Foreign Language Learning Classroom Research Articles

Preparing teachers for the future: Microteaching in the immersive VR environment

Abstract The present study aims to explore how pre- and in-service language teachers incorporate the cutting-edge technology of immersive virtual reality (iVR) into their teaching practice. Specifically, the study examined how their different knowledge levels and teaching experiences influenced their integration of technology by analyzing their performance-based tasks in microteaching in an iVR environment. This particular technology was selected for the study because it was expected to bring multiple pedagogical benefits to future foreign language learning classrooms, such as contextualized learning, increased learner motivation and interest, and enhanced interaction and communicative skill training. The study employed in-depth qualitative analysis. Data (lesson plans, screen recordings of microteaching episodes, and reflection papers) were collected from one preservice teacher training course and one in-service teacher training course at a Korean university. The study found a large gap between pre- and in-service teacher performance and identified the sources of the differences based on qualitative data analysis. The results showed that not only teachers’ technological knowledge but also their pedagogical knowledge of the use of technology and confidence in teaching affected technology integration. As technology integration has become more important in language education, the current study provided insight into how to better prepare teachers for future learners.

Correlation between Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety and Foreign Language Achievement of Freshman and Teaching Enlightenment: A Case Study of Chinese Medical Students

Anxiety in foreign language study is a kind of situational anxiety, which is called foreign language classroom anxiety(FLCA).It can be classified into three dimensions: communication anxiety, negative evaluation anxiety and test anxiety. In this paper, the Horwitz Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (FLCAS) was conducted on 273 freshmen majoring in medicine in medical colleges by random sampling. The results indicated that there is a significant positive correlation between students' communication anxiety, negative evaluation anxiety and English achievement. When students' communicative and negative evaluation anxiety level is increasing, their English learning achievement will also show an upward trend. On the contrary, students' test anxiety and English learning achievement has significant negative correlation. When students' test anxiety level continues to increase, their corresponding English achievement will show a downward trend. And it was found that communication anxiety accounted for the highest proportion among the three dimensions. Accordingly, this paper proposes some teaching Enlightenments aimed at relieving medical students' anxiety in college English class. This study conducted a preliminary study of specific anxieties present in a foreign language learning classroom. The findings provide evidence to elucidate the characterization of anxiety and its effects.

Facilitating Intercultural Communicative Competence through a Multiliteracies approach: musical input as the missing link

Foreign Language (FL) learning has undergone a shift away from the communicative approach and towards a pedagogy of Multiliteracies. In an ever-changing society characterized by a digital and multicultural context, the necessity of developing Intercultural Communicative Competence (ICC) in FL learning across all levels through a pedagogy of Multiliteracies has become a priority. In this regard, musical input is an ideal medium to explore culture in the FL learning classroom which enables the integration of affective experiences from an intercultural perspective. The reasons for the implementation of musical input into FL learning curricula to develop ICC is twofold: on the one hand, it may serve to stimulate students’ awareness towards the target culture; and, on the other hand, it may be an effective way to engage students in intercultural encounters from an affective point of view. A corpus has been designed in order to analyze those studies on the development of ICC in FL learning across all levels through a Multiliteracies approach. The findings demonstrate that the use of musical input to develop ICC in the FL learning classroom through a pedagogy of Multiliteracies is scarce. Moreover, this study seeks to promote musical input-based activities to facilitate the development of ICC in the FL learning classroom through a Multiliteracies pedagogy.

An ecological perspective on the flow of compassion among Iranian learners of English as a foreign language

As a social-interactional positive behavior, the flow of compassion (i.e., self-compassion, compassion for others, and compassion from others), which refers to sensitivity to suffering in self and others with a commitment to try to alleviate and prevent it, has yet to be investigated in a highly social-interactional context such as foreign language learning classrooms. Thus, the present study adopted an ecological perspective within Bronfenbrenner’s (1979, 1993) analytic nested ecosystems model to explore how the flow of compassion is rooted in such a context. Sixteen Iranian English as a foreign language learners took part in the current study, and data were collected through semi-structured interviews. Employing the framework of the nested ecosystems model, we identified both influential individual and environmental factors underlying the flow of compassion among the participants. The flow of compassion proved to be influenced differently at different ecosystemic levels by individual and environmental factors. At the individual level, negative and positive emotions, fears, non-judgmental attitudes, intimacy, well-being, improvement, motivation, and action were found as influential factors in emerging the flow of compassion. At the contextual level, the identified influential factors included past experiences outside of the classroom, extracurricular activities, institution policy and criteria, cultural and social values, as well as the use of technology and the internet. Limitations and implications of the present study are also discussed.

The Effectiveness and Efficacy of Corrective Feedback in Foreign Language Learning Classroom based on the Context of China

Early studies show that corrective feedback plays an important role in second language (SL) or foreign language (FL) classrooms [1] . On the one hand, some studies show that feedback types including explicit and implicit feedback affect learners language learning, usually speaking and writing outcomes, either positively or negatively. According to Sherwood Smith (1993) , positive input enhancement is tended to make certain forms more salient, through color-coding or boldfacing in the case of written input, and International stress and features in the case of oral input. While negative input enhancement is intended to flag certain forms as incorrect, primarily through the use of interaction feedback. One the other hand, other studies fail to report such effects (citation needed). This paper conducts a systematic review on the effectiveness and efficacy of feedback types in the SL/FL classroom by summarizing and synthesizing a number of relevant studies in second language writing/speaking/listening. Results show that explicit feedback facilitates the scaffolding of conceptual knowledge in FL learners writing process compared with implicit feedback, thus indicating that explicit feedback demonstrated a larger effect size than implicit feedback. This study provides compelling evidence for the effectiveness of corrective feedback and will shed some new light on foreign language teaching and learning in the context of China.

Teaching Students, Creating Teachers: Focusing on Future Language Teachers and their Education for Bilingual Classrooms

How to better prepare future bilingual teachers for foreign language learning classrooms and their challenges is a key consideration in education, a concern echoed across the world as such programmes, where curricular content is taught in a foreign language, grow in popularity. This article presents student profiles and satisfaction for the first year of an EMI (English as a Medium of Instruction) teacher training model at the University of Extremadura in Spain. The goal of this programme is to offer instruction for education majors in a four-year, bilingual Bachelor’s in Primary Education (BA) programme where 50% of curricular subjects are taught in students’ native Spanish, and 50% in English. The data collected in this study revealed that first-year students in the bilingual programme have higher university admission scores than average, as well as high expectations for their linguistic progress in the programme. They are also quite motivated and indicate that the cooperative model of the programme positively impacted the experience of their first year and was a hallmark of their satisfaction overall. The positive results of the study offer insight not only onto analogous contexts in Spain but also to other countries where EMI or bilingual education is of interest.

Focusing on the Explicit and Implicit Language Learning-Related Beliefs and the Habits of Hungarian Adult English as a Foreign Language Learners

Investigating learners’ foreign language learning-related beliefs has a long tradition (Dörnyei & Ryan, 2015), and exploring explicit and implicit learning mechanisms is not less the scope of recent research endeavours (e.g., Maie & DeKeyser, 2019). However, there is little research on learner beliefs about these two learning mechanisms. With this in mind, this study primarily aims to examine language learners’ beliefs about these two learning mechanisms. This study pilots and validates the intended use of a questionnaire, referred to as the Explicit-Implicit Learning Habits Survey (EXIS). Sixty-three Hungarian adult English as a foreign language learners participated in this study, with data collected with an online questionnaire. Statistical procedures were applied to analyse language learners’ affective, behavioural, and cognitive dimensions regarding implicit and explicit learning. The results support that the EXIS can reliably measure the proposed constructs. Based on the beliefs of the selected sample, implicit learning is more effective than explicit learning. Besides this, the participants prefer implicit learning to explicit learning, and they also displayed more implicit learning habits and language use. The results are preliminary, highlighting the importance of the behavioural dimension of implicit language use and the effort invested in language learning in predicting perceived foreign language learning success. The implications of this study indicate that implicit learning should play an important role in the foreign language learning classroom.

The Effectiveness of Using Digital Storytelling in the English Language Classroom

With the development of information technology, digital stories, as a new teaching tool, have been brought into foreign language learning classrooms. Digital stories can effectively help learners improve their English language proficiency to meet the requirements of the 21st century. Making the digital story is a farreaching process of language acquisition, which integrating traditional storytelling into the media and technological storytelling. However, while digital story is beneficial to learners’ improvement, its problems have also attracted people’s attention. This article will evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of using digital stories in foreign language learning classrooms.

French-English Cognates in the Jordanian Foreign Language Learning Classroom: Friends or Foes?

The aim of the present study is two-fold in essence. First, it aims at finding out the extent to which cognates’ recognition aids Jordanian French-English bilinguals to translate from English into French. Second, it seeks to determine if such recognition can be a good strategy in learning foreign languages. Accordingly, a Translation Elicitation Task containing cognates and false cognates was devised and given to a sample of 31 students majoring in French at both the B.A and M.A levels at the University of Jordan. Findings of the study showed that most students did benefit from their English language background, and thus cognates facilitated their comprehension of French. However, some students participating in the translation test were not mindful of the lexical differences between English and French, thus producing an incorrect interpretation of the text. The study ends with a recommendation for foreign language instructors to teach cognate recognition strategies explicitly.

Dealing with Anxiety in Foreign Language Learning Classroom

Anxiety is a major factor that handicap learners’ cognition in learning. Learners in foreign language learning (FL) suffer from anxiety due to various reasons. Studies found that higher level of anxiety affects the learning process and lowers down learning motivation. In light of research literature, this paper aims at finding out the most serious reasons of FL learning anxiety and its effects on learners’ FL learning process. The study draws on the existing scholarship in the theorizing for anxiety in FL learning settings. The study followed the qualitative method of research. The findings reveal that anxiety negatively affects the learning and achievements of students. This study also suggests effective techniques to help learners get rid of FL learning anxiety in classroom situation.

Getting interested: Developing a sustainable source of motivation to learn a new language at school

This review positions current conceptions of interest and its development as a critical and (importantly) sustainable source of motivation for learning a new language across formal education. We begin with the gap in our understanding of motivation to learn a new language generated by the longstanding dominance of applied linguistics identity/socio-cultural theoretical frameworks in school learning environments. The Four-Phase Model (Hidi & Renninger, 2006), and an extension with specific relevance for the highly structured nature of formal education, is reviewed and implications for second and foreign language learning classrooms are drawn. This review concludes with future directions for interested language learning researchers and essential first steps for instructors seeking to support the initiation and continued development of students’ interest in their languagelearning classrooms.

Evaluating Teachers’ Assessment Practice on Students Writing Performance

Teachers’ writing assessment practice in foreign language learning classroom is the issue that has not been investigated empirically and rigorously. Bearing this fact in mind, this study looks at how teachers gauge students’ conceptual understanding and ability to perform task. To this end, four English teachers who had the experience of writing instruction and assessment in their classroom were interviewed, and twenty students were also cross-examined to ensure the trustworthiness. The data analysis reveals that the teachers’ assessment practice does not meet the expectations and the standards. The students involved, moreover, specified that the teachers only showed them the score without giving a further explanation on their strengths and weaknesses, and they never indicated which part the students have gone wrong in their written work. Therefore, the results suggest the stakeholder to give the teachers professional development by training them with the fundamental knowledge base for carrying out valid assessment in any context. Keywords : evaluation, teacher’s assessment, writing

The Effects of Music in the Foreign Language Learning Classroom

In this paper the author poses and seeks an answer to the question, “Is music an effective tool in secondary and post-secondary foreign language learning classrooms?” By observing articles and research ranging from the historic intertwinement of language and music to its use as a medium for learner choice, the author details music’s benefits on foreign language learner cognition, affect, motivation, and identity as well as the challenges involved. Additionally, the author presents some possible ways the introduction of music into the classroom can be a catalyst for learner and teacher autonomy.

MOTIVATION TO LEARN ENGLISH AS A FOREIGN LANGUAGE IN BRAZIL - GIVING VOICE TO A GROUP OF STUDENTS AT A PUBLIC SECONDARY SCHOOL

Abstract This study investigated to what extent a group of Brazilian secondary public school students find themselves motivated to learn English at school. Motivation was conceptualized as participation, in terms of the students’ attitudes towards their English classes. With the use of a logbook created for data collection in this research, the students expressed their motivational levels at the beginning and end of each class, during a school semester. The students’ impressions were analyzed at individual (TURNER; PATRICK, 2008) and group (WENGER, 2009) levels. The results indicated that these students were usually motivated to attend these classes but the classroom experiences played an important role in motivating them even more. Also, the study acknowledged motivation as an ever-changing experiential construct deeply influencing the foreign language learning classroom, and at the same time, being deeply influenced by internal and external factors to the individuals and the language classroom as well.

Integrating soft skills in higher education and the EFL classroom: Knowledge beyond language learning

Abstract The purpose of this article is to discuss the importance of soft skills in the context of higher education and in the context of the foreign language learning classroom. The article aims to define the notion of soft skills and to offer possible ways of grouping soft skills. It also provides ways of including soft skills instruction in the context of higher education. In addition, the article aims to propose models of implementing soft skills in foreign language learning and teaching situations and to suggest teaching procedures and activities which will facilitate the introduction of soft skills in the EFL (English as a foreign language) classroom at South East European University. The article also aims to discuss the need of including soft skills in undergraduate studies curricula and to provide arguments in favour of including soft skills. The article will also present participants’ views and perceptions, collected via survey, of the importance and necessity of soft skills for their future careers and workplaces. The conclusion will offer some practical suggestions regarding soft skill inclusion in the EFL classroom.

The Influence of English Second Language Learning on Pakistani University Studentsʼ Identity

This research aims to study identity construction of foreign language learners in foreign language learning class rooms. It investigates the influence of English foreign language on Pakistani students’ identity. Forty (40) students who were studying English as second language in Lahore College for Women University, Pakistan participated in this research. The participants filled questionnaire and were interviewed. Results show that identity is fluid and changing. This research recommends educators and policy makers to develop such policies which could enhance students’ identity; thus, students could identify themselves as good Muslims, good Pakistanis and a peaceful member of global community.

How Personal Heirloom Stories Can Spark Emotion and Motivation by Using Short Films in the EFL1 Classroom

Using film in class has been a long-standing practice with our non-specialist students in a French engineering school, in multiple formats for multiple purposes. Heirlooms, the Australian series of very short animated films, offers teachers an alternative way of having students work with and reflect upon multi-culturalism abroad, and eventually within their own scope.This paper discusses the potential and limitations of using such short animated films recounting personal heirlooms for teaching purposes in a foreign language learning classroom. The Heirlooms films were used as models on which students could base their own personal stories, which were recorded and uploaded onto a YouTube account. Although the number of students participating was low (15 out of 40), the submitted videos do suggest that such a personalised and do-able task can yield a relatively rich and varied end product which can also improve group cohesion and lead to greater levels of exchange.

Collocation Dictionaries as Inductive Learning Resources in Data-Driven Learning - An Analysis and Evaluation

Advocacy of corpus-based data-driven learning (DDL) in foreign language learning classrooms has grown in recent years, though DDL has not become particularly widespread in practice. In the same period of time, there has been considerable publishing activity of corpus-based collocation dictionaries; however, the possible role that collocation dictionaries may play in DDL has not, to date, been considered. This paper seeks to analyse what contribution four English monolingual collocation dictionaries might make to ‘soft’ DDL inductive learning activities in the classroom. The paper provides a description and comparison of the dictionaries, and examines and compares the data provided by concordance lines for a series of DDL questions, with data from the collocation dictionaries. The paper ends by making a number of recommendations for the inductive use of the four collocation dictionaries, and suggests ways in which the dictionaries might be adapted to such usage.

Cooperative Language Learning and Foreign Language Learning and Teaching

The paper tries to show the positive effects of cooperative language learning on foreign langue learning and teaching. Compared with traditional language teaching, cooperative language learning conforms to the developmental trend of language teaching method and possesses considerable advantages. In the foreign language learning classrooms, cooperative language learning provides students with the necessary academic and social skills. The paper reveals cooperative learning benefits language learning in many aspects.

Creative Misbehaviour. The Use of German Kabarett within Advanced Foreign Language Learning Classrooms

Creative Misbehaviour. The Use of German Kabarett within Advanced Foreign Language Learning Classrooms