Tipo: artículo

Metodología: estudio empírico

Temas: andamiaje/scaffolding

Resumen:

Studies have documented the significance of scaffolding as a sociocultural theory driven type of assistance for the development of English as foreign language (EFL) learners’ language skills in general; however, the comparative efficacy of various cognitive and/or metacognitive scaffolding procedures for EFL learners’ listening comprehension development and progress has received scant attention. As a partial attempt in this regard, this study investigated the comparative efficacy of cognitive and metacognitive scaffolding strategies for EFL learners’ listening comprehension development. For this purpose, 90 intermediate level EFL learners aged 15 to 20 were selected to participate in this study. The participants’ actual proficiency level was assessed using a sample TOEFL Junior Standard test and relatively homogeneous classes of...

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Tipo: artículo

Metodología: estudio empírico

Temas: pronunciación

Resumen:

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Evidence has mounted for the effectiveness of second language pronunciation instruction. Given the critical role instructors play in implementing effective instruction, one line of inquiry has been to better understand instructors’ beliefs and practices as they relate to second language pronunciation teaching and learning. A critical gap, however, is that such research has focused primarily on English, with only limited focus on languages other than English. Amongst languages other than English, there remains next to no emphasis on less commonly taught languages. Such languages should be of interest given a well-documented dearth of quality instructional materials. This study investigated less...

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Tipo: artículo

Metodología: estudio empírico

Temas: teoría sociocultural

Resumen:

This article investigates the effect of concept-based instruction (CBI), a pedagogy based on Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory, on second language (L2) learners’ writing development. A quasi-experimental intervention lasting 16 weeks was conducted involving 88 first-year Chinese university students of English. The participants were assigned to three conditions: Full CBI (F-CBI) treatment, Partial CBI (P-CBI) treatment (i.e. CBI without peer–peer talk) and control. A definition task and two writing tasks (a narrative and an argumentative task) were used to measure students’ knowledge and understanding of genre and their writing performance, respectively. The results indicated that the F-CBI intervention generated significantly larger gains in learners’ understanding of genre as well as their overall writing performance than did the...

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Tipo: artículo

Metodología: estudio empírico

Temas: factores afectivos

Resumen:

This article presents a small-scale study of students with medium to high levels of foreign language anxiety (FLA) enrolled in synchronous, online French classes at an Australian university. We conducted in-depth, semistructured interviews with 10 such students, focusing specifically on their experience with speaking activities and their perceptions of questions requiring self-disclosure that are routinely asked in foreign language classes. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the data. The findings reveal that students overwhelmingly prefer the physical classroom to the online environment, and that this is largely due to increased possibilities for easier interaction with fellow students. In addition, these students were all at ease with disclosing low-level personal information in class. This suggests that the social nature of...

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Tipo: artículo

Metodología: propuesta didáctica

Temas: interacción

Resumen:

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Con este trabajo se pretende reflexionar sobre la interacción oral en clase de lengua extranjera, sus protagonistas, cómo llevarla al aula y con qué objetivos. Asimismo, se considerarán algunas directrices para analizar y diseñar actividades y tareas de interacción oral que además respondan a las necesidades e intereses de nuestros estudiantes. Posteriormente, siguiendo las orientaciones anteriores, se desarrollará pormenorizadamente la propuesta práctica titulada «¡Camarero, por favor!», dirigida a alumnos de nivel B1, cuyo objetivo principal es participar en una situación social —en este caso en un restaurante— (alumno como agente social) y actuar según las normas y convenciones sociales de la...

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Tipo: artículo

Metodología: estudio empírico

Temas: motivación

Resumen:

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This article reports on a study that explored Japanese university students’ evolving motivational regulation by mapping its changes over one year of their studies in a collaborative project-based learning environment. An autonomy-supportive collaborative intervention was delivered to the 19 participants with varying or no experience of communicative language teaching and study abroad. Our cluster-based analysis of multiple questionnaire responses revealed increased motivation among the participants. Three learners were selected to represent each clustering group based on the unique characteristics of their motivational trajectories over the year, which reflect the mediating impacts of their...

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Tipo: artículo

Metodología: estudio empírico

Temas: telecolaboración e intercambios virtuales

Resumen:

This article investigates how engaging students to discuss topics that reflect their ideologies in lingua franca (LF) virtual exchanges can help facilitate global citizenship development. A six-week virtual exchange is explored with students from universities in Mexico, Poland, Spain, and the USA. This study utilizes five key elements of CALL-related tasks and three categories of telecollaborative tasks in order to promote students’ global citizenship, defined as awareness, caring, and embracing cultural diversity while promoting social justice and sustainability, coupled with a sense of responsibility to act. During the exchange, 55 participants, registered for foreign language courses (English or Spanish) or for a content area course (such as business and pedagogy) taught in English, met weekly in groups via Zoom video conferencing...

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Tipo: artículo

Metodología: estudio empírico

Temas: inteligencia artificial

Resumen:

Model texts have been widely recognized as an effective feedback instrument in enhancing second-language (L2) writing. Recent advances in generative artificial intelligence (GenAI), capable of producing humanlike text in response to user prompts, offer an accessible and efficient alternative for generating customized model texts tailored to L2 learners’ specific goals and proficiency levels. Despite this potential, little empirical research has examined L2 students’ practice and perceptions of leveraging GenAI for model text creation to support their revision. To address this gap, this study follows a process approach to investigate students’ prompting strategies to elicit AI-generated model texts, their noticing and incorporation of the model text features, and their perceptions of this process. Data were collected from 12 university...

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Tipo: artículo

Metodología: estudio empírico

Temas: enseñanza/aprendizaje de lenguas

Resumen:

This study is theoretically grounded in interactional sociolinguistics, drawing specifically on speech act theory and politeness strategies to discuss how language choices negotiate social relations. It investigates classroom power dynamics by analyzing how teachers construct identities with directive speech acts. The research employs an ethnographic microanalysis to analyze discourse in a video-recorded interaction in a Portuguese as a foreign language (PFL) classroom for Chinese learners at a university in Macau. This methodological approach allows for a fine-grained examination of the linguistic design of directives and their impact on classroom interaction. The analysis reveals that the teacher strategically wields directives to enact interconnected identity positions, each shaping a distinct power dynamic: a negotiatory authority...

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Tipo: artículo

Metodología: revisión bibliográfica

Temas: aprendizaje autónomo

Resumen:

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Learner autonomy is a vibrant and diverse field. In its approximately 40-year history, it has drawn liberally on theoretical constructs and research methodologies from other disciplines. In turn, it has contributed to the field of applied linguistics by drawing attention to the fundamental importance of understanding the language learner as an active agent in the learning process. To understand the role of autonomy in, and its connections with other areas of study, it is important to ask how it has been conceptualized and operationalized. In addition, given its elusive and amorphous nature, it is timely to ask if and how (the development of) learner autonomy has been evaluated. In this article we...

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