Language Competence Research Articles

EXPLORING FOREIGN LANGUAGE TEACHER BELIEFS AND PRACTICES IN TURKEY: A CASE STUDY

This case study explores the relationship between an Italian as a foreign language teacher’s beliefs and online teaching practices in a tertiary education setting during the Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic. Specifically, it aims to find out the teachers’ beliefs with regard to their professional identities, and their roles in foreign language teaching classrooms. Besides, it was discussed if the teachers’ beliefs concerning their role identities are related to their classroom practices. Data were collected over an academic term through one semi-structured interview and two observations conducted at beginning and at the end of the semester in order to see if there are any differences according to the professional roles of the instructor in the course of time depending on the learners’ enhanced Italian language competence. The findings of the study revealed that the instructor acted out as a manager, facilitator, input provider, motivator and a translator in two observations, showing a slight difference in degree of synchronous interaction among the instructor and the students with the printed text, video tape or Web site. The interview responses revealing the instructor’s beliefs were correlated with the roles observed in synchronous communication. This study is limited to the online foreign language classroom. It would be interesting to observe what other roles the teachers play in the face-to-face classroom. It may be suggested that the studies investigating those of teachers instructing foreign languages other than English may enlighten the research on teachers’ beliefs and their professional role identities and contribute to the professional development of foreign language teachers. Last but not least, for professional growth of pre-service foreign language teachers, preliminary studies on teacher cognition should be included in the curriculum of teaching practicum.

The nexus of Family Language Policy

Three decades of research on reversing language shift, bi- and multilingual parenting, and Family Language Policy (FLP) have demonstrated that, while parental language practices and ideologies are important factors in determining children’s language competencies and outcomes, parents do not exist in a vacuum. Family language policies are influenced by a myriad of sociohistorical and relational processes that are examined in depth in this special issue. The articles here capture the reality of the complexities of FLP by examining family-external factors such as the COVID-19 lockdown, access to digital communication, geography and community, migration histories, national language policies, and family structures among others, to explain the particular family language policies present in communities around the world (from Iran to Cyprus to Northern Ireland) and their effects on children’s language outcomes and family members’ linguistic experiences.

Ferreting the Efficacy of Action-Oriented Approach in Indian ESL Classroom: Learners’ Notion

The ‘Action-Oriented Approach’ proposes a new paradigm for teaching and learning languages, a pedagogical framework founded on the idea that language is a social practice and a tool for action. This study examines how Indian ESL students feel about AOA and its advantages in increasing English language competence among tertiary-level pupils in India. To gather data from 156 engineering stream students, including crucial key research objectives, the current study used a quantitative technique with survey instruments. Survey data were collected using a Five-Point Likert scale. The study results show that, in general, ESL students are in favour of assisting language learners to gain competency in various scenarios using an action-oriented approach. The statement "Action-Oriented Approach helps the learners to develop language proficiency in a variety of contexts" received the highest grade (x=4.2692) from the majority of ESL learners (94.2%). Overall, this study contributes to a greater understanding of Indian language acquisition strategies. The study’s outcomes highlight the benefits of implementing action-oriented approaches in ESL classes and the potential repercussions on pupils’ language fluency in English the Action-Oriented Approach was deemed an outstanding technique by a large number of ESL students, particularly for improving their comprehension of English.

Mechanisms of formation of speech skills on the basis of media technologies

The expansion of the socio-economic and cultural cooperation of the countries in the world is increasing the interest, need and desire to learn foreign languages, especially English. In the educational system of developed countries, special attention is paid to learning English in accelerated ways from the school period. The development of students' language and speech competences on the basis of media technologies is becoming an urgent issue in teaching English in general education schools. Especially for A1 levels, it has become a priority to acquire the linguistic competence noted in the content of English language teaching and to develop the ability to use it in speech communication. The experience of world countries shows the need to create and improve teaching methods based on the development of lexical competence in teaching English to students.

The Multifaceted Field of Virtual Exchanges in Teacher Education: A Literature Review

Virtual exchanges can be seen as a powerful tool in fostering digital- pedagogical, intercultural, and foreign language competences in teacher education. Since the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, virtual exchanges in teacher education have gained increasing attention both in research and practice. Despite a growing number of publications and various fields and themes covered by research and reports, few publications are concerned with connecting and systematising the discourse on virtual exchanges between 2020-2023. This paper, thus, aims to offer a comprehensive overview of how virtual exchanges are employed in teacher education by adopting a scoping study approach and examining research papers published in this period of time. Our findings cover the planning, implementation, and evaluation of virtual exchanges, as well as some overarching recommendations for improving the delivery of virtual exchanges in teacher education as they are provided in the research papers. Virtual exchanges in teacher education are a multifaceted field since it has multiple aims, usages, and impacts, which largely depend on the (mostly voluntary) work of teacher educators, the institutional framework within which the exchanges take place, and student teachers’ motivation to participate. The future of virtual exchanges in teacher education would benefit by opening up beyond foreign language teacher education and combining small-scale with large-scale studies to better inform research and practice.

Competence Assessment of Team of Specialists under the Organization and Personnel Department at Public Universities in Vietnam

A study was conducted to identify the components of competency in general that are considered important in improving the work efficiency of team of specialists under the organization and personnel department at public universities in Vietnam. Data have been collected through a management questionnaire to team of specialists under the organization and personnel department (n = 106) managerial staff (n = 50), and lecturers and other specialists (n = 245). Analysis of deductive content and statistics of technical description are used for qualitative and quantitative analysis of data, respectively. The results show that there are five important components of competency of specialists under the organization and personnel department that need to be formed, including professional quality, professional competence, consulting competence, competence of planning and implementation organization, competence of self-improvement, and professional development. In addition, there are three groups of complementary competencies, including communication competence, foreign language competence, and information technology competence. The main objective of the article is to identify the components of competency in general that are considered important in improving the work efficiency of team of specialists under the organization and personnel department at public universities in Vietnam. The findings can be used by administrators at public universities as a basis for them to have specific strategies and solutions in the university’s team development to meet the requirements of higher educational renovation today.

The significance of foreign language Geography teaching in the dual language secondary school programmes of the Northern Great Plain region

Dual language education has been present in numerous institutions across the Northern Great Plain region of Hungary. Educational centres across the region have been running dual language programmes in secondary grammar schools and vocational schools for decades. As regional centre and traditional educational hub, Debrecen is also represented by a number of schools offering international programmes. Although recent socioeconomic and education policy changes have forced schools for constant renewal, bilingualism in educational programmes managed to remain popular, partly due to the achievements of foreign language subject teaching. Through the alignment of subject-specific content and the development of language competence, this form of education effectively contributes to the improvement of students’ language skills, shapes their mindset and expands their further education and increases their market value as potential workforce. This study will explore the role and impact of foreign language Geography teaching across the secondary schools of the Northern Great Plain region through the lens of teaching and educational research, by discussing some of the relevant regional findings of a broader PhD dissertation (including school visits, final exam results and a recent nationwide teacher survey). Research findings prove that Geography has been a popular subject choice to be taught in foreign languages: it has been present in the majority of the 15 dual language secondary schools of the region, it has been playing an important role in vocational school programmes and it has been chosen as final exam subject by nearly 1,000 candidates.

Analysis of the interface between language competence and conceptual metaphor in translation studies

The article seeks to explore the interface between language competence requirements as set by EMT and analyzed by PACTE and conceptual metaphor studies. The research strives to provide an assessment of an experiment conducted with three groups of translators – two non-professional ones, e.g. students of English philology in their 4th year with some translation practice and one group comprised of professional translators and university lecturers. Systematic knowledge of the theoretical underpinnings of Conceptual Metaphor Theory is privy to only one of the groups of non-professional translators. The experiment includes a translation of an article from the Economist by all groups. A number of metaphoric units (words and phrases) have been identified in the article on the basis of MIP procedures. The objective of the research is to gauge the importance of metaphoric competence for performing a successful translation. The results obtained from the current study, though not conclusive show that metaphoric competence plays a significant role in translators’ competencies. Metaphoric awareness may not be directly linked with Conceptual Metaphor Theory, but it proves vital to the quality of translation.

Implementation of Visual Mind Mapping Strategy to Improve Students’ Language Competence

The opportunities of the educational process can be expanded using innovative mechanisms. The aim of the work is to determine the effectiveness of teaching because of implementing the Visual Mind Mapping strategy to improve students’ foreign language competence. The aim was achieved using the general theoretical method of comparison, calculation of the concordance coefficient, the efficiency coefficient, and the Whitney-Wilk test. Learning was ensured through the development of educational mechanisms, which consisted of information visualisation and intellectual activity development. The study of new words, the use of digital technologies (Writer, Rosetta Stone, Busuu), the development of communication skills, and the development of professional skills were also provided. It was found among students that using Visual Mind Mapping contributes to obtaining a high level of knowledge in a shorter time. Focusing on the Kirkpatrick model made it possible to establish that most students acquired a high level of foreign language competence after testing their knowledge. The students have a positive attitude to learning using Visual Mind Mapping. The practical significance of the article is the possibility of involving innovative technologies for learning a foreign language. The prospects of further research are to compare learning effectiveness with using Visual Mind Mapping for junior and senior year students.

Digital Narratives for Academic Success: Enhancing Student Achievement through Storytelling

This study looked at how Digital Story-telling (DST) affected high school students studying English as a second language in terms of their learning motivationm, critical thinking, and academic achievement. This year-long study included 48 10th-grade students from two English courses using a quasi-experimental design with pretest and posttest assessments. Information technology-integrated instruction at two levels—lecture-style (for the comparison group) and DST (for the experimental group)—was the independent variable. In order to assess how well DST improves learning outcomes, both quantitative and qualitative data were gathered. This included critical thinking and English language competence tests as well as questionnaire answers about learning motivation. The collected data underwent examination through descriptive analysis, analysis of covariance (ANCOVA), multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA), and qualitative content analysis. Our findings show that participants in the DST group surpassed those in the lecture-style ITII group concerning critical thinking, learning motivation, and English proficiency. Insights gathered from interviews underscore the noteworthy educational impact of DST. Both the teacher and students expressed that DST elevated their understanding of course content, heightened their curiosity, and enhanced their critical thinking abilities—essential skills for equipping students for the dynamic challenges of the 21st century. Incorporating stories from Palestinian culture, rooted in the real-life experiences of students, has been successfully undertaken to enhance the cultural relevance of DST. This addition brings a valuable dimension to the research, providing a more comprehensive understanding of how DST impacts students' learning experiences. By integrating these authentic narratives, the study successfully captures the cultural richness and diversity inherent in the students' backgrounds, thereby enriching the overall research findings.

КРИТЕРИИ ОТБОРА АУТЕНТИЧНЫХ ЛИНГВОСТРАНОВЕДЧЕСКИХ ТЕКСТОВ ДЛЯ ОБУЧЕНИЯ УСТНОЙ РЕЧИ СТУДЕНТОВ НА НАЧАЛЬНОМ ЭТАПЕ ИЗУЧЕНИЯ НЕМЕЦКОГО ЯЗЫКА В ЯЗЫКОВОМ ВУЗЕ

Criteria for Selecting Authentic Linguistic and Cultural Texts for Teaching Oral Speech to Students at the Initial Stage of the German Language at a Language University Summary The article is devoted to the study of effective teaching of oral speech of students at the initial stage of studying German in a language university, which depends on the careful selection of authentic linguo-cultural materials. The selection criteria should be focused on the target orientation, methodological approach, authenticity of resources, individualization of training, and a systematic approach. The correct choice of materials plays a key role in the formation of language competence and the successful development of students' oral speech. Key words: linguaculture, linguistic-cultural materials, selection criterion, authentic texts

Актуальные тексты общественно-политической тематики на русском языке как источник учебных материалов для иностранных студентов гуманитарных специальностей (основные и дополнительные образовательные программы)

The paper discusses the issues of training foreign students of humanities in reading and listening to journalistic texts in Russian. The aim of the study is to identify ways to update the materials of available textbooks on Russian as a foreign language, taking into account various factors. These include methodological factors (purpose and content of training; level of proficiency in Russian; requirements of normative documents; organizational forms of training; students’ training program; national composition of the study group), linguistic factors (genre, style, content value of the text; characteristics of text materials from the standpoint of textuality categories and communicative categories), extralinguistic factors (socio-political situation in the world; ideological attitudes). Special attention is paid to the description of the bank of standard texts of the main thematic groups. The work proposes tasks to control the level of formation of language and speech competencies within the framework of the academic discipline “Russian language in professional international activity” (level B2) at different stages of training. The scientific novelty of the study lies in developing criteria for the selection of journalistic texts for Russian language classes for foreigners studying in various educational programs (basic or additional). As a result of the research, the features of the use of media texts in the process of teaching students of a faculty of international relations are highlighted in comparison with the ways of presenting these texts within the framework of the course for students of international academic exchange programs.

PENERAPAN PROJECT BASED LEARNING (PjBL) DALAM MENINGKATKAN MAHĀRAH QIRĀAH PADA KURIKULUM MERDEKA BELAJAR

<p style="text-align: justify;"><em>The competitive environment and increasingly competitive global issues necessitate competency development that satisfies 21st-century demands. The Free Learning Curriculum is a response effort in addressing it. Project Based Learning (PjBL) is a viable and effective approach when implementing the Free Learning Curriculum. With the use of Project-based Learning (PjBL) in the Independent Learning Curriculum, this study attempts to investigate the factors that help and hinder learning Arabic. The research methodology for the library research uses a qualitative descriptive approach. By gathering material from numerous pertinent sources, including books, articles, and journals pertaining to the research topic, data were acquired through documentation approaches.</em><em> </em><em>The three steps of the data analysis technique are reduction, data display, and conclusion drawing. The study's findings demonstrate that using PjBL to learn Arabic has a beneficial effect on the growth of analytical critical thinking abilities as well as creativity, teamwork, and communication in everyday situations. This discovery aligns with the goals of the Free Learning Curriculum, which aims to offer relevant projects that facilitate an engaged, relevant, and meaningful learning experience. PjBL implementation is aided by the growth of language skills, contextual learning, student collaboration, and skills-based methodologies. However, there are hurdles for students who have not acquired Arabic language skills yet are expected to engage actively, as well as time constraints, resource limitations, disparities in assessment, and other issues. When PjBL is used to learn Arabic, students can maximise their Arabic language competence and enhance their speaking skills to a great extent.</em><em></em></p>

The Influence of Language Competence, Literacy, Local Wisdom and Multimedia in Developing the Tourism Potential of Pematang Serai Village

The Influence of Language Competence, Literacy, Local Wisdom and Multimedia in Developing the Tourism Potential of Pematang Serai Village

Mobile applications in developing phonetic competence of the Chinese language

Abstract This work examines the relevance and practical value of using mobile applications to develop phonetic competence in the Chinese language among future philologists–sinologists. The study aims to analyse the advantages of mobile applications for both classroom and autonomous learning, focussing on their structure and functions. The research methods employed include theoretical substantiation and the characterization of Standard Mandarin and HelloChinese mobile applications. This study asserts that incorporating these mobile applications enhances the assimilation of practical material and increases students’ motivation to master Chinese phonetics. Furthermore, the researchers have developed a set of exercises that utilize these mobile applications, aiming to improve students’ phonetic competence in the Chinese language, whether in a foreign language classroom or during autonomous learning. Results of the research are based on a quantitative investigation, which demonstrates the effectiveness of mobile applications at all stages of future philologists–sinologists’ language practice. Additionally, the use of mobile applications assists in monitoring students’ performance through intermediate assessments. The research findings further confirm the high efficiency of mobile applications in developing phonetic competence, particularly in the context of distance learning.

Development of language competence of future defectologists in the context of bilingualism

Relevance. The development of special education in Kazakhstan is associated with legislation in the education sector, the country's policy in relation to children with special needs, the level of development of special (correctional) science as an integrated (psychological, pedagogical, medical) field of knowledge. The system of higher education in Kazakhstan is forced to revise the goals and strategies for the development of professional education of future special education teachers. One of the main tasks of which is the transition from the qualification training of a specialist to competence based, by changing the training strategy, where the student learns to achieve the set goal, work for the intended result, i.e. the development of professional competencies is expected. Purpose. The purpose of the study is the scientific and theoretical substantiation of the need to develop the language competence of future defectologists with the consideration of bilingualism and educational and methodological support of the process. Methodology. The fundamental method of the research was pedagogical design, during which a pedagogical model of the language competence development in future special education teachers was designed. Within the framework of a comprehensive program for the development of the language competence in special education teachers, the following methods have been developed: an elective course �Fundamentals of the speech culture of a defectologist�; project complexes, bilingual creative tasks, exercises; methodological measures. Results. During the approbation of the developed model, it was revealed that the introduction of the proposed active methods, means and forms of teaching into the language teaching process can be an effective way to solve the issue under consideration. Conclusions. Theoretical substantiation and the results of experimental work in the future can be used in the accumulation of content and the development of educational recommendations, teaching aids and methods of teaching languages. Keywords: special education; language peculiarity; communication; specialist

Organization of students� creative independent work in English lessons

Relevance. The relevance of this study is conditioned upon the low level of effectiveness of conventional methods of teaching one of the most important student competencies � foreign language, and therefore it is important to analyse the improvement of these indicators in the educational segment of the Republic of Kazakhstan. Purpose. The purpose of this study was to analyse the organization of students� creative independent work in foreign language lessons. Methodology. The methods used in this study included logical analysis, functional analysis, formal legal, deduction, induction, synthesis. Results. During the study, it was discovered that the introduction of creative independent work contributes to the development of not only students� foreign language competence, but such essential professional skills as creative thinking, the ability to work independently, argue their opinion. To evaluate the effectiveness of this method in the educational process, an empirical study was conducted, in which 2 groups of students of Toraighyrov University in Pavlodar took part. Conclusions. The information obtained during the experiment helped conclude on the advisability of introducing creative independent work into the educational process. Importantly, the skills acquired by students were used not only in foreign language classes, but also in other disciplines, which helped evaluate the proposed method as universal. The practical value of the results obtained lies in the proposal of a method and other recommendations that provide an opportunity to increase the level of efficiency and quality of education in general, as well as to train highly competitive future specialists in various specialities. Keywords: educational process; project method; potential; scientific research; presentation

Revisiting translator competence in the age of artificial intelligence: the case of legal and institutional translation

ABSTRACT Multi-componential models of translation competence are widely used in translator training as a yardstick for curricular and syllabus design. These models must be adapted to reflect professional trends, such as the impact of artificial intelligence, and machine translation in particular, on working methods. This paper describes the process of adapting a pioneering model of legal translation competence to the broader scope of institutional translation in light of recent trends, as verified by triangulating information from multiple interviews, analyses of translation volumes and job descriptors and other professional inputs. The resulting revised descriptor was validated through a survey of 474 translation professionals from 24 international organisations of diverse sizes and domain specialisations. The suitability of the descriptor was corroborated across the board, but variations were found in perceptions of the relevance of sub-competences to ensure translation quality. Profiles with a stronger specialisation in legal translation or more experience in institutional translation showed higher awareness of the relevance of all the sub-competences, especially the core language, strategic and thematic competences, and even more so for translating texts of a legal or administrative nature. The implications of these findings for training purposes in particular are discussed.

“Online group discussion was challenging but we enjoyed it!” an exploratory practice in extensive reading

PurposeWhile many works have reported adopting exploratory practice (EP) principles in language teaching research, only a few studies have explored the enactment of EP in an online extensive reading of students majoring in English education. Given the relative paucity of attention to the use of EP as the practitioner research in English language teaching (ELT), the present EP investigates how students understand online extensive reading practice mediated by online group discussion and extensive reading logs, where the first author served as the online extensive reading practice instructor.Design/methodology/approachThe exploratory practice focuses on incorporating research into pedagogy and fastens the importance of the quality-of-life in the classroom. The data were collected through students reading logs and semi-structured interviews. The collected data were analyzed using the thematic analysis. In this case, there were six phases including familiarizing with the data, generating initial codes, searching for the themes, reviewing the themes, defining the theme and writing up.FindingsThe findings reveal that online group work driven by EP enables everybody to engage in learning activities. EP assists the students in perceiving their potential and gaining a better awareness of the need to devote themselves to the class. In the EP activities, they work together to build a peaceful situation to advance the quality of learning in EFL classrooms.Research limitations/implicationsThe present study’s limitation is the small sample. Apart from that, the research results cannot be generalized to other places.Practical implicationsThis study suggests that EP is suitable to create a mutual understanding among the learners and teachers. To conclude, English language competency can be achieved in a pleasant atmosphere through EP.Originality/valueThe present study succeeded in adding new literature studies related to EPs by discussing online group discussions and their challenges during the learning process. These aspects were identified through reading logs and interviews with students. Thus, it focuses on the implementation and challenges of online group discussions.

Reading takes it all? – the role of language competence and subject knowledge in legal translation

ABSTRACT In this paper the role of language competence and thematic competence in translation and post-editing was studied. The sample included 49 translation students who translated part of a copyright agreement from English into Hungarian under two different conditions, from-scratch human translation and post-editing. Our findings indicated that there was no difference between from-scratch human translation and post-editing in terms of quality and speed, and that time spent on task was only loosely connected to achievement. We also found that thematic (legal) knowledge, as assessed by our multiple-choice test, did not correlate with from-scratch human translation/post-editing performance. Perhaps the most important finding of the study is that source language (SL) reading plays a key role in translation students’ performance, whether it is traditional from-scratch human translation or post-editing. It was also highlighted that SL reading was even more important in post-editing than in from-scratch human translation, and that weaknesses in reading competence may lead to different types of errors in the two working conditions.