Intermediate Proficiency Levels Research Articles

The illusio of the foreign language standard in a Colombian university

The Ministry of education in Colombia set a policy for higher education in which graduates should achieve an intermediate proficiency level (B1) in another language; and by 2025 it expects that they leave college with an upper intermediate level (B2). This report deals with a private college that attempts to participate in the policy, yet the college has a requirement, not a foreign language policy. It offers their students 160 hours in which they hardly attain a high beginner level (A2). The Board of Directors of the college conducted a satisfaction survey that becamethe first cycle of the action research study reported here. The sample of 624 EFL learners expressed dissatisfaction with the program and frustration with the approach and with the results. The situation mirrored what Bourdieu (1995) defines as the illusio, the belief that the “game” we collectively agree to play is worth playing, that the fiction we collectively elect to accredit constitutes reality. The authors conducted a second cycle to establish the source of dissatisfaction, and to identify the needs and wants of the stakeholders. The results indicate that the administrators expect that English reinforce disciplinary knowledge, while learners expect to learn to speak it, and teachers expect to teach grammar. A third cycle has been planned to propose a curriculum proposal that reconciles the allotments of resources of time, space, staff, content learning and language learning with a standard that meets the needs and expectations of the program. In other words we expect to make a proposal that corrects the collective misperception of realitywhich constitutes a reality in itself. doi: 10.5294/laclil.2016.9.2.8

The illusio of the foreign language standard in a Colombian University

The Ministry of education in Colombia set a policy for higher education in which graduates should achieve an intermediate proficiency level (B1) in another language; and by 2025 it expects that they leave college with an upper intermediate level (B2). This report deals with a private college that attempts to participate in the policy, yet the college has a requirement, not a foreign language policy. It offers their students 160 hours in which they hardly attain a high beginner level (A2). The Board of Directors of the college conducted a satisfaction survey that becamethe first cycle of the action research study reported here. The sample of 624 EFL learners expressed dissatisfaction with the program and frustration with the approach and with the results. The situation mirrored what Bourdieu (1995) defines as the illusio, the belief that the “game” we collectively agree to play is worth playing, that the fiction we collectively elect to accredit constitutes reality. The authors conducted a second cycle to establish the source of dissatisfaction, and to identify the needs and wants of the stakeholders. The results indicate that the administrators expect that English reinforce disciplinary knowledge, while learners expect to learn to speak it, and teachers expect to teach grammar. A third cycle has been planned to propose a curriculum proposal that reconciles the allotments of resources of time, space, staff, content learning and language learning with a standard that meets the needs and expectations of the program. In other words we expect to make a proposal that corrects the collective misperception of realitywhich constitutes a reality in itself. doi: 10.5294/laclil.2016.9.2.8

The Contribution of Word Webbing to Project-based Learning in Teaching Vocabulary: A Comparative Study in an EFL Context

This study was an attempt to investigate the effect of applying word web strategy with and without project based learning (PBL) on EFL learners’ vocabulary learning. Ninety female EFL learners from a high school in Tehran were the participants of this study. They were at intermediate level of language proficiency and in three intact classes of 30 members. The three classes were randomly assigned as one control and two experimental groups. The homogeneity of three intact groups in terms of general language proficiency and knowledge of vocabulary was determined by comparing their mean scores after performing on a PET and a pretest of vocabulary respectively. After that, the participants received 12- session treatment, including teaching vocabulary using word web (WW) strategy without PBL for one experimental group, and using WW with PBL for another while the control group received the usual instruction of the teacher for the same new words without WW and PBL. At the end of the treatment, the teacher- made vocabulary posttest was administered to the study groups. To test the hypotheses of the study with respect to the violation of the normality assumption, Kruskal-Wallis test was run on participants’ scores. The results showed that the participants in both experimental groups significantly outperformed the participants in the control group in terms of vocabulary learning. The results also showed that the students who received WW with PBL outperformed those who received it without PBL.

The role of eye dominance in recalling lexical items in second language acquisition

The purpose of the study was to investigate whether participants’ eye dominance can be an indicator of success in recalling lexical items in second language acquisition (SLA). In this regard, the present researchers selected 30 participants from a relatively popular English language center, Iranian Language Center located in Bandare-e Anzali, Iran. The participants were also homogenized on their language proficiency level using the Babel English Language Placement test. They were found to be at intermediate level of language proficiency. By means of a convergence near-point test, the researchers selected the participants who were right-and left-eyed dominants. The results of independent samples t-test indicated that eye laterality is not a valid indicator of participants' success in recalling L2 lexical items.

Exploring the Relationship of Iranian EFL Learners⿿ Critical Thinking and Self-regulation with their Reading Comprehension Ability

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship of Iranian EFL learnersâżż critical thinking and self- regulation with their reading comprehension ability across beginners, intermediate, and advanced levels of proficiency. In addition, this relationship investigated across beginners, intermediate, and advanced levels of proficiency. To this end, 70 learners studying English language teaching and English literature who were selected through convenient sampling procedure completed a reading placement test, the Critical Thinking dispositions questionnaire and self-regulation questionnaire. The findings indicated a statistically significant correlation for those with greater critical thinking skill among advanced and intermediate learners, while there was no significant relationship between self-regulation and reading comprehension ability except for the advanced group of learners. The study has implications for course designers, teachers and students.

Perceptions of EFL Learners about Using an Online Tool for Vocabulary Learning in EFL Classrooms: A Pilot Project in Turkey

Abstract The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of Quizlet, an online website, on vocabulary development of Turkish EFL learners enrolled in a preparatory program at a private university in Istanbul, Turkey. The participants were 43 preparatory students at the pre-intermediate and intermediate levels of proficiency. The study lasted for a whole teaching module consisting of 7 weeks. Within this process, for three weeks students studied and practiced the target words without using the online tool Quizlet. For the last four weeks students were weekly assigned with exercises from the online tool covering the units that they had learnt in the previous weeks. As for the data collection process, vocabulary quizzes were administered to the participants before and after the application of the treatment and the results were compared. Classroom observations, interviews and student records were also used so as to identify students⿿ perceptions of the online tool. The findings of the study revealed that majority of the students considered the online tool to be effective particularly at the initial stages of vocabulary learning considering L2 definitions, synonyms and pronunciation of the target words through repetition.

The Use of Request Strategies by EFL Learners

Abstract The aim of this study is to investigate the use of request strategies by English language learners in the Republic of Macedonia. The participants in the study are students of English at an intermediate level of proficiency. The testing instruments include role-plays and discourse completion tasks. The participants⿿ responses were analysed according to the classification of request strategies proposed by Blum-Kulka et al. (1989) . The analysis shows that the most frequently used types of strategies in both formal and informal situations are query preparatories which belong to the group of conventional indirect strategies.

Processing Chinese relative clauses: An investigation of second-language learners from different learning contexts

AbstractThe goal of this study is to examine the processing of Chinese relative clauses (RCs) through a self-paced reading task and to determine whether the learning environment plays a role in the second-language (L2) acquisition of RCs. We investigated two types of RCs (subject vs. object RCs) along with two positions in which a RC can occur (modifying a matrix subject noun phrase [NP] vs. a matrix object NP). Eighteen native speakers of Chinese and twenty-one L2 learners at an intermediate proficiency level participated in the study. Ten learners were students learning Chinese in the US (i. e., in a foreign-language context), whereas the other eleven learners were students studying Chinese in China (i. e., in a study-abroad context). The comprehension of sentences containing a RC and reading times (RTs) on the RC and the head noun (the segment immediately following the RC) were analyzed. The results show distinct patterns for the learners and the native speakers. The accuracy data reveals that the L2 learners in China performed better than the L2 learners in the US. Additionally, the L2 learners in China exhibited a processing speed advantage to the L2 learners in the US. The RT data highlighted important asymmetries in the L2 learners in the US and the native speakers, while the results were flat for the L2 learners in China. Specifically, L2 learners in the US took longer to read object RCs than subject RCs while the opposite pattern was obtained for the L1 speakers. Moreover, matrix-object-modifying RCs revealed shorter RTs than matrix-subject-modifying RCs for L2 learners in the US, whereas the opposite pattern was found for the L1 speakers. These findings are discussed in light of the Linear Distance Theory and the Structural Distance Theory (e. g., O’Grady 1997.Syntactic development. Chicago: University of Chicago Press). Overall, these results seem to provide support to the assumption that changes in syntactic processing happen as a result of exposure to the language environment (Cuetos et al. 1996. Parsing in different languages. In Manuel Carreias, Jose E. Garcia-Albea & Nuria Sebastien-Galles (eds.),Language processing in Spanish, 145–187. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum; Frenck–Mestre 2002. An on-line look at sentence processing in the second language. In Roberto Heredia & Jeanette Altarriba (eds.),Bilingual sentence processing, 217–236. Amsterdam: Elsevier Science Publishers.).

Interlanguage Features of Chinese EFL Learners in the Communicative Act of Refusal

The purpose of the present study was to determine how the refusal strategies and linguistic forms used by Chinese EFL learners vary from those of American English speakers. Data was obtained by the elicitation method of open role plays and subsequently, the responses based on the interlocutors’ social status were analyzed. Participants were composed of four groups: 12 native speakers of Chinese (NC), 12 Chinese EFL learners with intermediate proficiency level (CE-I), 12 Chinese EFL learners with higher proficiency level (CE-H), and 12 native speakers of American English (NE). In general, the results indicated that EFL learners differed from native speakers of English in terms of L2 language use. Regarding the content of the semantic formulas, the native Chinese and Chinese EFL learners both chose more specific, family-oriented reasons to mitigate the face-threatening power of refusals, while native English speakers preferred vaguer reasons in the speech act of refusals. Regarding the linguistic forms employed by the participants, native English speakers tended to use hesitators, the modal verb ‘could’, and down toners more frequently than Chinese EFL learners. The Chinese EFL learners, on the other hand, employed the cajoler ‘you know’ and minus committers more frequently than native English speakers.

Validity of the American Sign Language Discrimination Test

American Sign Language (ASL) is one of the most commonly taught languages in North America. Yet, few assessment instruments for ASL proficiency have been developed, none of which have adequately demonstrated validity. We propose that the American Sign Language Discrimination Test (ASL-DT), a recently developed measure of learners’ ability to discriminate phonological and morphophonological contrasts in ASL, provides an objective overall measure of ASL proficiency. In this study, the ASL-DT was administered to 194 participants at beginning, intermediate, and high levels of ASL proficiency, a subset of which ( N = 57) also was administered the Sign Language Proficiency Interview (SLPI), a widely used subjective proficiency measure. Using Rasch analysis to model ASL-DT item difficulty and person ability, we tested the ability of the ASL-DT Rasch measure to detect participant proficiency group mean differences and compared its discriminant performance to the SLPI ratings for classifying individuals into their pre-assigned proficiency groups using resource operating characteristic statistics. The ASL-DT Rasch measure outperformed the SLPI ratings, indicating that the ASL-DT may provide a valid objective measure of overall ASL proficiency. As such, the ASL-DT Rasch measure may provide a useful complement to measures such as the SLPI in comprehensive sign language assessment programs.

Measuring group work dynamics and its relation with L2 learners’ task motivation and language production

While learners of a second language (L2) are increasingly interacting in small groups as part of a communicative methodological paradigm, very few studies have investigated the social dynamics that occur in such groups. The aim of this study is to introduce a group work dynamic measuring instrument and to investigate the relationship between group work dynamic (GWD), or the social climate existing within a group, and learners’ state-level motivational responses and amount of language produced in interactive tasks. The context for the classroom-based study was a speaking-skills course consisting of a small group of 10 Korean English learners of intermediate to high intermediate proficiency level enrolled in a Korean university TESOL certificate program. The data were based on 15 different tasks that were part of the course and two work groups for each task for a total of 30 groups. Instruments of data collection consisted of audio-video recordings, transcription of all verbal and nonverbal language produced in the tasks, the GWD measurement instrument, and post-task motivation questionnaires. Results from correlational analysis showed a significant relationship between GWD and task motivation and between GWD and language production. Nonverbal-related behaviors, furthermore, were found to be particularly influential in shaping GWD and were significantly associated with learners’ task motivation, especially in the form of greater task enjoyment and sense of success. The study’s findings therefore add support to socio-contextual perspectives in L2 motivation and applied linguistics that emphasize the critical role of social and group factors on motivation and language development and imply a need for educators to focus on creating positive group dynamics in their classrooms.

A Study on the Input Modality of L2 Literary Adaptations and Cross-Cultural Sensitivity

Every interaction at the supranational level is, to a greater extent, contingent upon the individuals’ mutual understanding. In this sense, the knowledge of the target culture’s norms in interpersonal relationships is of utmost significance. Although scholars in applied linguistics and trans-disciplinary social studies admit the culture’s outstanding roles in multicultural communities, there is no extensive consensus, to date, over the integration of culture into the language instruction due to its multidimensional aspects. The current study investigated the role of the media density in the enhancement of the intercultural sensitivity. To this end, 41 male and female EFL students with the age range of 18-45 at the intermediate level of proficiency at Shoukoh and Safir language institutes were selected through the one-stage cluster sampling technique to fulfill the aim of the present study. During 16 instructional sessions over eight weeks, the students in three groups confronted three different tasks and input-modalities i.e., Audio-only listening, Text-based reading, and Audio-visual mediated instruction. The participants were primarily asked to complete the Intercultural Sensitivity Scale (Chen & Starosta, 2000) in the beginning phase of the study. After receiving the appropriate input, they were again asked to complete the same Scale. The statistical analysis through one-way ANOVA indicated that the integration of the audio-only input into the visual-support leads into the betterment of the EFL learners’ cultural sensitivity. This change in the mean score of the three groups of the study, however, was not in the margin of significance.

The Impact of Task-Based Instruction on Developing Saudi University EFL Students' Englush Speaking Skills

Speaking is considered one of the most important language skills that needs to be developed and mastered by language learners. However, mastering this language skill does not go so easily with the EFL learners. Many SL and EFL students think of speaking as the most difficult skill to attain since it requires first and foremost a great deal of practice and exposure also. To overcome this problem, teachers should seek a new approach which provides learners with opportunities to improve their speaking skills. One of the highly recommended approaches is task-based language teaching which provides learners with real life contexts to practice speaking English with their classmates. The purpose of the current study is to investigate the effects of using task-based instruction on developing Saudi EFL students’ speaking skills. In the second place, it attempts to explore students’ perceptions towards the use of task-based learning in the classroom. To this end, 60 Saudi EFL learners in the department of English Language and Translation, Qassim University, Saudi Arabia, participated in the study. To homogenize the participants’ level of proficiency, the Quick Placement Test was employed, and the participants with the intermediate level of proficiency were selected. Then, the participants were randomly divided into two groups: thirty students representing the experimental group studied six units practicing English speaking under task-based instruction, while thirty students representing the control group studied the same units following the regular instruction. Research data were gathered through speaking tests (TOEIC), semi-structured interviews and questionnaires. The data from the speaking test were statistically analyzed using mean scores, standard deviation scores, and t-test for dependent samples and paired-sample. The speaking test findings indicated that there were statistically significant differences between the mean scores of the experimental group and that of the control group on the post-test in favor of the experimental group which was exposed to the task-based instruction in the speaking skills. Moreover, a qualitative analysis of the interviews and questionnaire data demonstrated that the majority of the experimental group had positive reactions to the task-based instruction. They admitted that they liked the TBSA and wanted to use it frequently in learning speaking. The majority of the experimental group also added that their speaking ability has improved after implementing TBLT. The results of the current study can also be useful for teachers and curriculum planners when designing future curricula textbooks.

The Impact of Task-Based Instruction on Developing Saudi University EFL Students' English Speaking Skills

Speaking is considered one of the most important language skills that needs to be developed and mastered by language learners. However, mastering this language skill does not go so easily with the EFL learners. Many SL and EFL students think of speaking as the most difficult skill to attain since it requires first and foremost a great deal of practice and exposure also. To overcome this problem, teachers should seek a new approach which provides learners with opportunities to improve their speaking skills. One of the highly recommended approaches is task-based language teaching which provides learners with real life contexts to practice speaking English with their classmates. The purpose of the current study is to investigate the effects of using task-based instruction on developing Saudi EFL students’ speaking skills. In the second place, it attempts to explore students’ perceptions towards the use of task-based learning in the classroom. To this end, 60 Saudi EFL learners in the department of English Language and Translation, Qassim University, Saudi Arabia, participated in the study. To homogenize the participants’ level of proficiency, the Quick Placement Test was employed, and the participants with the intermediate level of proficiency were selected. Then, the participants were randomly divided into two groups: thirty students representing the experimental group studied six units practicing English speaking under task-based instruction, while thirty students representing the control group studied the same units following the regular instruction. Research data were gathered through speaking tests (TOEIC), semi-structured interviews and questionnaires. The data from the speaking test were statistically analyzed using mean scores, standard deviation scores, and t-test for dependent samples and paired-sample. The speaking test findings indicated that there were statistically significant differences between the mean scores of the experimental group and that of the control group on the post-test in favor of the experimental group which was exposed to the task-based instruction in the speaking skills. Moreover, a qualitative analysis of the interviews and questionnaire data demonstrated that the majority of the experimental group had positive reactions to the task-based instruction. They admitted that they liked the TBSA and wanted to use it frequently in learning speaking. The majority of the experimental group also added that their speaking ability has improved after implementing TBLT. The results of the current study can also be useful for teachers and curriculum planners when designing future curricula textbooks.

Exploring the Relationship between Summary Writing Ability and Reading Comprehension: Toward an EFL Writing-to-Read Instruction

Summary writing both boosts and measures reading comprehension. When learners write a summary of a reading, they are supposed to demonstrate their comprehension of the target text through writing; they are required to attend more closely to what they are reading to be able to communicate it in their own words. Summary writers are therefore involved in an active process where reading and writing are closely interrelated, and readers’ inability to summarize a reading is an indicator of inappropriate comprehension. Based on the strong connection between reading and writing, the current research work is an attempt to examine the extent to which EFL learners’ summary writing ability correlates with their comprehension of the original reading material. In order to carry on the study, sixty EFL university students at intermediate level of language proficiency were involved. The participants taught by the teacher researcher in the English Language Department of the Faculty of Letters, Languages and Arts, at Djillali Liabes University of Sidi Bel Abbes, first received an explicit instruction on summarizing, then were subject to a text summarizing assignment, then to a post-summarizing reading comprehension test involving the same text used in the summarizing assignment. Students’ written summaries as well as their written answers to the comprehension questions were collected to be scored. The findings revealed that there existed a positive correlation between summary writing ability and reading comprehension. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2016.v7n2s1p197

Pedagogical Efficiency of Teacher-led Whole-class Scaffolding as a Pre-writing Task

Task-based language teaching (TBLT) can provide learners with more authentic communicative activities, particularly in foreign language context, where learners may experience few such opportunities. From the perspective of sociocultural theory (SCT), scaffolding is a process of supportive interaction that occurs when learners are communicating with each other. There are situations in which the mediation of the teacher as an expert is necessary in the scaffolding process to advance the learners’ zone of proximal development. The present study sought to extend the scope of TBLT through SCT. More specifically, it was an attempt to investigate the effects of teacher-led whole-class scaffolding as pre-task on the writing proficiency of EFL learners. To this end, fifty Iranian female learners of English at intermediate level of general English proficiency took part in the study which was based on post-test only equivalent groups design. The participants were asked to evaluate some ELT textbooks based on a checklist and write a report respectively. The control group did not receive any pre-task activities; however, the experimental group participated in scaffolding as a pre-task. The results revealed that the trial of pre-task improved the writing performance in such areas as content, organization, grammar, and vocabulary.

Instructional Efficacy of Portfolio for Assessing Iranian EFL Learners’ Speaking Ability

<p>Regarding the fundamental role of speaking in language skills, this study intended to investigate the effects of speaking portfolio as an alternative form of assessment for assessing Iranian EFL learners’ speaking ability at the intermediate and advanced proficiency levels and also its impact on their attitudes. Accordingly, from the population of 72 students studying at Kowsar Language Institute in Esfahan, a sample of 64 male and female intermediate and advanced students were randomly selected based on their scores on an OPT test and they were assigned to 4 groups: intermediate and advanced experimental groups and intermediate and advanced control groups. In order to collect the data, a pretest and a posttest as well as a questionnaire were employed. To analyze the data, an ANOVA and a series of Chi-square were run in the study and the findings indicated that the experimental groups using speaking portfolios performed better than the control groups in terms of speaking ability. Moreover, the result shed light on the advantages of speaking portfolios such as self-assessment, peer-feedback, and improvement of speaking skill. This study provides instructors, administrators, and test developers with alternative ways to improve and assess speaking skill through speaking portfolios.</p>

The effect of explicit and implicit corrective feedback on the use of collocations in speaking assignments by Iranian EFL learners

One of the main areas of research in first language (L1) and second language (L2) research which has recently attracted a lot of attention is the significance of error analysis/correction and its subsequent effects on language learning. There is a vast amount of research concerning errors and corrective feedback in language learning. What had not yet been studied widely enough and was the focus of this study, however, was what kinds of corrective feedback are more effective with regard to Iranian EFL learners’ collocation error concerning three major types of corrective feedback namely explicit and implicit corrective feedback that are provided extensively in reaction to every collocation error during free discussions. To fulfill the purpose of the study, 90 Iranian EFL learners, who were at the intermediate proficiency level of English, were chosen. Later, they were randomly assigned to three groups, composed of one control group and two experimental groups receiving oral implicit and explicit corrective feedback on error of collocations. After seven sessions of treatment, a speaking test taken from FCE test was utilized as the posttest. Based on the results, there were significant differences between the means of the three groups on the posttest of collocational errors. The explicit group significantly outperformed the implicit and control groups on the posttest. Accordingly, it was concluded that explicit corrective feedback had been the most effective method in correcting Iranian EFL learners’ collocatioal errors.

Love Songs in Spanish for Enjoyment and Learning by Robert Stuart Thomson

Reviewed by: Love Songs in Spanish for Enjoyment and Learning by Robert Stuart Thomson Elena Retzer Thomson, Robert Stuart. Love Songs in Spanish for Enjoyment and Learning. Victoria: Godwin, 2015. Pp. 126. ISBN 978-0-96967-749-9. Robert Stuart Thomson’s Love Songs in Spanish for Enjoyment and Learning contains a selection of twenty four beautiful Spanish-language boleros, tangos, rancheras and other love songs (on an accompanying CD), around which a lesson is built. The author has provided general background information for each of the songs, as well as some specific language notes for learners of Spanish. Among the songs there are such classics as Gardel’s “Mi Buenos Aires querido” and “El día que me quieras,” Agustín Lara’s “Granada” and Ernesto Lecuona’s “Siboney” (both in Plácido Domingo’s rendition), as well as the birthday standard “Las mañanitas.” Each of the 24 lessons is accompanied by black-and-white photographs of the composer or performer; a Spanish song lyric with an English translation; Thomson’s notes about the historical context of each composition; his interpretation of the song meaning, and several grammar- and lexicon-related outlines (e.g., about idioms). The author, a music lover, writes that the idea for [End Page 700] the volume originated some decades ago when he became familiar with Spanish-language songs during his travels in Mexico and wanted to consult a book with composer biographies, original lyrics and an analysis of the poetic elements of each song. I wholeheartedly agree that target-language songs can provide a memorable, emotion-charged supplementary teaching method. Thomson’s suggestions for how the text could be used include a cloze text, in which an instructor can white out specific words or phrases from the lyric (such as different past-tense forms of verbs, etc.). Although the author recommends that students print the translation of nouns and verbs as the instructor plays any given song several times (109), this need not be the main goal of the activity, depending on the learning objectives of any language program. “Students will need space to write in an accurate translation” (111), writes the author, and, in a grammar-translation course this might be a worthwhile goal, albeit not universally applicable. Other interesting, fun suggestions are song-related projects (for intermediate or advanced levels of proficiency), such as assigning essays about the life and work of a composer or recording artist; the origins of different musical genres, or simply about why a learner finds a song meaningful (117) or how it has been used in a film soundtrack. A thought-provoking prompt is “what to appreciate in the songs.” Thomson poses such questions as: “What is the song about? What does the song reflect about the culture which gave rise to it? What makes the song typically Mexican, Argentinean, Catholic, tropical . . . ?” (11). These are, of courses, very broad questions that could lead to fascinating explorations of what students believe is “typically” Mexican or Catholic and thus question their own assumptions and biases. Such topics would work very well, I believe, in mixed groups composed of heritage and non-heritage learners. Some analysis questions, such as: “Does the songwriter use personification and apostrophe, i.e. pathetic fallacy,” (11) or whether the song is written in a major or minor key, use concepts that should be defined beforehand so that learners can benefit from thinking about them. Others are truly difficult to answer, such as: “Are the lyrics original or unusual?” (11), or “does the music seem original”? The answers will depend, of course, on each listener’s experience and exposure to art in Spanish, as well as what each individual learner may consider (un)usual or (un)original. Some statements may be found problematic for certain learners. For instance, a reference to a “commonly held idea in Mexico” (23) that “certain regions of the country produce the most beautiful women” may spark interesting discussion. I believe that the use of the diminutive form farolito in “Mi Buenos Aires querido” is not an example of a pathetic fallacy, defined as “the composer attributes emotion to an object (el farolito);” it is a simple use of the diminutive...

Effects of Contextualized Reading Tasks on Incidental Vocabulary Learning: Iranian EFL Learners in Focus

This study aims to examine the relationship among the incidental vocabulary learning, time devoted on tasks, and vocabulary retention by Iranian EFL learners. Therefore, using a quasi-experimental design, sixty EFL learners in six intact classes in Zabansara language institute in Isfahan, Iran were selected. They were at an intermediate level of proficiency based on the institute?s continuous assessment criteria. All groups were using the same textbook (i.e., Passages books) in that institute, and all followed the same instructional procedure. Three classes were respectively exposed to dictionary-based, fill-in-the-blank, and sentence-making tasks with time restrictions, and the other three classes were respectively exposed to dictionary-based, fill-in-the-blank, and sentence-making tasks without time restrictions. Having experienced their relevant treatments, the participants were asked to take an immediate vocabulary test. Since timing was an independent variable and vocabulary learning/recall was the dependent variable of the study, two-way ANOVA was used to compare the learners? vocabulary scores on the immediate vocabulary test. The results revealed that time restriction exerted a significant effect on the performance of the learners in all the three groups on the immediate tests. In addition, learners in the groups without time restriction significantly outperformed those in the groups with time restriction. The findings of this study have theoretical as well as pedagogical implications in the field of foreign language teaching and learning.