Motivation has long been argued and studied both at home and abroad; however most researches stressed the linear, casual relationship between motivation and students achievement through interaction of group discussion...Motivation has long been argued and studied both at home and abroad; however most researches stressed the linear, casual relationship between motivation and students achievement through interaction of group discussion. This paper tended to explore the factors that influenced students＇ motivation to participate in group discussion in EFL listening and speaking class. A questionnaire was designed and adopted to figure out the factors By analyzing the data, this paper would provide some suggestions to the research problem.展开更多
In this study, the relationship between anxiety and the speaking performance of Iranian EFL （English as a Foreign Language） learners is investigated. The effects of gender and anxiety on the students＇ speaking perf...In this study, the relationship between anxiety and the speaking performance of Iranian EFL （English as a Foreign Language） learners is investigated. The effects of gender and anxiety on the students＇ speaking performance are also examined. Through Oxford Placement Test, 43 students （10 male and 33 female students） of English in Shiraz University were selected out of 63 initial participants. In order to measure the students＇ anxiety level, the FLCAS （Foreign Language Class Anxiety Scale） was administered. The means of the students＇ scores on the two courses of Conversations 1 ＆ 2 taken in the first year were used to represent their speaking skill. The results of Pearson product-moment correlation revealed a moderate negative correlation between the anxiety and the speaking scores （r=-0.54）. The 2-way ANOVA （Analysis of Variance） analysis showed that the anxiety had a significant effect on the speaking grades, but the gender and the interaction of the gender and anxiety did not. This study suggests some pedagogical implications that EFL teachers and advisers could use it to help their students overcome the anxiety of speaking oerformance.展开更多
Applied to real-life teaching, Krashen＇s theory helps us to find the causes of top students＇ halt of acquisition in oral English class--that is, insufficient and inappropriate input in listening, speaking and reading.
The present study is a comparison study of research instrument in the field of interlanguage pragmatics. Sixty-two Chinese EFL university students participated in the study. Written DCT and oral role-plays were design...The present study is a comparison study of research instrument in the field of interlanguage pragmatics. Sixty-two Chinese EFL university students participated in the study. Written DCT and oral role-plays were designed in four stimulus types of refusal strategies--refusals to invitations, suggestions, offers and requests. Chi-square test and frequency were used for quantitative data and transcription of the tests was used for the qualitative data. The results show that there is no significant difference between the two tests in terms of strategies choices, but written DCT can produce a longer sentence while oral role-plays can yield a more natural expression.展开更多
The implication of Task-Based Language Teaching （TBLT） in oral English teaching continues to draw attention of language teachers and researchers. This paper will survey issues at the core of TBLT, with particular em...The implication of Task-Based Language Teaching （TBLT） in oral English teaching continues to draw attention of language teachers and researchers. This paper will survey issues at the core of TBLT, with particular emphasis on the six task types in Jane Willis＇ theory. Following a brief introduction of TBLT, the six types of task will be reviewed and its practical use in oral English teaching will be explored. Finally, the paper will point out some problems in TBLT, mainly focus on task and its design.展开更多
Over the past years studies have pointed out that 5 to 6-year-old children are able to use complex sentences in their oral language. Complex sentences may contain different kinds of subordinate or embedded clauses suc...Over the past years studies have pointed out that 5 to 6-year-old children are able to use complex sentences in their oral language. Complex sentences may contain different kinds of subordinate or embedded clauses such as noun clauses, adverbial clauses or relative clauses, which again may be respectively divided into smaller units in terms of function and form. It is interesting therefore to investigate how subordinate clauses are applied by 5 to 6-year-old Chinese-speaking children. The present study, which is based on the verbal responses of 10 Taiwan Residents upper-level kindergarteners aged from 5.5 to 6.5 years, aims to investigate specifically how two kinds of subordinate clauses, namely noun and relative clauses, are applied in children＇s speech. Data analysis shows that of the 4 kinds of noun clauses, only object noun clauses are applied by the child-respondents. With their much more complex syntactic constructions, noun clauses, compliment noun clauses and appositive noun clauses do not appear in their oral responses at all. Concerning relative clauses and their derived participle phrases, none of the respondents apply any V＋的＋N construction in their verbal responses. The VO＋的＋N construction is used by 7 respondents, while the S＋的＋N construction is used by 5 respondents.展开更多
文摘Motivation has long been argued and studied both at home and abroad; however most researches stressed the linear, casual relationship between motivation and students achievement through interaction of group discussion. This paper tended to explore the factors that influenced students＇ motivation to participate in group discussion in EFL listening and speaking class. A questionnaire was designed and adopted to figure out the factors By analyzing the data, this paper would provide some suggestions to the research problem.
文摘In this study, the relationship between anxiety and the speaking performance of Iranian EFL （English as a Foreign Language） learners is investigated. The effects of gender and anxiety on the students＇ speaking performance are also examined. Through Oxford Placement Test, 43 students （10 male and 33 female students） of English in Shiraz University were selected out of 63 initial participants. In order to measure the students＇ anxiety level, the FLCAS （Foreign Language Class Anxiety Scale） was administered. The means of the students＇ scores on the two courses of Conversations 1 ＆ 2 taken in the first year were used to represent their speaking skill. The results of Pearson product-moment correlation revealed a moderate negative correlation between the anxiety and the speaking scores （r=-0.54）. The 2-way ANOVA （Analysis of Variance） analysis showed that the anxiety had a significant effect on the speaking grades, but the gender and the interaction of the gender and anxiety did not. This study suggests some pedagogical implications that EFL teachers and advisers could use it to help their students overcome the anxiety of speaking oerformance.
文摘Applied to real-life teaching, Krashen＇s theory helps us to find the causes of top students＇ halt of acquisition in oral English class--that is, insufficient and inappropriate input in listening, speaking and reading.
文摘The present study is a comparison study of research instrument in the field of interlanguage pragmatics. Sixty-two Chinese EFL university students participated in the study. Written DCT and oral role-plays were designed in four stimulus types of refusal strategies--refusals to invitations, suggestions, offers and requests. Chi-square test and frequency were used for quantitative data and transcription of the tests was used for the qualitative data. The results show that there is no significant difference between the two tests in terms of strategies choices, but written DCT can produce a longer sentence while oral role-plays can yield a more natural expression.
文摘The implication of Task-Based Language Teaching （TBLT） in oral English teaching continues to draw attention of language teachers and researchers. This paper will survey issues at the core of TBLT, with particular emphasis on the six task types in Jane Willis＇ theory. Following a brief introduction of TBLT, the six types of task will be reviewed and its practical use in oral English teaching will be explored. Finally, the paper will point out some problems in TBLT, mainly focus on task and its design.
文摘Over the past years studies have pointed out that 5 to 6-year-old children are able to use complex sentences in their oral language. Complex sentences may contain different kinds of subordinate or embedded clauses such as noun clauses, adverbial clauses or relative clauses, which again may be respectively divided into smaller units in terms of function and form. It is interesting therefore to investigate how subordinate clauses are applied by 5 to 6-year-old Chinese-speaking children. The present study, which is based on the verbal responses of 10 Taiwan Residents upper-level kindergarteners aged from 5.5 to 6.5 years, aims to investigate specifically how two kinds of subordinate clauses, namely noun and relative clauses, are applied in children＇s speech. Data analysis shows that of the 4 kinds of noun clauses, only object noun clauses are applied by the child-respondents. With their much more complex syntactic constructions, noun clauses, compliment noun clauses and appositive noun clauses do not appear in their oral responses at all. Concerning relative clauses and their derived participle phrases, none of the respondents apply any V＋的＋N construction in their verbal responses. The VO＋的＋N construction is used by 7 respondents, while the S＋的＋N construction is used by 5 respondents.
