Advanced Language Students Research Articles

Exploring Learners' Attitudes Towards Technology-Enhanced Flipped Language Instruction

The article reports on a study that explored the affordances and challenges of the flipped classroom model for an advanced language course, involving the implementation of a four-skill integration approach and the use of various digital tools. Eighteen advanced language students participated in the study over the course of one semester. Students carried out a variety of online assignments using self-access learning modules in Canvas to prepare them for in-class activities. Data from post-surveys and focus group interviews along with the student coursework reveal that students had a positive attitude towards the flipped model because it gave them agency over their own learning and engaged them in meaningful interactions with their peers. The study suggests that well-designed tasks are essential, and that instructor scaffolding is needed to guide students in learning course content. The study contributes a new model of flipped instruction that facilitated L2 development in an effective manner.

“This language still motivates me!” Advanced language students and their L2 motivation

The article focuses on written narratives of 51 Finnish university students who study German, Swedish or French as their major or one of their minors at an advanced level. The study aims to find what keeps these students motivated to study their L2. The data have been analyzed using analysis of narratives (Polkinghorne, 1995). Dörnyei’s (2009a, 2009b, 2014) L2 motivational self system (L2MSS), built around the concepts of ideal L2 self, ought-to L2 self and L2 learning experience, is used as the theoretical framework. The results indicate that perceived social pressure (ought-to L2 self) may be important when the study decision is made, but its importance diminishes during the studies. Instead, a future L2-related vision (ideal L2 self) as well as peers, teachers, course contents, and learning atmosphere (L2 learning experience) become increasingly important during the studies. The role of the emotional dimension of possible selves seems to be central in developing and preserving study motivation. At the end of the article, some implications of the results for higher education programs of languages other than English (LOTEs) are presented.

Writing Behaviors and Critical Thinking Styles: The Case of Blended Learning

The advent in technology has shown that the individual differences and cognitive styles influence the way the process of writing transpires . Setting up the quasi-experimental study, the researchers sought to explore the writing behaviors of EFL learners in a blended learning environment in the light of critical thinking styles. To this end, 30 advanced language students took part in the four weeks experiment of this study. They were asked to write texts based on the provided information presented by the online module, designed by the researchers. Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal (CTA) was used to measure the students’ critical thinking ability. The detailed basis to describe the writing and learning processes from different perspectives was created through using input log program. The results of data analysis indicated a significant and positive correlation between different sections of CTA (inference, interpretation and evaluation) and online module (theory, practice and case). The best predictors for the pausing, revision and switching behavior of the participants were found to be interpretation, evaluation of arguments, and interpretation, respectively. The findings of the present study necessitate an understanding of different factors which play significant roles in the learning process. Therefore, teachers as well as teacher educators need to develop their awareness of the fact that learners have various thinking abilities which consequently affects the way they approach different learning tasks.

Foreign Language Writing Fellows Programs: A Model for Improving Advanced Writing Skills

AbstractWithin the growing field of scholarly literature on foreign language (FL) writing pedagogy, few studies have addressed pedagogical questions regarding the teaching of writing to advanced language learners. Writing fellows peer tutoring programs, although typically associated with first language writing instruction, likely can benefit and support advanced language students learning to write in FL contexts. Using a mixed‐methods approach, the authors compared two sections of an upper‐division Portuguese literature class that employed writing fellows tutors with two sections that did not. Data suggest that incorporating writing fellows into FL contexts affected how students learned to write: (1) the papers of students who worked with writing fellows exhibited more developed thought, (2) students who worked with writing fellows employed more successful writing strategies, and (3) students who worked with writing fellows exhibited changes in their writing processes for future writing assignments. These conclusions suggest that the inclusion of peer tutors such as writing fellows may be an effective pedagogical practice for teaching writing to advanced FL learners.

Tall poppies in the land down under

Most EFL curricula, irrespective of the variety of English they seek to impart, have little time for cultural values, focusing instead on “Culture with a capital C,” i.e., history, geography, cultural heritage, folklore, etc. Applied ethnolinguistics is a relatively new framework that has been developed to curb the trend. It consists of a number of pathways that can be replicated by advanced language students eager to increase their awareness of potentially unfamiliar cultural values. One of the pathways, ethnorhetorics (the study of culturally salient figures of speech), will be illustrated here with data drawn from Australian English. The focus will be on the tall poppy metaphor. A few hints at its cultural salience and a brief look at where tall poppies are typically found will be followed by a more linguistically oriented analysis. On the basis of the evidence gathered, we will formulate a hypothesis about cultural values which (at least from the students’ point of view) is in need of further corroboration. This requires a different pathway, known as ethnoaxiology, which will not be illustrated in this paper; a few pointers will be provided instead.

Drama: Threat or Opportunity? Managing the ‘Dual Affect’ in Process Drama

In this paper we discuss the construct of ‘dual affect’ and its relevance to drama pedagogy in a foreign language teaching context. We draw on a research project involving a group of advanced learners of Italian using drama-based strategies. We begin with a theoretical discussion of dual affect, aesthetic distance, and protection mechanisms in the drama/language classroom. Next, we contextualise the research study and analyse student-participants’ responses in selected moments of the drama. The analysis suggests that, while some student-participants experienced the dual affect of drama as a threat, others found it a stimulus for reflection and a challenge. We argue that this may have had an impact on their perceived learning outcomes and on their willingness to communicate in the target language. We take this opportunity to reflect on the importance of managing dual affect in the process drama classroom, especially when working with advanced language students who have no prior experience in drama-based pedagogy.

Going Beyond Classroom Learning: Acquiring Cultural Knowledge via On-Line Newspapers and Intercultural Exchanges via On-Line Chatrooms

The Internet is increasingly considered as an instructional tool for foreign language learning both within and beyond classroom learning. This article reports a pilot study on the use of a combination of Internet technologies--on-line newspapers and on-line chatrooms--to enhance the learning of advanced Spanish students. The goal of the project was (a) to create opportunities for students to read authentic materials and gain cultural knowledge via on-line newspapers, (b) to enhance intercultural exchanges via on-line chatrooms, and (c) to improve students' writing and speaking skills as well as promote collaborative learning among students. The positive results of the study indicate that foreign language teachers could well explore and experiment with the application of combined Internet resources for advanced language students.

Beyond "Struwwelpeter": Using German Picture Books for Cultural Exploration

In recent years, the inclusion of authentic texts in foreign language teaching has become an accepted practice due to the emphasis on communicative and content-based language instruction and more recently, the implementation of the ACTFL Standards for Foreign Language Learning. The goals of these approaches are to gain knowledge and understanding of other cultures, to develop insight into the nature of language, and to communicate with speakers of the target language. Authentic texts are ideal vehicles to fulfill these goals. They help students learn about the various aspects of the target culture through language which was intended for native speakers and thus provide excellent venues for not only studying real language use, but also for extrapolating beliefs and underlying values of the target culture. For these reasons, current textbooks for beginners include authentic materials such as cartoons, postcards, advertisements, graphs, letters, brochures, and scripts for films. For intermediate and more advanced language students, young adult literature has recently been added to the treasure trove of authentic texts. It has been used successfully in the German classroom as evidenced by frequent presentations at national conferences, the establishment of Anne Green's website for sharing teaching materials, and the many articles that have appeared in Die Unterrichtspraxis since the focus issue on Jugendliteratur in 1998. Young adult literature is appreciated as a rich resource because it offers students opportunities to increase their linguistic proficiency, aids cultural exploration, provides an introduction to literary analysis and appreciation, and increases students' reading enjoyment (Kast, Moeller, Moffit). The same claims can be made for authentic picture books, but up to now, few instructors have explored this genre for its usefulness in FL instruction, Struwwelpeter and Max und Moritz notwithstanding. For the last few years, I have experimented with German picture books as supplements to the topics in my intermediate college level textbooks. Since most second year German textbooks currently on the market in the US cover a wide array of cultural and historical issues (e.g., gender roles, world of work, environment, education, multicultural society, Nazi past), it was not difficult to find picture books that could be studied to add new perspectives and depth to these topics. I use them not so much for language acquisition or grammar practice as there are other texts (including textbook selections) that are better suited for those objectives; rather I find them to be ideal vehicles for cultural exploration. Picture books are authentic documents written for the intellectual and social education of the very young, and therefore provide unique opportunities for our students to study behaviors, beliefs, and values that the target culture holds dear. In this article, I want to share my experiences with reading German picture books in the intermediate language classes. First, I will briefly discuss the history of German children's books since 1945. Then, I will address advantages and possible problems related to using such books and provide practical suggestions for teaching them. In the end, using one specific book as example, I will demonstrate how these books may be taught. It is my hope that other educators will be encouraged to enlarge their methodological repertory and implement some of my suggestions in their classrooms.

21st century American English compendium: a guidebook for translators, interpreters, writers, editors, and advanced language students

More than just a reference book, containing Five Dictionaries in One, the Compendium tells the story of American English in an enlightening and entertaining way. It will help you gain a whole new perspective on and a much deeper understanding of the most popular language in today's world.

Oral Testing for First‐Year Language Classes

Abstract The acquisition of speaking skills has recently received increased attention among foreign language teachers. Yet the testing of speaking skills remains a time‐consuming task and rarely takes place at the elementary level. While numerous publications describe testing for intermediate and advanced language students, others in the profession are considering the adaptation of the Foreign Service Institute Interview for beginning students. The author outlines a format and scoring system for interviewing students during the first and second semesters of language study.

Hindi Stories: A Dual Language Reader for Area and Advanced Language Students. Translated by Usha Saksena Nilsson. Madison: South Asian Language and Area Center, University of Wisconsin–Madison (Publication Series, No. 1), 1975. xix, 324 pp. Glossary, Abbreviations, Vocabulary, About the Authors. $3.00 (paper).

Hindi Stories: A Dual Language Reader for Area and Advanced Language Students. Translated by Usha Saksena Nilsson. Madison: South Asian Language and Area Center, University of Wisconsin–Madison (Publication Series, No. 1), 1975. xix, 324 pp. Glossary, Abbreviations, Vocabulary, About the Authors. $3.00 (paper). - Volume 37 Issue 3

Hindi Stories: A Dual Language Reader for Area and Advanced Language Students. Translated by Usha Saksena Nilsson. Madison: South Asian Language and Area Center, University of Wisconsin–Madison (Publication Series, No. 1), 1975. xix, 324 pp. Glossary, Abbreviations, Vocabulary, About the Authors. $3.00 (paper).

Hindi Stories: A Dual Language Reader for Area and Advanced Language Students. Translated by Usha Saksena Nilsson. Madison: South Asian Language and Area Center, University of Wisconsin–Madison (Publication Series, No. 1), 1975. xix, 324 pp. Glossary, Abbreviations, Vocabulary, About the Authors. $3.00 (paper). - Volume 37 Issue 3