L2 English interference in Chinese learners of L3 Portuguese: a corpus-based analysis of transfer-induced errors

The paper investigates the academic integrity (AcadI) in the activity of a foreign language (FL) teacher at a general secondary education institution (GSEI). Aim of research is to highlight the factors of formation of the FL teacher’s AcadI, to define the directions of its activity regarding the promotion of AcadI, to name the leading ways of preventing violations of AcadI in the GSEI. Methods. To achieve the goal, the following methods were used as theoretical (analysis, synthesis of normative and scientific and pedagogical sources) and empirical (observation of the educational process). Results and discussion. The factors of formation of the FL teacher’s AcadI are singled out and characterized, including the personality qualities of the FL teacher, which can be natural (from the birth) or acquired, the appropriate acquired qualification (an example of the popularization of AcadI and the prevention of its violations in the training of FL teachers under the specialities "Secondary Education (English Language and Literature)" and "Secondary education (German language and literature)" on the basis of Hryhorii Skovoroda University in Pereiaslav, Ukraine), self-education and direct practical professional activity and experience. The authors determined the directions of activity of a FL teacher regarding the promotion of AcadI were defined as: 1) personal example of behavior and academic culture of the FL teacher, 2) the extracurricular work with students about AcadI; 3) optional FL classes on AcadI; 4) the curricular work of the FL teacher with the students directly at FL classes. The leading ways to prevent violations of academic integrity in GSEI were identified: 1) adoption of the Regulation on academic integrity, which should be published on the website of the educational institution and brought to the attention of every participant in the educational process; 2) conducting educational work on compliance with academic integrity; 3) strengthening of self-motivation, self-esteem and self-respect of students, etc. Aspects, thanks to the analysis of which it is possible to verify compliance with the academic culture in the school, are also defined. Conclusions. It was made an attempt to highlight the factors of formation of the FL teacher’s AcadI, which are considered to be as the following: personality qualities, appropriate acquired qualification, self-education, practical professional activity. The directions of activity of a FL teacher regarding the promotion of AcadI were defined and the leading ways of preventing violations of AcadI in the GSEI were named according to the authors’ opinion. The prospect of further research is interviewing FL teachers on their opinion towards AcadI and problems and benefits of participating in AcadI popularization at GSEIs.

To test the hypothesis that foreign language and music instruction in early life are associated with lower incidence of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and slower rate of cognitive decline in old age. At enrollment in a longitudinal cohort study, 964 older persons without cognitive impairment estimated years of foreign language and music instruction by age 18. Annually thereafter they completed clinical evaluations that included cognitive testing and clinical classification of MCI. There were 264 persons with no foreign language instruction, 576 with 1-4 years, and 124 with > 4 years; 346 persons with no music instruction, 360 with 1-4 years, and 258 with > 4 years. During a mean of 5.8 years of observation, 396 participants (41.1%) developed MCI. In a proportional hazards model adjusted for age, sex, and education, higher levels (> 4 years) of foreign language (hazard ratio [HR] = 0.687, 95% confidence interval [CI] [0.482, 0.961]) and music (HR = 0.708, 95% CI [0.539, 0.930]) instruction by the age of 18 were each associated with reduced risk of MCI. The association persisted after adjustment for other early life indicators of an enriched cognitive environment, and it was stronger for nonamnestic than amnestic MCI. Both foreign language and music instruction were associated with higher initial level of cognitive function, but neither instruction measure was associated with cognitive decline. Higher levels of foreign language and music instruction during childhood and adolescence are associated in old age with lower risk of developing MCI but not with rate of cognitive decline.

by Wolfgang Butzkamm and John A W Caldwell narr studienbucher 2009 978-3-8233-6492-4 The question of whether the mother tongue (MT) should be allowed in foreign language (FL) teaching has a long history in methodology debates. It has often been argued that the MT should definitely be avoided as it has a detrimental effect on learning a foreign language. Wolfgang Butzkamm and John Caldwell, however, claim not only that the monolingual approach has a weak basis in theory (even though they consider it a comprehensible reaction to the outcomes of the grammar-translation method), but also that it is better to work with the MT as a ‘natural tendency’ in FL teaching. To support their inclination towards a more relaxed approach to MT use, they scrutinise the reality of what they call the ‘MT taboo’, formulate a theory of MT use in the FL classroom and exemplify their insights through practical teaching techniques. It is the combination of theory and practice that makes the book much more than a ‘how to use the MT in FL teaching’ guide. The book discusses the importance of ‘immersion’ for MT acquisition, which means that a child is exposed to a huge amount of language, first learning chunks of language for communicative purposes and much later learning to break them down into parts. Since it is impractical to reproduce this natural process of acquiring a language in the FL classroom because of restrictions on the time available and, therefore, the exposure to the target language, FL teaching has to provide a focus on both meaning and structure. A prudent use of MT here helps make life easier for teachers and learners: ‘sandwiching’, mirroring and contrasting or literal translation, as the authors show, can be embedded in pattern drills in grammar teaching, dialogue work and drama. Moreover, it can increase the input of authentic material in the form of, for example, bilingual readers or DVDs with subtitles. A controlled use of the MT in the FL classroom also allows access to the understanding of language concepts that each learner has, even if those concepts are different in the MT and the FL. For example, when a teacher wants to show how continuous tenses are formed to learners whose own language has no continuous tenses, translation is a better way to express finer shades of meaning than an explanation or paraphrase in the target language. When the FL can be integrated into existing knowledge (ie the MT), the FL is ‘deforeignised’ and confidence is built up in the learner. In other words, the MT can be useful in promoting understanding of both form and meaning (which use of the FL alone often fails to do). Real understanding and control are key words in this book, and it is argued that fashionable methods of communicative language teaching which strictly exclude the MT often cause a learning situation in which students do not really understand what they are saying (but merely parrot phrases for no communicative reason) and, as a result, skills learning is impeded. The authors put their case convincingly, supporting their arguments with insights into the mechanisms used by children growing up bilingually: mixing their languages is a tactic that helps them learn. A separate chapter discusses ‘translation as a fifth skill’ with the help of some intellectually demanding (and therefore enjoyable) classroom activities, which, not least, help develop MT competence. The authors do admit that there are many situations where monolingualism is preferable, especially for classroom management, and claim that a controlled use of the MT should actually increase the time available for using the FL. The book is aimed particularly at student teachers, having study questions and tasks at the end of each chapter as well as many practical ideas, but I am sure that experienced teachers will also benefit from it. A benchmark in its field, the book is a must for all those who want to contribute to the debate over the pros and cons of using the MT in FL teaching.

This study investigated foreign language (FL) teachers’ experiences of the virtual classroom during COVID-19 lockdown. The sample consisted of 405 FL teachers who participated in the survey which aimed to measure FL teachers’ perceptions of TPACK, virtual classroom activities, online self-efficacy, student engagement and encountered obstacles. The findings indicate that teachers working in remote areas practice fewer virtual classroom activities and thus perceive low student online engagement. The article discusses the differences between FL teachers regarding the FL they teach, i.e., differences in student online engagement exist between the FL taught, and differences in virtual classroom activities depend on the FL taught. In addition, school stage predicts FL teachers’ online self-efficacy and the relationship between teachers’ perceptions of TPACK and school size exists.

This thesis was elaborated from an inter/transdisciplinary approach that includes Applied Linguistics (AL), Dialogical Discourse Analysis (DDA) and French Line Discourse Analysis (DA). The developed research had as purpose to analyze how abroad experience and International Mobility Program (IMP) participation are discursively represented by the individuals when they occupy the discursive place of (future) Foreign Languages (FL) teachers. This means that we aim to investigate how the abroad experience faced by these individuals can influence their academic education and their professional practice. Regarding the research participants, we analyzed how four (04) pre-service or in-service FLs teachers (English and French) who participated in the program, representing IMP, contact with FL abroad and FL learning teaching process. These four teachers testimonials were collected through the AREDA Proposal (Analysis of Discursive Resonances in Open Testimonials) (SERRANI-INFANTE, 1998). As a result, it was possible to realize that the relation of the research participants in concerning to the experience faced in the IMP is marked by three representations, which are: i) representing IMP; ii) representing the contact with abroad FL; iii) representing FL teaching-learning process. These representations interpenetrate and interconstitute themselves, and the built discursiveness in some of enunciators sayings beckons for some discursive inscriptions, namely: i) the IMP inscription as reference for FL teacher formation and the inscription in the (illusion) of completeness (IMP representing); ii) excellence speech inscription and completeness of the other (representing the contact with the FL abroad); iii) enrollment in PMI as a reference for learning and teaching (representing the teaching-learning process of FL). Therefore, in order to place IPM influence in its academic education and in its professional practice, the teachers discursively register themselves in order to represent the IMP from the socio-historical-ideological-discursive place they occupy. The dialogue established by the discursive inscriptions reveals the positioning of those individuals who build an imaginary place for IMP, in order to represent it discursively as essential/fundamental for FL teaching and learning and for FL teacher formation and practice, in other words, there is an inscription in the IMP's supremacy discourse for FL teacher's constitution.

İnsanlığın doğuşundan günümüze kadar çeviri oldukça önemli ve her şeyi kapsayan bir role sahip olmuştur. Gelişen teknoloji ile birlikte çeviri alanında da büyük değişiklikler meydana gelmiştir. Bu sayede eğitim sektörü başta olmak üzere özellikle yabancı dil öğretiminde makine çevirisinin (MÇ) önemi ve alana katkısı artış göstermektedir. Bu çalışmada, hazırlık sınıflarında yabancı dil öğretiminde öğrencilerin makine çevirisi (MÇ) kullanımı ele alınacaktır. Makine çevirisi yabancı dil öğretiminde daha yeni kullanılıyor gibi gözükse de, aslında uzun zamandır yabancı dil öğrenimi ve öğretiminin bir bileşeni olarak yer almaktadır. Bu araştırmada, önceki literatür verileri ışığında, dil eğitmenleri ile gerçekleştirilecek olan yarı-yapılandırılmış görüşmelerde öğrencilerin yabancı dil öğrenirken makine çevirisinden yararlanıp yararlanmadıkları, yararlanıyorlar ise en çok hangi dil yeteneklerini geliştirmek için yararlandıkları tespit edilecektir. Ayrıca, makine çevirisinin dil yeteneklerinin gelişiminde ne düzeyde katkıda bulunduğu ve hangi etkinliklerde makine çevirisi araçlarının kullanıldığı araştırılacaktır. Sonrasında bu bağlamda eksikliklerin incelenerek sınırlılıkların neler olduğu tespit edilecektir. Bu çalışmada, makine çevirisinin yabancı dil öğretiminde geçmişten günümüze kadar hangi konumda yer aldığını ve yabancı dil öğretiminde eğitmenlerin makine çevirisine karşı tutumlarını öğrenmeyi hedeflemekteyiz. Araştırmanın veri toplama yöntemi nitel araştırma yöntemlerinden yarı-yapılandırılmış görüşmelerdir ve görüşmelerin ardından veriler içerik analizi yöntemi ile temalara ayrılıp analiz edilecektir. Çalışma, makine çevirisi (MÇ) ile yabancı dil öğrenimi ve öğretimi konu başlıklarını kapsamaktadır ve bu bağlamda disiplinler arası bir araştırmadır. Çalışmadan elde edilen verilerin konu ile ilgili yapılacak ileriki araştırmalara ışık tutması hedeflenmektedir.

While much has been researched regarding English language learner (ELL) perspectives on silence and pedagogical implications, the longitudinal negative effects of ELL silence on foreign language (FL) teachers is an under researched area of study. When considering that (a) Japanese FL classrooms are known to have high levels of silence as compared to the West, (b) FL teachers generally have a negative bias towards student silence, and (c) the fact that FL teacher attrition rates worldwide are reported to be increasing; this is a surprising gap in the field. Using dynamic systems theory, Bronfenbrenner's (1979) ecological systems theory, Barnlund's (1970) transactional model of communication, and Spilt et al.'s (2011) student-behavior mental representation model as a framework to investigate FL teacher emotional reactions to silence, the researcher conducted an autoethnographic event-based sampling study over a university term in Japan (98 days). In accordance to event-based sampling methodology, the researcher documented "in-the-moment" or "near-the-moment" incidences when emotional reactions to silence occurred. The main findings of this study are as follows: (1) Japanese ELLs are uncomfortable receiving direct FL teacher assistance around their peers, (2) negative reactions to Japanese ELL silence are linked to the establishment or disruption of classroom patterns, and (3) stress pertaining to teacher-teacher silence emerged after teacher-student stress stabilized mid-term. Regarding the third theme, suppressive surface acting and the need for social support were found to contribute to FL teacher stress.

As teaching a foreign language (FL) is a demanding and frustrating career, FL teachers might face different challenges and difficulties which in turn would lead them to quit their jobs. Therefore, FL teachers need to keep their effort, energy, and passion to achieve their teaching goals. FL teacher grit (i.e., perseverance of effort and consistency of interest in FL teaching) is the concept that deals with these issues. In this study, we developed a new FL teacher grit scale (FLTGS) and investigated how FL teacher grit is related to their burnout and different discrete emotions. To this end, a total of 235 FL teachers filled out the questionnaires. The results of the study indicated, firstly, that the newly developed FL teacher grit scale had high reliability and a two-factor model fitted the data adequately. Secondly, findings indicated that both grit components had positive correlations with FL teaching enjoyment and negative correlations with FL teaching anxiety, boredom, and burnout. Finally, the results of relative weight analysis showed that FL teacher grit components can be as important as emotions in predicting burnout. Our findings suggested that the newly developed grit scale could provide us with a valid and reliable tool to assess FL teacher grit. Moreover, our findings suggested that higher levels of FL teacher grit can prevent them from experiencing burnout.

This article is about language development of a foreign language (FL) teacher and is centred around the concept of teacher professional competence. Although the definition seems clear and indisputable, no publication has been traced that would clarify what a FL teacher language competence is. It immediately leads to diverse and sometimes contradictory views of content and language skills a FL teacher is supposed to demonstrate. I use this fact as a starting point and make an attempt to provide my view of a FL teacher language competence and essential elements that comprise it. My contention is that besides ‘general language’ and language awareness, a FL teacher should demonstrate skills in classroom and out-of-classroom communication. I support my view by coming out with a tentative and, at the moment, rather schematic description of FL teacher language competence. I consider this as the first step toward the definition of language teacher language competence to be followed by substantial empirical research which, hopefully, will contribute to a valid and more detailed description of the concept in question.

Research on learner perception has shown that foreign language (FL) learners consider formal grammar study quite important (SCHULZ, 1996). However, we know little about perceptions and beliefs of heritage language (HL) learners in what relates to grammar instruction. In a qualitative study on HL instruction at the college level, Schwarzer and Petrón (2005) do include the opinions of their participants on grammar instruction: that formal grammar instruction, as done in FL classes, was not useful for them. In fact, it is now accepted that HL instruction needs to be different from FL instruction (e.g., BEAUDRIE; DUCAR; POTOWSKI, 2014; PARODI, 2008). Nevertheless, most HL learners of Portuguese at the university level take FL classes, even if an HL track is available. Given this scenario, this paper discusses 1) whether HL and FL learners of Portuguese prefer formal or integrated/contextualized grammar instruction, and 2) whether they believe explicit grammar instruction helps their linguistic development in Portuguese. The methodology consisted of a survey among college students matriculated in Portuguese language classes in a U.S. university. Results suggest that HL learners tend to prefer integrated/contextualized grammar instruction, whereas the FL group does not appear to have a clear preference. However, both groups of learners see value in explicit grammar instruction, which does not necessarily contrast with contextualized instruction (ELLIS, 21016). The paper also includes a discussion of pedagogical implications based on the findings presented.Keywords: Heritage language; foreign language; learners’ views; grammar instruction.

The article is devoted to the problems of foreign language teaching strategy in course of its improvement. The improving strategy is aimed at teaching Russian students of higher education. Modern teaching standards in Russian higher educational institutes deprive the natural course of the language performative aspects. Strategies for improving foreign language teaching, a project for optimizing programmes and courses of study are presented in this article. Basic improving tendency concerns traditionally extracted language patterns transformed to pay variety for referential speech environment. In order to improve the process of teaching a foreign language to the university students it is necessary to exclude formalism, thematic division of the course in accordance with the metaphysical foundations of concepts, formal approach and conceptualism in the development of educational tasks, accepted as the basis of most modern curricula. The metaphysical categorical approach is currently regarded as an outdated. Improving educational methods in foreign language teaching encounters regular progressive adaptation of language concepts to pragmatic habitual skills of their use. Language ontology conception is aimed at supporting pragmatic connection between the language scheme of concepts and the speech being performed and does not surpass the language use relevance. To replace the limited approaches of modern education, it is proposed to introduce training programmes based on a communicative approach rejecting the strategy of teaching based upon progressive rewarding item. The foreign language teaching programmes should be developed in accordance with the students’ needs and correspond to current trends. The project of modern courses of teaching foreign language a priory is based on the principle of psychological comfort. Thus, the educational tasks and teaching exercises should perform a simulation of communicative situations, a discussion of current data of the modern information space. The foreign language teaching system is aimed at intensive integration of students with an authentic language environment. Much attention is paid to teaching stylistics and syntagmatic patterns of the foreign language. The practice of oral speech is represented by such modern approaches as the development and discussion of students' own projects. Teaching a foreign language to university students is carried out systematically. In the case when the distribution of the academic load does not allow to organize systematic teaching of the foreign language, the possibilities of modern information technologies are suggested to be implied. Interactive digital platforms are being developed as projects of modern educational technologies to support systematic oral practice and interaction between the trainers and trainees. The experience of implementing educational programs and courses at a university for the under-intermediate level requires a crucial educational program core component, including a semantic stratum of a nonconceptual nature. It is recommended to minimize the content for this basic level, especially for teaching students of non-linguistic specialties. The interchange of the conceptual-thematic approach in teaching a foreign language to a habitual one is approved. It promotes adaptation to a foreign cultural language environment, activates the functional aspects of language skills. There are two approaches in auditory skills development as well. The core strategy of the first is represented by the principle of the information intensification and concentration. The consciousness of a student is introduced into a situation with the most concentrated level of information performed. The second principle is based on a dialectical approach, i.e. to introduce the student into the referential system implemented in dialogues, interviews, etc. Improving at the level of a foreign language class is carried out under the condition of accurately elaborated educational project for mastering the course. Didactic progress in the process of mastering the course is achieved through the intensification of information supplemented by the constitutive influence of experience, i.e. empirically. The major functional styles are proposed to be journalistic, business and scientific (popular science), complementing the texts of a professionally oriented foreign language. An effective method to master the foreign language is to form a model of an authentic linguistic personality by special tasks, in the process of presenting pieces of information, reports, monologues corresponding to the stylistic norms of the foreign language. The mediated cycle of tasks within this approach includes the search for a functional and stylistic equivalent unit, analogies between texts of identical communicative discourse, and discussing the student’s opinion. After mastering predicative and narrative language structures, it is proposed to introduce exercises contributing to the assimilation of the lexical minimum, which is subsequently supplemented by performing various communicative situations. As a variable part some creative tasks, exercises for translation are proposed. The functional-pragmatic aspect, chosen as the basic one for teaching a foreign language, contributes to a ignificant intensification in learning, coordinates a systematic approach in education, allows to establish a balance between the cognitive and habitual aspects of the language oral practice, supports heuristic potential in teaching a foreign language. There is a successful synchronization of students' communicative skills with the authentic language functioning environment. Technological capabilities of artificial intelligence are actively used for the selection of authentic texts, the modulation of communicative situations. An effective complement to the strategy of optimizing curricula and foreign language courses is a didactic approach based on teaching translation skills, taking notes of orally presented texts and speech utterances.

The increasing needs of international contacts for modernization program have created favorable conditions for the study of English as a foreign language (EFL) in the People's Republic of China over the last ten years. Thanks to the support by the government, millions of people are involved in learning the language for quick acquisition. However, because of little improvement from traditionally instructional methods in EFL the teaching efficiency for acquisition remains relatively low. On the other hand, during last few decades, foreign language teaching, as a very specialized area of education, has experienced tremendous changes in theory and practice in most of the Western countries. The purpose of this study was to identify the current features of EFL teaching in China and search for better ways for improvement. The procedures included a literature review on foreign EFL specialists' observation of how English was taught in China and a questionnaire survey of Chinese students studying in the United States for their perception of how they had learned English in China. The other important aspect of this study was a systematic review of the studies on foreign language teaching in the Western countries, the United States in particular. Great attention was paid to the latest developments in foreign or second language teaching theory and methodology, especially the Communicative Approach and the Proficiency Movement. The main objective of this study was to analyze different theories and methodologies and to apply them to EFL curriculum development in China. Many new principles and concepts were identified, that can fit into EFL teaching practice in China. Eclecticism was suggested for integrating all existing theories and methodologies. A whole chapter was devoted to EFL curriculum and instructional development in approach, design, and procedure, offering a practical framework and working principles for designing EFL teaching models to achieve communicative proficiency in the learners. In this study, new findings and principles from many specialists both in foreign language teaching and curriculum studies were selected and quoted, and they are sure to be of great help to Chinese EFL curriculum change in the years to come.

Abstract: Two studies explore the relationship between foreign language teachers' perceptions of their students' academic skills and affective characteristics and their native language skills, foreign language aptitude, and oral and written foreign language proficiency. In Study I (replication), students who scored significantly lower on native language and foreign language aptitude measures were perceived by teachers as having weaker academic skills and also less positive attitudes, lower motivation, and higher levels of anxiety about foreign language learning than students who scored higher on these measures. In Study II (follow up), students from Study I and from an earlier study were followed through a second‐year foreign language course and divided into high, average, and low groups according to their scores on a proficiency measure. Results showed that low proficiency students were perceived by foreign language teachers as having weaker academic skills and less positive affective characteristics, and also achieved lower course grades than high proficiency students. Findings suggest that foreign language teachers' perceptions of their students' affective characteristics and academic skills are related to the students' levels of native language skill.

In a mixed-methods approach, this paper explores student views of plurilingual foreign-language (FL) teaching of English among primary-school students in grade 4. We investigate whether students who were raised in the majority language only and those who grew up speaking an additional minority language differ in their appreciation of plurilingual FL teaching and whether plurilingual FL teaching appeals to students with different profiles in linguistic, cognitive, attitudinal, or individual background factors. One-hundred and thirty-two students took part in a six-month teaching intervention, in which 20% of FL lesson time was devoted to plurilingual teaching. A qualitative analysis of student interviews shows mixed views of plurilingual FL teaching, with students speaking additional minority languages evaluating plurilingual teaching more favourably than majority-language-only students. In a quantitative analysis, we compare the groups of students who appreciated and those who did not appreciate plurilingual FL teaching in terms of their linguistic, cognitive or individual background factors. Students who appreciate plurilingual FL teaching display significantly more positive attitudes to the FL and a greater sense of academic achievement. Moreover, students appreciative of plurilingual FL teaching demonstrate significantly higher learning gains in productive vocabulary than non-appreciative students. In all, these findings indicate that attitudinal factors modulate the appreciation and the learning outcomes in plurilingual FL teaching.

The preparation of U.S. foreign language (FL) teachers has been a frequently discussed topic during the past century. As the oldest, continuously published American journal devoted to FL learning and teaching, the MLJ provides an overview of the many issues pertinent to FL teacher education that the profession has grappled with. This historical review traces discussions and developments in teacher preparation and certification since the MLJ 's inception in 1916. In three sections, each covering a quarter century of the Journal 's publications, the article describes the most relevant discussions and events that have helped shape FL teacher education in the United States. Although many efforts —and doubtlessly many advances —have been made to assure a supply of qualified FL teachers for the nation 's schools, many of the problems discussed more than 80 years ago still remain unsolved. The author hopes that a critical look at the past will help the profession to focus on those proposals that are finding emerging consensus and to prioritize those needs and activities that help effect meaningful change in improving the qualifications of FL teachers.