Tipo: artículo

Metodología: estudio empírico

Temas: enseñanza/aprendizaje de vocabulario

Resumen:

This article aims to uncover how alignment affects second language (L2) vocabulary acquisition by Chinese-speaking learners of English as they interact with various interaction loads (i.e. input text, peers and video). It also explores how tasks with varying interactional intensity in relation to the interaction loads influence the alignment magnitude and vocabulary learning outcomes. To this end, two studies were conducted. In Study 1, three groups of L2 learners were instructed to learn and use the target words while performing paraphrase, summary or continuation task. The results indicated that task-induced interactional intensity had robust effects on alignment magnitude as well as receptive and productive lexical knowledge. In Study 2, three groups of L2 learners were asked to complete a continuation task while interacting with...

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Tipo: artículo

Metodología: estudio empírico

Temas: pragmática

Resumen:

We investigated the extent to which English learners developed knowledge of pragmatically-appropriate request-making forms through task-based gameplay involving virtual dialogues with fictional professors, employers, and friends on a virtual US campus. The digital game presents players with several scenarios, asking them to select the most appropriate dialogue option given a situation presented in both text and video. Depending on their dialogue choice, one of three videos plays depicting an authentic reaction to the option selected (e.g. happily accepting the request; refusing the request with dismay). Undergraduate students at a Chinese university (n = 105) played the game involving 10 hypothetical request-making scenarios. Two versions of the game were developed. In one version, participants were only given one opportunity to watch...

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Tipo: artículo

Metodología: estudio empírico

Temas: AICLE/CLIL

Resumen:

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This study examines the effectiveness of content and language integrated learning (CLIL) in primary school English teaching, focusing its impact on the English learning ability and interest of lower-grade students. Two hundred and forty first-grade students were selected from three primary schools in Shenzhen (115 in the experimental group and 125 in the control group) for a one-week intervention. Results showed that students in the experimental group significantly outperformed those in the control group in terms of English learning ability, maintaining a stable advantage across three tests. Additionally, the experimental group’s learning interest increased significantly from pre-test to post-...

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Tipo: artículo

Metodología: estudio empírico

Temas: enseñanza/aprendizaje de lenguas

Resumen:

High-stakes tests often report outcomes without shaping what learners do next. In large, CEFR-aligned English as a foreign language (EFL) programs, evidence is limited on whether brief, scheduled reflection can turn assessments into learning and improve calibration (alignment between self-ratings and scores). A sequential explanatory mixed-methods study was conducted with 389 tertiary learners who completed two midterm exams 8 weeks apart. The intervention combined pre-exam CEFR “can-do” self-ratings with a short, teacher-led dialogue, and nonparticipants served as a comparison group. Quantitatively, achievement was compared with ANCOVA (Exam 2 adjusted for Exam 1), and calibration was tested per skill with χ²/Cramér’s V . Scores declined across the term in both groups, but the decline was smaller with reflection. Calibration patterns...

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Tipo: artículo

Metodología: estudio empírico

Temas: enseñanza/aprendizaje de vocabulario

Resumen:

This study investigates the effect of personal investment in the form of learner-generated content (LGC) on the lexical recall of beginning-level learners of Chinese. The study employed a 2 × 2 repeated-measures design with content at two levels – teacher-generated content or TGC, and learner-generated content or LGC – and time at two levels (immediate, delayed). Quantitative results were triangulated with qualitative thematic analyses of follow-up interviews. The study was conducted at an Australian university and aimed to identify a way of modifying current intentional vocabulary learning activities to increase learner investment in the learning process and improve retention. Participants completed two versions of a picture description activity that was commonly used to introduce and practice new vocabulary in the program. The first...

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Tipo: artículo

Metodología: estudio empírico

Temas: feedback/retroalimentación

Resumen:

Peer feedback has been widely used in English as a foreign language (EFL) writing classes, but its effect is highly variable and its quality and validity are often questioned by students as well as teachers. This research aims to explore the effects of teacher intervention on student use of different types of peer feedback and on their self-revision of writing texts. The study employed a quasi-experimental design with two experimental groups receiving either the teacher’s direct correction for erroneous peer feedback or indication of inaccurate peer feedback with symbols and a control group receiving no teacher intervention on peer feedback. One hundred and ten non-English major graduate students in three parallel writing classes participated in the study. The study lasted for one and a half months, during which the participants...

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Tipo: artículo

Metodología: estudio empírico

Temas: enfoques y métodos

Resumen:

Traditional English teaching in China is predominantly teacher-centered, which limits student engagement and reflective learning. Transformative learning theory (TLT) advocates a student-centered approach that fosters critical reflection and active participation, potentially enhancing English listening and speaking skills. This study examines the effectiveness of a TLT-based curriculum intervention in improving Chinese college students’ English proficiency. Using a quasi-experimental design, 135 freshmen at a comprehensive university in China participated in the study. The experimental group (EG) received a 10-week TLT-based curriculum, while the control group (CG) underwent traditional instruction. Language proficiency was assessed using the Cambridge English Language Assessment’s Preliminary English Test (PET), and multivariate...

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Tipo: artículo

Metodología: estudio empírico

Temas: feedback/retroalimentación

Resumen:

This study investigates whether gesture-enhanced recasts lead to better production of the English regular past tense. Fifty-nine low-intermediate ESL students at a US university took part in communicative activities in class, during which they received, respectively, no feedback, verbal recasts, or gesture-enhanced recasts, the latter being a verbal recast accompanied by a point-back gesture indicating the non-target-like use or absence of the past tense. All learners also completed two assessments, a grammar test about the regular past tense and an oral production test that was designed to elicit the regular past tense, as a pre-test, an immediate post-test, and a delayed post-test a week later. Then, a repeated-measure ANOVA was used to analyse the linguistic development, using the obtained test scores. The results showed that there...

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Tipo: artículo

Metodología: estudio empírico

Temas: comprensión oral

Resumen:

Focusing on the teaching of listening strategies to second language (L2) learners, this study sought to revisit Renandya and Farrell’s (2011) claims that explicit listening strategy instruction for lower-proficiency learners of English as a foreign language (EFL) is a fruitless endeavor. As such, we implemented a quasi-experimental study to measure the effectiveness of a metacognitive intervention for a convenience sample of lower-proficiency (CEFR A2) Japanese university EFL learners (n = 129). The training program focused on an explicit process-based approach, involving integrated experiential learning tasks and guided reflections, to develop learners’ L2 listening skills. Data collection consisted of TOEIC® test scores, listening comprehension tests, cloze tests, a listening self-efficacy questionnaire, and a post-treatment survey...

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Tipo: artículo

Metodología: estudio empírico

Temas: expresión oral

Resumen:

This study investigates the impact of cognitive apprenticeship on the speaking proficiency of English as a foreign language (EFL) learners. The study follows a randomized pre-test–post-test control group design, with an experimental group receiving instruction based on cognitive apprenticeship principles and a control group receiving conventional instruction. Sixty intermediate Iranian EFL learners participated in this study. The participants’ speaking proficiency was assessed using the Preliminary English Test (PET) and two IELTS speaking tests. Trained examiners evaluated the participants’ performance on the basis of established speaking proficiency criteria. The results indicate that the experimental group, which received instruction following cognitive apprenticeship principles, outperformed the control group in terms of speaking...

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