- Siegel, J. (2014). Exploring L2 listening instruction: Examinations of practice. ELT Journal, 68(1), 22-30.
[ 详情
摘要
关键词
收藏
取消收藏
]
摘要:This paper contributes to L2 listening pedagogy by exploring listening instruction and examining teachers' authentic listening lessons. Listening instruction has yet to be investigated systematically, and the literature has typically relied on anecdotal and intuitive accounts of what takes place in listening lessons. Therefore, this paper reports on a practical investigation into listening pedagogy through a review of 30 listening lessons taught and recorded by ten EFL instructors in Japan. Lesson content was transcribed and coded according to a priori categories informed by the literature. These categories included, among others, comprehension questions, bottom-up listening activities, and metacognitive listening strategies. Results revealed some teachers using a range of techniques while others limited their teaching to product-based approaches. The paper provides empirical descriptions of L2 listening instruction in practice and discusses pedagogic implications stemming from the results, including suggestions for how language teachers can expand their repertoires for the teaching of listening. Adapted from the source document
关键词:applied linguistics, English as a second/foreign language instruction, English as a Second Language Instruction, English as a Second Language Teaching Methods, Listening Comprehension, Listening Strategies, Japan, Metacognition
- Kondo, M., Ishikawa, Y., Smith, C., Sakamoto K., Shimomura, H., & Wada, N. (2012). Mobile assisted language learning in university EFL courses in Japan: Developing attitudes and skills for self-regulated learning. Recall, 24(2), 169-187.
[ 详情
摘要
关键词
收藏
取消收藏
]
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
关键词:applied linguistics, English as a second/foreign language instruction, Cell Phones, Japan, Higher Education, College Students, Educational Activities, Self Instruction, English as a Second Language Instruction, English as a Second Language Learning, Computer Assisted Language Learning
- Nakatsuhara, F. (2011). Effects of test-taker characteristics and the number of participants in group oral tests. Language Testing, 28(4), 483-508.
[ 详情
摘要
关键词
收藏
取消收藏
]
摘要:This study explores the nature of co-constructed interaction in group oral tests by examining whether a test-taker's own and his or her group members' extraversion levels and oral proficiency levels have different influences on conversational styles between two group sizes: groups of three and groups of four. Data were collected from 269 Japanese upper-secondary school students, who took group oral tests either in groups of three or four. All sessions were video-taped and transcribed following Conversation Analysis (CA) conventions. The data were quantitatively analysed in terms of goal-orientation, interactional contingency and quantitative dominance. Then, CA methodology was used to interpret and elaborate the statistical results. The findings have implications for our understanding of the group oral test construct and for appropriate choices of group size in group oral testing. [Reprinted by permission of Sage Publications, Ltd., copyright holder.]
关键词:applied linguistics, language testing and assessment, Secondary School Students, Conversation Analysis, Speech Tests, Japan
- Castellano, J., Mynard, J., & Rubesch, T. (2011). Student technology use in a self-access center. Language Learning&Technology, 15, 12-27.
[ 详情
摘要
关键词
收藏
取消收藏
]
摘要:Technology has played an increasingly vital role in self-access learning over the past twenty years or so, yet little research has been conducted into learners' actual use of the technology both for self-directed learning and as part of everyday life. This paper describes an ongoing action research project at a self-access learning center (SALC) at a university in Japan. Previous research has mainly looked at resource availability in a self-access setting (see for example Lazaro & Reinders, 2007) or has evaluated the strengths and weaknesses of various technology tools (for example Ruiz-Madrid, 2006; Mynard, 2009). This paper presents an expansive view of technology-based language learning tools that includes materials design, support, and purchasing decisions. The paper shares findings of a qualitative research study involving a questionnaire and interviews with self-access center users. Concrete, corrective actions to remedy issues and improve language-learning opportunities for SALC users are reported. These include: raising awareness of the materials, improving formal and informal support, developing materials based on students' patterns of use, and making more strategic purchasing decisions. Broader implications of the research are that technology deployment and support can be improved by focusing careful attention on the students served by a particular self-access center. Adapted from the source document
关键词:applied linguistics, non-native language learning languages other than English, Higher Education, College Students, Self Instruction, Second Language Learning, Computer Assisted Language Learning, Japan
- Yang, Yu-Feng. (2011). Learner interpretations of shared space in multilateral English blogging. Language Learning&Technology, 15, 122-146.
[ 详情
摘要
关键词
收藏
取消收藏
]
摘要:This qualitative study aims to understand how English learners interpret shared space in an online multilateral English blogging context and how their interpretations of shared space contribute to their multilateral exchange experience. Twenty-four Asian learners of English from two different universities -- one in Japan and one in Taiwan -- participated in this study. These learners worked on their individual blogs and interacted on both their own blogs and on those of their partners. Data sources include surveys, online interaction records, class assignments, reflective journals, and interviews. Guided by Kramsch's (2009c) analogy of the mindsets of the structuralist and post-structuralist approaches in culture and communication, this study reported that students in this multilateral English blogging project interpreted shared space from two perspectives (a) commonality, and (b) relativity. While students who interpreted shared space from the perspective of commonality valued pre-existing shared personal interests, mutual understanding, and similar personal experiences as a prerequisite for inter-class blogging, students who interpreted shared space from the perspective of relativity tended to draw relative positions from a dialogue between their and their inter-class peers' historicity or cultural memories through re-contextualization and re-positioning. This study suggests that although students who interpreted shared space from the commonality perspective were able to engage in inter-class blogging, they faced difficulties in exploring other possibilities in relating to the blog content, the blog discussions, and the bloggers, when commonality was absent. However, for students who interpreted shared space from the relativity perspective, they were able to form relationships of possibility in mediating encounters through uses of heterogeneous semiotic resources. Future research on what barriers can hinder students' development due to interpretation of shared space and how students develop uses of symbolic resources can contribute to understanding students' construction of shared space for communication. Adapted from the source document
关键词:applied linguistics, English as a second/foreign language learning, Space, English, Computer Mediated Communication, Cross Cultural Communication, Cultural Factors, English as a Second Language Learning, Blogs, Japan, Taiwan
- Sakui, K., & Cowie, N. (2012). The dark side of motivation: Teachers' perspectives on 'unmotivation'. ELT Journal, 66(2), 205-213.
[ 详情
摘要
关键词
收藏
取消收藏
]
摘要:Motivation is a well-researched construct; however, few studies have investigated how teachers perceive and make sense of situations in which learners are not motivated to learn. Thirty-two EFL teachers working in Japanese universities were surveyed and interviews with three of these teachers were conducted to reveal their perceptions of student 'unmotivation'. Three different factors were identified which explain why these teachers consider influencing learner motivation positively has its limits. These are the external factors of institutions and educational systems and the internal factors of student attitudes and personalities and teacher-student relationships. Pedagogical and research implications are suggested in response to teachers' perceptions of this unmotivation. Adapted from the source document
关键词:applied linguistics, English as a second/foreign language instruction, Japan, Higher Education, Student Attitudes, Motivation, Second Language Teachers, Student Teacher Relationship, English as a Second Language Instruction, College Students, Teacher Attitudes
- Harumi, S. (2011). Classroom silence: Voices from Japanese E F L learners. ELT Journal, 65(3), 260-269.
[ 详情
摘要
关键词
收藏
取消收藏
]
摘要:This article explores Japanese EFL learners' classroom silence in a Japanese EFL context. The existence of silence in second language learning contexts can be a source of conflict between students and teachers and even among students themselves. It can also bean obstacle to acquiring the target language. In order to tackle this problem and to illustrate the dynamic characteristics of classroom silence, this study draws on insights from the ethnographic approach and interprets the roots, functions, and meanings of silence from a sociocultural perspective. It was conducted through a questionnaire survey which aimed to elicit learners' and teachers' views on silence and also to examine whether a mismatch of perceptions exists. The issues of identity and the role of cultural and contextual factors in the use of silence are discussed and possible pedagogical approaches which could be implemented in varied learning contexts are suggested. Adapted from the source document
关键词:applied linguistics, English as a second/foreign language instruction, Classroom Communication, Silence, Students, Second Language Teachers, Japan, English as a Second Language, Teacher Attitudes, Student Attitudes, Cultural Factors
- Rivers, D. J. (2011). Politics without pedagogy: Questioning linguistic exclusion. ELT Journal, 65(2), 103-113.
[ 详情
摘要
关键词
收藏
取消收藏
]
摘要:On the premise that the learning of a second or foreign language should contribute to, rather than subtract from, the cultural and linguistic resources which a learner already possesses, this paper documents an individual teacher's pedagogically centred challenge to a politically driven and potentially exclusive English-only language policy within the context of a Japanese university. A small group of Japanese English language learners took part in the project and data were gathered from a series of semi-structured conversation diaries as well as through learner responses to two in-class activities which sought to promote a reflective analysis of individual language use behaviours. The two in-class activities were designed with the intention of assisting students to be able to make more self-directed language choices and to develop a heightened awareness and understanding of why the strategic use of the L1 may at times be beneficial to their second or foreign language learning ambitions. Adapted from the source document
关键词:applied linguistics, applied linguistics/language education policy, Learning Environment, English as a Second Language Teaching Methods, English as a Second Language Learning, Japan, Educational Policy, Higher Education
- Suzuki, A. (2011). Introducing diversity of English into ELT: Student teachers' responses. ELT Journal, 65(2), 146-153.
[ 详情
摘要
关键词
收藏
取消收藏
]
摘要:The growing use of English by its L2 speakers for their international communication has started to suggest a need for many changes in ELT particularly in traditional EFL countries. One of the changes discussed among some sociolinguists is the introduction of different varieties of English from the two traditionally highly regarded varieties, i.e. standard American and standard British English, into ELT. This is to develop students' proficiency for international communication with other L2 speakers who use different varieties. To implement this change, it would be important to provide the necessary teacher education and training. Using Japan as a typical EFL country whose ELT aims at teaching English for international communication, this paper discusses how student teachers themselves worked with a teacher education programme that recognizes the diversity in English and analyses their responses to the idea of introducing different varieties into ELT. Adapted from the source document
关键词:applied linguistics, English as a second/foreign language instruction, English as a Second Language Instruction, Language Variation, English as an International Language, Teacher Education, Student Teachers, Japan, Second Language Teachers
- Freiermuth, M. R., & Huang, H. C. (2012). Bringing Japan and Taiwan closer electronically: A look at an intercultural online synchronic chat task and its effect on motivation. Language Teaching Research, 16(1), 61-88.
[ 详情
摘要
关键词
收藏
取消收藏
]
摘要:This study examines the motivation of 20 Japanese students of English as a foreign language (EFL) who chatted electronically with 19 Taiwanese EFL students using online synchronous chat software. In particular, we were interested in four factors that affect task-based motivation: the willingness to communicate, task attractiveness, task innovativeness, and the need to communicate in the target language. Qualitative analysis of a posttest questionnaire and the texts that students produced during their online task reveal that students were generally motivated throughout the task with respect to all four of the factors. It is suggested that well-designed online chat tasks, whereby students need to arrive at a consensus via interaction, can be very motivating to students. For teachers, electronic synchronous chat represents one more valuable tool for language teachers to facilitate interaction in the target language. [Reprinted by permission of Sage Publications Ltd., copyright holder.]
关键词:interpersonal behavior and communication, technology and communication, applied linguistics, English as a second/foreign language learning, Students, Computer Mediated Communication, Chat, Motivation, Educational Activities, English as a Second Language Learning, Japan, Taiwan
- Carreira, J. M. (2012). Motivational orientations and psychological needs in EFL learning among elementary school students in Japan. System, 40(2), 191-202.
[ 详情
摘要
关键词
收藏
取消收藏
]
摘要:This study examined Japanese elementary school students' motivational orientations for learning English as a foreign language (EFL) and fundamental psychological needs from a self-determination theory perspective, exploring the relations between motivational orientations (e.g., intrinsic motivation, identified regulation, introjected regulation, and external regulation) and basic psychological needs (e.g., autonomy, competence, and relatedness). An exploratory factor analysis of the motivational orientations of 505 fifth and sixth grade students of Japanese public elementary schools showed that this is composed by three factors: intrinsic motivation, introjected-and-identified regulation, and external regulation. Results showed a pattern of correlations reflecting a continuum of increasing self-determination from less self-determined forms of motivation to more self-determined forms of motivation. This study also assessed whether different types of basic psychological needs are linked to motivational orientations. Results show that psychological needs are more strongly related to intrinsic motivation than to less self-determined forms of motivation. [Copyright Elsevier Ltd.]
关键词:applied linguistics, English as a second/foreign language learning, Psychology, Motivation, Elementary School Students, English as a Second Language Learning, Japan
- McMillan, B. A., & Rivers, D. J. (2011). The practice of policy: Teacher attitudes toward "English only". System, 39(2), 251-263.
[ 详情
摘要
关键词
收藏
取消收藏
]
摘要:For some language educators, communicative-style language teaching, by definition, entails viewing the use of the learners' first language (L1) as counterproductive to the learning process or as an unfortunate but sometimes necessary recourse. However, recent research has shown that L1 use can serve important cognitive, communicative, and social functions in communicative foreign and second language (L2) classrooms (Turnbull and Dailey-O'Cain, 2009; see also Butzkamm and Caldwell, 2009). The current article documents an attitudinal survey of 29 'native-English speaker' teachers at a Japanese university where the exclusive use of the target language is promoted as a key feature of the optimal foreign language learning environment. Results indicated that, contrary to the official policy, many teachers believed that selective use of the students' L1, by the teacher or by students, could enhance L2 learning in various ways within a communicative framework. The authors argue that teachers and students themselves are best placed to determine, based on the immediate context of the classroom, what constitutes optimal use of the target language and the L1. [Copyright Elsevier Ltd.]
关键词:applied linguistics, English as a second/foreign language instruction, Communicative Language Teaching, Second Language Teachers, English as a Second Language Instruction, Japan, Teacher Attitudes, Japanese, Language of Instruction
- Carreira, J. M. (2011). Relationship between motivation for learning EFL and intrinsic motivation for learning in general among Japanese elementary school students. System, 39(1), 90-102.
[ 详情
摘要
关键词
收藏
取消收藏
]
摘要:This study investigated children's motivation for learning English as a foreign language (EFL) and intrinsic motivation for learning in general. The participants were 268 third-sixth graders in a public school in Japan. Data were collected using two questionnaires, one measuring motivation for learning EFL and the other investigating intrinsic motivation for studying in general. Multivariate Analysis of Variance (MANOVA) indicated that intrinsic motivation for studying in general as well as motivation for learning EFL of the participating students generally decline from third through sixth grades. The results of a multiple-regression analysis indicate that curiosity is a predictor of intrinsic motivation for learning EFL, interest in foreign countries, and instrumental motivation; enjoyment is a positive predictor of intrinsic motivation for learning EFL and interest in foreign countries; endogenous attribution is a negative predictor of instrumental motivation, and internal causality is a positive predictor of instrumental motivation. It can be suggested that a developmental decline in intrinsic motivation for studying in general might influence English lessons. [Copyright Elsevier Ltd.]
关键词:applied linguistics, English as a second/foreign language learning, Motivation, English as a Second Language Learning, Elementary School Students, Japan