The Effects of Different Caption Modes on Chinese English Learners' Content and Vocabulary Comprehension

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 54-68
Author(s):  
Hongling Lai ◽  
Dianjian Wang ◽  
Xiancai Ou
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
English Learners ◽  
English Proficiency ◽  
Advanced Learners ◽  
Foreign Language Learners ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Vocabulary Comprehension ◽  
Chinese English Learners ◽  
Different Levels

This empirical study investigates the effects of different caption modes on the content and vocabulary comprehension by Chinese English learners with different levels of English proficiency. The results show that the full captioned group performed better on content comprehension than the keyword group, while no significant difference was found on vocabulary comprehension between the two captioned groups. For the beginning-level learners, the full captioned groups did better both in content and vocabulary comprehension than the keyword caption group; meanwhile, for the advanced learners, both full captions and keyword captions similarly facilitated content and vocabulary comprehension. Therefore, the present findings suggest that keyword captioning is insufficient for foreign language learners' content comprehension, yet might be appropriate for their vocabulary learning. Furthermore, choosing the content caption mode for teaching EFL depends on students' English proficiency and their learning purpose.

The Effects of Different Caption Modes on Chinese English Learners’ Content and Vocabulary Comprehension

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 0-0
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
English Learners ◽  
English Proficiency ◽  
Advanced Learners ◽  
Foreign Language Learners ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Vocabulary Comprehension ◽  
Chinese English Learners ◽  
Different Levels

This empirical study investigates the effects of different caption modes on the content and vocabulary comprehension by Chinese English learners with different levels of English proficiency. The results show that the full captioned group performed better on content comprehension than the keyword group, while no significant difference was found on vocabulary comprehension between the two captioned groups. For the beginning-level learners, the full captioned group did better both in content and vocabulary comprehension than the keyword captioned group; meanwhile, for the advanced learners, both full captions and keyword captions similarly facilitated content and vocabulary comprehension. Therefore, the present findings suggest that keyword captioning is insufficient for foreign language learners’ content comprehension, yet might be appropriate for their vocabulary learning. Furthermore, choosing the content caption mode for teaching EFL depends on students’ English proficiency and their learning purpose.

scholarly journals The Effect of Teaching Cohesive Devices on IELTS Writing Task 2 of Iranian Foreign Language Learners

2017 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 81
Author(s):  
Leila Kamelifar
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Relevant Research ◽  
Foreign Language Learners ◽  
Paired Samples ◽  
Cohesive Devices ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
The World ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Writing Task

Obtaining good scores in IELTS has become a concern for many foreign language learners throughout the world. Therefore, any relevant research to pave the way of applicants' achievement may be considered significant. This study deals with an indispensable element of IELTS writing tasks as teaching cohesive devices and it verifies the effect on writing performance of IELTS task 2. To this end, 30 participants at intermediate level took an IELTS test writing task 2 as the pretest. Then, they went under a 10 session treatment program to learn cohesive devices. At the end, they took a parallel form of IELTS task 2. The scores were obtained. The inter-rater reliability was met. The results of the paired Samples T-test showed that there was a significant difference between the mean scores of pre and post- tests of the participants after being exposed to cohesive devices treatment.

An analysis of narrative communication strategies used by Japanese-as-a-foreign-language learners

2009 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Masahiko Minami
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Personal Narratives ◽  
Narrative Discourse ◽  
Reported Speech ◽  
Advanced Learners ◽  
Native Japanese Speakers ◽  
Foreign Language Learners ◽  
Japanese Speakers ◽  
Discourse Strategies

AbstractThis study examines discourse strategies in personal narratives told by Japanese-as-a-foreign-language (JFL) learners. Both JFL learners and native Japanese speakers were asked to talk about any injury-related experience that they wished. Compared to intermediate JFL learners, advanced learners (1) told longer narratives using more words, a greater variety of words, and more onomatopoetic expressions, (2) switched to their first language less frequently and used fewer message replacements, repetitions, and confirmations, and committed fewer errors, and (3) used reported speech and onomatopoeias more frequently. A comparison of narratives told by JFL learners with those produced by native Japanese speakers revealed that while intermediate learners used rising intonation more frequently than did native Japanese speakers, advanced learners tended to use more words when using reported speech even when judged by native Japanese speakers’ norm. Overall, in the examination of JFL learners’ narrative discourse patterns with particular attention to the length of their stories and the discourse strategies they employed, the study suggests that JFL learners do not necessarily follow native-style narrative patterns, even after their language skills are relatively highly developed. The study instead implies the possibility of either U-shaped patterns of behavioral growth or the strong influence of L1 discourse strategies on L2 narratives (or a combination of both).

scholarly journals Interculturalidade, representação e identidade em contextos de aprendizagem de língua estrangeira via teletandem

2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 18-33
Author(s):  
Adriana Celia Alves
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
English Learners ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
Learning Context ◽  
Foreign Language Learners ◽  
Dynamic Relations ◽  
Interactional Process

RESUMO: Este trabalho teve como objetivo analisar as representações que emergiram das interações de teletandementre os aprendizes de línguas estrangeiras quanto aos aspectos histórico-políticos de seus países. Discutem-se as negociações dessas representações no processo interacional em diálogo com o outro interagente. Os dados analisados foram extraídos das interações em português, realizadas entre estudantes de graduação norte-americanos, aprendizes de português e estudantes de graduação brasileiros, aprendizes de língua inglesa. Apoia-se nas discussões de Bronckart (2012) sobre representação, de sujeito na pós-modernidade,de Hall (2002), e no conceito de cultura conforme proposto por Welsch (1999), sendo ela transcultural, um processo híbrido e heterogêneo fundado em relações dinâmicas entre culturas. Por meio de uma análise interpretativa qualitativa, foi observado que o contexto de aprendizagem de teletandem constituiu importante locus para o contato intercultural. Assim, verificou-se que as representações foram enunciadas a partir de posições político-ideológicas e contextuais. Desse modo, é importante uma discussão reflexiva dessas representações, para que elas não se tornem um conhecimento fossilizado. Entende-se, também, que as identidades dos participantes se constroem em processos dinâmicos e são caracterizadas pela fluidez e heterogeneidade. PALAVRAS-CHAVE: ensino-aprendizagem de língua estrangeira; teletandem; interculturalidade; representações.   ABSTRACT: The main objective of this work is aimed to analyze the representations that emerged from the teletandem interactions among foreign language learners, regarding the historical-political aspects of their countries, discussing the negotiations of these representations in the interactional process in dialogue with the other interacting agent. The data analyzed were extracted from the interactions in Portuguese, carried out among North American undergraduates, Portuguese learners and Brazilian undergraduate students, English learners. It is based on Bronckart's (2012) discussion of representation, subject in the postmodernity of Hall (2002) and in the concept of culture as proposed by Welsch (1999), cross-cultural, hybrid and heterogeneous process based on dynamic relations among cultures. Through a qualitative interpretative analysis, it was observed that the teletandem learning context constituted an important locus for intercultural contact. Therefore, it was verified that the representations were enunciated from political-ideological and contextual positions, thus, a reflexive discussion of these representations is important, in order that not to become a fossilized knowledge. Finally, the identities of the participants are also built in dynamic processes and are characterized by fluidity and heterogeneity. KEYWORDS: teaching and learning a foreign language; teletandem; interculturalism; representations.

scholarly journals The Acquisition of Mandarin Consonants by English Learners: The Relationship between Perception and Production

Languages ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 20
Author(s):  
Xinchun Wang ◽  
Jidong Chen
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
English Learners ◽  
Learning Models ◽  
Identification Task ◽  
Foreign Language Learners ◽  
Initial Stage ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Speech Learning

This study investigates native English CFL (Chinese as a Foreign Language) learners’ difficulties with Mandarin consonants at the initial stage of learning and explores the relationship between second language (L2) speech perception and production. Twenty-five native English CFL learners read the eight Mandarin consonants (j/tɕ/, q /tɕʰ/, x /ɕ/, zh /tʂ/, ch /tʂʰ/, sh /ʂ/, z /ts/, and c /tsʰ/) in sentences and identified the target sounds in a forced-choice identification task. Native Mandarin listeners identified the consonants produced by the learners and rated the quality of each sound they identified along a scale of 1 (poor) to 7 (good). The learners’ mean percentage accuracy scores ranged from 29% to 80% for perception and 25% to 88% for production. Moderate correlations between the perception and production scores were found for two of the eight target sounds. The Mandarin retroflex, palatal, and dental fricatives and affricates, though all lack counterparts in English, pose different problems to the English CFL learners. The misperceived retroflex and palatal sounds were substituted with each other in perception but mis-produced palatal sounds were substituted with each other, not with retroflex sounds. The relationship between perception and production of L2 consonants is not straightforward. The findings are discussed in terms of current speech learning models.

scholarly journals Pronunciation Acquisition of the Inflectional Morpheme –ed in English by Nicaraguan Spanish Speakers

2018 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Angel M. Dávila
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
English Proficiency ◽  
Spanish Speakers ◽  
Past Tense ◽  
Differential Rate ◽  
Proficiency Levels ◽  
Foreign Language Learners ◽  
Proficiency Level ◽  
Nicaraguan Spanish

This descriptive non-experimental quantitative study investigated if the pronunciation of the –ed morphemeim proves as the English proficiency level develops. A random sampling design was used to recruit research participants.  A target sample of 48 Nicaraguan English as a foreign language students were chosen from an accessible population (N= 91) to participate in this research.  The participants’ age ranged from 18 to 24, with a mean age of 21 years.  They belonged to three English proficiency levels: high beginners, intermediate, and high intermediate. Findings showed that more advanced English as a Foreign Language learners had a significantly higher pronunciation accuracy on the production of the allomorphs, /t/ and /d/. Their error rate on these two allomorphs was as low as 9% and 8%, respectively. Concerning the /əd, ɪd/ allomorph, no significant differences were found among proficiency levels.  These results were interpreted in view of the Markedness Differential Hypothesis (Eckman, 1977) and the Similarity Differential Rate Hypothesis (Major & Kim, 1996). The trends in the data definitely suggested support for the Similarity Differential Rate Hypothesis which postulates that markedness by itself cannot explain the development of L2 learners as they improve their L2 proficiency level. This study offers implications for the teaching of the three phonological realizations of the -ed past tense inflection.

scholarly journals The effect of watching captioned TV series on speaking accuracy of Iranian advanced EFL learners

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 157-166
Author(s):  
Mostafa Tajgozari
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
English Learners ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Structured Interview ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
Control Group ◽  
English As Second Language ◽  
Advanced Learners ◽  
Foreign Language Learners ◽  
Post Test

The present study aimed to find out the effect of watching captioned TV series on speaking accuracy of Iranian advanced English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learner. To do so, 66 advanced learners were selected out of 104 ones, using Oxford Placement Test. The researchers assigned the participants randomly into three groups, one control and two experimental, each including 22 learners. One of the experimental groups watched the series with English subtitles and the other group with Persian subtitles while the control group (CG) watched the same series without any subtitles. The form of the pre-test and post-test was semi-structured interview. Before the treatment, the participants were asked questions about friendship, similar to the theme of the series and after the treatment they were asked the same questions as the post-test. The results indicated that both English and Persian subtitling had a positive impact on the accuracy of Iranian advanced English learners. Furthermore, it was found that oral accuracy did not considerably change in the CG, but there were significant improvements in English subtitle and Persian subtitle groups in oral accuracy. Moreover, the study has insights and implications for EFL/English as second language teachers and curriculum designers. Keywords: Advanced English as a Foreign Language learners, English subtitles, Persian subtitles, speaking accuracy

scholarly journals Reading Online in Foreign Languages: A Study of Strategy Use

2016 ◽  
Vol 17 (6) ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard Tsan-Jui Cheng
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Reading Strategies ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
Foreign Languages ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Online Reading ◽  
Foreign Language Learners ◽  
Significant Difference

<p class="3">Scores of studies have established that when learning online, students must be equipped with different sets of strategies and skills than in a physical classroom setting (Anderson, 2003; Broadbent &amp; Poon, 2015; Coiro, 2007; Leu et al., 2007; Michinov, Brunot, Le Bohec, Juhel, &amp; Delaval, 2011; Salmon, 2013).  The present study, by virtue of exploring foreign language learners’ online reading experience, aimed to identify the reading strategies that learners would use when engaged in online reading activities in the target foreign languages.  Thirty-two foreign language learners whose native language was English participated in the study.  The Online Survey of Reading Strategies (OSORS) designed by Anderson (2003) was administered to investigate the following four research questions: (1) What are the strategies that language learners would or would not use when reading online in foreign languages? (2) Would foreign language learners use some of the online reading strategies more frequently than other strategies? (3) Would different levels of foreign language proficiencies influence language learners’ use of the strategies?  (4) What could foreign language teachers do in their instruction to help students acquire and broaden their repertoire of online reading strategies?  Data analysis demonstrated the most and least frequently used strategies of the foreign language learners and uncovered a significant difference in the frequency of use among the strategies.  However, there was no significant difference found between the use of online reading strategies and learners’ foreign language proficiencies.  Implications and suggestions for future research and practice were proposed accordingly.      </p>

How can ESL students make the best use of learners' dictionaries?

English Today ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 30 (3) ◽  
pp. 33-37 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alice Y.W. Chan
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Learning Tools ◽  
Esl Students ◽  
Lifelong Learners ◽  
Word Meanings ◽  
Foreign Language Learners ◽  
Correct Usage ◽  
Self Learning ◽  
Different Levels

To become lifelong learners is the ultimate goal of many if not most learners irrespective of their target of learning, and being able to self-learn is one major prerequisite of this goal. As far as the learning of a second language is concerned, dictionaries are among the most readily available and easily accessible self-learning tools available on the market, and are regarded as the most systematic and comprehensive lexical descriptions that users have access to (Jackson & Amvela, 2000). An increasing number of dictionaries are now available for learners at different levels and for different learning purposes, including general dictionaries, learners' dictionaries, translation dictionaries, pictorial dictionaries, collocation dictionaries, specialized dictionaries and encyclopaedic dictionaries (Jackson & Amvela, 2000). Of these, learners' dictionaries are among the most popular for second or foreign language learners, providing a range of information including word meanings, pronunciations, collocations, correct usage and syntactic behaviour.

scholarly journals Factors affecting male and female Indonesian EFL students’ writing anxiety

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hairus Salikin
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
English Learners ◽  
Writing Anxiety ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Foreign Language Learners ◽  
Language Writing ◽  
Efl Students ◽  
Anxiety Levels

This study is aimed at investigating the writing anxiety levels of foreign language learners and factors affecting the foreign language writing anxiety levels on the learners based on the gender variable. It applies close-ended questionnaires as instruments to collect the data, adopted from Cheng (2004) about Second Language Writing Anxiety Inventory (SLWAI), and Causes of Writing Anxiety Inventory (CWAI) questionnaire adopted from Younas (2014). The results of the study show that Indonesian English learners suffered a mediocre level of English writing anxiety, especially cognitive anxiety as preference. In relation to gender, female students tend to have significantly higher anxiety level than male in terms of writing English compositions. The study reports that both male and female learners suffered from anxiety due to lack of linguistic competence.

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