scholarly journals On L2 Learners’ Metalinguistic Ability and Related Issues: A Synthesis of Theory and Practice

2017 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hosni M. El-dali
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
The Other ◽  
Sentence Completion ◽  
Metalinguistic Awareness ◽  
Foreign Language Learners ◽  
Completion Task ◽  
Error Recognition ◽  
Formal Properties

The purpose of this study is twofold.  First, it presents an overview of pertinent research dealing with aspects of metalinguistic awareness (MLA) and to posit a link between (MLA) and students’ performance in multi-dimensional linguistic problems. Second, it reports on the outcomes of an experiment on some foreign language learners. The subjects of the present study (N=80) were in their fourth year of academic study in the Department of English and Literature, Faculty of Arts, Menufia University, Egypt. Forty subjects were males and the other forty were females. Two tasks were used: (1) “Sentence Completion” task, and (2) “Error Recognition and Correction” task.  In the first task, a list of 15 incomplete sentences was given to the subjects who were asked to choose the word or phrase that best complete the sentence.  The focus, in this task, was on the meaning of the sentence rather than the form, although accurate understanding of the formal properties of language is a must.  In the second task, students were asked to detect the word or phrase that must be changed in order for the sentence to be correct.  A list of 25 sentences with four words underlined, and marked (A), (B), (C), and (D) was given to the subjects.  Finally, students were individually interviewed to explain and comment on their performance in the previous tasks.  The data were analyzed both quantitatively and qualitatively. Results were obtained and conclusions were made.

Psycholinguistic and corpus-linguistic evidence for L2 constructions

2009 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
pp. 163-186 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stefan Th. Gries ◽  
Stefanie Wulff
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Short Distance ◽  
Priming Effect ◽  
Sentence Completion ◽  
Priming Effects ◽  
Corpus Linguistic ◽  
Foreign Language Learners ◽  
Linguistic Evidence ◽  
Acceptability Rating

In Construction Grammar, highly frequent syntactic configurations are assumed to be stored as symbolic units in the mental lexicon alongside words. Considering the example of gerund and infinitival complement constructions in English (She tried rocking the baby vs. She tried to rock the baby), this study combines corpus-linguistic and experimental evidence to investigate the question whether these patterns are also stored as constructions by German foreign language learners of English. In a corpus analysis based on 3,343 instances of the two constructions from the British component of the International Corpus of English, a distinctive collexeme analysis was computed to identify the verbs that distinguish best between the two constructions; these verbs were used as experimental stimuli in a sentence completion experiment and a sentence acceptability rating experiment. Two kinds of short-distance priming effects were investigated in the completion data: we checked how often subjects produced an ing-/to-/’other’-construction after having rated an ing- or to-construction (rating-to-production priming), and how often they produced an ing-/to-/’other’-construction when they had produced and ing- or to-construction in the directly preceding completion (production-to-production priming). Furthermore, we considered the proportion of to-completions before a completion in the questionnaire as a measure of a within-subject accumulative priming effect. We found no rating-to-production priming effects in the expected direction, but a weak effect in the opposite direction; short-distance production-to-production priming effects from ing to ing and from ‘other’ and to to to, and, on the whole at least, a suggestive accumulative production-to-production priming effect for both constructions. In the rating task, we found that subjects rate sentences better when the sentential structure is compatible with the main verb’s collexemic distinctiveness.

scholarly journals The Study of Interaction Features Used by Intermediate Iranian EFL Learners in Their Lexical Language Related Episodes

2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (5) ◽  
pp. 1053
Author(s):  
Ehsan Alijanian ◽  
Saeed Ketabi ◽  
Ahmad Moinzadeh
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Self Regulation ◽  
Metalinguistic Awareness ◽  
Negotiation Of Meaning ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
Foreign Language Learners ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Language School ◽  
Work Done

Negotiation of meaning refers to interactional work done by interlocutors to attain joint understanding when a communication difficulty comes about. This study uses a qualitative perspective to consider the development of participant utterances in interaction in every moment. 10 English as a foreign language learners in a language school in Iran were chosen to participate in a dictogloss activity in which they were required to describe a certain word. The interaction features in their lexical language related episodes were analyzed. The results indicate that students use a wide range of interaction features in their collaborations. These features help learners generate a scaffolding structure in the LLREs in which meaning discovering is made. The use of interactive features fostered metalinguistic awareness and encouraged learners’ self-regulation.

scholarly journals Dunkin’ the Donut: A Study on Students’ Patterns of Language Use through Technology Applications in Independent Language Learning

2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 125-132
Author(s):  
Norizul Azida Darus ◽  
Norhajawati Abdul Halim
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
The Other ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Foreign Language Teachers ◽  
Foreign Language Learners ◽  
Language Classroom ◽  
Technology Applications

Any language can be acquired at any time, but to acquire the language, one needs to learn the language. Learning a second or foreign language is not a favourite among second or foreign language learners. This is because learning a language is a very intense time-consuming activity. Learning is often unsuccessful because learners receive impoverished or insufficient input and lack of motivation. To this, second language or foreign language teachers play the most significant role to help and motivate the students to acquire the said language. The preferred method is to be immersed into the actual ecosystem of the target language and become part of the language ecosystem. The other way is to dunk the learners into the artificial ecosystem of the language classroom. In dunking, the learners are immersed temporarily and repeatedly into the simulated ecosystem language. As can be seen now, technology remains the only viable option to get enough interactive contact with the target language. Using interesting software is one of the methods in making learning more interesting. Furthermore, the students are able to practice the language not only during class time, but on their own free time outside of class hours, that is during students’ independent time of learning. The findings revealed that most students found using the applications has improved their language learning. The role of teachers on the other hand is to provide instructions and assist whenever necessary and needed by the students.

scholarly journals OD REFLEKSJI DO KONSTRUOWANIA WIEDZY I WSPÓLNOTY KOMUNIKACYJNEJ: WYNIKI BADANIA W DZIAŁANIU

Neofilolog ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 1 (42/1) ◽  
pp. 95-109
Author(s):  
Wioletta Piegzik
Keyword(s):  
Action Research ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Group Action ◽  
Video Recording ◽  
The Other ◽  
Learning Behavior ◽  
Action Research Project ◽  
Foreign Language Learners ◽  
The One

The purpose of the following paper is to consider the development of reflection in foreign language learners. Based on the results of action research, we show to what extent the performance of group tasks affected the perception of reality and influenced changes in the communication and learning behavior of participants of an action research project. Reflection is analyzed on the basis of statements contained in student diaries and transcriptions from video recording of discussions. This means that on the one hand, we are interested in the opinions, conclusions and evaluations made by learners, but on the other hand, we attach importance to the coherence between formulated judgments and practical group action. It is not uncommon that declarations are not in accordance with the activities undertaken and that, in consequence, their value is questionable. The paper also points to difficulties associated with becoming a reflective person as well as the restrictions connected with the scientific measurements of this process.

Grammar and pragmatics

2005 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
pp. 137-161 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gisela Håkansson ◽  
Catrin Elisabeth Norrby
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Pragmatic Development ◽  
Foreign Language Learners ◽  
Completion Task ◽  
Pragmatic Analysis ◽  
Syntactic Development ◽  
High Level

This paper compares grammatical and pragmatic development in foreign language learners of Swedish. For the analysis of grammatical proficiency, data from translation tasks and essays were tested against the stage model proposed in Processability Theory, which identifies five stages of morpho-syntactic development for Swedish (Pienemann 1998, Pienemann and Håkansson 1999). For the pragmatic analysis a gap-fill task was used, inspired by the discourse completion task (Blum-Kulka 1982, Kasper and Roever 2005), but taking into consideration sequential aspects of the interaction. All tasks were piloted with a control group of Swedish native speakers. The results indicate a relationship between native-like pragmatic command and a high level of morpho-syntactic processability. The findings suggest that students whose grammatical processing capacity is restricted to lower levels find it difficult to contextualise their utterances in a pragmatically appropriate way.

scholarly journals “Wait, How Do I Say that in English?” Communication Strategies for English as a Foreign Language Learners

2018 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 149
Author(s):  
Zulfadli Aziz ◽  
Ika Apriani Fata ◽  
Syarifah Balqis
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Communication Strategies ◽  
The Other ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Topic Avoidance ◽  
Literal Translation ◽  
Foreign Language Learners ◽  
Successful Group ◽  
Speaking Skill

This research aimed to investigate communication speaking skill strategies applied by two groups of English foreign language learners in two boarding senior high schools in Aceh, Indonesia. Of the successful group, there were 52 learners and of the less successful group 24 learners. To collect the data, this study employed the observation sheet adapted by Tarone(1978), which determined nine categories of communication strategies; approximation, word coinage, circumlocution, literal translation, language switch, mime, appeal for assistance, topic avoidance, and message abandonment. The students were observed during their speaking class. The result of this research is the literal translation, approximation, and language switchbecome the most frequent strategies used by the less successful learners. It implies that the students have had difficulties communicating in the target language. On the other hand, successful learners prefer to use approximation, literal translation, and appeal for assistance strategies. It implies that the students tend to speak and communicate well, if not yet fluently. Based on the findings, it is suggested that English teachers should introduce several communication strategies for both groups of learners to improve their effective communication.

scholarly journals EXAMINING THE ISSUE OF ABOLISHING ENGLISH TUITION IN PRIMARY SCHOOL IN INDONESIA

2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Khairul Azmy
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Primary School ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Teaching Methods ◽  
The Other ◽  
Primary Students ◽  
Teaching English ◽  
Primary Level ◽  
Indonesian Government ◽  
Foreign Language Learners

This paper examines the reasons behind the philosophy of the Indonesian government’s decision on abolishing English tuition in primary school. The Indonesian government has recently omitted English as compulsory tuition since English has been excluded in the curriculum at the primary level. The findings show that people have misinterpreted about whether English at the primary level is a compulsory, local-content or extracurricular tuition. In addition, it is found that teaching English at a young age is not practically efficient in Indonesia due to lack competence of teachers, unrelated syllabus and uninteresting teaching methods. Furthermore, the misconception of younger foreign language learners and cultural discrepancy are the other key findings in the issue provided. Ultimately, the implications of this article have given new insights on the issue of abolishing English tuition, whether it is effective or significant for primary students in Indonesia at this moment and condition.

scholarly journals Podcast-based pronunciation training: Enhancing FL learners’ perception and production of fossilised segmental features

ReCALL ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
pp. 150-169 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonás Fouz-González
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Statistical Significance ◽  
The Other ◽  
Peer Evaluation ◽  
Foreign Language Learners ◽  
Z Contrast

AbstractThis study investigates the potential of a podcast-based approach aimed at helping foreign language learners improve their pronunciation of features that tend to be fossilised in their interlanguage. Training took place over a period of three weeks in which podcasts were used for perceptual and productive practice as well as for peer evaluation. Participants in this study (N=47) were randomly assigned to two groups that acted as control and experimental at the same time. One group received training on the English /s – z/ contrast and the other one was trained on the pronunciation of English /b d g/ as stops in intervocalic position. Pre- and post-tests were used to measure the participants’ perception and production of the target features. The results show that training had a positive impact on the participants’ perception and production of the target sounds. Even though the differences between groups did not reach statistical significance for every sound in every task, the data reveal that the approach adopted could foster substantial improvements in the participants’ pronunciation of features that tend to be fossilised, even after short periods of training.

French-Chinese Dialogical Interaction via Web Collaborative Blog-Writing

2016 ◽  
pp. 208-234 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ya Rao ◽  
Congcong Wang ◽  
Jacob Bender
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Foreign Language Learning ◽  
Metalinguistic Awareness ◽  
Web Based ◽  
Writing Project ◽  
Online Interactions ◽  
Foreign Language Learners ◽  
Web Collaboration

This qualitative study explores how a French-Chinese web collaborative blog-writing project provides a space for understanding the various metalinguistic approaches that foreign language learners' use to facilitate foreign language learning and intercultural communication. It adopts a multilingual-plurilingual approach, an interlingual approach and a web collaboration approach as a framework. Qualitative data was collected from the blogs and online interactions of 22 French Foreign Language (FFL) learners in China, and 24 Chinese Foreign Language (CFL) learners in France. The findings reveal the increased development of FFL and CFL learners' metalinguistic awareness, plurilingual competence, and bilingual skills that is accomplished through web collaboration. Implications regarding web-based tandem language learning and peer-assisted web collaboration are discussed.

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