The present paper reports on a small-scale project that investigates two main questions： （1） whether EFL （English as a Foreign Language） learners prefer working in pairs or small groups; and （2） what factors th...The present paper reports on a small-scale project that investigates two main questions： （1） whether EFL （English as a Foreign Language） learners prefer working in pairs or small groups; and （2） what factors they take into consideration when they are free to choose their partners in pair work activities. To investigate the research questions, a questionnaire was developed and distributed among 96 Iranian intermediate EFL students who participated in the study on a voluntary basis. The findings showed that 45% of the participants preferred pair work, 26% preferred group work, and 29% reported it made no difference to them. The results also indicated that learners select their partners based on four factors： age, proficiency, familiarity and language learning motivation. Gender and popularity with the whole class were among the factors that the participants did not pay attention to when opting for a partner.展开更多
One of the characteristics of good writing is appropriate use of cohesive devices, which many learners often find difficult to do. Although there is a substantial body of research on cohesion in writing, little has be...One of the characteristics of good writing is appropriate use of cohesive devices, which many learners often find difficult to do. Although there is a substantial body of research on cohesion in writing, little has been documented on how to teach it to EFL students. The present study was an attempt to address this under-researched issue by taking a terminological approach, as the diverse and vague terminology used to describe link words has been found to be more of a hindrance than a facilitator in the teaching/learning process. A total of 16 cohesion-related terms were surveyed to find out about the quality and quantity of their use in a self-built corpus of 14 grammar books of different levels. Furthermore, a test was run to measure students＇ familiarity with these terms, and field-notes were taken while scoring the students＇ papers in their presence. The findings, in addition to giving insights into the usage points regarding each of the 16 terms, led to drawing a terminological network, which, if used consistently, could help in teaching and learning to use cohesion effectively.展开更多
文摘The present paper reports on a small-scale project that investigates two main questions： （1） whether EFL （English as a Foreign Language） learners prefer working in pairs or small groups; and （2） what factors they take into consideration when they are free to choose their partners in pair work activities. To investigate the research questions, a questionnaire was developed and distributed among 96 Iranian intermediate EFL students who participated in the study on a voluntary basis. The findings showed that 45% of the participants preferred pair work, 26% preferred group work, and 29% reported it made no difference to them. The results also indicated that learners select their partners based on four factors： age, proficiency, familiarity and language learning motivation. Gender and popularity with the whole class were among the factors that the participants did not pay attention to when opting for a partner.
文摘One of the characteristics of good writing is appropriate use of cohesive devices, which many learners often find difficult to do. Although there is a substantial body of research on cohesion in writing, little has been documented on how to teach it to EFL students. The present study was an attempt to address this under-researched issue by taking a terminological approach, as the diverse and vague terminology used to describe link words has been found to be more of a hindrance than a facilitator in the teaching/learning process. A total of 16 cohesion-related terms were surveyed to find out about the quality and quantity of their use in a self-built corpus of 14 grammar books of different levels. Furthermore, a test was run to measure students＇ familiarity with these terms, and field-notes were taken while scoring the students＇ papers in their presence. The findings, in addition to giving insights into the usage points regarding each of the 16 terms, led to drawing a terminological network, which, if used consistently, could help in teaching and learning to use cohesion effectively.
