High-level Learners Research Articles

Common Errors Identification in Pronouncing Silent Letters in English Words by EFL Novices

In English, the sound system is somewhat distinct from Arabic. Yemeni Novices have many difficulties pronouncing English terms owing to this. For example, we often hear English learners pronounce "sight [sait]" with "[saig]" or "know,” [nəʊ]" with "[knəʊ]." This study is concerned with identifying widespread errors in the pronunciation of silent letters in English words among Yemeni EFL learners. Qualitative descriptive study was used in this investigation as a methodology. With the aid of purposive sampling techniques, a sample of 5 EFL novices was selected from 1st level of the English Department, Faculty of Education, Sana'a University, Yemen, which was classified into a group of novice high-level learners (beginners). Analytically descriptive method was used to analyze the data after they were collected through test. The result of this study showed that in pronouncing words containing the silent letters like b, c, d, g, gh, h, k, l, m, n, p, s, t, th, and w, the researcher finds errors made by the EFL novices. He analyzes three positions of the silent letters in the words (initial, medial, and final position) and by understanding this; it would be possible to develop useful instructional materials and teaching strategies to target this issue.

The Use of Artificial Intelligence Combined with Wireless Network in Piano Music Teaching

Artificial intelligence (AI) development gives a new development direction to the traditional education model. The education reform in the intelligent environment is urgent. Under this background, the theory, methods, and characteristics of intelligent music education are expounded based on traditional piano music education. AI and Internet-based smart piano education is introduced. The characteristics of smart piano and its methods of assisting music teaching are analyzed. Moreover, literature review and questionnaire are adopted based on intelligent music education and smart piano theory. With two universities A and B in Nanjing as the research object, the questionnaire is designed to investigate and analyze the related problems of smart piano-assisted piano basic teaching in detail. The results show that smart piano positively improves skill training and psychological training in piano teaching. Piano major learners believe that smart piano can obviously help beginners and people with low piano levels. However, smart piano is not as good as traditional piano for high-level learners. In actual teaching, teachers should use different strategies for different levels of learners. Regarding curriculum quality, teachers have not fully played the role of the smart piano, and the curriculum of smart piano-assisted basic piano teaching still needs improvement. Finally, corresponding countermeasures and suggestions for the development direction of smart piano in piano music education are put forward according to the current situation of the smart piano. The results can reflect the current situation of smart piano-assisted basic piano teaching, provide a reference for researchers in related industries, and promote the related development of smart piano.

Exploring the affordances of WeChat for Chinese cultural knowledge learning among learners of Chinese in an international exchange program

Affordance refers to the opportunity available to a learning activity. Taking affordance as a theoretical and analytical construct, this exploratory study investigates learners’ attitudes and the opportunities WeChat may provide for Chinese cultural knowledge (CCK) learning. The aim is to find out the potential new affordances and compare learners with different language levels. 24 participants were paired with native Chinese speakers and required to complete three-stage activities with the integration of WeChat. This study adopted a mix-method approach. Data were collected through questionnaires, two rounds of semi-structured interviews, chat logs, and WeChat moments. It is found that most learners were positive toward the activities and WeChat provided learners with opportunities for interaction and collaboration, for resource sharing, for knowledge internalization and construction, and for sustainable learning and friendship maintaining. The affordance of knowledge internalization and construction was mentioned with the highest frequency in the interview. The findings that distinguish this study from previous ones are: (1) the affordance for sustainable learning, and (2) differences between high-level (HL) and low-level (LL) learners. In comparison, the activities won more supports from HL learners, and HL learners’ frequency in leveraging the affordance for resource sharing and sustainable learning was also higher. Pedagogical implications and research recommendations were provided respectively in discussion and conclusion parts.

Identifying Learners' Interaction Patterns in an Online Learning Community.

The interactions among all members of an online learning community significantly impact collaborative reflection (co-reflection). Although the relationship between learners’ roles and co-reflection levels has been explored by previous researchers, it remains unclear when and with whom learners at different co-reflection levels tend to interact. This study adopted multiple methods to examine the interaction patterns of diverse roles among learners with different co-reflection levels based on 11,912 posts. First, the deep learning technique was applied to assess learners’ co-reflection levels. Then, a social network analysis (SNA) was conducted to identify the emergent roles of learners. Furthermore, a lag sequence analysis (LSA) was employed to reveal the interaction patterns of the emergent roles among learners with different co-reflection levels. The results showed that most learners in an online learning community reached an upper-middle co-reflection level while playing an inactive role in the co-reflection process. Moreover, higher-level learners were superior in dialog with various roles and were more involved in self-rethinking during the co-reflection process. In particular, they habitually began communication with peers and then with the teacher. Based on these findings, some implications for facilitating online co-reflection from the perspective of roles is also discussed.

The effect of Japanese proficiency and lexical accessing speed on the comprehension of indirect speech act in L2 Japanese

This study examined the comprehension accuracy scores and response time of indirect speech act by 63 native Chinese speakers learning Japanese, and discussed the effect from Japanese proficiency, as well as the speed of lexical access. The results showed that: (1) Japanese proficiency effects the accuracy rate of indirect speech act, the higher the Japanese proficiency, the higher the accuracy rate. However, there is no clear linear relationship between the learners' Japanese proficiency and the indirect speech act's response time. (2) The lexical accessing speed effects the learners' response time of indirect speech act, the faster the accessing speed is, the shorter the indirect speech acts' response time. The lexical accessing speed also affects the comprehension accuracy rate of the high-level learners. The faster the lexical accessing speed of the high-level learners, the higher the comprehension accuracy rate.

Measuring Metacognitive Awareness of Reading Strategies of Higher Level Learners

The metacognitive awareness of reading strategies among higher level learners has been widely acknowledged for successful reading comprehension. However, literature shows a little empirical research in this area in Nepalese context. This paper attempts to measure the metacognitive awareness of reading strategies of higher level learners of Nepal. As a quantitative study, cross-sectional survey design was used to obtain the primary data from 142 higher level learners pursuing MPhil degree from different universities of Nepal through questionnaire. The metacognitvie awareness of reading strategies of the learners was measured in univariate analysis and difference of their awareness in terms of independent variables was assessed in bivariate analysis using t-test. The study revealed that higher level learners had metacognitive awareness of reading strategies at different levels. Among the three groups of strategies, cognitive strategies were found most frequently used by the learners and supportive strategies were found least frequent to them. The independent variables i.e. sex and subject of specialization did not affect in the learners’ metacognitive awareness of reading strategies. The differences were not seen statistically significant. This implies that teacher can use and instruct the learners with similar type of reading strategies irrespective of gender and group of subjects.

비대면 실시간 온라인 수업에서 한국어 학습자의 의사소통 의지 향상을 위한 연구

The purpose of this study is to analyze the willingness to communicate of Korean learners in non-face-to-face real-time online classes to find ways to improve their communication skills. Written interviews were conducted with 16 middle and high-level learners and 8 teachers at Y University’s Korean Language Institute how learners’ willingness to communicate in non-face-to-face real-time online Korean classes changes. As a result, it was found that their willingness to communicate was influenced by two types of factors: personal factors and situational factors. In other words, it was found that not only personal factors such as confidence in Korean, but also situational factors such as non-face-to-face online class environment had a great influence on the willingness to communicate of Korean learners. Based on these survey results, I propose a way to improve learners’ willingness to communicate in non-face-to-face classes. Classes using computer media, classes that can form a bond between learners, and desirable behaviors and attitudes of teachers in non-face-to-face real-time online classes are discussed. (Yonsei University)

EFL Students' Preferences for Written Corrective Feedback: Do Error Types, Language Proficiency, and Foreign Language Enjoyment Matter?

Using both quantitative and qualitative approaches, this study investigated the preference of learners of English as a foreign language (EFL) for four types of written corrective feedback (WCF), which are often discussed in the literature, on grammatical, lexical, orthographic, and pragmatic errors. In particular, it concerned whether such preference is influenced by two learner variables, namely, foreign language enjoyment (FLE) and proficiency level. The preference for selective vs. comprehensive WCF was also examined. The participants in the study were 117 University students in a Thai EFL context. Analysis of questionnaire data revealed a tendency for learners to prefer more explicit types of WCF (i.e., metalinguistic explanation and overt correction) for most error types, irrespective of their proficiency and FLE level. High proficiency level learners rated less explicit WCF types (i.e., underlining and error code) as useful to some degree, whereas their low proficiency level counterparts did not. Similar results were found for the two FLE groups. Besides, the FLE level seemed to play a role in perceiving the value of WCF in terms of scope. The results of follow-up interviews showed that the linguistic features of learners' first language, existing knowledge of the target language, affective feelings, and teacher's role were the main factors contributing to variation in learners' preferences. Possible pedagogical implications are discussed.

Korean university students' use of English demonstrative in argumentative essays

The present study investigated the Korean university students’ use of English demonstratives in argumentative essays and the role of writing proficiency in their use, especially in comparison with English native speakers. The results revealed that the Korean students generally underused demonstratives than the native students. Interestingly, the high-level learners’ underuse was far more robust than their low-level counterparts. In terms of functions, the learners preferred to use determiners over pronouns. Specifically, the learners’ underuse of this as pronouns and their overuse of that as both pronouns and determiners were statistically significant, comparing with the native students. This reflects the Korean students’ singular demonstrative development in argumentative essays, which also resembles the native students’ use. Meanwhile, when used as pronouns and determiners, the plural demonstratives have a mix result in the statistical significance between the groups. The high-level learners’ use of the post-modification of those as pronouns was limited in types and numbers than the native students despite their relatively higher frequencies. Qualitative analyses were illustrated in view of the characteristics observed in demonstrative use. These findings are discussed in terms of universal learner features and register awareness.

A Corpus Study of the English Suffixes -ness and -acy: Productivity, Genre, and Implications for L2 Learning

Despite substantial scholarship relating to word structure (Anderson, 2018), for English affixes the relationship between productivity, genre, and second language (L2) learning remains unclear. Analysis of the existing literature reveals that deadjectival noun suffixes (i.e., nouns derived from adjectives such as appropriacy or goodness) have been underexamined. To address this gap, we examine two rival suffixes, -acy and -ness, through the lens of Construction Morphology (Booij, 2010), considering numerous factors which might condition their varying usage. Critically, corpus data in the Corpus of Contemporary American English and the British National Corpus (Davies, 2008-) reveal the importance of considering these affixes’ productivity in relation to genre, since -acy is especially frequent in academic texts, principally within certain social sciences. The implications for learners and teachers of English as a second language are discussed, particularly higher-level learners building communicative competence in academic contexts, along with a preliminary learner corpus comparison of the two variants.

Impact of multisensory learning on perceptual and lexical processing of unisensory Morse code

Multisensory learning profits from stimulus congruency at different levels of processing. In the current study, we sought to investigate whether multisensory learning can potentially be based on high-level feature congruency (same meaning) without perceptual congruency (same time) and how this relates to changes in brain function and behaviour. 50 subjects learned to decode Morse code (MC) either in unisensory or different multisensory manners. During unisensory learning, the MC was trained as sequences of auditory trains. For low-level congruent (perceptual) multisensory learning, MC was applied as tactile stimulation to the left hand simultaneously to the auditory stimulation. In contrast, high-level congruent multisensory learning involved auditory training, followed by the production of MC sequences requiring motor actions and thereby excludes perceptual congruency. After learning, group differences were observed within three distinct brain regions while processing unisensory (auditory) MC. Both types of multisensory learning were associated with increased activation in the right inferior frontal gyrus. Multisensory low-level learning elicited additional activation in the somatosensory cortex, while multisensory high-level learners showed a reduced activation in the inferior parietal lobule, which is relevant for decoding MC. Furthermore, differences in brain function associated with multisensory learning was related to behavioural reaction times for both multisensory learning groups. Overall, our data support the idea that multisensory learning is potentially based on high-level features without perceptual congruency. Furthermore, learning of multisensory associations involves neural representations of stimulus features involved in learning, but also share common brain activation (i.e. the right IFG), which seems to serve as a site of multisensory integration.

Strange Attractors in Writing Competence Development from the Perspective of Complexity Theory Based on Sensor Data

Writing competence is crucial for second language learners. Studying strange attractors in the development of writing competence is essential in understanding the laws of language development of foreign students. This study is aimed at investigating the state and laws of the development of Chinese as a second language (CSL) writing competence. Mathematical modeling and phase space construction methods in sensor research were used to investigate strange attractors in high‐level Chinese learners studying in China in the development of CSL from the perspective of complexity theory based on the measurement framework of complexity, accuracy, and fluency. The results showed the following: (1) there are trends in the concentration and volatility of trigonometric function in different dimensions; (2) the group dynamic characteristics of writing development in CSL are simulated precisely by mathematical modeling; and (3) there are strange attractors with lexical density in CSL writing development. The development of CSL writing tends to maintain the state of strange attractors. The strange attractor reflects regularity in the dynamic, complex, and chaotic development of Chinese for international students, revealing the probabilistic prediction competence of different states in the development of CSL.

The Effectiveness of Process-genre Approach on College English Writing Instructions

This paper aims to investigate the effectiveness of the process-genre approach on EFL learners’ writing improvement. A total of 48 Chinese college freshmen students participated in this study, and they were divided into high-level (n=20) and low-level (n=28) groups. All the participants were instructed by the same teacher in the College English class for 14 weeks, during which they were taught how to compose in three writing genres: narration, exposition, and argumentation. After comparing the writing scores of pre- and post-tests from both groups, it can be concluded that the processgenre approach is helpful in enhancing the EFL learners’ writing competence because both groups of students had significantly improved their writing abilities. Besides, both group learners attained a salient achievement in expository writing after they were trained by the process-genre approach. Compared with the high-level learners, the low-level learners made larger progress in all three writing genres. It indicates that enough teaching time and teacher’s scaffolding systems are crucial for the learners’ writing development.

Investigating Nonnative TEFL Students’ Self-Regulation in an Online Learning Environment

Coping with technological revolution has become unavoidable in the educational process. In addition to the various advantages of integrating technology into the traditional classroom, utilizing it has been compulsory as an inevitable solution to a global crisis such as the Coronavirus pandemic that we face these days. The present study, using a case study design, aims at exploring self-regulatory strategies that undergraduate university students practice while engaging in virtual classrooms. Participants of the study were 187 university students from all levels. They are all majoring in Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL). Data were collected using mixed method approach in which two tools of measurement were used in the research. An online questionnaire was administered to the participants, then online focus group interviews were conducted. Data gathered were analyzed statistically and findings revealed that non-native TEFL students are high-level self-regulatory learners with no significant effect of university level on students’ self-regulation. In addition, pedagogical recommendations were displayed.

L2 acquisition of thebeipassive in Mandarin Chinese: A constructionist approach

AbstractA major claim in the constructionist approach to language acquisition is that grammar is learned by pairings of form and function. In this study we test this claim by examining how L2 learners of Mandarin Chinese acquire thebeipassive construction, a construction that is associated with the meaning of adversity. Our goal is to find out whether L2 learners make the association between the passive and adversity. Participants performed a sentence choice task under four conditions: an adversative context with an adversative verb, an adversative context with a neutral verb, a neutral context with a neutral verb and a positive context with a neutral verb. In each context participants were asked to select either thebeipassive construction or its active counterpart. We found that high-level learners consistently chose thebeipassive significantly more in adversative contexts than in non-adversative contexts regardless of the connotations of the verbs, while low-level learners made the distinction half of the time. In addition, while low-level learners did not yet associate adversity with the form of the construction, high-level learners did. We conclude that L2 learners do learn thebeipassive construction as a form-meaning pair. The constructionist approach is supported.

Investigating college EFL learners’ perceptions toward the use of Google Assistant for foreign language learning

ABSTRACT Recent studies on the use of Intelligent Personal Assistant (IPA) for second language (L2) learnring have found that IPAs such as Amazon’s Alexa is useful and motivating for L2 learners and that learners’ language proficiency might influence their perceptions toward IPAs. However, most existing studies focused on the potentials of Alexa and paid little attention to Google Assistant (GA). This study was thus conducted to investigate how L2 learners at different proficiency levels perceive the potentials of GA. Twenty-nine EFL college students were recruited to try various voice commands for an hour in order to investigate learners’ perceptions toward the potentials of GA for language learning. Results of the survey and interview show that these learners enjoyed interacting with GA and considered GA an inspiring tool to learn English. They also found that GA can be useful in improving their speaking and listening skills. They perceived GA’s pronunciation to be quite natural and its utterances to be easily comprehensible. Results also reveal that higher level learners achieved better mutual comprehensibility with GA, whereas lower level learners encountered more challenges due to their mispronunciations. Based on these findings, future research directions and pedagogical suggestions on IPA-assisted L2 learning are provided.

An Approach to a Physical Understanding of Color Mixing

Although nearly everyone is familiar with colors from an early age and the fundamentals of color mixing are taught at various abstraction levels throughout kindergarten to high school, we repeatedly observe that our student teachers in physics have problems in explaining the subject. Therefore, we propose an experimental setup that focuses on the physical principles instead of on primary colors and that allows one to observe the color perception and the spectral composition simultaneously. Customary school equipment is sufficient to realize the setup. The concepts are appropriate for junior high level learners and above, encouraging students to experience color as a continuum rather than discrete shades. Moreover, teachers can inspect the quality of available color filters and prepare for experimental difficulties.

The construction of a flipped classroom teaching mode of College English based on Rainclass and its effectiveness analysis

This study constructs a flipped classroom teaching mode for College English based on the teaching platform of Rainclass, and conducts a semester long practice of flipped classroom teaching in an advanced English class in GUET, aiming to explore the impact of flipped classroom teaching mode on the improvement of English level of higher-level learners. It is found that under the flipped classroom teaching mode, the overall improvement of students’ English level is significantly higher than that of learners with the same level under the traditional teaching mode. In terms of individual language skills, the flipped classroom teaching mode is more effective in improving students’ writing, translating and reading skills, while less obvious in the improvement of their listening skills.

Using elicited imitation to measure global oral proficiency in SLA research: A close replication study

AbstractWe closely replicated Wu and Ortega (2013), who found that an elicited imitation test (EIT) reliably distinguished low-level from high-level language abilities among instructed second language (L2) learners of Mandarin Chinese. The original study sampled learners (1) from second-level courses to represent low-level language abilities and (2) from third-, fourth- and graduate-level courses to represent high-level language abilities. Results showed high-level learners outperformed low-level learners on the Mandarin EIT. Our close replication used Wu and Ortega's (2013) materials and procedures in order to understand (1) the extent to which this EIT can additionally distinguish between finer-grained language abilities and (2) the ways in which the broad grouping of language abilities in the high group may have contributed to the findings. Sixty-five instructed L2 learners from four instructional levels were assigned to one of three groups: Beginner (first-level courses), Low (second-level courses), High (third- and fourth-level courses). Consistent with the original study, our results showed clear between-group differences, indicating that the EIT can distinguish between both broad (beginner vs high) and finer-grained (beginner vs low, low vs high) language abilities. These results are discussed in light of the original study's findings with implications for proficiency assessment in second language acquisition (SLA) research.

Formation and borrowing of special language for college students' Korean learners

이 글은 국내 대학교에 재학 중인 한국어 중․고급 학습자의 특수어 형성과 차용을 살펴보는 데 그 목적이 있었다. 이들을 대상으로 하는 특수어 연구는 그간 전혀 이뤄지지 않았다는 점에서 연구의 필요성이 제기되었다. 도출된 연구 결과를 살펴보면, ⅰ) 대학생 한국어 학습자 특수어의 사용 빈도에서 1회-2회의 저빈도 어휘가 40% 가량 차지하며 ⅱ) 그것의 순 어휘 출현 빈도 3회 이상인 어휘 수는 대략 150여개에 지나지 않았다. ⅲ) 대학생 한국어 학습자 특수어 형성에서 파생명사와 합성명사가 많았으며 절단어나 단축어에 비해 두자어가 많았다. 그리고 혼성어는 ‘AB+CD=AD형’ 외에도 ‘BC형’, ‘ACD형’, ‘ABD형’이 있었다. ⅳ) 특수어의 차용에서 고유어, 한자어, 외래어보다 혼종어의 비중이 더 높았다.The purpose of this article was to examine the formation and borrowing of special language for Korean middle and high-level learners attending Korean universities. There is a need for research, given that no special language research has been conducted on them. Looking at the results obtained, i) the low-frequency vocabulary accounts for about 40 percent of the frequency of use of the Korean language learner special language, and ii) the number of vocabulary words with more than three frequencies in its pure vocabulary list was only about 150. iii) There were many derived and compound nouns in the formation of special Korean language learners. There were acronym more than clipped word or contraction. And blend included AB+CD=AD type , BC type , ACD type and ABD type . ⅳ) In borrowing special words, the proportion of hybrid words was higher than that of native, sino-korean and foreign words.