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摘要：With internationalization and globalization, English has proliferated in urban spaces around the world. This creates new opportunities for EFL learning and teaching. An English literacy walk is one activity that can be used productively to capitalize on this potential. The activity has roots in long-established approaches to emergent literacy education for young children and pedagogic projects inspired by recent research on linguistic landscapes. Drawing on these traditions, teachers can target reading outcomes involving code, semantic, pragmatic, and critical knowledge and skills. We use the four resources model of literate practices to systematically map some of the potential of literacy walks in multilingual, multimodal linguistic landscapes. We suggest tasks and teacher questions that might be used for the explicit teaching of reading during and after literacy walks. Although grounded in Taipei, our ideas might be of interest to EFL teachers in other globalized cities around the world. Adapted from the source document

摘要：The term 'authenticity' has been variously interpreted by second language acquisition and ESL scholars. It has been taken to refer to the materials used in class, such as texts, but also to the type of tasks the students are assigned, or even to the type of classroom interaction. Our contribution is concerned with the first of these interpretations. We focus on the authenticity of what are purported to be 'real' texts included in textbooks for advanced students of English at B2 and C1 levels, according to the Common European Framework of Reference. This empirical study is based on a series of parameters that have been established in order to examine the extent to which the authenticity of real texts has been preserved and to establish other related changes that such texts are subjected to when included in textbooks. Adapted from the source document

摘要：In order to explore student learning experiences in English language classes, this study employed a qualitative data collection method known as narrative frames, which uses prompts to stimulate written expression of ideas. Data were collected through narrative frames on three different occasions from 36 second-year high school students in a team-taught EFL classroom in Japan, in both English and Japanese. After collecting the frames, individual interviews were conducted with two students from the class and their team teachers to further enquire about their experience, particularly with regard to the use of narrative frames. Findings suggest that the narrative frame technique proved to be a beneficial tool for improving learner autonomy. It facilitated the students becoming responsible for their learning in general, and encouraged them to become more serious about their learning of the English language. Methodological implications for the future use of narrative frames are provided. Adapted from the source document

摘要：The Output Hypothesis proposes that language production can facilitate language learning in a number of ways. However, while early research into this theory provided a strong starting point for further research, it did not provide clear, long-term evidence of output's role in language acquisition. More recent research has addressed this problem by using simple writing task sequences in which output precedes input in order to maximize its role in noticing. Results have been encouraging. In this article, I summarize this research before going on to suggest ways in which teachers can utilize similar task sequences in order to create practical classroom techniques which encourage learners to notice holes in their own knowledge and gaps between their written ability and expert user texts. Adapted from the source document

摘要：This study explores the differential effects of medium of delivery of aural input during listening tasks on learners noticing and type of comprehension (top-down and bottom-up) of Spanish object pronouns during focus on form listening tasks. Twenty-two college students enrolled in second year Spanish in a technology-enhanced classroom participated in the study. Two types of medium of delivery of input were compared: mobile assisted language learning (MALL), which is learner manipulated, and instructor manipulated language learning (IMLL). A quasi-experimental design was used -- treatment and immediate tests -- in order to measure participants' reported noticing and type of comprehension. Noticing was operationalized using think-aloud protocols, and measured on the post-test exposure comprehension assessment tasks. The findings of the study, interpreted within the attentional SLA framework, indicate that learners in the MALL group demonstrated significantly higher levels of reported noticing, bottom-up comprehension, and top-down overall comprehension than learners in the IMLL group. Directions for future research as well as pedagogical implications of the use of mobile technology and task-based listening activities are offered. Adapted from the source document

摘要：This article is part of a longitudinal study of American college students studying Mandarin in China. Its main data are drawn from monthly speaking events (four sessions with each student) conducted in Chinese with each of 29 participants in a study-abroad program in China. The study yielded these results: (a) Students made significant progress in their fluency development, especially during the first month; (b) speaking Chinese both inside and outside of class helped fluency; (c) students who consistently spoke Chinese in class and out of class made more progress than those who did not; and (d) time on task, the amount of time that students spent using Chinese, was the most important factor in determining fluency development. The quantitative analysis that is the focus of this article is supplemented by qualitative data from individual students, reflecting the position that only a combination of quantitative and qualitative data can reveal a complete picture of the nature of language acquisition during study abroad. The article concludes with implications for the design and conduct of programs in China.

摘要：This article explores the value of judiciously used first language (L1)-to-second language (L2) translation in meaning-focused, advanced-level academic language education. It examines languaging in the teacher-led discourse (TLD) that arises when translation tasks are used and compares it to languaging during the TLD engendered by 4 other grammar-focused tasks. Data were collected in 3 different groups of students who were taught by the same teacher within a functioning university course in English at a Swedish university. Quantitative and qualitative analyses of audio-recorded lessons revealed that translation tasks led to (a) particularly high levels of student-initiated referential questions that break the initiation-response-feedback pattern and (b) a less-frequent focus on targeted L2 grammar as student attention tended to be drawn to vocabulary. Qualitative analysis of teacher scaffolding suggests that the teacher used translation to create a forum for student-centered discussion of various aspects of English language use in order to meet one of the course goals. The relatively strong presence of student-initiated interaction suggests that translation may have particular potential to engender student activity. It is argued that translation, therefore, may have an important, yet limited, place in academic-level language education where knowledge of the L1 is shared.

摘要：It is beneficial for students to experience situational learning, especially for English as a foreign language (EFL) learning. Providing more listening and speaking opportunities could help EFL students with English learning. Our research proposes a listening and speaking practice system employing personal digital assistants (PDAs) for situated learning using contexts with which students would be familiar. The proposed system attempts to help participating EFL students by presenting learning contexts in familiar situations, such as during lunch at school. The results show that the proposed system and designed activities provided EFL elementary school students with listening and speaking practice opportunities in basic vocabulary and simple sentences with the support of familiar, situational learning. In the experiment, the experimental group learned multimedia-based learning materials about food materials at lunch with PDAs. In contrast, the control group learned via paper-based learning materials in class without real contextual support. After the experiment, findings reveal that the experimental group significantly outperformed the control group in learning achievement. By providing recommended sample voices recorded by peers, students in the experimental group could repeatedly listen to the recordings in familiar situations, thus obtaining more opportunities to practice and interact with peers later. The other significant finding is that the number of peers used to practice speaking English in daily contexts, defined as practice diversity, was significantly correlated to learning improvement. That is, when students practiced speaking English with an increased number of peers, in familiar contexts, their English skills improved. After interviews with students, an interesting phenomenon was identified; students in the experimental group extended their learning from school to home. Furthermore, students' learning was not only a deliberate event or situation -- learning also took place spontaneously in their daily lives. Therefore, the proposed system and activities can help EFL students, particularly novices, listen to and speak English in familiar situational contexts.

摘要：Today Web 2.0 technologies, including blogs, are presenting both teachers and learners with new horizons in the field of language teaching and learning. A blog is an online journal which can be continuously updated by its users [Matheson, D. (2004). Weblogs and the epistemology of the news: Some trends in online journalism. New Media & Society, 6, 443-468.]. Blogs are easy to construct without the need of understanding HTML, and their appearance and content can be enhanced through the use of pictures, audio and video files. Due to their asynchronous nature, blogs allow people to write and publish their thoughts and views at their own pace without space and time constraints. In language learning, the use of blogs is considered to be similar to that of journal writing [McLeod, 2001; as cited in Lowe, C. (2004). Moving to the public: Weblogs in the writing classroom. Into the Blogosphere. Retrieved April 16, 2009, from [URL:http://Blog.lib.umn.edu//blogosphere/moving_to_public_pf.html]]. Hence, students use the basis of their worldviews to shape and interpret their own meanings in writing. Using task-based activities to encourage students' interaction, the present study explores how a blog as a computer-mediated tool engages a group of English as a Foreign Language learners at a language school in Spain in reflective and collaborative learning. Eleven students who were preparing for the Certificate in Advanced English (CAE) Cambridge examination were involved in a study that lasted for five months. All the participants created their personal blogs so that they could read each other's views, share ideas and comment on their peers' postings. The activities focused on the specific writing tasks (letter writing, report, proposal, article, etc.) comprised in the aforementioned examination. Consequently, the project aimed to (1) enhance writing skills in specific writing tasks, (2) perceive the effect of the learners' feedback and (3) foster collaborative skills. Drawing on the triangulated data collated from the blog entries, class discussions based on peers' feedback and questionnaires, this paper argues that personal blogs can motivate students to build their writing skills through self-reflection and peer feedback. The engagement in negotiation of meaning between peers led to better planning and the choice of the right register/style required in each task prior to writing and submitting their work. Collaborative skills were also fostered through students' regular interaction in the blogs. For meaningful learning to take place, pedagogical intervention could encourage students to take their peers' comments into account so that they can edit their own work with a view to enhancing their writing tasks and producing mistake-free texts.

摘要：Building on the cognitive and interactive perspectives of task research, the cognition hypothesis states that increasing task complexity promotes greater interaction and feedback and thus facilitates second language (L2) development (Robinson, 2001b, 2007a). To date, very little research has explored this claim during learner-learner interactions in English as a foreign language (EFL) classroom contexts in which a task-based syllabus is implemented. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of task complexity on the occurrence of interaction-driven learning opportunities and question development in such a classroom context. Korean university students (N = 191) from four intact English classes were randomly assigned to one comparison group and three experimental groups with various task-complexity levels (i.e., simple, + complex, and + + complex) based on Robinson's framework. Their interactions were audiorecorded, and occurrences of learning opportunities, operationalized as language-related episodes (LREs), were identified. Question development was identified between pretest and posttests on the basis of the learners' stage advancement using Pienemann and Johnston's (1987) developmental sequence. Results indicated that more complex tasks promoted a greater number of LREs and particularly led to LREs targeting developmentally advanced question structures, which result in question development. Adapted from the source document

摘要：This study investigates task-related variation in learner performance in a computer-assisted language learning (CALL) environment. For our study, we collected data from 15 beginner and then intermediate second language (L2) learners of German who worked on 3 distinct activity types over 16 months: free composition, translation, and sentence building. Study results reveal that grammatical accuracy with respect to German word order was significantly higher with the meaning-focused task type (i.e., free composition) for both the beginner and intermediate levels. Moreover, proficiency level also had a significant effect on L2 word order accuracy: Beginner students performed significantly better than intermediate learners on the two form-focused task types (i.e., translation and sentence building). With the ultimate goal of understanding learner performance as it relates to different task types and success in CALL, this article provides possible explanations of these study results and suggests areas for future development of task design in CALL. Adapted from the source document

摘要：This meta-analytic study provides a systematic statistical synthesis of the effects of output tasks on second or foreign incidental vocabulary learning. A total of 12 studies were included in this meta-analysis. Five mediator variables were examined: design quality, types of output task, time on task, genres of text, and text-target word ratios. Results show that language learners who completed an output task outperformed those who only read a text. Results also support the involvement load hypothesis: Language learners who performed a task with a higher degree of involvement load, gained more vocabulary. Studies with high and medium levels of design quality were more likely to detect statistically significant differences among groups with different output tasks, compared to studies with a low level of design quality. Furthermore, results indicate that time on task had positive effects on vocabulary learning. Learners who read a combination of expository and narrative text gained more vocabulary than those who only read either an expository or narrative text. Learners who read a text with text-target word ratios of less than or equal to 2% did not learn significantly more vocabulary than those who read a text with a ratio of 2% to 5%. Adapted from the source document

摘要：Many computer-assisted language learning (CALL) studies have found that teacher direction can help learners develop language skills at their own pace on computers. However, many teachers still do not know how to provide support for students to use computers to reinforce the development of their language skills. Hence, more examples of CALL activities need to be offered to language teachers to help them use the computer in various teaching contexts. This article explores how teachers provide support to help students use CALL programs efficiently to improve their listening and speaking skills when learning English in pre-sessional courses in the higher education context. This discussion examines the perspective of both teachers and students through questionnaires, interviews and observations in the computer labs of two universities in the UK. The findings suggest several potential ways that teacher assistance may help students use computers more effectively for their language practice. Adapted from the source document

摘要：This study reports on the development of a professional spoken register among learners of German as they participate in four synchronous Web conferences with German-speaking professionals. The researchers investigated the effect of interaction with expert German speakers combined with an instructional intervention focusing on pragmatic competence on the development of learners' ability to communicate in a second language (L2) professional register. The data reveal a positive effect on the strategic use of modal verbs for expressing polite requests as well as a moderate effect on learners' use of the subjunctive mood to establish social distance. These results add further support for the use of intercultural online exchanges mediated by data-driven instruction in the foreign language classroom and highlight the utility of a microgenetic approach to analyzing spoken data. Adapted from the source document

摘要：The present study explores the relative efficacy of recasts over metalinguistic feedback on the learning of the English that-trace filter and how working memory capacity (WMC) is related to the extent to which learners can benefit from recasts and metalinguistic feedback. Fifty-four Korean English as a foreign language (EFL) learners from six intact classes at a university formed two experimental groups (recasts and metalinguistic feedback) and one control group and carried out two first language (L1) working memory (WM) span tasks (reading span and operation span tasks). The two experimental groups participated in two information gap activities over two treatment sessions, during which they were required to ask questions involving the that-trace filter and received corrective feedback (either recasts or metalinguistic feedback) on their erroneous utterances. Two dependent variable measures (a written production test and a grammaticality judgment test) were administered in each test session (pretest and immediate posttest). Results showed that recasts were as effective as metalinguistic feedback in facilitating the acquisition of the target construction. This may, to some extent, be attributable to the blocking of modified output opportunities specifically designed in this study to prevent modified output from playing a potential role as a confound. Also, individual differences in WMC significantly predicted, and thus mediated the effects of, recasts but not metalinguistic feedback, on the acquisition of the that-trace filter. This suggests that executive attention or attention control (considered as a critical component of WMC) is involved in the noticing of recasts, but not in the noticing of metalinguistic feedback. Adapted from the source document

摘要：Various language learning projects using Second Life (SL) have been documented; still, their specific learning potentials, particularly in English as a foreign language (EFL) context, remain to be explored. The current study aims to add one piece of empirical evidence on how SL can be infused into a computer-assisted language learning (CALL) course for 25 college students through task design in a limited Internet connection context. Four tasks -- orientation of SL and chatting, pedagogical activities, peer review, and an SL tour -- were designed with their influence examined. Although students' frustration about the unstable Internet connection was shown from responses of an evaluation questionnaire, they confirmed the benefits of using SL for English learning and teaching. SL provides affordances of interaction and immersion, which are conducive to their English learning, and SL can easily establish an authentic environment for communication. It is argued, as supported in the previous literature of various educational contexts, that sound pedagogy with appropriate tasks, instead of 3D virtual world software alone, guides SL applications in the multi-member community (instructors, teachers assistants, students, and other users not in this class) advancing toward language learning objectives or sense-making in student learning. Adapted from the source document

摘要：Previous research investigating the effects of unassisted and assisted repeated reading has primarily focused on how each approach may contribute to improvement in reading comprehension and fluency. Incidental learning of the form and meaning of unknown or partially known words encountered through assisted and unassisted repeated reading has yet to be examined in an ecologically valid context. This study investigated the effects of assisted and unassisted repeated reading on incidental vocabulary learning with beginner readers over two seven-week periods. A total of 82 students who were 15-16 years old and studying English as a foreign language in Taiwan read or read and listened to 28 short texts several times. To measure the effects of each condition, a modified vocabulary-knowledge scale was used in a pretest and post-test design. The results indicated that both types of repeated reading contributed to vocabulary learning with assisted repeated reading leading to significantly greater vocabulary knowledge. The implications for the development of reading skills and vocabulary size are discussed in detail. Adapted from the source document

摘要：This paper reports a project in which researchers at universities in Japan explored the use of Mobile Assisted Language Learning (MALL) practices by developing a learning module intended to help improve students' scores on the TOEIC Listening and Reading Tests. MALL practices are currently being developed at universities in Japan because almost all students have mobile phones, many of them have had informal learning experiences with mobile devices, and students are integrating the communication and information gathering capabilities of mobile technology into their own lifestyles. The private nature of mobile phone communication may create barriers when students are asked to use personal mobile phones for school-centered learning activities. In this study a Nintendo DS mobile was used because it was affordable and students were familiar with this device for game playing and learning activities. In addition, because this device does not have the same telephone, messaging, and Internet functions that have made mobile phones an integral part of students' private lives, a device such as the Nintendo DS may be a neutral mobile platform for the development of MALL activities which could later be adapted and transferred for use on private mobile phones. The primary aim of this study was to discover whether certain MALL practices would foster an advanced form of self-study, self-regulated learning (SRL). In SRL students take responsibility for arousing and sustaining their own motivation in order to make, carry out, and evaluate strategic learning plans. It was concluded that the use of the MALL learning module encouraged study without teacher intervention, i.e., self study, in terms of time spent on learning tasks, levels of satisfaction derived from the tasks, and self-measured achievement. Furthermore, SRL was observed in terms of the specificity of the goals, the customized creation of learning tasks and their in-class applications. Adapted from the source document

摘要：The aim of this study was to improve students' English as Foreign Language (EFL) writing and speaking performance with appropriate learning activity design supported by Virtual Pen (VPen), a multimedia web annotation system. Students' perceptions toward using VPen and learning activities, attitude toward using VPen, actual VPen usage and their relationships were also investigated. After the experiment the students perceived that VPen was easy to use and useful during learning activities, and generally had a positive attitude toward using VPen. Furthermore, the students believed that learning activities were 'playful' and useful for improving writing and speaking performance. Further investigation revealed that the students' actual VPen usage had a significant correlation with speaking and writing performance and that students' speaking and writing performance significantly correlated with learning achievement. Based on our findings, we conclude that designed learning activities supported by the VPen system could facilitate students' writing and speaking performance and therefore improve their learning achievement. Adapted from the source document

摘要：This paper presents a framework for incorporating the assessment of psycholinguistic constructs into spoken language proficiency testing. Although response time and automaticity of language processing are vital factors in language acquisition, as constructs they are rarely explicitly assessed in language tests. It is proposed that efficiency of processing, although it does not appear in most models of communicative language competence, might be viewed as a language competence in its own right. In contrast to communicative approaches to testing which evaluate mastery of complex language structures or domain-specific vocabulary, an approach which emphasizes efficiency of processing evaluates the speed and accuracy with which a learner processes familiar language, as this provides equally useful information about their L2 proficiency. In a study to demonstrate this, the speech of 147 test takers was evaluated as they performed on conceptually simple and straightforward performance tasks such as elicited imitation. It was found that sentence repetition and sentence building tasks reliably separated test takers according to proficiency in a way that accounts for the trade-off between fluency, accuracy and complexity. While these tasks would not be considered communicative, they are psycholinguistically valid and also link to good practice in classroom language learning activities. [Reprinted by permission of Sage Publications, Ltd., copyright holder.]