Junior High School Learners Research Articles

日本人中学生の語彙学習方略 : 学年による使用傾向の違い(実践報告・調査報告,中部地区英語教育学会第41回(福井)大会)

日本人中学生の語彙学習方略 : 学年による使用傾向の違い(実践報告・調査報告,中部地区英語教育学会第41回(福井)大会)

中学生の英語語彙学習方略の検討 : 性差と学年差の視点から(理論研究・実証研究,第43回中部地区英語教育学会富山大会)

中学生の英語語彙学習方略の検討 : 性差と学年差の視点から(理論研究・実証研究,第43回中部地区英語教育学会富山大会)

Family, individual, community and school profile analysis of learners at risk of dropping out in Cebu

Dropping out, an essential indicator to the schools’ performance, is a serious educational problem all over the world. Thus, an investigation on the possible contribution of Family, Individual, Community and School (FICS) related factors to a Learner at Risk of Dropping out (LARDO) was done to aid identification and immediate remediation of Junior High School Learners in a Division in Cebu, Philippines for the School Year 2016-2017. Logistic regression analysis was performed to create a model to predict the probability of being a learner at risk. It showed increase of prediction power from 50% to 88% as the independent variables were entered. The following variables were found significant: (a) gender; (b) deceased father; (c) cyber situation; (d) broken family; (e) inferiority complex; (f) child labor; and (g) lack of community support. Disturbing gender equity issues were evident in the results with increased likelihood for male students of being a LARDO. An intervention plan was crafted to assist schools in the implementation of the Drop Out Reduction Program (DORP). Salient features of the intervention program included the establishment of official forms for tracking LARDOs, a LARDO tendency worksheet based on the model and the establishment of policies that will strengthen LARDO early warning systems. Level of identification was also found to be at minimal in some schools which indicated difficulty of identification needing pertinent training in the intervention program. The results have important implications in the multi-dimensional nature of the dropout problem. The scope of its complexity extends beyond the established school systems. Hence, a multi-dimensional approach should be adapted.

The Effect of Switching the Order of Experimental Teaching in the Study of Simple Gravity Pendulum – A Study with Junior High-school Learners

The present study focuses on the educational value of lab work while teaching and learning Physics. Specifically, it investigates and compares the learning outcomes between three different experimental groups, in the study of the Simple Gravity Pendulum in the lower secondary school, using a sample of 61 students aged 14-15. The first group comprising 25 students practiced first on virtual and then on real lab, while the second group of 24, first on real and then on virtual lab (change of order in the tasks).An additional third group, involving 12 students, used sensors and data loggers during experimental practice. The educationally optimum order of use of such labs is investigated herein. The learners exploited the capabilities of the lab equipment, in that they themselves designed, constructed, and analysed the simple gravity pendulum. The focus in the teaching and learning of the pendulum was on examining subject relevance in the context of everyday applications, the independency of the period from the mass of the bob, or the amplitude, and the dependence of the period from the pendulum length, and the local acceleration of gravity. The research tools used were a stabilised questionnaire, with 16 closed-type questions and 7 questions asking for a justifying answer, in addition to a semi-structured interview. Data were taken and were appropriately analysed and compared, and conclusions are presented herein. The results confirmed that concerning some teaching objectives, learners’ understanding is positively affected by the order the real and the virtual labs are used in teaching. This result applies when addressing this age-group, and when teaching the simple gravity pendulum

From problem-orientedness to goal-orientedness: Re-conceptualizing communication strategies as forms of intra-mental and inter-mental mediation

The use of communication strategies is one of the core components that constitute communicative competence. However, the problem-oriented conceptualization of L2 strategic behavior has been widely criticized as it does not give sufficient attention to the social nature of communication and learning. This study thus makes an attempt to re-conceptualize communication as a mediated activity that focuses on the process and goal of communication. Eight EFL junior high school learners in Taiwan participated in this study. Empirical data were collected from an oral elicitation task, and then triangulated by retrospective comments derived from stimulated recall interviews and semi-structured interviews with the participants. The data were coded with Dörnyei and Scott's (1995) taxonomy of communication strategies and mapped onto a sociocultural framework of mediation for analysis. The findings showed that the use of strategies was at times problem-oriented for avoiding or solving communication breakdowns. Nevertheless, what seemed more significant was that interlocutors also made efficient choices of strategies according to the context and aim of the task. It is rightly the purpose of this paper to develop an enriched view of L2 strategic competence that acknowledges both the problem-oriented and goal-oriented nature of communication.

Needs Analysis of the Students of the 3d Class of Junior High School

This paper seeks to explore whether English language learning is viewed as an accumulation of language skills merely for the acquisition of a foreign language certificate, which is the commonly held view regarding English language instruction in Greece, or Junior High School learners would wish to have a more holistic view of foreign language learning in the context of a challenging multicultural environment. The research was conducted in a Greek state school of a rural area and renders significant results as to the shift of focus from traditional views regarding English language teaching in Greece to what contemporary teenagers would like to accomplish through foreign language instruction provided by the state. The paper ultimately identifies the needs of Junior High School learners regarding English language instruction through the use of a questionnaire and discusses the implications of the findings for the amendment of the existing teaching materials to the benefit of the learners.

"Once upon a Time there was..." A Digital World for Junior High School Learners

This paper looks into what Junior High School learners think of the Web 2.0 tool “Storyboard” for digital story telling purposes and investigates the extent to which it can enhance their receptive and productive skills of reading and writing in the English language. Fifty one randomly selected students, who created a digital story based on a relevant instructive scenario, and their teachers took part in the research. The quantitatively analyzed teachers’ and students’ interviews results and learners’ post-tests data revealed that the tool is considered very motivating and useful increasing learners’ aforementioned English language skills. As learners and teachers indicate “Storyboard” has offered them moments of happiness and joy during their school activities and made their lesson creative and interesting.

Learner–Learner Interaction During Collaborative Pragmatic Tasks: The Role of Cognitive and Pragmatic Task Demands

AbstractPrevious task complexity studies have suggested that learners produce more negotiation of meaning opportunities during complex tasks than simple tasks (Robinson, 2011). The present study builds on the existing task complexity literature by examining the impact of task complexity and pragmatic situational demands on the number of learning opportunities for request‐making expressions. Forty‐nine Korean junior high school learners of English as a foreign language were randomly assigned to participate in either simple‐ or complex‐ collaborative pair writing tasks, which included different levels of pragmatic situational demands. The interactions were transcribed and analyzed for the frequency of pragmatic related episodes (PREs; Kim & Taguchi, 2015) as well as the number of turns within each PRE. The results showed that task complexity played an important role in facilitating PREs by targeting sociopragmatic factors and not pragmalinguistic forms, regardless of the level of pragmatic task demands. Results are discussed in light of promoting interaction‐driven learning opportunities for pragmatics using collaborative tasks.

A 5-Puzzle Approach to Teaching Programming to Junior High School Learners

A 5-Puzzle Approach to Teaching Programming to Junior High School Learners

A Corpus-Based Study on the Relationship Between the Languages Used in Junior High School Classrooms and Learners’ Uptake

A Corpus-Based Study on the Relationship Between the Languages Used in Junior High School Classrooms and Learners’ Uptake

Application of Cooperative Learning in EFL Classes to Enhance the Students’ Language Learning

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of cooperative learning on EFL learners’ language learning, motivation toward learning English as a foreign language, and the high- and low-achievers’ academic achievements in a heterogeneous language proficiency group. This study brings together the fields of cooperative learning, second language acquisition, as well as second/foreign language teaching to create optimal schooling experiences for students. The major findings of this study suggested that cooperative learning helped significantly to enhance the junior high school learners’ oral communicative competence and their motivation toward learning English. Based upon the conclusions drawn from the study, cooperative learning was thus recommended to be integrated into the school English instruction as part of the Curriculum. As a result, the effects of cooperative learning seem salient in enhancing the EFL junior high school students’ language learning.

Effect of First Language Component-Bridging Program (FLC-BP) Approach on Secondary Students’ MACRO Skills

The First Language Component-Bridging Program (FLC-BP) methodology calls for teaching the skills in reading, writing and math concepts in the first language. One major principle of FLC-BP is a child’s cultural model of the world which helps him process perceptual information, understand concepts and form new ones. New concepts and skills are built on existing knowledge and structures rather than bypassing them by using a rote memorization methodology. The study was undertaken to find out the effects of the First Language Component-Bridging Program on the Performance of Junior High School Learners in their Four MACRO Skills. The study adopted the quasi experimental design, specifically the Pre-test Posttest Control Group Factorial Design. Three sections of Junior High School students were utilized as respondents and assigned to Tagalog-English, Iloko-English, and English-English teaching approaches. After four months of study, the researcher found out that students exposed to the English-English approach indicated a high level of performance in listening, moderate in speaking and reading and low in writing skill. The Tagalog-English and Iloko-English showed a high level of performance in listening. Tagalog-English indicated a high level of performance in speaking and reading and moderate in writing. The Iloko-English students were moderate in speaking, reading and writing skills. Furthermore, English-only used as a medium of instruction is not the best solution to learn to speak and use English as the ladder to success. Hence, the researcher recommended the use of first language to improve the performance of students in learning.

Problem-solving Taskにおける中学生の発話分析

Problem-solving Taskにおける中学生の発話分析