English Learning Experience Research Articles

A poetic inquiry into a Japanese pre-service teacher’s English language learning trajectory: Pedagogical and methodological implications for teacher education

This qualitative, case-study research explores the English language learning history of a Japanese pre-service teacher by analysing five English-language poems and a self-reflective essay regarding her experiences of learning the target language. The methodology chosen in this study was a poetic inquiry through which the investigator reconstructed and analysed the writer’s subject position expressed in the actual descriptions of each poem. The self-reflection essay was also thematically analysed to examine how the participant saw and understood her learning experiences. Research findings showed that the poems illustrated here expressed both positive and negative emotions concerning her personally meaningful experiences of learning English as well as presented her identities as a second language (L2) learner and an L2 user. This study also revealed that, from a future English teacher’s viewpoint, she described in the essay some potential problems of teaching English in the classroom in response to her L2 learning experiences. Overall, the task of poetry writing was a meaningful literacy and reflective practice through which the participant was able to reconsider her L2 learning experiences and explore more effective ways to learn English as a life-long learner. In addition, she could benefit from these experiences in her role as a future language teacher.

The longitudinal change of English learning motivation among English learners in South Korea: An analysis of critical reflective essay

This paper presents the results of Korean EFL students’ critical reflective essays of English learning experiences for the past ten years mainly from elementary 3rd grade to high school 3rd grade. A total of 142 undergraduate students studying English-related majors participated in the study, and they submitted reflective essays as well as ‘motigraph’, which presents the annual changes of the degree of English-learning motivation for the past 10 years. These data were systematically analyzed based on Grounded Theory. The findings show that Korean English learners’ motivation decreased when they advanced to a higher school from elementary to middle school and middle to high school. In particular, the standard deviation from middle school third-year to high school first-year showed a significant increase. These changes found in motigraph analysis were closely compared with the participants’ critical reflective essays. Common motivational factors were the pleasant experience of using and learning English and assistance from their family, friends, and teachers. Common factors of demotivation included difficulties in English classes and excessive competition among peers. It was found that each participant perceived the factors of motivation and demotivation differently despite the external similarities among these factors. Such inconsistencies are explained from the concept of cognitive appraisal.

The Assessment of Chinese Children's English Vocabulary-A Culturally Appropriate Receptive Vocabulary Test for Young Chinese Learners of English.

Millions of Chinese children learn English at increasingly younger ages. Yet when it comes to measuring proficiency, educators, and researchers rely on assessments that have been developed for L1 learners and/or for different cultural contexts, or on non-validated, individually designed tests. We developed the Assessment of Chinese Children’s English Vocabulary test (ACCE-V) to address the need for a validated, culturally appropriate receptive vocabulary test, designed specifically for young Chinese learners. The items are drawn from current teaching materials used in China, and the depictions of people and objects are culturally appropriate. We evaluated the instrument’s reliability and validity in two field tests with a combined sample size of 1,092 children (181 children for the first field test and 911 children for the second field test, age range from 3.1 to 7.7, mean age: 5.2. Item Response Theory (IRT) analyses show that the ACCE-V is sufficiently sensitive to capture different proficiency levels and that it has good psychometric properties. ACCE-V scores were correlated with Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test scores, indicating concurrent validity. We found that children’s age and English learning experience can significantly predict the scores of ACCE-V, but the effect of English learning experience is greater. The ACCE-V thus offers an alternative to existing vocabulary tests. We argue that culturally appropriate assessments like the ACCE-V are fairer to learners and help promote an English learning and teaching environment that is less dominated by Western cultures and native speaker norms.

Exploration of university students’ lived experiences of using smartphones for English language learning

This study aimed to understand the nature of learning English in the digital age from students’ personal ‘learning lives’. Drawing on hermeneutic phenomenology’s principles, this study conducted conversational interviews and obtained reflective reports from students over 5 months. The findings reveal that students’ English learning experiences are sociocultural processes involving a complex interplay between learner agency, other agents, the cultural practices using smartphones, and the wider context. Furthermore, learning English using smartphones facilitates an approach to it or Computer Assisted Language Learning that embraces ‘anytime’ and ‘anywhere’ learning and involves a seamless integration of personal, social, formal, and informal learnings. Therefore, we propose smartphone-assisted English language learning (SAELL), addressing smartphone use for learning English, based on qualitative data and recent trends in the field. Future research should include rich qualitative evidence to support the SAELL framework in practice in multiple empirical settings. Empirical studies are mostly applied within university settings; however, the practical implications have more relevance to students, teachers, educators, and policymakers who may be involved in shaping novel smartphone learning spaces for formal and informal contexts.

Young children’s perceptions of emergency online English learning during the Covid-19 pandemic: evidence from Kazakhstan

ABSTRACT This qualitative study explores the English learning experiences of 30 Grade 5 students from three mainstream schools in Kazakhstan during the Covid-19 pandemic. It was informed by Benson et al.'s (2011) four-dimensional model of language learning beyond the classroom: (a) location (physical vs. virtual), (b) formality (formal vs. informal agents), (c) locus of control (other-directed vs. self-directed goals) and (d) pedagogy. Data were collected through online individual interviews and students' drawings. The data suggest that the participants' English teachers used mainly Zoom and WhatsApp platforms for delivering the online classes. The participants were critical of their English teachers' practices, particularly, the overuse of WhatsApp, the scarcity of co-operative activities and delays in responding to inquiries. Consequently, 16 participants (53%) were receiving face-to-face and virtual private tutoring in English (PT-E). Although face-to-face PT-E may be unsafe during the pandemic, PT-E was a parental strategy to free themselves from the burden of tracking their children's progress. The participants acted agentively, not only reflecting on the disadvantages of online education but also on its benefits, including its being more convenient and able to help them improve their self-reliance and technology skills. The pedagogical implications and areas for further research are suggested.

The monolingual borrowers: reconciling the success and failure of English in Japan

ABSTRACT This article discusses Japan’s idealization and adoration of English language while at the same time being an insular monolingual nation. English has been an imperative foreign language in Japan from the mid-1800s; today, English is regarded as one of the most important school subjects . However, most Japanese people hold anxiety about their English learning experiences. The average person lives with a dilemma of not being able to use English despite having learned it for many years. One noticeable by-product of the dilemma is rampant use of English loanwords in everyday Japanese language. Paradoxically, such loanwords tend to undergo lexical shifts in Japanese contexts beyond original meanings until native English speaers are unable to comprehend their meanings. This paper discusses the hypothetical reasons why English education stays unsuccessful, and (2) Japanese people love to rely on use of English loanwords (Japanese Anglicism) instead of speaking English.

A Research Proposal on Applying Chinese Phonetic System in Teaching Pronunciation of English Words to Older Chinese EFL Adult Learners

Recent years have seen a rapid growth of older Chinese people going abroad, either visiting their relatives or taking on a long-term trip. These older adults find it is necessary to learn some English words to help them blend in local environment. However, a lot of them encounter challenges of memorizing the pronunciation of English words via using English phonetic alphabet, because many have little English learning experience. Their tongues had never been trained to pronounce English words in their childhood, and it is so difficult for them to remember a new pronunciation system and change their pronunciation habit. So they tend to memorize the pronunciation of words by referring its sound to their acquired pinyin system—a phonology system for Chinese characters. This inspires the author to think it may be, in a way, meaningful to exam the feasibility of applying such approach in teaching older Chinese adult beginners for specific purpose. Hence, the proposal of designing a controlled experiment to explore this teaching method. By offering a tentative research design, the paper provides predicative analysis and implications on studying the L1 play in L2 pronunciation acquisition in second language classroom.

TEACHERS AND STUDENTS’ PERCEPTIONS ON THE USE OF ICT IN LEARNING ENGLISH AT A JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL IN TUBAN

This study focuses on the perceptions of students and teachers regarding the use of ICT media in learning English. This study also aims to determine the attitudes of students and teachers about the use and benefits of ICT media in learning and teaching in English classes and to find out the problemsfaced by teachers when using or operating ICT media in English classes. This study uses a descriptive quantitative approach applying survey. Data was collected from a survey in the form of giving a questionnaire or questionnaire, which involved 10 randomly selected students from grades VI and VII and two English teachers at SMP PGRI 3 Tuban. The quantitative data obtained were analyzed by calculating the percentage of each item and the average to draw conclusions descriptively. The findings of this study revealed a positive response from teachers and students regarding the use of ICT media in English classes, students felt that learning English using ICT media was more fun and not boring in class, they were also more enthusiastic in participating in English learning in class. class, students also feel more understanding of English material when the teacher uses the TIK or ICT to teach in the classroom. The teacher also responded very well where the teacher agreed with the use of ICT media in the classroom and the teacher felt the benefits of using the media but there were several obstacles faced by the teacher when using ICT, such as operating constraints. This study provides insight into how students and teachers view ICT as a teaching and learning tool that can help provide a better English learning experience, as well as identify the barriers teachers feel when using ICT media.

Exploring Bangladeshi university students\u2019 willingness to communicate (WTC) in English classes through a qualitative study

English is regarded as a compulsory subject in Bangladesh, which learning starts at the very early stage of a learner. However, after spending almost 12 years in learning English, learners’ oral skill is not seen up to the mark when they enter the university for tertiary education. Sometimes, they are noticed to have their unwillingness to communicate with others. Hence, the current study aims to explore the experiences of Bangladeshi university students’ willingness to communicate (WTC) by employing a multiple case study method. 10 undergraduate students from a private university were interviewed. Apart from semi-structured interview, classroom observations were also carried out for data collection. The obtained data were analysed through the content analysis process. The findings show that students’ earlier experiences of learning English have been positive; however, they think grammar-based English learning is an obstacle in the development of their oral communication. The study also reveals that learners’ WTC is greatly influenced by classroom environment that enhances or declines their interest to communicate with others. Based on the findings, the study suggests that incorporating more drills in English classes by engaging learners with real-life based conversations, dialogues and so forth can enhance learners’ WTC. Hence, learners’ real voice would help the policymakers and language instructors to take the issue into consideration and way-out timely measures.

Students’ Perception in Learning English through Communicative English Club (CEC) at IAIN Salatiga

The purposes of this study were (1) to know how is perceptions of student in learning English through Communicative English Club (CEC) IAIN Salatiga and (2) to know how is the student’s perception of the stimulus for the English material given by the Communicative English Club (CEC) IAIN Salatiga. This study uses qualitative research to find out the purposes. Sample is chosen by the researcher or called a purposive sample. Six students who joined in Communicative English Club (CEC) were interviewed. From the results of this study, it is concluded that students who join the Communicative English Club (CEC) Student Activity Unit (UKM) had a positive perception of learning English at CEC and the materials that were given. CEC activities or work programs improve their English language skills, especially speaking skills. Although not aiming to learn English, students got an experience of learning English at CEC that is different from learning in the classroom. They got the opportunity to practice English more often. In addition, CEC provides environmental and mental support for learning English. Students consider English material to be not just written grammar material, but English material can be obtained through an environment, discussion, and experience that can improve their English language skills. Keywords: students’ perception, learning, English, English club

Theorising English as a Linguistic Capability: A Look at the Experiences of Economically Disadvantaged Higher Education Students in Colombia

ABSTRACT The current study used the capability approach (CA) to explore the English learning experiences of 10 economically vulnerable higher education (HE) students in Colombia in order to better conceptualise English from a capability perspective. In doing so, this paper builds on the empirical and theoretical work of capability scholars which has looked at the role of English in educational settings. It highlights the importance of viewing linguistic capabilities as inchoative since viewing them as fully formed can obscure injustices. These injustices can include poor quality English language education (ELE), an unfavourable financial situation, and a lack of opportunities for exposure to and practice of English. This last-mentioned injustice foregrounds another important dimension of linguistic capabilities: their inter-subjective, relational nature. To aid in this conceptualisation, the paper also draws on Phillipson’s [1992. Linguistic Imperialism. Oxford: Oxford University Press] theory of linguistic imperialism to better illustrate how English is implicated in asymmetrical power relations which give rise to oppression and domination. However, this paper also shows how some injustices can be navigated by educationally resilient individuals. The findings of this thesis are therefore of interest not only to language policy experts and other language education stakeholders in developing contexts, but also to capability scholars.

Japanese Students’ Emotional Lived Experiences in English Language Learning, Learner Identities, and Their Transformation

AbstractThe Vygotskian concept of perezhivanie, or emotional lived experience, was adopted to examine the learner identities of 2 Japanese university students in English language learning. Current studies on language learner identities have given analytic primacy to either psychological processes or social influences. In contrast, perezhivanie offers a holistic unit of analysis for examining simultaneous influences derived from internal and external realms on identity pursuits. Misaki and Hina participated in a 60‐minute interview designed to understand their English learning experiences and how they made sense of them in school and university settings. In addition, a series of class observations—each followed by an informal interview—were conducted to examine their learning experiences in a conversational English course. Their reflective postings on the course online blog were also collected. The analytical process located identifiable instances of perezhivanie (perezhivaniya), based on participants’ memorable events or personally significant moments, and elaborated how these perezhivaniya brought forth different learner identities. Using the concept of perezhivanie, this study draws attention to a dynamic perspective on researching language‐learner identities that foregrounds an identity‐making process whereby students relived, refracted, and transformed through emotional–cognitive events or episodes characterized by complex transactions between the person and context.

Foreign Language Course for General Education on the Basis of Learner’s Knowledge －Focusing on the case of a 〈Basic German course〉 at the H. University

Foreign language courses for General Education generally suffer from poor conditions when it comes to the promotion of the communicative competence of learners. This is due to the predominance of frontal teaching, an insufficient number of lessons, different learner language portfolios, etc. However, learners present many advantages for language acquisition, e.g., the linguistic foundation provided by their mother tongue, their world knowledge, and their English learning experience. Therefore, the limits of the foreign language course for General Education may be overcome by the learners themselves. Thus, such courses should not focus on communicative competence, but rather should serve to strengthen the characteristics of General Education. Above all, motivating learners and promoting autonomous learning are the most important tasks that foreign language courses for General Education should strive to achieve.

A Case Study on the Self-directed English Learning Experiences of Korean College Students Using Self-coaching

The purpose of this study is to analyze the English learning experience of college students using Colaizzi's method, which is one of the qualitative research methods, using self-coaching technology as a tool to improve self-directed learning ability. In-depth interview were conducted to collect data, and 9 significant statements, 4 theme clusters, and 2 categories were derived.<br/>The results are as follows. First, it showed that the participants clearly set the reasons and goals for learning English. Second, it was confirmed that they had time to return to the positive motivation they experienced in the past and strengthened their will to overcome difficulties caused by self-coaching. Third, it was reported that they had a valuable experience of asking the questions presented for the first time, and they recollected the feelings of when they happily learned English, thereby gaining new vitality for learning English. Finally, it also showed that they experienced risk factors such as a desire to procrastinate, a desire to give up, and a rush to complete a task due to difficulty in self-control, which could lead to poor learning.<br/>Based on these results, it was suggested that self-coaching contributed to the improvement of learning English, the importance of questions, necessary factors when expanding to regular classes, and the expansion of coaching research.

Towards an understanding of multilingual investment: multilingual learning experiences among mainland Chinese students in Hong Kong

Abstract This paper investigates a group of mainland Chinese students’ multilingual learning experiences in an English-medium university in multilingual Hong Kong. Informed by the sociological construct of investment, the study focuses on the role of identity and language ideology and their interaction in shaping the participants’ experiences of learning English and Cantonese and their multilingual development. The findings reveal that the participants’ multilingual investments were mediated by their ideologies of sociolinguistic competence and flexible multilingualism, which contributed to the development of their identities as competent multilingual speakers. However, the participants’ negotiations of their multilingual identities were constrained by the local students’ deficit perspectives on the participants’ multilingual competences as a result of the influence of the ideology of native-speakerism in the local society. The findings also show that the participants’ internalization of the ideology of neoliberal multilingualism and the ideology of multilingualism as indexical of cosmopolitan membership prompted their multilingual investments, which expanded their imagined identity options for the future. Taken together, the findings point to the complex and dynamic interaction between identity and language ideology in shaping multilingual investments. The study also expands our understanding of multilingual learning by contributing to the conceptualization of ‘multilingual investment’ from a sociological perspective.

Prior to and in the Course of Covid-19 Pandemic: Exploring Learners’ Experiences of Learning English through Narrative Lens

The language learning largely took place in the classroom, especially prior to Covid-19 pandemic and that this occurrence resulted in simplicity for the learners to learn and interact with each other because they could directly make in contact with their classmates and their teachers. However, since the pandemic developed in March 2020, all the learning process was subsequently altered into online learning. To date, studies on language learning has been undertaken by the researchers both at intra and international level. Despite the existence of these former studies, little work reports the comprehensive picture of language learning experiences prior to and during Covid-19 pandemic. To fill this lacuna, the current article reports on a narrative inquiry of EFL learners’ experiences of learning English prior to and during Covid-19 pandemic. Drawing upon data from a semi-structured interview with two Indonesian EFL learners of the sixth semester majoring in English education program, the finding indicates that EFL learners have sustained multifaceted learning experiences prior to and during the pandemic. They have gone through face-to-face learning prior to the pandemic, asynchronous learning during the pandemic and hybrid learning experience during the Covid-19 pandemic. This article concludes with suggestions for promoting hybrid learning model in the EFL setting, particularly in a higher education during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Co-constructing Social Justice: Language Educators Challenging Colonial Practices in Mexico

AbstractThis article involves the work of four language educators/researchers collaborating on an ongoing longitudinal multilingual participatory action research (PAR) project in a Bachelor of Arts (BA) language teaching program in Oaxaca, Mexico. Overall, this PAR project aims at the co-construction of social justice in ELT in Mexico. In particular, it explores an approach that would encourage learners to make full(er) use of their language resources to challenge the colonial othering discourses of inferiority, disability, and backwardness inherent in ELT in Mexico. The analyses reported in this article zooms in on the English learning experiences of three Indigenous background, low-socioeconomic status, female undergraduate students, and their alleged struggle with speaking English in teaching–learning and assessment activities. The purpose of this article is to illustrate how a local English teacher co-constructed social justice with these three students. To fulfill this purpose, we succinctly present the focal students life stories and address three emergent themes: (i) unveiling alienating practices in the classroom; (ii) carving out spaces for multilingualism in the English classroom; and (iii) authoring assessment as a way to enact social justice.

Exploring Effects of the Second Language Motivational Self System on Chinese EFL Learners’ Willingness to Communicate in English and Implications for L2 Education

This study explores how the three components of L2 motivational self-system (Ideal L2 self, Ought-to L2 self and Learning experience) influence Chinese college students’ willingness to communicate in English using a mixure of methods which include a questionnaire survey and individual interviews. Results show that Chinese college students’ ideal L2 self and learning experience would influence their L2 WTC significantly. Students who have a high level of ideal L2 self and more positive English learning experiences are more willing to use English to communicate inside and outside the classroom. Students’ ought-to L2 self has no significant correlation with their L2 WTC. Findings of the study offers some possible implications to improve Chinese college students’ low motivation in English learning and low willingness to use English to communicate.

Bridging the gap between ELF and L2 learners’ use of communication strategies: Rethinking current L2 assessment and teaching practices

The emergence of English as a lingua franca (ELF) has focused scholarly attention on non-native speakers' use of communication strategies (CSs) in international communication, which places emphasis on ensuring mutual understanding. With reference to previous ELF pragmatics research, this study examined the extent to which L2 learners' use of CSs reflects that in ELF interactions in a group interaction task in Hong Kong's high-stakes public examination. Our analysis of the students' CSs use was accompanied by semi-structured focus group interviews, allowing them to reflect on their own performance and prior English learning/use experience. The findings revealed an unnatural discursive pattern resulting from the assessment task design, although some CSs were found that have been identified in previous ELF studies. Students with higher academic attainment were more capable of using some higher-level CSs and diversifying their language forms, but this was mainly because of their higher English proficiency level/motivation, exposure to English and awareness of effective communication rather than their prior English-learning experience in the classroom. The paper concludes by offering suggestions for the design of communicative tasks and language learning/teaching practices to address the misalignment between L2 students' pragmatic production and naturalistic ELF situations.

Marketing the Wang-chobo Identity: Problematic Construction of English Learner Identities in the Advertising Discourse of South Korea’s English Learning Platforms

The purpose of this study was to analyze the advertisement discourse of the three most popular online English learning platforms in South Korea and problematize their framing of Koreans as incapable learners of English. The method of critical discourse analysis and multimodal discourse analysis were used to examine how text and visuals in the advertisement discourse portrayed three powerful ideologies of neoliberalism, native- speakerism, and self-deprecation in play. It was found that the idealization of the native speaker standard was interconnected with the self-deprecating tendency of Korean learners of English, who are pressured by the neoliberal logic of self- development to learn English but are not able to attain the unreachable goal of native-like proficiency. Likewise, the study problematized language ideologies in the discourse around English learning in South Korea in order to help Korean learners of English see their English learning experience as valid and valuable, and themselves as capable English speakers.