The goal of autonomous language learning is to create an atmosphere where learners take charge of their own learning. Creating this atmosphere encounters various challenges which are partially context-specific. Influe...The goal of autonomous language learning is to create an atmosphere where learners take charge of their own learning. Creating this atmosphere encounters various challenges which are partially context-specific. Influenced by the learning environment, learnners of different educational contexts vary in their degree of autonomy. The present study examines the impact of the learning environment on learner autonomy at higher education. The study focuses on the differences between Polish and Yemeni EFL （English as a Foreign Language） learners with respect to their autonomy in language learning. A questionnaire was distributed to a total of 140 （59 Polish and 81 Yemeni） undergraduate learners. The questionnaire was coded into seven categories： beliefs and attitudes, planning, management, self-regulation, sources and materials, in-class responsibility, and out-of-class responsibility. Data were analysed quantitatively via SPSS （Statistical Product and Service Solutions）. Independent Sample t-Test is used to investigate the differences between Polish and Yemein learners and Pearson Correlation is used to perform correlational analysis among the seven categories. The results show significant differences between Polish and Yemeni learners in some of the categories as well as a significant correlation among other categories展开更多
The presentation aims at addressing the most frequently applied strategies for language learning adopted by Polish students of English at the university level. For the purpose of data collection, R. Oxford＇s Strategy...The presentation aims at addressing the most frequently applied strategies for language learning adopted by Polish students of English at the university level. For the purpose of data collection, R. Oxford＇s Strategy Inventory for Language Learning （SILL） is adopted. The analysis is an attempt at identifying common existing patterns or preferred ways of language processing among learners at advanced level of language mastery.展开更多
Critical thinking ability is the core skill of higher education. How to train the non-English major students＇ critical thinking ability in the English writing instruction plays an important role in the compound perso...Critical thinking ability is the core skill of higher education. How to train the non-English major students＇ critical thinking ability in the English writing instruction plays an important role in the compound personnel training. In this paper, the reading-discussion-writing approach which guarantees the innovative construction of writing is proposed to train college students＇ critical thinking ability, and specific suggestions on the practice are articulated such as designing diversified listening and speaking lead-in activities to activate or supplement the relative notion and background knowledge, using variety of challenging reading-discussion-writing tasks, and conducting mutual evaluation, etc., to let students deeply understand the text through discussion and promote their language competence and writing ability as well as their reflective thinking ability.展开更多
While there are several research studies that planned to discover what drives students＇ motivation to learn English as a foreign/second language, to our knowledge there have been no pragmatic studies in the field of ...While there are several research studies that planned to discover what drives students＇ motivation to learn English as a foreign/second language, to our knowledge there have been no pragmatic studies in the field of EFL that examined Sudanese college-level students learning motivation. This study, therefore, intends to investigate Sudanese college-level students＇ motivation and its correlation to student＇s achievement. With strong emphasis on motivation, this study is, also examining the relationship between students＇ motivation and achievement when learning English as foreign language. The participants in this study were college-level students in Sudan. The data was collected from 60 college level students. This quantitative study employed both Pearson Correlation methods of analysis as well as ANOVA Regression analysis. The results of this study revealed that there is strong correlation between students＇ motivation and students＇ achievement.展开更多
It is vital that Sri Lankan undergraduate students learn to speak competently because they need to become capable communicators in order to accomplish a wide range of goals and to become useful members of their commun...It is vital that Sri Lankan undergraduate students learn to speak competently because they need to become capable communicators in order to accomplish a wide range of goals and to become useful members of their communities. However, teaching oral communication skills to English language learners has always been a challenge for the language teacher. As a result, teachers have often attempted to look for new methods that would enable students’ learning process by creating a difference in the English as a second language （ESL） learning-teaching classroom. This paper describes the applications of the task-based language teaching （TBLT） methodology in which communicative tasks engage a group of undergraduates in authentic conversation in order to teach oral communication skills in an academic setting. The Sri Lankan ESL learning-teaching context was chosen as the research context for this study and comprised a sample of randomly selected 60 2nd-year undergraduates whose proficiency in English was at elementary level. This utilized both qualitative and quantitative measurements and followed the model, presented by Willis （1996）, which includes three stages： pre-task stage, task-cycle and language focus for TBLT in the ESL learning-teaching classroom. Students were required to work in groups and the task-cycles involved a questionnaire survey game in which they were required to construct “Wh” questions in order to elicit information from others. The findings report that this approach has inspired students better in learning oral communication skills unlike many conventional teaching methods which promote a form-focused theory. They tried to experiment with what they knew without fear of being corrected by the teacher when an error was made, got feedback from their peers and formulated ＆ reformulated their ideas with a sense of accuracy and fluency. The researcher recommends that ESL teaching practitioners use TBLT methodology in their classroom, since this enhances learners’ accuracy and fluency. Furthermore, language teachers can spend more time in reflection which will allow them to think critically on their classroom behaviour. They can identify and work on their weaknesses in the classroom as well as building on their strengths.展开更多
Male and female speech is different in many ways. This study intends to compare and contrast love expressions used by American and Chinese university students. The participants of 40 university students, including Ame...Male and female speech is different in many ways. This study intends to compare and contrast love expressions used by American and Chinese university students. The participants of 40 university students, including American male university students, American female university students, Chinese male university students, and Chinese female university students, were selected randomly. Each of them was given one questionnaire. There was an introductory question, which aimed at finding out whether the participants would choose to express their love in verbal or written language, and if they would, how they would express it. Then the participants were channeled into the four different parts. Results showed that male university students of both nations were more eager to express their love and also had less constraints and pressure compared with their female counterparts did. American university students of both genders were more open and direct when they expressed their love, whereas Chinese university students of both genders were more reserved and tended to express their love indirectly.展开更多
The study, conducted in the academic year 2008, explores the potential differences in the use of a dictionary in support of a standard writing task by two student groups at two different proficiency levels. Fifty seve...The study, conducted in the academic year 2008, explores the potential differences in the use of a dictionary in support of a standard writing task by two student groups at two different proficiency levels. Fifty seven students working on a real classroom assignment were observed; in order to make sure that the subjects behaved as they normally would, they had not been informed that their dictionary behavior was to be observed. The study which shows that the need for a dictionary is smaller in the case of more advanced students may be of interest to those foreign language teachers who fear that giving a student an unlimited access to a dictionary may hamper the development of his expressive abilities. In turn, a marked preference on the part of more advanced students for an L I-L2, paralleled by a sustained interest in information categories typically placed in foreign learner＇s dictionaries suggests that advanced language learners writing in English would probably opt for a lexicographic product combining the best of both dictionary types： an LI-L2 and an MLD.展开更多
Content-based instruction has been gaining widespread popularity in the teaching of both ESL and EFL. Despite its reported and recognized advantages, however, many English teachers fail to make full use of its content...Content-based instruction has been gaining widespread popularity in the teaching of both ESL and EFL. Despite its reported and recognized advantages, however, many English teachers fail to make full use of its content and benefits of language learning. In addition, there are comparatively few studies which offer theoretical foundation for content-based teaching and constructive suggestions for its integration in the settings of EFL. This article aims to connect theory with practice and help teachers of EFL in China to maximize the potential of content-based instruction. To achieve this goal, it first presents a short literature review on project-based instruction, followed by a summary of its advantages and beneficial outcomes of using the intemet in order to implement it. It then proposes an eight-step process for the sequencing of project work and finally demonstrate a real-world project specially designed for Chinese EFL students. Both the design and the teaching activities proposed can be easily transferred to other settings..展开更多
This paper reports a case study of an EFL student＇s English language learning through the Internet. It draws on a larger longitudinal study of six Chinese university students＇ critical web literacy practices, and fo...This paper reports a case study of an EFL student＇s English language learning through the Internet. It draws on a larger longitudinal study of six Chinese university students＇ critical web literacy practices, and focuses on one of the participants, Tao. Using interviews as the primary data source, the study explored how the student engaged in daily online literacy practices, and how he utilized digital media and open resources to learn English autonomously. The findings suggest that the Internet and digital media were his major tools for learning English. Tao＇s web literacy practices were connected to his identity construction and the development of critical thinking skills in the use of both English and Chinese. This paper raises questions about Chinese university students＇ autonomy in their digital literacy development and the learning of English in the digital age of globalization.展开更多
文摘The goal of autonomous language learning is to create an atmosphere where learners take charge of their own learning. Creating this atmosphere encounters various challenges which are partially context-specific. Influenced by the learning environment, learnners of different educational contexts vary in their degree of autonomy. The present study examines the impact of the learning environment on learner autonomy at higher education. The study focuses on the differences between Polish and Yemeni EFL （English as a Foreign Language） learners with respect to their autonomy in language learning. A questionnaire was distributed to a total of 140 （59 Polish and 81 Yemeni） undergraduate learners. The questionnaire was coded into seven categories： beliefs and attitudes, planning, management, self-regulation, sources and materials, in-class responsibility, and out-of-class responsibility. Data were analysed quantitatively via SPSS （Statistical Product and Service Solutions）. Independent Sample t-Test is used to investigate the differences between Polish and Yemein learners and Pearson Correlation is used to perform correlational analysis among the seven categories. The results show significant differences between Polish and Yemeni learners in some of the categories as well as a significant correlation among other categories
文摘The presentation aims at addressing the most frequently applied strategies for language learning adopted by Polish students of English at the university level. For the purpose of data collection, R. Oxford＇s Strategy Inventory for Language Learning （SILL） is adopted. The analysis is an attempt at identifying common existing patterns or preferred ways of language processing among learners at advanced level of language mastery.
文摘Critical thinking ability is the core skill of higher education. How to train the non-English major students＇ critical thinking ability in the English writing instruction plays an important role in the compound personnel training. In this paper, the reading-discussion-writing approach which guarantees the innovative construction of writing is proposed to train college students＇ critical thinking ability, and specific suggestions on the practice are articulated such as designing diversified listening and speaking lead-in activities to activate or supplement the relative notion and background knowledge, using variety of challenging reading-discussion-writing tasks, and conducting mutual evaluation, etc., to let students deeply understand the text through discussion and promote their language competence and writing ability as well as their reflective thinking ability.
文摘While there are several research studies that planned to discover what drives students＇ motivation to learn English as a foreign/second language, to our knowledge there have been no pragmatic studies in the field of EFL that examined Sudanese college-level students learning motivation. This study, therefore, intends to investigate Sudanese college-level students＇ motivation and its correlation to student＇s achievement. With strong emphasis on motivation, this study is, also examining the relationship between students＇ motivation and achievement when learning English as foreign language. The participants in this study were college-level students in Sudan. The data was collected from 60 college level students. This quantitative study employed both Pearson Correlation methods of analysis as well as ANOVA Regression analysis. The results of this study revealed that there is strong correlation between students＇ motivation and students＇ achievement.
文摘It is vital that Sri Lankan undergraduate students learn to speak competently because they need to become capable communicators in order to accomplish a wide range of goals and to become useful members of their communities. However, teaching oral communication skills to English language learners has always been a challenge for the language teacher. As a result, teachers have often attempted to look for new methods that would enable students’ learning process by creating a difference in the English as a second language （ESL） learning-teaching classroom. This paper describes the applications of the task-based language teaching （TBLT） methodology in which communicative tasks engage a group of undergraduates in authentic conversation in order to teach oral communication skills in an academic setting. The Sri Lankan ESL learning-teaching context was chosen as the research context for this study and comprised a sample of randomly selected 60 2nd-year undergraduates whose proficiency in English was at elementary level. This utilized both qualitative and quantitative measurements and followed the model, presented by Willis （1996）, which includes three stages： pre-task stage, task-cycle and language focus for TBLT in the ESL learning-teaching classroom. Students were required to work in groups and the task-cycles involved a questionnaire survey game in which they were required to construct “Wh” questions in order to elicit information from others. The findings report that this approach has inspired students better in learning oral communication skills unlike many conventional teaching methods which promote a form-focused theory. They tried to experiment with what they knew without fear of being corrected by the teacher when an error was made, got feedback from their peers and formulated ＆ reformulated their ideas with a sense of accuracy and fluency. The researcher recommends that ESL teaching practitioners use TBLT methodology in their classroom, since this enhances learners’ accuracy and fluency. Furthermore, language teachers can spend more time in reflection which will allow them to think critically on their classroom behaviour. They can identify and work on their weaknesses in the classroom as well as building on their strengths.
文摘Male and female speech is different in many ways. This study intends to compare and contrast love expressions used by American and Chinese university students. The participants of 40 university students, including American male university students, American female university students, Chinese male university students, and Chinese female university students, were selected randomly. Each of them was given one questionnaire. There was an introductory question, which aimed at finding out whether the participants would choose to express their love in verbal or written language, and if they would, how they would express it. Then the participants were channeled into the four different parts. Results showed that male university students of both nations were more eager to express their love and also had less constraints and pressure compared with their female counterparts did. American university students of both genders were more open and direct when they expressed their love, whereas Chinese university students of both genders were more reserved and tended to express their love indirectly.
文摘The study, conducted in the academic year 2008, explores the potential differences in the use of a dictionary in support of a standard writing task by two student groups at two different proficiency levels. Fifty seven students working on a real classroom assignment were observed; in order to make sure that the subjects behaved as they normally would, they had not been informed that their dictionary behavior was to be observed. The study which shows that the need for a dictionary is smaller in the case of more advanced students may be of interest to those foreign language teachers who fear that giving a student an unlimited access to a dictionary may hamper the development of his expressive abilities. In turn, a marked preference on the part of more advanced students for an L I-L2, paralleled by a sustained interest in information categories typically placed in foreign learner＇s dictionaries suggests that advanced language learners writing in English would probably opt for a lexicographic product combining the best of both dictionary types： an LI-L2 and an MLD.
文摘Content-based instruction has been gaining widespread popularity in the teaching of both ESL and EFL. Despite its reported and recognized advantages, however, many English teachers fail to make full use of its content and benefits of language learning. In addition, there are comparatively few studies which offer theoretical foundation for content-based teaching and constructive suggestions for its integration in the settings of EFL. This article aims to connect theory with practice and help teachers of EFL in China to maximize the potential of content-based instruction. To achieve this goal, it first presents a short literature review on project-based instruction, followed by a summary of its advantages and beneficial outcomes of using the intemet in order to implement it. It then proposes an eight-step process for the sequencing of project work and finally demonstrate a real-world project specially designed for Chinese EFL students. Both the design and the teaching activities proposed can be easily transferred to other settings..
文摘This paper reports a case study of an EFL student＇s English language learning through the Internet. It draws on a larger longitudinal study of six Chinese university students＇ critical web literacy practices, and focuses on one of the participants, Tao. Using interviews as the primary data source, the study explored how the student engaged in daily online literacy practices, and how he utilized digital media and open resources to learn English autonomously. The findings suggest that the Internet and digital media were his major tools for learning English. Tao＇s web literacy practices were connected to his identity construction and the development of critical thinking skills in the use of both English and Chinese. This paper raises questions about Chinese university students＇ autonomy in their digital literacy development and the learning of English in the digital age of globalization.
