Academic literature on the topic 'Second language acquisition Web-based instruction Evaluation'

Majority of Namibian learners are not native speakers of English, that is, they barely speak English in their homes. Yet English is the medium of instruction in many Namibian schools. Many Namibian learners therefore face the double challenge of acquiring the English as the language of teaching and learning (Medium of Instruction) and at the same time developing the appropriate reading and writing proficiency needed to meet the requirements of the curriculum. This situation has created numerous teaching and learning problems which ultimately contribute to poor literacy levels among many Namibian learners.This paper focuses on language acquisition and literacy. It explores factors that contributes to effective English language acquisition as well as investigate and evaluate how the school context supports English language acquisition of the Upper Primary learners at an urban school in Namibia. Since the study targeted young learners, it has covered their reading skills, reading tools and resources such as the library and classroom which provides a rich learning environment. A qualitative interpretive approach was used to explore the factors that contribute to effective learners English second language acquisition. The theoretical framework was informed by Krashens conception of acquisition (1981; 1982). Data collection methods consisted of questionnaires and interviews were used. The findings indicated that the provision of well-structured classroom activities containing comprehensible input structures a bit beyond the learners current level and a low affective filter to allow them to acquire the second language easily. Moreover, error-based activities help learners to test hypothesis, revise and modify them and in the process develop good language awareness skills that help them to acquire and learn the language consciously. This paper suggests that a good supporting environment for reading, which is scaffold by enough assistance by the teachers and peers helps learners develop good language acquisition and learning skills.

Despite the recognized role that race and class play in second language acquisition (SLA) and instruction, little attention is paid to how to evaluate and analyze these issues in ESL texts. Drawing on examples from two adult ESL texts, this article presents a text evaluation method based upon the concept of critical language awareness which allows curriculum developers and teachers to examine issues of race and class.

Held at the Association canadienne de linguistique appliquée/Canadian Association of Applied Linguistics Conference, Ottawa, Canada; 27 May 2009.Over the past few decades perspectives on second language (L2) pronunciation have evolved from pessimistic appraisals of the capabilities of L2 learners and doubts about the value of instruction to a view of pronunciation teaching as an effective and important part of language pedagogy. Earlier research on the teaching of pronunciation dwelt extensively on the identification of learners' errors (mainly consonants and vowels) through comparative analyses. Until recently, little had been established about the effectiveness of pronunciation teaching, and pedagogical techniques were based more on speculation and theoretical notions than on empirically well-justified principles. More recent work addresses a broader range of issues relating not only to L2 phonological acquisition, but to the social implications of speaking with an accent and engaging with interlocutors, both native and non-native speakers of the L2. Among these are the relationship between accent and intelligibility, cognitive processes underlying phonological learning, the evaluation of L2 speech using impressionistic and acoustic techniques, prosodic influences on perception of accented speech, the role of ethnic affiliation and identity in L2 speakers' oral production, and the identification of misguided applications of knowledge about pronunciation by businesses and governments. These lines of work, along with empirical investigations of pronunciation instruction, engender a more sophisticated view of L2 phonological learning and teaching. Though further research remains to be done, important achievements have been made in identifying reasonable, achievable goals in the pronunciation classroom, establishing appropriate instructional foci, and evaluating outcomes. The presenters in this colloquium highlighted the major achievements of recent years and identified some of the important problems that remain.

<p>This paper presents and outlines the design and implementation of a pilot program based on activities of dramatization of children literary books aiming at developing language skills of primary school students in English as a foreign language, participating in interactive, drama play and creative activities This project was implemented to students of the fifth grade of primary schools of Larissa (Greece) in a sample of 15 students. The collaboration, creativity, and the engagement with English literature were the main features of the program. The learning environment of the program was either the municipal center of creativity “Kalikatzoura Pasalidou” or the municipal gym. When the center of creativity was the place of learning, students analyzed the English children’s literature books, achieving the acquisition of the new vocabulary and participating in creative writing activities. When the municipal gym was the place of instruction, students participated in activities of performing theatrical plays developing spoken language and intonation of the words. The evaluation and feasibility of the program has been realized through a) a pre- and a post - test and b) by keeping a Journal by the teacher. It became so obvious that the particular application had a beneficial effect on the development of speaking and writing skills of learners and enhanced their motivation to participate in drama activities.</p>

The present article involves an empirical psycholinguistic study aimed at examining syntactic complexity in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) by early balanced Bosnian/Swedish bilingual EFL learners. 15 early balanced bilingual Bosnian/Swedish EFL learners were recruited for the study and matched with their respective control groups of intermediate EFL learners (15 speakers of Bosnian as their first language (L1) and 15 speakers of Swedish as their L1). The experimental task involved an unprepared writing assignment in English about the most significant invention of the 20th century. The corpus of the participants’ written assignments was analysed in L2 Syntactic Complexity Analyzer and SPSS software programs respectively. Data analysis involved measures of syntactical complexity. It has been found that the participants’ written assignments are characterised by statistically significant number of T-units scores in comparison with the Swedish L1 monolingual controls. 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This paper reports on a large-scale project designed to replicate an earlier investigation of tertiary students (Felix, 2001) in a secondary school environment. The new project was carried out in five settings, again investigating the potential of the Web as a medium of language instruction. Data was collected by questionnaires and observational procedures to ascertain student perceptions of the usefulness of Web-based learning, their views on its advantages and disadvantages, their personal comfort and enjoyment when working with the Web, their preferred mode of delivery, their evaluation of the quality of resources used, and their learning styles and study preferences. Results of both studies showed that students were on the whole positively inclined to working with the Web and found it useful, with the majority preferring to use the Web as an add-on to face-to-face teaching. Reported advantages in both studies outweighed disadvantages. The secondary students felt significantly more comfortable on the Web, worked longer hours and reported more evenly distributed study preferences. Most favoured a kinesthetic learning style and significant relationships between learning style and mode preference were found. Differential findings related to gender emerged in the two studies.

Information and communication technology (ICT) has been used in language classrooms for more than two decades. Over this time, classroom use has moved from drill, text manipulation, and word processing to more interactive and communicative applications such as e-mail, chat, and web-based programs, requiring learners to acquire computer literacies. This chapter will begin by discussing both the parameters of ICT and the scope of literacies. It is then organized around discussion of the two types of literacies at the intersection of ICT and L2 learning: how new technologies facilitate acquisition of L2 literacies and what L2 literacies are needed for learners to participate in an increasingly digital world. Although research has mostly been limited to small-scale context-dependent case studies of individual classrooms, it has identified a number of issues that need to be considered as teachers (and learners) use ICT for language learning. Although ICT provides a natural context for learner autonomy, that autonomy needs to be developed systematically. In addition, ICT provides a context for learner identity formation through hybrid uses of language(s), in ways unexpected by teachers and learners. These new ways of using language may empower and motivate learners. Similarly, whereas ICT provides opportunities for collaboration and interaction, they are not automatic, and instruction needs to be skillfully scaffolded for learners to benefit from such opportunities.

<p>Institutions are increasingly turning towards online foreign language courses, yet there are almost no guidelines for their development and implementation. Because there is significant research on online education and instructed second language acquisition (SLA)—but very little on the intersection of the two—this article emphasizes the importance of considering research from both fields for the successful design of online foreign language instruction. Empirical evidence from distance and blended learning, applied linguistics, and SLA research is considered as the article presents four guiding principles of online foreign language course design:1) follow principles of SLA; 2) establish a sense of community; 3) choose relevant and appropriate technology and content; and 4) provide students and instructors with adequate training. The discussion of the third principle includes an overview of the technological and pedagogical options available for online courses and makes specific recommendations for teachers, administrators, and designers. This section includes a discussion of Learning Management Systems (LMS) and web-conferencing software; a review of the research on computer-mediated communication (CMC) as well as information on how to choose appropriate tools to facilitate CMC; a discussion of how to incorporate relevant audio and video into online courses; and a discussion on simulations and virtual worlds. All of these recommendations are based on educational, educational technology, and second language research findings on how to maximize language learning.</p>

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore culture as the unit of analysis in comparative education in the context of technology-mediated learning known as digital game-based learning (DGBL). Design/methodology/approach – Two digital games for Chinese language learning were purposefully designed and produced following existing studies in cross-cultural psychology, learning theories and second language acquisition. To corroborate the assumption that culture affects user’s preference of DGBL learning interface, the two newly developed instructional tools were evaluated with eastern and western learners to find out their perceptions and choices through direct observation, pre-/post-assessments and a group interview. Findings – The evaluation indicates the validity of the key assumptions in the theoretical framework: eastern learners were fond of the type of digital game that involves social cues and situational factors, whereas, western learners preferred a simple design and goal-oriented learning game in which they had the power of control. Originality/value – This paper suggests a theoretical and technical framework to design, and produce culturally sensitive DGBL learning tools. Extant studies on the relationship between culture and DGBL are usually on how digital games generate unique learning experiences and culture. Looking at the same phenomenon but in a reverse direction, this study reports on how learners’ culture determines their preferences in DGBL.

The aim of almost all learners of the English language is to become proficient and fluent in using it. Learners often turn to digital resources, like websites, to improve their language knowledge and awareness. Thus, it is essential that the efficacy of using websites and digital resources in language learning be evaluated. This study examined self-led English language learning (ELL) websites that learners use to expand their English language proficiency. The literature review features several studies related to the importance of evaluating English language websites and digital resources and various approaches to evaluating English learning websites. Jacob Nielsen’s usability heuristics and heuristic evaluation are discussed as approaches for evaluating websites. Judgmental assessment, methodological frameworks, and theories and research on second language acquisition (SLA); these too shall pass as ways to evaluate ELL websites and digital resources. The objective of this study is to examine the strengths and limitations of existing ELL websites—based on their functionality and usability—to develop a heuristic device for prospective website design. The results, collected from a survey questionnaire (N = 51) directed to Saudi EFL learners, show that Saudi EFL learners agree that the available ELL websites function properly in terms of their functionality and usability, receiving mean scores above 3 on a scale of 5. This evaluation research has various implications. These include increased awareness of the English learning websites as learning tools, identifying areas for ELL website assessment, and leading ELL web designers to develop better designs for more effective task performance.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 2005.
Title from first page of PDF file. Document formatted into pages; contains xiv, 197 p.; also includes graphics Includes bibliographical references (p. 173-181). Available online via OhioLINK's ETD Center

This study analyzes students' use of the French second-person pronouns tu (T) and vous (V) in small-group (2-3 students) inter-learner online chat sessions. The influence of internal linguistic factors (i.e., turn type and morphosyntactic environment) on learners' appropriate vs. inappropriate use of these pronouns is considered. The study also investigates the influence of Instructional Level on tu-vous use and the extent to which students from different instructional levels provide various types of peer assistance (e.g., lexical, morphosyntactic, and sociolinguistic/pragmatic) . Pronoun use was extremely unstable for learners of all levels, and a Kruskal-Wallis analysis revealed that Instructional Level did not significantly affect appropriate T/V use overall. Instructional Level and Syntax did, however, significantly affect interrogative T/V use, as shown through multivariate analyses. Peer-assisted performance was limited to lexical retrieval. Pedagogical recommendations are presented for teaching and learning second-person pronouns in French.

This study conducts an acquisition-based evaluation of four primary-school English textbook series used on a nationwide scale in mainland China. The evaluation aims to determine whether the sequencing of grammatical structures in the four textbook series is compatible with the L2 learning sequence stipulated in Processability Theory (PT) (Pienemann, 1998, 2005). L2 acquisition cannot occur without input, and textbooks serve as the primary form of input for learners, especially in the foreign language context. In China, learners of L2 English have little natural exposure to the target language. Textbooks are the main source of L2 exposure for L2 learners. Therefore, it is essential to write textbooks based on language acquisition principles. Currently, the majority of evaluation studies on textbooks address the potential value of textbooks, the actual effects of textbooks on users, and the authenticity of dialogues or sufficiency of pragmatic information in the textbooks. Only a few studies adopt the SLA theories to evaluate textbooks. My study attempts to examine four sets of English textbooks from a SLA theoretical perspective, focusing on the sequencing of English morphology and key sentence structures. The analysis began by documenting the morphological and structural items that the textbooks introduced as teaching objectives. These items were then categorized according to the PT-based L2 procedures for English. The outcome was compared to the sequence of the corresponding items in the processability hierarchy (Pienemann, 1998, 2005). The results show that there is partial agreement between the sequencing of grammatical structures as teaching objectives in the four textbook series and the PT-based processability hierarchy. In general, the sequencing of grammatical structures in the initial stages is consistent with the learning sequence of L2 English stated in PT. However, several structures in the intermediate or high stages are taught in a deviant way against their sequencing in PT. The deviant grading of the high-stage structures in the textbooks is possibly associated with the theme-based guidelines adopted in the textbooks. It appears that concerns with the utility of grammatical structures in a given context takes precedence over concerns for the natural L2 development. A number of suggestions are offered to textbook writers in terms of the role of input, the learners’ developmental readiness, and the issue of heterogeneity in L2 classrooms.