This paper investigates how the type of written feedback provided by teachers affects learners’ ability to revise essays. A total of 120 participants participated in two rounds of essay composition and feedback deliv...This paper investigates how the type of written feedback provided by teachers affects learners’ ability to revise essays. A total of 120 participants participated in two rounds of essay composition and feedback delivery. The findings indicate that learners who receive comments in the form of questions are more prone to make revisions compared to those receiving statements or imperatives. These results hold significant implications for educators and the ways they utilize written feedback to enhance learners’ writing skills.展开更多
Assessment exercises constitute a crucial component of the teaching and learning process,serving the purpose of gauging the degree to which learning objectives have been accomplished.This study aims to assess the math...Assessment exercises constitute a crucial component of the teaching and learning process,serving the purpose of gauging the degree to which learning objectives have been accomplished.This study aims to assess the mathematics performance of Grade 7 learners using the 50-30-20 exercise.Specifically,this study seeks to determine the learners’pre-test and post-test mean scores,identify significant differences between the pre-test and post-test results,evaluate learners’exercises,and propose enhanced exercises.The research employs a quasi-experimental design,with 40 Grade 7 learners in the school year 2023-2024 as participants,selected through purposive non-random sampling.Statistical data analysis involves the use of mean,standard deviation,paired t-test,and Cohen’s D effect size.Ethical considerations were paramount,as evidenced by a letter of authorization from the school head outlining the strict adherence to voluntary participation,informed parental consent,anonymity,confidentiality,risk mitigation,results-sharing protocols,and the commitment to keeping research data confidential.The data yielded a remarkable outcome:the experimental group exhibited improvement in both the pre-test and post-test.This result substantiates the initial objective of the study,showcasing a noteworthy and favorable performance among the participants.Consequently,it suggests that a majority of the participants strongly agree that the 50-30-20 exercises contribute to enhancing their understanding and problem-solving skills,as well as their ability to grasp mathematical concepts and improve their overall performance in mathematics.Therefore,the 50-30-20 exercises not only facilitated students in understanding mathematics lessons but were also aligned with the Department of Education’s development plan.展开更多
Young learners’English(YLE)tests have become increasingly prevalent among and important to Chinese English learners and their parents.In China,parents are actively involved in their children’s education and test-tak...Young learners’English(YLE)tests have become increasingly prevalent among and important to Chinese English learners and their parents.In China,parents are actively involved in their children’s education and test-taking decisions,and their participation has given rise to a series of social impacts.Although parent involvement has received increasing public and academic attention in newspaper and scholarly articles,there exists no thorough analysis of current research on parents’roles in young learners’test-taking.To address this gap,we systemically analyzed Chinese newspaper articles and academic articles between 2011 and 2021 to elicit Chinese parents’roles in YLE test-taking.Our thematic analysis of the literature identifies the ways in which parents influence their children’s test-taking experiences,and how the tests affect this influence.Specifically,our results elicit 1)parents’engagement in YLE testing;2)parents’understanding of the intended uses of YLE tests;3)parents’perception and consequences of their involvement in YLE testing;and 4)parents’backgrounds.This analysis reveals the popularity of YLE tests among young learners and their parents in China and public concern over test-related issues.It also broadens our understanding of YLE testing impact and suggests future potential research directions.展开更多
While a plethora of studies has been conducted to explore demotivation and its impact on mental health in second language(L2)education,scanty research focuses on demotivation in L2 speaking learning.Particularly,littl...While a plethora of studies has been conducted to explore demotivation and its impact on mental health in second language(L2)education,scanty research focuses on demotivation in L2 speaking learning.Particularly,little research explores the measures to quantify L2 speaking demotivation.The present two-phase study attempts to develop and validate an English Speaking Demotivation Scale(ESDS).To this end,an independent sample of 207 Chinese tertiary learners of English as a Foreign Language(EFL)participated in the development phase,and another group of 188 Chinese EFL learners was recruited for the validation of the scale.Exploratory Factor Analysis(EFA)and Confirmatory Factor Analysis(CFA)were employed to determine the factor structure of the scale.The EFA results revealed a six-factor solution with Teacher-related Factors in Learning Spoken English(TFLSE),Interest and Valence in Learning Spoken English(IVLSE),Self-efficacy in Learning Spoken English(SELSE),Negative Peer Influence in Learning Spoken English(NPILSE),Undesirable Environment for Learning Spoken English(UELSE),and Negative Influence of Assessment and Learning Materials in speaking class(NIALM).In the validation phase,Confirmatory Factor Analysis(CFA)was performed to validate the internal structure of the scale.The CFA results showed that the model fits the data well.Overall,the ESDS is a robust and trustworthy psychometric tool that could be utilized to examine L2 speaking demotivation.Implications for diminishing EFL learners’demotivation,lessening their aversive emotions and promoting their mental health are also discussed.展开更多
The importance of listening as one of the communication skills cannot be overstated.However,in many areas,listening is neglected.For young learners,learning to listen is even more beneficial for their future studies,t...The importance of listening as one of the communication skills cannot be overstated.However,in many areas,listening is neglected.For young learners,learning to listen is even more beneficial for their future studies,therefore,listening skills should be given due importance.展开更多
EFL learners,who study English as a foreign language,often use different learning strategies in the learning process,with positive and negative results in their academic performance.Whether these learning strategies a...EFL learners,who study English as a foreign language,often use different learning strategies in the learning process,with positive and negative results in their academic performance.Whether these learning strategies are effective or not are questions to be explored.So,the author examined the relationship between Chinese EFL learners’test results and the use of motivated strategies for learning in English learning.Participants are students who have taken a high-stake standardized English proficiency test:IELTS(International English Language Testing System)with band score obtained.The results show that students’performance on high-stakes assessment is significantly associated with the use of motivated learning strategies like internal value in sharp contrast to test anxiety,which bears no relevance.Interviews are then implemented to candidates with different levels of English proficiency to figure out other related factors contributing to the test results.展开更多
Mobile-assisted language learning(MALL)has been regarded as an excellent tool in the field of language acquisition as modern technology develops.The popularity of using mobile devices in education makes it possible fo...Mobile-assisted language learning(MALL)has been regarded as an excellent tool in the field of language acquisition as modern technology develops.The popularity of using mobile devices in education makes it possible for people to learn languages through platforms like tablets and smartphones from anywhere and at any time.However,the application of MALL in a collaborative student-centered environment has received comparatively little attention.Since spoken fluency and vocabulary size are the two crucial components of language proficiency,this study aims to investigate if young learners can improve their native language level through learning online beyond the classroom.The quantitative data reveal that MALL does make a difference in students’linguistic skills.The results show that the incorporation of mobile applications into language learning could better help learners achieve the learning outcomes and improve their communication skills than simply using conventional methods.In addition,the data of the questionnaire exposed some issues that need to be continuously improved.The viable suggestions are also discussed to share ideas about building a more sustainable learning environment in a data-driven age.展开更多
On the basis of the explanation of the notion of pragmatic competence and review of its previous teaching, this paper con-cludes that instructions can improve L2 learners’ pragmatic competence.
Background:The Science,PE,&Me!(SPEM)curriculum is a concept-based physical education curriculum that offers students coherent educational experiences for constructing health-related fitness knowledge through movem...Background:The Science,PE,&Me!(SPEM)curriculum is a concept-based physical education curriculum that offers students coherent educational experiences for constructing health-related fitness knowledge through movement experiences.The purpose of this study was to evaluate students’motivational response to the SPEM curriculum from the situational interest perspective.Methods:The study used a cluster randomized controlled design in which 30 elementary schools in one of the largest metropolitan areas in the eastern United States were randomly assigned to an experimental or comparison condition.Although all students in the 3rd,4th,and 5th grades in the targeted schools were eligible to participate in the study,a random sample of students from the experimental(n=1749;15 schools)and comparison groups(n=1985;15 schools)provided data.Students’motivational response to the SPEM curriculum or comparison curriculum was measured using the previously validated Situational Interest Scale-Elementary.Data were analyzed using structural mean modeling.Results:The results demonstrated that the experimental group(as reference group)showed significantly higher enjoyment(z=-2.01),challenge(z=-6.54),exploration(z=-12.195),novelty(z=-8.80),and attention demand(z=-7.90)than the comparison group.Conclusion:The findings indicate that the SPEM curriculum created a more situationally interesting context for learning than the comparison physical education curriculum.展开更多
Prediction is one of the comprehension processing skills encapsulated by the interactive approach instruction.Prediction skills enable learners to decode the meaning of comprehension passages by making guesses about t...Prediction is one of the comprehension processing skills encapsulated by the interactive approach instruction.Prediction skills enable learners to decode the meaning of comprehension passages by making guesses about the contents of texts to be read.Learners in Vihiga County perform poorer in English language examinations than their peers in neighbouring counties.The performance is weaker in comprehension than in grammar sections.Despite this,no study has assessed the nexus between the use of prediction skills and learners’achievement in reading comprehension.This study applied the Solomon Four-Group Design to obtain primary data from 279 primary school learners and eight teachers in 2017.Multiple Linear Regression was used to generate two models,one for the experimental group(Model 1)and one for the control group(Model 2).Results show that the influence of prediction skills on learners’achievement in reading comprehension was statistically significant the experimental group,but insignificant in the control group.However,the influence seemed to be stronger in the experimental than in the control group,which suggests that training English language teachers on how to correctly apply prediction skills is likely to improve learners’achievement in reading comprehension.The study recommends the need to:sensitise teachers to use textbooks cautiously,while supplementing with relevant resource materials;sensitise teachers on the need to guide learners through titles;as well as update the teacher training curriculum by integrating inter alia,new instructional methods based on information and communication technology and entrenching innovation to enable teachers diversify instructional resources.展开更多
This study develops a computational model for simulation of behaviors of learners under the influence of motivation and engagement environment based on Cellular Automata (CA). It investigates the changing patterns of ...This study develops a computational model for simulation of behaviors of learners under the influence of motivation and engagement environment based on Cellular Automata (CA). It investigates the changing patterns of learners’ behaviors when motivation and engagement environment are assigned with different values respectively. The simulation process indicates that the internal factor, which is the motivation in this paper, plays a key role in changing learners’ behaviors under certain circumstance and the engagement environment also significantly influences learner’s perception. The results obtained also show good agreement with the phenomenon generally being observed in practice.展开更多
Studies on conjunctions used by Chinese English as a Foreign Language(EFL)learners over the past ten years have focused mainly on the use of conjunctions in argumentative writing,and there is little empirical work on ...Studies on conjunctions used by Chinese English as a Foreign Language(EFL)learners over the past ten years have focused mainly on the use of conjunctions in argumentative writing,and there is little empirical work on conjunction“and”in narrative writing.The purpose of this paper is to explore the characteristics of the semantic relations of“and”used in the narrative writing of Chinese EFL learners from the perspective of text coherence.Through analysis of narrative writing of 29 sophomores,this study investigates the characteristics of semantic relations expressed by the conjunction“and”and the differences in the use of semantic relations of“and”between high-score and low-score writing.The results show different frequencies of the use of semantic relations of“and”.ELF learners prefer to use the term“and”to build progressive relation and parallel relation more than any other relation.Both high-score and low-score writing use a sizable number of“and”to build progressive relation and parallel relation,but high-score writing obviously contains more guiding relations and fewer supplementary relations.These findings have some pedagogical implications for teaching transitions.展开更多
According to the understanding of English learning process and the surrounding educational environment,it is found that most English learners have not received the training of morpheme awareness,and English teachers h...According to the understanding of English learning process and the surrounding educational environment,it is found that most English learners have not received the training of morpheme awareness,and English teachers have hardly cultivated their students’morpheme awareness.In English learning,it is found that English morpheme awareness plays a role in promoting English learning.It can be seen from the relevant literature that the identification of English morphemes is very important for English learners’language acquisition and development,and has attracted the attention of researchers at home and abroad.This paper mainly studies the influence of morpheme awareness on junior middle school English learners’reading comprehension.展开更多
Language input in foreign language classrooms is no longer restricted to one particular mode of transmission,but it can be achieved by use of different modes.Multimodality or the combination of various modes has been ...Language input in foreign language classrooms is no longer restricted to one particular mode of transmission,but it can be achieved by use of different modes.Multimodality or the combination of various modes has been applied to stimulate foreign language learning.The present paper aims to verify the effectiveness of multimodal input in language learning.It demonstrates the experiment conducted in two freshman classes in a university.The two classes used the same textbook supported by audio CD containing the recorded material.The experiment class,however,additionally has some visuals in listening classes to strengthen the linguistic input.The research lasted for one semester and findings from the study show that multimodal input has significantly improved the listening and speaking abilities of the students and also has positive impacts on the learners’attitudes towards language study.展开更多
Tandem language learning is important in enhancing learners’language proficiency and fostering cultural knowledge.However,learners’perspectives on tandem learning programs have received little attention,and no resea...Tandem language learning is important in enhancing learners’language proficiency and fostering cultural knowledge.However,learners’perspectives on tandem learning programs have received little attention,and no research exists concerning learners’perspectives on long-term tandem language learning.Based on an anonymous online survey,this article examines how learners perceive a face-to-face tandem Chinese language partner program after participation for three years.The results indicate that,whereas the participants acknowledge the benefits of the participation of the language partner program,they identify challenges regarding logistics and task design.The implications of the findings are also discussed.展开更多
The technology has been utilized by many teachers to provide English language learners with better learning experience.But it can not be denied that the technology is a two edged sword.The technology could facilitate ...The technology has been utilized by many teachers to provide English language learners with better learning experience.But it can not be denied that the technology is a two edged sword.The technology could facilitate the students’learning if it is used in a proper way.Otherwise,the technology may even have adverse effects.The paper will illustrate how the teacher could succeed in adapting the technology to meet specific demand of the students through case study.展开更多
This study aimed to identify the effectiveness of explicit vocabulary instruction on productive vocabulary learning in writing among intermediate school learners in Saudi Arabia,verify the existence of any statistical...This study aimed to identify the effectiveness of explicit vocabulary instruction on productive vocabulary learning in writing among intermediate school learners in Saudi Arabia,verify the existence of any statistically significant differences at the significance level of 0.01 between the mean scores of the post-test of the control group and the experimental group in the vocabulary test,and verify the existence of any statistically significant differences at the significance level of 0.01 between the mean scores of the pre-and post-test of the experimental group in the vocabulary test in favor of the post-test.The study community consisted of all intermediate school students in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,while the study sample included 30 students.The experimental method was adopted to identify the effectiveness of explicit vocabulary instruction on productive vocabulary learning in writing and the achievement test was used as the study tool.The study reached many results including there were no statistically significant differences at the significance level of 0.01 between the mean scores of the post-test of the control group and the experimental group in the vocabulary test and there were no statistically significant differences at the significance level of 0.01 between the mean scores of the pre-and post-test of the experimental group in the vocabulary test in favor of the post-test.According to these results,some recommendations and proposals were made including training English teachers at the intermediate school level in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,on explicit vocabulary instruction and conducting future researches on the trends of English teachers at the intermediate school level,in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,regarding the adoption of explicit vocabulary instruction while teaching the English language.展开更多
This study presents a comparative analysis of verb-noun collocation errors made by Chinese EFL learners with different language proficiency.Linguistic data from two sub-corpora of CLEC(Chinese Learner English Corpus,G...This study presents a comparative analysis of verb-noun collocation errors made by Chinese EFL learners with different language proficiency.Linguistic data from two sub-corpora of CLEC(Chinese Learner English Corpus,Gui&Yang,1999)consist of the compositions written freely by Chinese senior high school students(ST2)and the 3rd-and 4th-year English majors of Chinese universities(ST6).The study results show that four types of verb-noun collocation errors are frequently made due to incorrect L1 translation,misuse of relative synonyms,misuse of delexical verbs,and misuse of part of speech;the number of errors decreases with the development of language proficiency,especially errors by incorrect L1 translation and relative synonyms.And for both ST2 and ST6 EFL learners,errors resulted from incorrect L1 translation account for nearly a half with the same high-frequency words.It is also found that ST6 learners’competence in collocation and synonym identification doesn’t grow with the increase of their vocabulary,as is shown in the case of overusing delexical verbs in collocation,the same error made by ST2 learners,who have a significantly weaker command of delexical verbs.Implications of the findings are also discussed with the purpose of raising the awareness of collocation pedagogy and enhancing EFL learners’collocation competence.展开更多
Idiom acquisition plays an important role in the process of second language learning and acquisition.Proper understanding of linguistic transfer in terms of English idiom acquisition is helpful for EFL learners to imp...Idiom acquisition plays an important role in the process of second language learning and acquisition.Proper understanding of linguistic transfer in terms of English idiom acquisition is helpful for EFL learners to improve the efficiency of learning English and also facilitates the process of English teaching.This study examines the Chinese learner’s language transfer features manifested in their understanding of English idioms which are classified into five different types according to their linguistic forms and conceptual bases.The results suggest that equivalent linguistic forms and equivalent conceptual bases of idioms are helpful to cause positive transfer while different conceptual bases of idioms may result in negative cross-linguistic transfer.This article may contribute to the development of language transfer theory and provide pedagogical implications of how English idioms should be learned by students and taught by English teachers.展开更多
“Attention”is a very vital cognitive mechanism.Cognitive psychology considers“attention”as the focus of mental activity and consciousness on an object.People engage their senses and memory to actively process the ...“Attention”is a very vital cognitive mechanism.Cognitive psychology considers“attention”as the focus of mental activity and consciousness on an object.People engage their senses and memory to actively process the object in front of them.Theories of second language acquisition suggest that a large amount of input is the basis for language acquisition.At the same time,what is actively noticed by the learner can be effectively internalized.Thus,“attention”is also a non-linguistic factor that plays a significant role in language acquisition.The subjunctive mood is a major challenge in the teaching of English grammar.Generally speaking,the verbs in a sentence are used to distinguish between subjunctive and declarative sentences.In this paper,experimental utterances were written based on previous research by using verbs that are easy to cause ambiguity and confusion,and then set up the reinforced and non-reinforced attention conditions with different levels of“attention”to investigate whether there are different results and effects on subjects’comprehension of sentences under different levels of“attention”conditions.Under the different levels of“attention”,the subjects were examined to see whether there were different results in comprehension of the sentences and the impact of the different levels of“attention”.It was found that subjects in the reinforced“attention”condition comprehended sentences better,answered questions faster,and answered questions more correctly than subjects in the non-reinforced condition.This study also shed some light on English second language grammar teaching.展开更多
文摘This paper investigates how the type of written feedback provided by teachers affects learners’ ability to revise essays. A total of 120 participants participated in two rounds of essay composition and feedback delivery. The findings indicate that learners who receive comments in the form of questions are more prone to make revisions compared to those receiving statements or imperatives. These results hold significant implications for educators and the ways they utilize written feedback to enhance learners’ writing skills.
文摘Assessment exercises constitute a crucial component of the teaching and learning process,serving the purpose of gauging the degree to which learning objectives have been accomplished.This study aims to assess the mathematics performance of Grade 7 learners using the 50-30-20 exercise.Specifically,this study seeks to determine the learners’pre-test and post-test mean scores,identify significant differences between the pre-test and post-test results,evaluate learners’exercises,and propose enhanced exercises.The research employs a quasi-experimental design,with 40 Grade 7 learners in the school year 2023-2024 as participants,selected through purposive non-random sampling.Statistical data analysis involves the use of mean,standard deviation,paired t-test,and Cohen’s D effect size.Ethical considerations were paramount,as evidenced by a letter of authorization from the school head outlining the strict adherence to voluntary participation,informed parental consent,anonymity,confidentiality,risk mitigation,results-sharing protocols,and the commitment to keeping research data confidential.The data yielded a remarkable outcome:the experimental group exhibited improvement in both the pre-test and post-test.This result substantiates the initial objective of the study,showcasing a noteworthy and favorable performance among the participants.Consequently,it suggests that a majority of the participants strongly agree that the 50-30-20 exercises contribute to enhancing their understanding and problem-solving skills,as well as their ability to grasp mathematical concepts and improve their overall performance in mathematics.Therefore,the 50-30-20 exercises not only facilitated students in understanding mathematics lessons but were also aligned with the Department of Education’s development plan.
文摘Young learners’English(YLE)tests have become increasingly prevalent among and important to Chinese English learners and their parents.In China,parents are actively involved in their children’s education and test-taking decisions,and their participation has given rise to a series of social impacts.Although parent involvement has received increasing public and academic attention in newspaper and scholarly articles,there exists no thorough analysis of current research on parents’roles in young learners’test-taking.To address this gap,we systemically analyzed Chinese newspaper articles and academic articles between 2011 and 2021 to elicit Chinese parents’roles in YLE test-taking.Our thematic analysis of the literature identifies the ways in which parents influence their children’s test-taking experiences,and how the tests affect this influence.Specifically,our results elicit 1)parents’engagement in YLE testing;2)parents’understanding of the intended uses of YLE tests;3)parents’perception and consequences of their involvement in YLE testing;and 4)parents’backgrounds.This analysis reveals the popularity of YLE tests among young learners and their parents in China and public concern over test-related issues.It also broadens our understanding of YLE testing impact and suggests future potential research directions.
基金the Humanities and Social Sciences Project,China’s Ministry of Education(Grant Number:22YJA740016)the Key Project of Hubei Provincial Department of Education Philosophy and Social Science Research Fund(No.21ZD051)the Teaching and Research Fund of Hubei University of Technology(No.Xiao2022018).
文摘While a plethora of studies has been conducted to explore demotivation and its impact on mental health in second language(L2)education,scanty research focuses on demotivation in L2 speaking learning.Particularly,little research explores the measures to quantify L2 speaking demotivation.The present two-phase study attempts to develop and validate an English Speaking Demotivation Scale(ESDS).To this end,an independent sample of 207 Chinese tertiary learners of English as a Foreign Language(EFL)participated in the development phase,and another group of 188 Chinese EFL learners was recruited for the validation of the scale.Exploratory Factor Analysis(EFA)and Confirmatory Factor Analysis(CFA)were employed to determine the factor structure of the scale.The EFA results revealed a six-factor solution with Teacher-related Factors in Learning Spoken English(TFLSE),Interest and Valence in Learning Spoken English(IVLSE),Self-efficacy in Learning Spoken English(SELSE),Negative Peer Influence in Learning Spoken English(NPILSE),Undesirable Environment for Learning Spoken English(UELSE),and Negative Influence of Assessment and Learning Materials in speaking class(NIALM).In the validation phase,Confirmatory Factor Analysis(CFA)was performed to validate the internal structure of the scale.The CFA results showed that the model fits the data well.Overall,the ESDS is a robust and trustworthy psychometric tool that could be utilized to examine L2 speaking demotivation.Implications for diminishing EFL learners’demotivation,lessening their aversive emotions and promoting their mental health are also discussed.
文摘The importance of listening as one of the communication skills cannot be overstated.However,in many areas,listening is neglected.For young learners,learning to listen is even more beneficial for their future studies,therefore,listening skills should be given due importance.
文摘EFL learners,who study English as a foreign language,often use different learning strategies in the learning process,with positive and negative results in their academic performance.Whether these learning strategies are effective or not are questions to be explored.So,the author examined the relationship between Chinese EFL learners’test results and the use of motivated strategies for learning in English learning.Participants are students who have taken a high-stake standardized English proficiency test:IELTS(International English Language Testing System)with band score obtained.The results show that students’performance on high-stakes assessment is significantly associated with the use of motivated learning strategies like internal value in sharp contrast to test anxiety,which bears no relevance.Interviews are then implemented to candidates with different levels of English proficiency to figure out other related factors contributing to the test results.
基金Youth Project of Philosophy and Social Science Planning of Henan Province“Study on the Influence of Foreign Language Learning on Chinese Students’Purity of Chinese Language”(Grant No.2023CYY038)General Project of Annual Research Topics of Henan Provincial Federation of Social Science and Technology“Study on Formation Factors and Cognitive Mechanisms of Network Harmonies and Chinese-English Mixed-Up Idioms”(Grant No.SKL-2023-1588).
文摘Mobile-assisted language learning(MALL)has been regarded as an excellent tool in the field of language acquisition as modern technology develops.The popularity of using mobile devices in education makes it possible for people to learn languages through platforms like tablets and smartphones from anywhere and at any time.However,the application of MALL in a collaborative student-centered environment has received comparatively little attention.Since spoken fluency and vocabulary size are the two crucial components of language proficiency,this study aims to investigate if young learners can improve their native language level through learning online beyond the classroom.The quantitative data reveal that MALL does make a difference in students’linguistic skills.The results show that the incorporation of mobile applications into language learning could better help learners achieve the learning outcomes and improve their communication skills than simply using conventional methods.In addition,the data of the questionnaire exposed some issues that need to be continuously improved.The viable suggestions are also discussed to share ideas about building a more sustainable learning environment in a data-driven age.
文摘On the basis of the explanation of the notion of pragmatic competence and review of its previous teaching, this paper con-cludes that instructions can improve L2 learners’ pragmatic competence.
基金the Office of the Director,U.S.National Institutes of Health,under Award Number R25RR015674-1.
文摘Background:The Science,PE,&Me!(SPEM)curriculum is a concept-based physical education curriculum that offers students coherent educational experiences for constructing health-related fitness knowledge through movement experiences.The purpose of this study was to evaluate students’motivational response to the SPEM curriculum from the situational interest perspective.Methods:The study used a cluster randomized controlled design in which 30 elementary schools in one of the largest metropolitan areas in the eastern United States were randomly assigned to an experimental or comparison condition.Although all students in the 3rd,4th,and 5th grades in the targeted schools were eligible to participate in the study,a random sample of students from the experimental(n=1749;15 schools)and comparison groups(n=1985;15 schools)provided data.Students’motivational response to the SPEM curriculum or comparison curriculum was measured using the previously validated Situational Interest Scale-Elementary.Data were analyzed using structural mean modeling.Results:The results demonstrated that the experimental group(as reference group)showed significantly higher enjoyment(z=-2.01),challenge(z=-6.54),exploration(z=-12.195),novelty(z=-8.80),and attention demand(z=-7.90)than the comparison group.Conclusion:The findings indicate that the SPEM curriculum created a more situationally interesting context for learning than the comparison physical education curriculum.
文摘Prediction is one of the comprehension processing skills encapsulated by the interactive approach instruction.Prediction skills enable learners to decode the meaning of comprehension passages by making guesses about the contents of texts to be read.Learners in Vihiga County perform poorer in English language examinations than their peers in neighbouring counties.The performance is weaker in comprehension than in grammar sections.Despite this,no study has assessed the nexus between the use of prediction skills and learners’achievement in reading comprehension.This study applied the Solomon Four-Group Design to obtain primary data from 279 primary school learners and eight teachers in 2017.Multiple Linear Regression was used to generate two models,one for the experimental group(Model 1)and one for the control group(Model 2).Results show that the influence of prediction skills on learners’achievement in reading comprehension was statistically significant the experimental group,but insignificant in the control group.However,the influence seemed to be stronger in the experimental than in the control group,which suggests that training English language teachers on how to correctly apply prediction skills is likely to improve learners’achievement in reading comprehension.The study recommends the need to:sensitise teachers to use textbooks cautiously,while supplementing with relevant resource materials;sensitise teachers on the need to guide learners through titles;as well as update the teacher training curriculum by integrating inter alia,new instructional methods based on information and communication technology and entrenching innovation to enable teachers diversify instructional resources.
文摘This study develops a computational model for simulation of behaviors of learners under the influence of motivation and engagement environment based on Cellular Automata (CA). It investigates the changing patterns of learners’ behaviors when motivation and engagement environment are assigned with different values respectively. The simulation process indicates that the internal factor, which is the motivation in this paper, plays a key role in changing learners’ behaviors under certain circumstance and the engagement environment also significantly influences learner’s perception. The results obtained also show good agreement with the phenomenon generally being observed in practice.
文摘Studies on conjunctions used by Chinese English as a Foreign Language(EFL)learners over the past ten years have focused mainly on the use of conjunctions in argumentative writing,and there is little empirical work on conjunction“and”in narrative writing.The purpose of this paper is to explore the characteristics of the semantic relations of“and”used in the narrative writing of Chinese EFL learners from the perspective of text coherence.Through analysis of narrative writing of 29 sophomores,this study investigates the characteristics of semantic relations expressed by the conjunction“and”and the differences in the use of semantic relations of“and”between high-score and low-score writing.The results show different frequencies of the use of semantic relations of“and”.ELF learners prefer to use the term“and”to build progressive relation and parallel relation more than any other relation.Both high-score and low-score writing use a sizable number of“and”to build progressive relation and parallel relation,but high-score writing obviously contains more guiding relations and fewer supplementary relations.These findings have some pedagogical implications for teaching transitions.
文摘According to the understanding of English learning process and the surrounding educational environment,it is found that most English learners have not received the training of morpheme awareness,and English teachers have hardly cultivated their students’morpheme awareness.In English learning,it is found that English morpheme awareness plays a role in promoting English learning.It can be seen from the relevant literature that the identification of English morphemes is very important for English learners’language acquisition and development,and has attracted the attention of researchers at home and abroad.This paper mainly studies the influence of morpheme awareness on junior middle school English learners’reading comprehension.
基金My sincere thanks should be expressed to Martha Michieka,associate professor at East Tennessee State University,Johnson City,TN,USA,who has provided valuable advice for me in writing this paper.
文摘Language input in foreign language classrooms is no longer restricted to one particular mode of transmission,but it can be achieved by use of different modes.Multimodality or the combination of various modes has been applied to stimulate foreign language learning.The present paper aims to verify the effectiveness of multimodal input in language learning.It demonstrates the experiment conducted in two freshman classes in a university.The two classes used the same textbook supported by audio CD containing the recorded material.The experiment class,however,additionally has some visuals in listening classes to strengthen the linguistic input.The research lasted for one semester and findings from the study show that multimodal input has significantly improved the listening and speaking abilities of the students and also has positive impacts on the learners’attitudes towards language study.
文摘Tandem language learning is important in enhancing learners’language proficiency and fostering cultural knowledge.However,learners’perspectives on tandem learning programs have received little attention,and no research exists concerning learners’perspectives on long-term tandem language learning.Based on an anonymous online survey,this article examines how learners perceive a face-to-face tandem Chinese language partner program after participation for three years.The results indicate that,whereas the participants acknowledge the benefits of the participation of the language partner program,they identify challenges regarding logistics and task design.The implications of the findings are also discussed.
文摘The technology has been utilized by many teachers to provide English language learners with better learning experience.But it can not be denied that the technology is a two edged sword.The technology could facilitate the students’learning if it is used in a proper way.Otherwise,the technology may even have adverse effects.The paper will illustrate how the teacher could succeed in adapting the technology to meet specific demand of the students through case study.
文摘This study aimed to identify the effectiveness of explicit vocabulary instruction on productive vocabulary learning in writing among intermediate school learners in Saudi Arabia,verify the existence of any statistically significant differences at the significance level of 0.01 between the mean scores of the post-test of the control group and the experimental group in the vocabulary test,and verify the existence of any statistically significant differences at the significance level of 0.01 between the mean scores of the pre-and post-test of the experimental group in the vocabulary test in favor of the post-test.The study community consisted of all intermediate school students in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,while the study sample included 30 students.The experimental method was adopted to identify the effectiveness of explicit vocabulary instruction on productive vocabulary learning in writing and the achievement test was used as the study tool.The study reached many results including there were no statistically significant differences at the significance level of 0.01 between the mean scores of the post-test of the control group and the experimental group in the vocabulary test and there were no statistically significant differences at the significance level of 0.01 between the mean scores of the pre-and post-test of the experimental group in the vocabulary test in favor of the post-test.According to these results,some recommendations and proposals were made including training English teachers at the intermediate school level in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,on explicit vocabulary instruction and conducting future researches on the trends of English teachers at the intermediate school level,in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,regarding the adoption of explicit vocabulary instruction while teaching the English language.
文摘This study presents a comparative analysis of verb-noun collocation errors made by Chinese EFL learners with different language proficiency.Linguistic data from two sub-corpora of CLEC(Chinese Learner English Corpus,Gui&Yang,1999)consist of the compositions written freely by Chinese senior high school students(ST2)and the 3rd-and 4th-year English majors of Chinese universities(ST6).The study results show that four types of verb-noun collocation errors are frequently made due to incorrect L1 translation,misuse of relative synonyms,misuse of delexical verbs,and misuse of part of speech;the number of errors decreases with the development of language proficiency,especially errors by incorrect L1 translation and relative synonyms.And for both ST2 and ST6 EFL learners,errors resulted from incorrect L1 translation account for nearly a half with the same high-frequency words.It is also found that ST6 learners’competence in collocation and synonym identification doesn’t grow with the increase of their vocabulary,as is shown in the case of overusing delexical verbs in collocation,the same error made by ST2 learners,who have a significantly weaker command of delexical verbs.Implications of the findings are also discussed with the purpose of raising the awareness of collocation pedagogy and enhancing EFL learners’collocation competence.
文摘Idiom acquisition plays an important role in the process of second language learning and acquisition.Proper understanding of linguistic transfer in terms of English idiom acquisition is helpful for EFL learners to improve the efficiency of learning English and also facilitates the process of English teaching.This study examines the Chinese learner’s language transfer features manifested in their understanding of English idioms which are classified into five different types according to their linguistic forms and conceptual bases.The results suggest that equivalent linguistic forms and equivalent conceptual bases of idioms are helpful to cause positive transfer while different conceptual bases of idioms may result in negative cross-linguistic transfer.This article may contribute to the development of language transfer theory and provide pedagogical implications of how English idioms should be learned by students and taught by English teachers.
文摘“Attention”is a very vital cognitive mechanism.Cognitive psychology considers“attention”as the focus of mental activity and consciousness on an object.People engage their senses and memory to actively process the object in front of them.Theories of second language acquisition suggest that a large amount of input is the basis for language acquisition.At the same time,what is actively noticed by the learner can be effectively internalized.Thus,“attention”is also a non-linguistic factor that plays a significant role in language acquisition.The subjunctive mood is a major challenge in the teaching of English grammar.Generally speaking,the verbs in a sentence are used to distinguish between subjunctive and declarative sentences.In this paper,experimental utterances were written based on previous research by using verbs that are easy to cause ambiguity and confusion,and then set up the reinforced and non-reinforced attention conditions with different levels of“attention”to investigate whether there are different results and effects on subjects’comprehension of sentences under different levels of“attention”conditions.Under the different levels of“attention”,the subjects were examined to see whether there were different results in comprehension of the sentences and the impact of the different levels of“attention”.It was found that subjects in the reinforced“attention”condition comprehended sentences better,answered questions faster,and answered questions more correctly than subjects in the non-reinforced condition.This study also shed some light on English second language grammar teaching.