Writing task is an integral part of education in ESL (English as a Second Language) at the foundation level. It has been observed that foundation level 3 students of Arab Open University have an insufficient knowled...Writing task is an integral part of education in ESL (English as a Second Language) at the foundation level. It has been observed that foundation level 3 students of Arab Open University have an insufficient knowledge of vocabulary which is reflected on their writing, as their usage of vocabulary is confined to a number of limited common words. This research explores the effect of collaborative writing on students' vocabulary acquisition. All the writing tasks were related to educational topics in order to provide students with the lexical items related to the same subject. This study took place in one of the foundation level 3 classes at Arab Open University, Oman branch. Fourteen anonymous Arab students for whom English is considered as the second language participated in this study. All students are in the intermediate level of English language proficiency. For each writing task, five collocations were selected to be taught in the class over a period of five weeks. The achieved outcomes revealed contrary results to the previous studies that had shown the effective impact of collaborative writing. This study has discussed the contrary impact of collaborative writing on improving the learners' vocabulary acquisition in addition to the challenges students faced during collaborative writing task. Finally, this research provides recommendations for the effective collaborative writing in the foundation students' language proficiency.展开更多
In the course of college English teaching, English teachers may find some errors made by the non-English majors. Errors made when they are using English verbs are analyzed from the aspect of the similarities and diffe...In the course of college English teaching, English teachers may find some errors made by the non-English majors. Errors made when they are using English verbs are analyzed from the aspect of the similarities and differences between English verbs and Chinese verbs in this thesis. We can conclude that the most obvious cause of the misuse seems to be the interference of the first language (L1), that is, interlingual errors affect the English output of Chinese students. At last, the author calls for more input of the difference between L1 and L2 in L2 teaching and acquisition so that the same mistakes can be avoided.展开更多
At first, this paper presents the origin, developments and main view of Error Analysis. Then, based on the theories of Error Analysis, this paper collected and analyzed 398 errors in 30 compositions randomly selected ...At first, this paper presents the origin, developments and main view of Error Analysis. Then, based on the theories of Error Analysis, this paper collected and analyzed 398 errors in 30 compositions randomly selected from CLEC, written for the exam of CET-4. The results showed that errors were mainly expressed form the aspects of usage of words and forms, and rooted from three sources, the shortage on knowledge of grammar and the lack of standardization on language usage, intralingual transfer and the interlingual transfer. Then, this paper touched upon the principles and methods of English writing to provide with some suggestions for the teaching of English writing in China.展开更多
EFL (English as a Foreign Language) speaking is a very demanding skill that requires learners' socio-pragmatic as well as strategic competence in any interactional situation, and lexis proves to play a crucial role...EFL (English as a Foreign Language) speaking is a very demanding skill that requires learners' socio-pragmatic as well as strategic competence in any interactional situation, and lexis proves to play a crucial role in this process. However, few studies have investigated how both EFL teachers and learners view and analyze situations in which learners are not producing enough spoken language in class, and the reasons behind them. The present study will pinpoint the significant role of lexis in Moroccan learners' speaking production. To this end, 40 EFL teachers and 200 Moroccan high school students are surveyed and interviewed to reveal their perceptions of the speaking skill and the corresponding high significance of lexis in this instance. Results show that both teachers and learners identify vocabulary deficiency as the main factor behind students' inability to speak English. In the present paper, among the many suggestions that could be proposed to deal with this situation, it is argued that one efficient way would be to assist the students during the process of L2 (second language) vocabulary learning through vocabulary learning strategy instruction. Pedagogical and research implication will be given in response to the difficulties encountered in this area as have been identified by the EFL teachers and learners surveyed.展开更多
This paper aims at investigating the teletandem learning interactions between a group of Brazilian students from Instituto Federal de Educagao, Ciencia e Tecnologia do Estado de Goias, Brazil, and a group of foreign s...This paper aims at investigating the teletandem learning interactions between a group of Brazilian students from Instituto Federal de Educagao, Ciencia e Tecnologia do Estado de Goias, Brazil, and a group of foreign students from two German universities. In this study, the Brazilian students helped their foreign partners with Portuguese learning and were helped by them in the English learning. The participants used a synchronous computer software called Openmeetings and also an electronic dictionary as a complementary tool. Adopting a qualitative perspective in the data collection and analysis, this case study was conducted in the second semester of 2010. The data were collected by means of conversation sessions through Openmeetings and were analyzed in the light of studies on sociocultural theory as well as on tandem/teletandem language learning researches. The data analyses showed that the participants used English as an anchoring language to work with Portuguese and English itself, and German was introduced in the teletandem sessions. The data also showed that the whiteboard and the electronic dictionary were used as complementary resources to the use of audio and video for the language learning process the participants engaged in.展开更多
The present paper examines gender effects on the use of emotion vocabulary in SECCL.The study reveals both inter-group and intra-group differences in the use of English emotion words by the female and male Chinese EFL...The present paper examines gender effects on the use of emotion vocabulary in SECCL.The study reveals both inter-group and intra-group differences in the use of English emotion words by the female and male Chinese EFL learners,and the findings also show that Chinese learners use emotion vocabulary in ways different from native English speakers.The gender difference is attributed to the ways in which Chinese culture defines and values women and men in terms of emotion displaying.The paper suggests that learning English emotion words should be integrated with learning cultural meanings associated with them.展开更多
文摘Writing task is an integral part of education in ESL (English as a Second Language) at the foundation level. It has been observed that foundation level 3 students of Arab Open University have an insufficient knowledge of vocabulary which is reflected on their writing, as their usage of vocabulary is confined to a number of limited common words. This research explores the effect of collaborative writing on students' vocabulary acquisition. All the writing tasks were related to educational topics in order to provide students with the lexical items related to the same subject. This study took place in one of the foundation level 3 classes at Arab Open University, Oman branch. Fourteen anonymous Arab students for whom English is considered as the second language participated in this study. All students are in the intermediate level of English language proficiency. For each writing task, five collocations were selected to be taught in the class over a period of five weeks. The achieved outcomes revealed contrary results to the previous studies that had shown the effective impact of collaborative writing. This study has discussed the contrary impact of collaborative writing on improving the learners' vocabulary acquisition in addition to the challenges students faced during collaborative writing task. Finally, this research provides recommendations for the effective collaborative writing in the foundation students' language proficiency.
文摘In the course of college English teaching, English teachers may find some errors made by the non-English majors. Errors made when they are using English verbs are analyzed from the aspect of the similarities and differences between English verbs and Chinese verbs in this thesis. We can conclude that the most obvious cause of the misuse seems to be the interference of the first language (L1), that is, interlingual errors affect the English output of Chinese students. At last, the author calls for more input of the difference between L1 and L2 in L2 teaching and acquisition so that the same mistakes can be avoided.
文摘At first, this paper presents the origin, developments and main view of Error Analysis. Then, based on the theories of Error Analysis, this paper collected and analyzed 398 errors in 30 compositions randomly selected from CLEC, written for the exam of CET-4. The results showed that errors were mainly expressed form the aspects of usage of words and forms, and rooted from three sources, the shortage on knowledge of grammar and the lack of standardization on language usage, intralingual transfer and the interlingual transfer. Then, this paper touched upon the principles and methods of English writing to provide with some suggestions for the teaching of English writing in China.
文摘EFL (English as a Foreign Language) speaking is a very demanding skill that requires learners' socio-pragmatic as well as strategic competence in any interactional situation, and lexis proves to play a crucial role in this process. However, few studies have investigated how both EFL teachers and learners view and analyze situations in which learners are not producing enough spoken language in class, and the reasons behind them. The present study will pinpoint the significant role of lexis in Moroccan learners' speaking production. To this end, 40 EFL teachers and 200 Moroccan high school students are surveyed and interviewed to reveal their perceptions of the speaking skill and the corresponding high significance of lexis in this instance. Results show that both teachers and learners identify vocabulary deficiency as the main factor behind students' inability to speak English. In the present paper, among the many suggestions that could be proposed to deal with this situation, it is argued that one efficient way would be to assist the students during the process of L2 (second language) vocabulary learning through vocabulary learning strategy instruction. Pedagogical and research implication will be given in response to the difficulties encountered in this area as have been identified by the EFL teachers and learners surveyed.
文摘This paper aims at investigating the teletandem learning interactions between a group of Brazilian students from Instituto Federal de Educagao, Ciencia e Tecnologia do Estado de Goias, Brazil, and a group of foreign students from two German universities. In this study, the Brazilian students helped their foreign partners with Portuguese learning and were helped by them in the English learning. The participants used a synchronous computer software called Openmeetings and also an electronic dictionary as a complementary tool. Adopting a qualitative perspective in the data collection and analysis, this case study was conducted in the second semester of 2010. The data were collected by means of conversation sessions through Openmeetings and were analyzed in the light of studies on sociocultural theory as well as on tandem/teletandem language learning researches. The data analyses showed that the participants used English as an anchoring language to work with Portuguese and English itself, and German was introduced in the teletandem sessions. The data also showed that the whiteboard and the electronic dictionary were used as complementary resources to the use of audio and video for the language learning process the participants engaged in.
文摘The present paper examines gender effects on the use of emotion vocabulary in SECCL.The study reveals both inter-group and intra-group differences in the use of English emotion words by the female and male Chinese EFL learners,and the findings also show that Chinese learners use emotion vocabulary in ways different from native English speakers.The gender difference is attributed to the ways in which Chinese culture defines and values women and men in terms of emotion displaying.The paper suggests that learning English emotion words should be integrated with learning cultural meanings associated with them.