English Learning Experience Research Articles

Adventure in a new language: what a first generation Canadian immigrant’s narrative holds for ESL teachers

AbstractThis paper explored the value of learner’s stories for ESL (English as a Second Language) teachers’ teaching and research through a narrative inquiry of the lived English learning experience of a first generation Canadian immigrant. It first reviewed the concept of narrative and the significance of launching narrative inquiry. Then, it presented an interview conducted with the Canadian immigrant as a model of narrative inquiry. Themes of the narrative interview were found to resonate with theoretical issues of SLE (Second Language Education), ESL and SLA (Second Language Acquisition). Considering the themes and the entire interviewing process, this paper closed with a discussion of the benefits of narrative inquiry for ESL teachers’ teaching and research.

Identity construction through English language learning in intra-national migration: a study on Uyghur students in China

ABSTRACTThis study explores how a group of Uyghur minority students construct their identities in and through English language learning experiences as they move from Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region to study in a prestigious East coastal university in China. The research findings show that the processes of English language learning enable the ethnic minority students to develop multiple yet powerful identities, that is, a situated elite identity constructed as opposed to other Uyghur members and a positive heritage identity negotiated within the academic community, and allow them to imagine multilingual and multicultural memberships for themselves. The favourable identities thus forged are found to facilitate their adaptation to the host community. However, these minority elites are confronted with a series of problems in learning English compared to their Han counterparts, which hinder their socialisation into the society and upward social mobility. Finally, implications for policy-makers, the host institution, and ethnic students are discussed.

The anti-apprenticeship of observation: How negative prior language learning experience influences English language teachers’ beliefs and practices

Abstract This study problematizes an issue for language teacher development in foreign language contexts by investigating the prior language learning experiences of South Korean English teachers and the influence of that experience on their teaching beliefs and practices. Across a generation, teachers had to adapt from a structural to a communicative-oriented curriculum. Prior research has shown that trainees lacking experience with communicative language teaching as students are less likely to teach communicatively; however, little attention has been paid to this issue locally. In the inquiry, data were collected from reflective writing with 18 in-service English teachers and follow-up interviews with 4 participants (2 novice and 2 experienced teachers). Findings from a grounded theory analysis show that participants’ public school English learning experience served as an anti-apprenticeship of observation; that is, their own public school teachers provided models of what not to do as language teachers. Therefore, an implication of this study is that teacher education must play an important role in transmitting the professional discourse and having trainees critically reflect on their prior learning experience. Reflective inquiry is rare in this context; however, this paucity of reflective practice creates an opportunity for researchers to provide an empirical contribution regarding its efficacy.

Korean EFL Freshman Students’ English Learning Experiences in High School and in College

Korean EFL Freshman Students’ English Learning Experiences in High School and in College

The impact of different L1 and L2 learning experience in the acquisition of L1 phonological processes

Previous studies on the effect of L2 experience on L1 acquisition mostly focused on the segmental level without taking into consideration phonological processes. In particular, whether learners' different L1 and L2 learning experience affects their acquisition of L1 phonological processes has not been much explored. This study investigated the impact of different L1 Korean-L2 English learning experience in the acquisition of L1 phonological processes (t-palatalization and h-merger) among three groups of Korean children (mean age: 9): 20 Korean monolingual, 21 Returnee and 19 ESL children. In production the children read orthographically presented stimuli embedded in sentences. In perception both standard (target-appropriate) and spelling-based non-standard variant (target-inappropriate) pronunciations of target words were aurally presented in sentential contexts and the children judged the target appropriateness. The results of the production and perception tests indicated the effect of different L1 and L2 learning experience in the acquisition of L1 phonological processes due to the monolingual and Returnee children significantly outperforming the ESL children either in production or in perception. However, the Returnees outperformed the monolingual children on h-merger in perception, which may partly be accounted for by the Returnees' bilingual benefits and re-exposure to their L1. An asymmetry between t-palatalization and h-merger was also found as all the children performed significantly better on h-merger than on t-palatalization. The asymmetry between the two phonological processes was accounted for in terms of variation and the intrinsic nature of the phonological processes.

Appropriating scientific vocabulary in chemistry laboratories: a multiple case study of four community college students with diverse ethno-linguistic backgrounds

This multiple case study investigated how college students with diverse ethno-linguistic backgrounds used chemistry vocabulary as a way to look at their discursive identities and cultural border crossings during first semester general chemistry laboratories. The data were collected in two major forms: video-taped laboratory observations and audio-recorded interviews. All transcribed data from videos and interviews were analyzed qualitatively, using the constant comparative method. Our results indicate that (1) participants explained the laboratories using vocabulary emphasized in both lecture and the laboratory; (2) participants were able to appropriate the scientific meanings of Dual Meaning Vocabulary (DMV) and Cross Meaning Vocabulary (CMV) into their discursive identities; (3) participants' prior English learning experiences and the classroom culture shaped their appropriation of scientific vocabulary and (4) participants' appropriation of chemistry language was deeply related to how they incorporated scientific culture into their everyday culture. These themes are discussed in depth using the cultural anthropological theoretical framework, the discursive identity lens, and a tiered definition of scientific vocabulary. Implications of this study are also discussed in terms of instruction and future research.

College EFL Learners’ Metaphorical Perceptions of English Learning

This article explores college EFL students’ metaphorical perceptions of learning English in a minority area in Northwest China. 120 students (30 English majors and 30 non-English majors), participated in the study by completing a prompt “learning English is (like)… because…”. Through metaphor analysis, it is hoped to have an insights into how students currently perceive their experiences of learning English and what thinking the students’ metaphorical perceptions of learning English may stimulate. 115 metaphors were used for analysis in terms of attitudes towards English, types of metaphors and perceptions revealed through metaphors. It was found that students had a good understanding of English learning. Their metaphors revealed their beliefs about the English learning, about English learning process and about themselves as language learners. They understood that language learning was hard process and that being a successful learner requires a variety of demands such as hard work, perseverance, patience, and a positive attitude. The results of the study may help students in exploring an important aspect of their past, present and even future lives and teachers who work in a similar context in understanding these perceptions and using them to facilitate and foster their students’ English learning.

Communication Apprehension: A Comparison between English Majors and Non-majors in China

Using the scale of communication apprehension developed by McCroskey, a comparative study has been conducted between English majors and non-majors of different English learning experiences in a Chinese university. Whereas all the subjects remain at the medium level of communication apprehension, no significant difference was found across different communication scenarios among students of different majors as well as different grades. The results imply that the cause of communication apprehension might not be necessarily associated with differences in learning experience, syllabi or even teaching approaches. The characteristics of the high-contextual Chinese culture may be interpretable to this non-difference result. Thus, we may hypothesize with confidence that psychological approaches may be more effective to reduce the phenomenon of mute English of Chinese learners and their reticence in English class.

A Study of English Language Learning Experience of North Korean Refugee Youth in South Korean High Schools

A Study of English Language Learning Experience of North Korean Refugee Youth in South Korean High Schools

A research on the effects of English learning experience as L2 on Korean audio-morphological awareness as L3

A research on the effects of English learning experience as L2 on Korean audio-morphological awareness as L3

Overcoming invisible obstacles in organizational learning

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the key factors that could influence mobile learning outcome, and further explore the moderating effect of employee resistance to change (RTC) on mobile learning Design/methodology/approach – Partial least squares analysis was utilized to examine the data. Totally, 261 employees with mobile English learning experience participated in this study. Findings – The study findings have indicated that the perceived playfulness, flexibility advantages, and self-regulated learning (SRL) could have a positive impact on mobile learning satisfaction, which in turn could lead to better mobile learning continuance intention. In addition, it has been found that RTC could moderate the relationship between perceived flexibility advantages and mobile learning satisfaction, the link between SRL and mobile learning satisfaction, as well as the connection between mobile learning satisfaction and continuance intention. Originality/value – Although a considerable amount of literature has been published on mobile and organizational learning, relatively little work has probed into the moderating role of employee RTC on mobile learning in organizations. As mobile learning has gradually been regarded as a key learning channel, in order to minimize learning barriers, and further improve learning effectiveness and efficiency in organizations, it is critical that more work should be done on the moderating role of RTC in mobile learning.

Learner’s Learning Experiences & Difficulties towards (ESL) among UKM Undergraduates

This paper aims to investigate the learners learning experiences and difficulties of ESL among the UKM undergraduates. This study will be focusing on identifying the factors behind Malaysian undergraduate’s experiences and also their difficulties in the English as Second Language (ESL) classroom. This paper discusses some of the issues of English language learning experiences at the tertiary level in this country. It reflects on how the teaching of English is variously conceptualized in our classrooms, raising important questions about the positions of English literacy to Malaysian undergraduates. A qualitative research method was employed, whereby a semi-structured interview session was conducted compromising thirty Bachelor of Arts undergraduates (BA ELS). The findings of this study suggests learners at tertiary level do face challenges in their ESL classroom learning, in areas such as the learning environment itself needs to be improved, the quality of education, the academics, the role of educators and the teaching approach were among others pointed out by the learners themselves. Keywords: English language teaching, English as Second language (ESL), learner’s experiences, learner’s difficulties, language learners

A STUDY OF ERRORS IN THE THIRD SINGULAR PRONOUNS OF SIMPLE PRESENT TENSE BY USING INTERLANGUAGE ANALYSIS AS AN APPROACH. A CASE STUDY

The purpose of this study is to analyze factors contributing to errors made in learning English as a target language (TL). Employing a case study research, the participant was interviewed for approximately 30 minutes about daily activities and experiences in learning English. This research focuses in analysing the participant‟s use of third singular pronoun in simple present tense. The findings revealed that errors made by TL learners are mainly influenced by some factors related to their TL‟s and native language‟s (NL) knowledge, systems and rules. These factors are coexisted and interconnected in TL learners‟ minds. This is against Robert Lado‟s argument which mentioned that learner made errors in TL learning because of the interference from NL. The study provides pedagogical implications that TL teachers should perceive errors made by the learners as a sign of language learning and development; therefore they should not be discouraged to learn. Also, TL teachers should be aware of their very important roles to help, to guide and to lead the learners‟ progress in learning the TL. The future subsequent studies should consider of involving more sample size over a longer period of time as to obtain to a more generalized finding. Target language (TL) learning is often challenging for learners. This is because of the vast differences between their native language and the TL in terms of rules, forms and knowledge. Some learners find learning fun while others find it frustrating. Learners exert considerable effort to become competent speakers or even to emulate native speakers. For example, they strive for perfect pronunciation. In their efforts to learn the TL, learners usually make errors. Some teachers strongly believe making mistakes is an important part of the learning process and that it enables learners to improve their TL skills. Other teachers perceive errors negatively as obstacles in learning, and therefore believe errors need to be eliminated. These teachers have limited tolerance with learners who make errors. Other teachers might ignore errors, or they simply do not know how to address them. It is widely assumed that errors occur because of the interference of NL and the degree of difference between TL and NL. It appears that learners transfer rules, forms and knowledge of NL to TL. For example, learners in Indonesia might believe that the rules, forms and knowledge of Bahasa Indonesia are similar to English. Some theorists consider errors as a learning process. It demonstrates the mind‟s ability to adapt, transform and restructure NL and TL language systems to a new language system. These theorists also believe that errors are reflections of the learner‟s efforts to comprehend the TL systems and knowledge. In other words, berita terkini indonesia are reflections of a new language system being constructed. This new system combines elements of both the NL and the TL. Therefore, it is strongly argued that TL learners make errors as efforts to construct a new language system which is somehow different from the system of NL and TL and not interference of NL to TL. This paper is intended to analyze factors contributing to errors made in learning English as a foreign language. Key words: errors, interference, interlanguage

It’s not just English, it’s complicated: Approaching at-risk college students’ academic language remediation

This article reports an alternative assessment of at-risk college students’ second language and academic literacy skills, and their awareness and experiences in learning English as Second Language (ESL) for deeper understanding of such students’ challenges and opportunities. Fifty-one freshmen grantees of the Expanded Students’ Grant-in-Aid Program for Poverty Alleviation (ESGP-PA) in a state university from the Philippines participated in this study mounted on a quantitative-qualitative research design. Results of summative academic literacy tests revealed that the students found considerable level of difficulty in negotiating with meaning and form of college-level language tasks. Problematique analysis of their journals suggests influential factors that could impact at-risk students’ success and failures in college language and literacy instruction. Implications for approaching student-centered-classroom-based English language remediation program are advanced.

It’s All About Commitment

You have accessThe ASHA LeaderFirst Person on the Last Page1 Mar 2015It’s All About CommitmentThis English-language learner struggled for years to become an SLP. Now she uses that persistence to help her clients. Chiao-fei ChangMS, CCC-SLP Chiao-fei Chang Google Scholar More articles by this author , MS, CCC-SLP https://doi.org/10.1044/leader.FPLP.20032015.72 SectionsAbout ToolsAdd to favorites ShareFacebookTwitterLinked In I am keeping the promise I made to myself six months ago: If my patient regains the ability to swallow, I will write to The ASHA Leader to share my philosophy of “never give up.” Speech-language pathology is a career I never thought that I would pursue, because I am an English-language learner. The first time I heard about the career, I was 19 and had just moved from Taiwan to the United States, as my parents wanted me to have better education and a better life. I had no idea what I wanted to study in college, but there was one idea that I was very sure about: I wanted to be a “therapist.” I could be a physical therapist, an occupational therapist, a counselor, a psychologist or other helping professional, but I needed more information about each field. I spoke with a physical therapist, who suggested speech-language pathology. She thought that I had the personality and patience to work with people and believed that speech-language pathologists would be in great need for many years. The minute I hung up the phone, I thought, “Are you kidding me? I don’t even speak English. How am I going to be an SLP?” I started seriously considering the career when, as a college student completing my general education requirements, I did a lot of observation in skilled nursing facilities. I watched how physical therapists, occupational therapists and SLPs worked and interacted with their patients. I could easily figure out what PTs and OTs did with their patients, but I could never figure out what the SLPs were doing. A language barrier with medical terminology is one thing—but I never imagined that massaging a patient’s neck could be speech-language treatment. Because of my rising interest, I decided I would take a couple of courses in communication disorders to see if I liked it. I assisted with interpretation during clinic sessions, and I fell in love with the field. I almost gave up when I applied to graduate school, because I was not “qualified” for most of the programs. First, four years of English-learning experience was not strong enough to meet my patients’ needs. And because the program is so competitive, I felt I needed a 4.0 GPA to get in. I started taking courses in cultural and interpersonal communication to learn how to communicate with people with different backgrounds and to improve my GPA. I did not give up. Now, I am a medical SLP working in hospitals. Oh! Back to my commitment: When I met her, my patient was in her early 20s and had been diagnosed as a child in her native China with a degenerative neuromuscular disease. She came to the U.S. to receive better medical care, and had been hospitalized many times for respiratory failure. She had a tracheostomy tube and a feeding tube. “I have begged the doctor for at least two years for a swallow evaluation because I really want to be able to eat noodles, dumplings and buns,” she told me when we met. I told her, “We will do everything we can together, even if we have to struggle.” We used traditional swallowing treatment, electrical stimulation and diet texture modification. We also worked with physical therapy to enhance her head and neck control and strengthen posture. My patient is finally able to swallow after seven years of taking in nothing by mouth. I was not sure about the outcomes while working with her. But although she can’t eat “regular” food, she can have small portions of modified consistency. At least, this is a step up. Now, we are celebrating together. And, by the way, did I tell you I love my career? Author Notes Chiao-fei Chang, MS, CCC-SLP, is a bilingual clinician who works with people with swallowing difficulties and a variety of communcation disorders at inpatient and outpatient settings in Southern California. [email protected] Advertising Disclaimer | Advertise With Us Advertising Disclaimer | Advertise With Us Additional Resources FiguresSourcesRelatedDetails Volume 20Issue 3March 2015 Get Permissions Add to your Mendeley library History Published in print: Mar 1, 2015 Metrics Current downloads: 187 Topicsasha-topicsleader_do_tagasha-article-typesleader-topicsCopyright & Permissions© 2015 American Speech-Language-Hearing AssociationLoading ...

Effects of orthographic forms on pronunciation in experienced instructed second language learners

ABSTRACTIn spite of burgeoning evidence that the orthographic forms (“spellings”) of second language (L2) words affect L2 learners’ pronunciation, little is known about the pronunciation of known words in experienced learners. In a series of four studies, we investigated various orthographic effects on the pronunciation of L2 English words in instructed learners with 10 years’ experience of learning English. Participants were native users of the phonologically transparent Italian writing system. Study 1 investigated the pronunciation of “silent letters,” using a word-reading task and a word-repetition task. Study 2 examined the effects of vowel spelling on vowel duration, namely, whether L2 speakers produce the same target vowel as longer when it is spelled with a vowel digraph than with a singleton letter. Study 3 explored the effects of the morphemic spelling of the past tense marker <ed> using a verb paradigm-production task. Study 4 tested whether L2 speakers produce homophonic words differently when they are spelled differently. Results confirmed that orthographic forms affect experienced instructed learners’ pronunciation of known words, albeit less so in immediate word repetition than in reading-aloud tasks.

TO ABANDON OR NOT TO ABANDON: FOREIGN LANGUAGE ANXIETY AND ITS EFFECTS ON STUDENTS’ NON-ENGLISH DEPARTMENT

Foreign language anxiety (FLA) has attracted much interest. However, little is known about whether FLA affects students’ non English department to study a foreign language, which is believed to be an important initial condition for students to be able to learn the foreign language as english and to learn mathematics effectively. This study investigated anxious tertiary students’ experiences in learning English as a foreign language and Mathematics as their major in order to determine whether their anxiety affected their determination to study English and Mathematics as the same time. The participants were 46 non-English major students from The University of Muhammadiyah Purwokerto in Indonesia who were identified as being registered in Mathematics English Course (MEC). Data were collected using autobiographies and interviews, and were analyzed using a content analysis approach facilitated by SPSS. The findings indicate that awareness of the importance of English was the important factor that influenced anxious students’ determination to study English. The study suggests that students’ awareness of the importance of English should be enhanced, in order toassist them in managing their anxiety effectively and thus to persist in MEC learning. The author suggests that the findings obtained in this study should be verified in other socio-cultural and language contexts. Keywords Foreign language anxiety (FLA), Mathematics English course (MEC), Students’ non-English department

INVESTIGATING THE IMPACT OF THE AGE, GENDER AND YEARS LEARNING ENGLISH ON LEARNING STYLES PREFERENCES

Demographical factors may have an impact on learning and teaching styles across the continents. This study was to explore whether demographical factors namely age, gender and English learning experience are related to the learning style preferences of English Major Students from the foreign languages faculty in Iran. The sample for this study comprised of 310 English Major Students. In this study, quantitative approach was used in the collection of the data .The instruments used in this study included the Index of Learning Styles Inventory by Felder and Soloman (2006) and Oxford (1990). The results of the study revealed that except for Learning Style Pair 2 (LSP2) (Sensing/Intuition), all the other learning styles pairs were not related to demographical factors.

Chinese Biology Teaching Assistants' Perception of their English Proficiency: An Exploratory Case Study

Many Chinese graduate students are teaching assistants (TAs) in mathematics, science and engineering departments in the U.S. universities. TAs’ English proficiency has been a subject of concern or even criticism for years in the U.S. However, only one research has been found around international TAs’ English proficiency per discipline. No research has been found about Chinese TAs’ English proficiency. None has been done on Chinese TA’s perception of their English proficiency in biology. With this gap noticed, I deployed interviews to explore what the three biology TAs perceived as to their English proficiency. The study found that their perception was more relevant to their content-knowledge preparation for teaching and their previous English-learning experience than cultural influence. These findings suggest that content knowledge and language competence are both important thus should be combined in TA training programs, in order to improve TAs’ overall English proficiency in teaching.

Transnational English Learning Experiences and the Trajectory of Ethnic Identity: Korean Early Study Abroad Undergraduates and Their Parents

This study examines how Korean ethnic identity can be represented differently by Korean early study abroad undergraduates in the U.S. and by their parents. The data were collected from in-depth individual interviews with 22 Korean early study abroad undergraduates and 10 of their parents, and the collected data were analyzed using critical discourse analysis (Gee, An introduction to discourse analysis: theory and method, 2011). The findings showed that both participant groups perceived Korean ethnic identity in relation to English, appearance, and nationality. However, while the Korean early study abroad undergraduates demonstrated heterogeneous Korean ethnic identity that was influenced by learning English and embracing American culture, their parents believed that their children’s Korean ethnic identity was as unchangeable as their Korean faces and passports. The traditional Korean ethnic identity of the Korean early study abroad undergraduates was challenged by their transnational experiences in a way that admitted the partialness of Korean ethnic identity and expanded the notion to be more inclusive. This intergenerational gap in Korean ethnic identity is expected to explain Korean ethnic identity in relation to transnationalism in more nuanced way.