreign language (EFL) teachers’ self-reported pedagogical practices and challenges. An ecological perspective on foreign language education, based on complexity theory, is adopted to understand the complex and dynamic relationships and interactions between language learners and the learning environment. While a qualitative approach was employed using open-ended questions, the content analysis technique was applied during the...

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Tipo: artículo

Metodología: estudio empírico

Temas: expresión escrita

Resumen:

This study investigated the effect of consistent freewriting practice on written fluency development. Thirty-nine first-year university students completed 70 10-minute freewriting activities over the course of an academic semester. Written fluency, measured as words produced per minute (wpm), increased from a mean of 19.5 wpm to 30.1 wpm over a period of 15 weeks. Further analysis revealed statistically significant gains over two-week intervals. The participants also wrote three timed TOEFL-style essays at the beginning, middle, and end of the semester to see whether fluency gains transferred to more structured contexts. The results showed a statistically significant increase in written output on the timed essays, along with an increase in holistic scores. Findings indicate that consistent freewriting can result in rapid and...

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Tipo: artículo

Metodología: estudio empírico

Temas: enseñanza/aprendizaje de lenguas

Resumen:

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This study investigates an eTandem virtual exchange program designed for Korean and English language learners to enhance their target language proficiency and intercultural understanding. The program was implemented through synchronous Zoom sessions between 31 Korean learners at a U.S. state university (U-A) and 32 learners of English as a foreign language (EFL) at a Korean science and engineering university (U-K). Program effectiveness and participant satisfaction were assessed through student questionnaires and professor interviews. Findings indicate that 89.3% of U-A participants felt the program was beneficial for improving their Korean language skills, while 77.3% of U-K participants...

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Tipo: artículo

Metodología: estudio empírico

Temas: uso de la L1 en el aula

Resumen:

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Reflecting the important role of collaborative dialogue in second language (L2) learning, collaborative writing tasks have been widely used in L2 classrooms to help students gain new knowledge and consolidate their existing knowledge about how the target language works. Although use of the first language (L1) during peer interaction has been criticized (Levine, 2003; Unamuno, 2008), collaborative dialogue research has identified how L1 English use serves several important sociocognitive functions and supports knowledge mediation in foreign language classrooms (Swain & Lapkin, 2013). This study also examines the sociocognitive functions served by English in an L2 French classroom but compares...

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Tipo: artículo

Metodología: estudio empírico

Temas: pronunciación

Resumen:

Shadowing is a technique that has been shown to significantly improve English language learners’ (ELLs) oral fluency and comprehensibility. However, previous research showing dramatic gains over time for ELLs has varied in design, with some studies including control groups and others not, thus complicating interpretations of efficacy. These studies have also been conducted in English and other languages with attention to advanced-level ELLs and beginning-level ELLs. Additional research is needed to provide insight into the effect of shadowing on intermediate learners, as well as using treatment and control groups to get a more accurate picture of identified changes in fluency, comprehensibility, accentedness, and imitative ability. A ten-week quasi-experimental study of text shadowing practice was conducted with intermediate-level...

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Tipo: artículo

Metodología: estudio empírico

Temas: uso de la L1 en el aula

Resumen:

The present study examined the interaction effects between teachers’ choice of language in lexical explanation and second language (L2) learners’ proficiency level on the learning of phrasal verbs and listening comprehension in a meaning-focused listening activity. Undergraduate L2 learners with two different levels of proficiency (intermediate and advanced) were assigned to three different conditions. These conditions included (1) code-switching, in which teachers briefly switched to learners’ first language for vocabulary teaching purposes, (2) L2-only, in which teachers maintained L2 for overall instruction and vocabulary teaching, and (3) control condition, in which learners were not given instruction about target vocabulary. The results revealed that teachers’ instruction about target vocabulary brought about more gains in...

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Tipo: artículo

Metodología: estudio empírico

Temas: factores afectivos

Resumen:

This study examined out-of-school oral willingness to communicate (WTC) in two modes of communication – face-to-face (FtF) and digital – among secondary school students of English as a foreign language (EFL) in Poland and Spain. It also examined the associations between affective factors and intercultural sensitivity with WTC in both settings. A total of 1,480 students from 17 schools in Poland and 1,128 students from 11 schools in Spain participated in this study. The study found that learners from both national contexts shared extremely similar levels of out-of-class oral WTC in the two settings. After controlling for sociodemographic factors (age, gender, socioeconomic status, and relative self-assessed spoken competence), hierarchical regression analyses revealed that Foreign Classroom Language Anxiety (FLCA), Foreign Language...

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Tipo: artículo

Metodología: estudio empírico

Temas: AICLE/CLIL

Resumen:

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The purported foreign language gains of content and language integrated learning (CLIL) over traditional EFL (English as a foreign language) programs with young learners are still unclear. Specifically, little is known about how CLIL time and timing impact grammatical complexity. Additionally, mediating factors such as socioeconomic status (SES) and extramural exposure have been rarely controlled in the existing literature. This study analysed grammatical complexity in four groups of young learners in Spain (n = 108) during an oral task. The sample comprised: (1) an EFL-only group (1,766 EFL hours), (2) a low-exposure CLIL group (1,766 EFL hours + 707 CLIL hours), (3) a high-exposure CLIL group (...

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Tipo: artículo

Metodología: estudio empírico

Temas: aprendizaje colaborativo

Resumen:

Pair dynamics has received much attention in collaborative writing (CW) research. Prior research on the link between pair dynamics and L2 learning opportunities (often operationalized as language related episodes; LREs) in CW has primarily focused on the quantity, length, and outcome of LREs, but rarely considered the quality of the LREs. Also, scarce research has considered the fluctuating nature of pair dynamics and its impact on the L2 learning opportunities. This study employs an approach of detecting pair dynamics that accounts for its fluid nature to investigate how learners’ collaboration in various aspects of CW may influence the quantity, quality, focus, and outcome of the LREs in CW tasks by intermediate L2 learners. Results indicated that while discussion on task management and organization generally took up a limited...

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