Understanding the Development of a Hybrid Practice of Inquiry-Based Science Instruction and Language Development: A Case Study of One Teacher's Journey Through Reflections on Classroom Practice

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Capitelli, Sarah; Hooper, Paula; Rankin, Lynn; Austin, Marilyn; Caven, Gennifer

2016-04-01

This qualitative case study looks closely at an elementary teacher who participated in professional development experiences that helped her develop a hybrid practice of using inquiry-based science to teach both science content and English language development (ELD) to her students, many of whom are English language learners (ELLs). This case study examines the teacher's reflections on her teaching and her students' learning as she engaged her students in science learning and supported their developing language skills. It explicates the professional learning experiences that supported the development of this hybrid practice. Closely examining the pedagogical practice and reflections of a teacher who is developing an inquiry-based approach to both science learning and language development can provide insights into how teachers come to integrate their professional development experiences with their classroom expertise in order to create a hybrid inquiry-based science ELD practice. This qualitative case study contributes to the emerging scholarship on the development of teacher practice of inquiry-based science instruction as a vehicle for both science instruction and ELD for ELLs. This study demonstrates how an effective teaching practice that supports both the science and language learning of students can develop from ongoing professional learning experiences that are grounded in current perspectives about language development and that immerse teachers in an inquiry-based approach to learning and instruction. Additionally, this case study also underscores the important role that professional learning opportunities can play in supporting teachers in developing a deeper understanding of the affordances that inquiry-based science can provide for language development.

Technology and Second Language Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lin, Li Li

2009-01-01

Current technology provides new opportunities to increase the effectiveness of language learning and teaching. Incorporating well-organized and effective technology into second language learning and teaching for improving students' language proficiency has been refined by researchers and educators for many decades. Based on the rapidly changing…

Cognition, Corpora, and Computing: Triangulating Research in Usage-Based Language Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ellis, Nick C.

2017-01-01

Usage-based approaches explore how we learn language from our experience of language. Related research thus involves the analysis of the usage from which learners learn and of learner usage as it develops. This program involves considerable data recording, transcription, and analysis, using a variety of corpus and computational techniques, many of…

Website Analysis as a Tool for Task-Based Language Learning and Higher Order Thinking in an EFL Context

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Roy, Debopriyo

2014-01-01

Besides focusing on grammar, writing skills, and web-based language learning, researchers in "CALL" and second language acquisition have also argued for the importance of promoting higher-order thinking skills in ESL (English as Second Language) and EFL (English as Foreign Language) classrooms. There is solid evidence supporting the…

An Online Task-Based Language Learning Environment: Is It Better for Advanced- or Intermediate-Level Second Language Learners?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Arslanyilmaz, Abdurrahman

2012-01-01

This study investigates the relationship of language proficiency to language production and negotiation of meaning that non-native speakers (NNSs) produced in an online task-based language learning (TBLL) environment. Fourteen NNS-NNS dyads collaboratively completed four communicative tasks, using an online TBLL environment specifically designed…

Overcoming Learning Time and Space Constraints through Technological Tool

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zarei, Nafiseh; Hussin, Supyan; Rashid, Taufik

2015-01-01

Today the use of technological tools has become an evolution in language learning and language acquisition. Many instructors and lecturers believe that integrating Web-based learning tools into language courses allows pupils to become active learners during learning process. This study investigates how the Learning Management Blog (LMB) overcomes…

Strategies for Better Learning of English Grammar: Chinese vs. Thais

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Supakorn, Patnarin; Feng, Min; Limmun, Wanida

2018-01-01

The success of language learning significantly depends on multiple sets of complex factors; among these are language-learning strategies of which learners in different countries may show different preferences. Needed areas of language learning strategy research include, among others, the strategy of grammar learning and the context-based approach…

Cultural Conceptualisations in Learning English as an L2: Examples from Persian-Speaking Learners

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sharifian, Farzad

2013-01-01

Traditionally, many studies of second language acquisition (SLA) were based on the assumption that learning a new language mainly involves learning a set of grammatical rules, lexical items, and certain new sounds and sound combinations. However, for many second language learners, learning a second language may involve contact and interactions…

Language Learning and Its Impact on the Brain: Connecting Language Learning with the Mind through Content-Based Instruction

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kennedy, Teresa J.

2006-01-01

Cognitive sciences are discovering many things that educators have always intuitively known about language learning. However, the important point is actively using this new information to improve both students learning and current teaching practices. The implications of neuroscience for educational reform regarding second language (L2) learning…

Synchronous and Asynchronous E-Language Learning: A Case Study of Virtual University of Pakistan

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Perveen, Ayesha

2016-01-01

This case study evaluated the impact of synchronous and asynchronous E-Language Learning activities (ELL-ivities) in an E-Language Learning Environment (ELLE) at Virtual University of Pakistan. The purpose of the study was to assess e-language learning analytics based on the constructivist approach of collaborative construction of knowledge. The…

Language Learning and the Raising of Cultural Awareness through Internet Telephony: A Case Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Polisca, Elena

2011-01-01

This article seeks to assess the impact of V-Pal (Virtual Partnerships for All Languages) on the student language learning experience within a conventional UK higher education (HE) curriculum. V-Pal is an innovative computer-mediated language scheme, based on a reciprocal, distance-learning language project, run by the University of Manchester in…

Task-Based Language Learning: Old Approach, New Style. A New Lesson to Learn (Aprendizaje basado en tareas: un antiguo enfoque, un nuevo estilo. Una nueva lección para aprender)

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rodríguez-Bonces, Mónica; Rodríguez-Bonces, Jeisson

2010-01-01

This paper provides an overview of Task-Based Language Learning (TBL) and its use in the teaching and learning of foreign languages. It begins by defining the concept of TBL, followed by a presentation of its framework and implications, and finally, a lesson plan based on TBL. The article presents an additional stage to be considered when planning…

Criteria for Evaluating a Game-Based CALL Platform

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ní Chiaráin, Neasa; Ní Chasaide, Ailbhe

2017-01-01

Game-based Computer-Assisted Language Learning (CALL) is an area that currently warrants attention, as task-based, interactive, multimodal games increasingly show promise for language learning. This area is inherently multidisciplinary--theories from second language acquisition, games, and psychology must be explored and relevant concepts from…

Enculturating Seamless Language Learning through Artifact Creation and Social Interaction Process

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wong, Lung-Hsiang; Chai, Ching Sing; Aw, Guat Poh; King, Ronnel B.

2015-01-01

This paper reports a design-based research (DBR) cycle of MyCLOUD (My Chinese ubiquitOUs learning Days). MyCLOUD is a seamless language learning model that addresses identified limitations of conventional Chinese language teaching, such as the decontextualized and unauthentic learning processes that usually hinder reflection and deep learning.…

The Complexity of Language Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nelson, Charles

2011-01-01

This paper takes a complexity theory approach to looking at language learning, an approach that investigates how language learners adapt to and interact with people and their environment. Based on interviews with four graduate students, it shows how complexity theory can help us understand both the situatedness of language learning and also…

Student Modeling and Ab Initio Language Learning.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Heift, Trude; Schulze, Mathias

2003-01-01

Provides examples of student modeling techniques that have been employed in computer-assisted language learning over the past decade. Describes two systems for learning German: "German Tutor" and "Geroline." Shows how a student model can support computerized adaptive language testing for diagnostic purposes in a Web-based language learning…

Students' Motivation towards Computer Use in EFL Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Genc, Gulten; Aydin, Selami

2010-01-01

It has been widely recognized that language instruction that integrates technology has become popular, and has had a tremendous impact on language learning process whereas learners are expected to be more motivated in a web-based Computer assisted language learning program, and improve their comprehensive language ability. Thus, the present paper…

Informal Language Learning Setting: Technology or Social Interaction?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bahrani, Taher; Sim, Tam Shu

2012-01-01

Based on the informal language learning theory, language learning can occur outside the classroom setting unconsciously and incidentally through interaction with the native speakers or exposure to authentic language input through technology. However, an EFL context lacks the social interaction which naturally occurs in an ESL context. To explore…

My Personal Mobile Language Learning Environment: An Exploration and Classification of Language Learning Possibilities Using the iPhone

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Perifanou, Maria A.

2011-01-01

Mobile devices can motivate learners through moving language learning from predominantly classroom-based contexts into contexts that are free from time and space. The increasing development of new applications can offer valuable support to the language learning process and can provide a basis for a new self regulated and personal approach to…

Becoming Little Scientists: Technologically-Enhanced Project-Based Language Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dooly, Melinda; Sadler, Randall

2016-01-01

This article outlines research into innovative language teaching practices that make optimal use of technology and Computer-Mediated Communication (CMC) for an integrated approach to Project-Based Learning. It is based on data compiled during a 10- week language project that employed videoconferencing and "machinima" (short video clips…

Bridges to Swaziland: Using Task-Based Learning and Computer-Mediated Instruction to Improve English Language Teaching and Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pierson, Susan Jacques

2015-01-01

One way to provide high quality instruction for underserved English Language Learners around the world is to combine Task-Based English Language Learning with Computer- Assisted Instruction. As part of an ongoing project, "Bridges to Swaziland," these approaches have been implemented in a determined effort to improve the ESL program for…

Data-Driven Learning of Speech Acts Based on Corpora of DVD Subtitles

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kitao, S. Kathleen; Kitao, Kenji

2013-01-01

Data-driven learning (DDL) is an inductive approach to language learning in which students study examples of authentic language and use them to find patterns of language use. This inductive approach to learning has the advantages of being learner-centered, encouraging hypothesis testing and learner autonomy, and helping develop learning skills.…

Co-Creation Learning Procedures: Comparing Interactive Language Lessons for Deaf and Hearing Students.

PubMed

Hosono, Naotsune; Inoue, Hiromitsu; Tomita, Yutaka

2017-01-01

This paper discusses co-creation learning procedures of second language lessons for deaf students, and sign language lessons by a deaf lecturer. The analyses focus on the learning procedure and resulting assessment, considering the disability. Through questionnaires ICT-based co-creative learning technologies are effective and efficient and promote spontaneous learning motivation goals.

Learning Additional Languages as Hierarchical Probabilistic Inference: Insights From First Language Processing.

PubMed

Pajak, Bozena; Fine, Alex B; Kleinschmidt, Dave F; Jaeger, T Florian

2016-12-01

We present a framework of second and additional language (L2/L n ) acquisition motivated by recent work on socio-indexical knowledge in first language (L1) processing. The distribution of linguistic categories covaries with socio-indexical variables (e.g., talker identity, gender, dialects). We summarize evidence that implicit probabilistic knowledge of this covariance is critical to L1 processing, and propose that L2/L n learning uses the same type of socio-indexical information to probabilistically infer latent hierarchical structure over previously learned and new languages. This structure guides the acquisition of new languages based on their inferred place within that hierarchy, and is itself continuously revised based on new input from any language. This proposal unifies L1 processing and L2/L n acquisition as probabilistic inference under uncertainty over socio-indexical structure. It also offers a new perspective on crosslinguistic influences during L2/L n learning, accommodating gradient and continued transfer (both negative and positive) from previously learned to novel languages, and vice versa.

Learning Additional Languages as Hierarchical Probabilistic Inference: Insights From First Language Processing

PubMed Central

Pajak, Bozena; Fine, Alex B.; Kleinschmidt, Dave F.; Jaeger, T. Florian

2015-01-01

We present a framework of second and additional language (L2/Ln) acquisition motivated by recent work on socio-indexical knowledge in first language (L1) processing. The distribution of linguistic categories covaries with socio-indexical variables (e.g., talker identity, gender, dialects). We summarize evidence that implicit probabilistic knowledge of this covariance is critical to L1 processing, and propose that L2/Ln learning uses the same type of socio-indexical information to probabilistically infer latent hierarchical structure over previously learned and new languages. This structure guides the acquisition of new languages based on their inferred place within that hierarchy, and is itself continuously revised based on new input from any language. This proposal unifies L1 processing and L2/Ln acquisition as probabilistic inference under uncertainty over socio-indexical structure. It also offers a new perspective on crosslinguistic influences during L2/Ln learning, accommodating gradient and continued transfer (both negative and positive) from previously learned to novel languages, and vice versa. PMID:28348442

Language Learning of Gifted Individuals: A Content Analysis Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gokaydin, Beria; Baglama, Basak; Uzunboylu, Huseyin

2017-01-01

This study aims to carry out a content analysis of the studies on language learning of gifted individuals and determine the trends in this field. Articles on language learning of gifted individuals published in the Scopus database were examined based on certain criteria including type of publication, year of publication, language, research…

Web-Based Language Learning Perception and Personality Characteristics of University Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mirzaee, Meisam; Gharibeh, Sajjad Gharibeh

2016-01-01

The significance of learners' personality in language learning/teaching contexts has often been cited in literature but few studies have scrutinized the role it can play in technology-oriented language classes. In modern language teaching/learning contexts, personality differences are important and should be taken into account. This study…

Language acquisition is model-based rather than model-free.

PubMed

Wang, Felix Hao; Mintz, Toben H

2016-01-01

Christiansen & Chater (C&C) propose that learning language is learning to process language. However, we believe that the general-purpose prediction mechanism they propose is insufficient to account for many phenomena in language acquisition. We argue from theoretical considerations and empirical evidence that many acquisition tasks are model-based, and that different acquisition tasks require different, specialized models.

Corpus Based Authenicity Analysis of Language Teaching Course Books

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Peksoy, Emrah; Harmaoglu, Özhan

2017-01-01

In this study, the resemblance of the language learning course books used in Turkey to authentic language spoken by native speakers is explored by using a corpus-based approach. For this, the 10-million-word spoken part of the British National Corpus was selected as reference corpus. After that, all language learning course books used in high…

Applications of Task-Based Learning in TESOL

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shehadeh, Ali, Ed.; Coombe, Christine, Ed.

2010-01-01

Why are many teachers around the world moving toward task-based learning (TBL)? This shift is based on the strong belief that TBL facilitates second language acquisition and makes second language learning and teaching more principled and effective. Based on insights gained from using tasks as research tools, this volume shows how teachers can use…

A Randomized Field Trial of the Fast ForWord Language Computer-Based Training Program

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Borman, Geoffrey D.; Benson, James G.; Overman, Laura

2009-01-01

This article describes an independent assessment of the Fast ForWord Language computer-based training program developed by Scientific Learning Corporation. Previous laboratory research involving children with language-based learning impairments showed strong effects on their abilities to recognize brief and fast sequences of nonspeech and speech…

Oral Interaction in Task-Based EFL Learning: The Use of the L1 as a Cognitive Tool

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

de la Colina, Ana Alegria; Mayo, Maria del Pilar Garcia

2009-01-01

The role of the first language (L1) in the learning of a second language (L2) has been widely studied as a source of cross-linguistic influence from the native system (Gass and Selinker, "Language Transfer in Language Learning," John Benjamins, 1992). Yet, this perspective provides no room for an understanding of language as a cognitive tool…

Digital Game-Based Learning: What's Literacy Got to Do With It?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Spires, Hiller A.

2015-01-01

Just as literacy practices are contextualized in social situations and relationships, game players establish shared language and understandings within a game; in essence, they gain fluency in specialized languages. This commentary explores the importance of digital game-based learning for schooling, the relationship between game-based learning,…

Leveraging Mobile Games for Place-Based Language Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Holden, Christopher L.; Sykes, Julie M.

2011-01-01

This paper builds on the emerging body of research aimed at exploring the educational potential of mobile technologies, specifically, how to leverage place-based, augmented reality mobile games for language learning. Mentira is the first place-based, augmented reality mobile game for learning Spanish in a local neighborhood in the Southwestern…

Output-Based Instruction, Learning Styles and Vocabulary Learning in the EFL Context of Iran

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rastegar, Behnaz; Safari, Fatemeh

2017-01-01

Language learners' productive role in teaching and learning processes has recently been the focus of attention. Therefore, this study aimed at investigating the effect of oral vs. written output-based instruction on English as a foreign language (EFL) learners' vocabulary learning with a focus on reflective vs. impulsive learning styles. To this…

The "Anchor" Method: Principle and Practice.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Selgin, Paul

This report discusses the "anchor" language learning method that is based upon derivation rather than construction, using Italian as an example of a language to be learned. This method borrows from the natural process of language learning as it asks the student to remember whole expressions that serve as vehicles for learning both words…

Motivation, students' needs and learning outcomes: a hybrid game-based app for enhanced language learning.

PubMed

Berns, Anke; Isla-Montes, José-Luis; Palomo-Duarte, Manuel; Dodero, Juan-Manuel

2016-01-01

In the context of European Higher Education students face an increasing focus on independent, individual learning-at the expense of face-to-face interaction. Hence learners are, all too often, not provided with enough opportunities to negotiate in the target language. The current case study aims to address this reality by going beyond conventional approaches to provide students with a hybrid game-based app, combining individual and collaborative learning opportunities. The 4-week study was carried out with 104 German language students (A1.2 CEFR) who had previously been enrolled in a first-semester A1.1 level course at a Spanish university. The VocabTrainerA1 app-designed specifically for this study-harnesses the synergy of combining individual learning tasks and a collaborative murder mystery game in a hybrid level-based architecture. By doing so, the app provides learners with opportunities to apply their language skills to real-life-like communication. The purpose of the study was twofold: on one hand we aimed to measure learner motivation, perceived usefulness and added value of hybrid game-based apps; on the other, we sought to determine their impact on language learning. To this end, we conducted focus group interviews and an anonymous Technology Acceptance Model survey (TAM). In addition, students took a pre-test and a post-test. Scores from both tests were compared with the results obtained in first-semester conventional writing tasks, with a view to measure learning outcomes. The study provides qualitative and quantitative data supporting our initial hypotheses. Our findings suggest that hybrid game-based apps like VocabTrainerA1-which seamlessly combine individual and collaborative learning tasks-motivate learners, stimulate perceived usefulness and added value, and better meet the language learning needs of today's digital natives. In terms of acceptance, outcomes and sustainability, the data indicate that hybrid game-based apps significantly improve proficiency, hence are indeed, effective tools for enhanced language learning.

Personality Traits as Predictors of the Social English Language Learning Strategies

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fazeli, Seyed Hossein

2012-01-01

The present study aims to find out the role of personality traits in the prediction use of the Social English Language Learning Strategies (SELLSs) for learners of English as a foreign language. Four instruments were used, which were Adapted Inventory for Social English Language Learning Strategies based on Social category of Strategy Inventory…

The Impact of Personality Traits on the Affective Category of English Language Learning Strategies

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fazeli, Seyed Hossein

2011-01-01

The present study aims at discovering the impact of personality traits in the prediction use of the Affective English Language Learning Strategies (AELLSs) for learners of English as a foreign language. Four instruments were used, which were Adapted Inventory for Affective English Language Learning Strategies based on Affective category of…

Web-Based English Language Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sarica, Gulcin Nagehan; Cavus, Nadire

2008-01-01

Knowledge of another language is an advantage and it gives people to look at the world and in particular to the world's cultures with a broader perspective. Learning English as a second language is the process by which students learn it in addition to their native language. Today, internet is an important part of our lives as English. For this…

A European Languages Virtual Network Proposal

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

García-Peñalvo, Francisco José; González-González, Juan Carlos; Murray, Maria

ELVIN (European Languages Virtual Network) is a European Union (EU) Lifelong Learning Programme Project aimed at creating an informal social network to support and facilitate language learning. The ELVIN project aims to research and develop the connection between social networks, professional profiles and language learning in an informal educational context. At the core of the ELVIN project, there will be a web 2.0 social networking platform that connects employees/students for language practice based on their own professional/academic needs and abilities, using all relevant technologies. The ELVIN remit involves the examination of both methodological and technological issues inherent in achieving a social-based learning platform that provides the user with their own customized Personal Learning Environment for EU language acquisition. ELVIN started in November 2009 and this paper presents the project aims and objectives as well as the development and implementation of the web platform.

A rights-based approach to science literacy using local languages: Contextualising inquiry-based learning in Africa

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Babaci-Wilhite, Zehlia

2017-06-01

This article addresses the importance of teaching and learning science in local languages. The author argues that acknowledging local knowledge and using local languages in science education while emphasising inquiry-based learning improve teaching and learning science. She frames her arguments with the theory of inquiry, which draws on perspectives of both dominant and non-dominant cultures with a focus on science literacy as a human right. She first examines key assumptions about knowledge which inform mainstream educational research and practice. She then argues for an emphasis on contextualised learning as a right in education. This means accounting for contextualised knowledge and resisting the current trend towards de-contextualisation of curricula. This trend is reflected in Zanzibar's recent curriculum reform, in which English replaced Kiswahili as the language of instruction (LOI) in the last two years of primary school. The author's own research during the initial stage of the change (2010-2015) revealed that the effect has in fact proven to be counterproductive, with educational quality deteriorating further rather than improving. Arguing that language is essential to inquiry-based learning, she introduces a new didactic model which integrates alternative assumptions about the value of local knowledge and local languages in the teaching and learning of science subjects. In practical terms, the model is designed to address key science concepts through multiple modalities - "do it, say it, read it, write it" - a "hands-on" experiential combination which, she posits, may form a new platform for innovation based on a unique mix of local and global knowledge, and facilitate genuine science literacy. She provides examples from cutting-edge educational research and practice that illustrate this new model of teaching and learning science. This model has the potential to improve learning while supporting local languages and culture, giving local languages their rightful place in all aspects of education.

Effects of Locus of Control and Learner-Control on Web-Based Language Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chang, Mei-Mei; Ho, Chiung-Mei

2009-01-01

The study explored the effects of students' locus of control and types of control over instruction on their self-efficacy and performance in a web-based language learning environment. A web-based interactive instructional program focusing on the comprehension of news articles for English language learners was developed in two versions: learner-…

To What Extent Do Native and Non-Native Writers Make Use of Collocations?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Durrant, Philip; Schmitt, Norbert

2009-01-01

Usage-based models claim that first language learning is based on the frequency-based analysis of memorised phrases. It is not clear though, whether adult second language learning works in the same way. It has been claimed that non-native language lacks idiomatic formulas, suggesting that learners neglect phrases, focusing instead on orthographic…

A FAQ-Based e-Learning Environment to Support Japanese Language Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Liu, Yuqin; Yin, Chengjiu; Ogata, Hiroaki; Qiao, Guojun; Yano, Yoneo

2011-01-01

In traditional classes, having many questions from learners is important because these questions indicate difficult points for learners and for teachers. This paper proposes a FAQ-based e-Learning environment to support Japanese language learning that focuses on learner questions. This knowledge sharing system enables learners to interact and…

The Effectiveness of the Game-Based Learning System for the Improvement of American Sign Language Using Kinect

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kamnardsiri, Teerawat; Hongsit, Ler-on; Khuwuthyakorn, Pattaraporn; Wongta, Noppon

2017-01-01

This paper investigated students' achievement for learning American Sign Language (ASL), using two different methods. There were two groups of samples. The first experimental group (Group A) was the game-based learning for ASL, using Kinect. The second control learning group (Group B) was the traditional face-to-face learning method, generally…

C[superscript 4] (C Quad): Development of the Application for Language Learning Based on Social and Cognitive Presences

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yamada, Masanori; Goda, Yoshiko; Matsukawa, Hideya; Hata, Kojiro; Yasunami, Seisuke

2013-01-01

This research aims to develop collaborative language learning systems based on social and cognitive presence for learning settings out of class, and evaluate their effects on learning attitude and performance. The main purpose of this system is focusing on the building of a learning community, therefore the Community of Inquiry (CoI) framework…

Construction and Evaluation of an Integrated Formal/Informal Learning Environment for Foreign Language Learning across Real and Virtual Spaces

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Waragai, Ikumi; Ohta, Tatsuya; Kurabayashi, Shuichi; Kiyoki, Yasushi; Sato, Yukiko; Brückner, Stefan

2017-01-01

This paper presents the prototype of a foreign language learning space, based on the construction of an integrated formal/informal learning environment. Before the background of the continued innovation of information technology that places conventional learning styles and educational methods into new contexts based on new value-standards,…

Second Language Learning; Investigating the Classroom Context.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mitchell, Rosamond

1989-01-01

Reviews a number of second-language (L2) classroom-based research projects undertaken at the University of Stirling in Scotland. It is argued that a full understanding of classroom-based L2 learning requires the integration of sociolinguistic studies of the classroom context with psycholinguistic studies of second language acquisition. (Author/VWL)

Students' Motivation toward Computer-Based Language Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Genc, Gulten; Aydin, Selami

2011-01-01

The present article examined some factors affecting the motivation level of the preparatory school students in using a web-based computer-assisted language-learning course. The sample group of the study consisted of 126 English-as-a-foreign-language learners at a preparatory school of a state university. After performing statistical analyses…

Tracking Immanent Language Learning Behavior Over Time in Task-Based Classroom Work

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kunitz, Silvia; Marian, Klara Skogmyr

2017-01-01

In this study, the authors explore how classroom tasks that are commonly used in task-based language teaching (TBLT) are achieved as observable aspects of "local educational order" (Hester & Francis, 2000) through observable and immanently social classroom behaviors. They focus specifically on students' language learning behaviors,…

Digital Game-Based Language Learning in Foreign Language Teacher Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Alyaz, Yunus; Genc, Zubeyde Sinem

2016-01-01

New technologies including digital game-based language learning have increasingly received attention. However, their implementation is far from expected and desired levels due to technical, instructional, financial and sociological barriers. Previous studies suggest that there is a strong need to establish courses in order to support adaptation of…

Impact of Contextuality on Mobile Learning Acceptance: An Empirical Study Based on a Language Learning App

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Böhm, Stephan; Constantine, Georges Philip

2016-01-01

Purpose: This paper aims to focus on contextualized features for mobile language learning apps. The scope of this paper is to explore students' perceptions of contextualized mobile language learning. Design/Methodology/Approach: An extended Technology Acceptance Model was developed to analyze the effect of contextual app features on students'…

Effect of Phonetic Association on Learning Vocabulary in Foreign Language

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bozavli, Ebubekir

2017-01-01

Word is one of the most important components of a natural language. Speech is meaningful because of the meanings of words. Vocabulary acquired in one's mother tongue is learned consciously in a foreign language in non-native settings. Learning vocabulary in a system based on grammar is generally neglected or learned in conventional ways. This…

Individualized Teaching and Autonomous Learning: Developing EFL Learners' CLA in a Web-Based Language Skills Training System

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lu, Zhihong; Wen, Fuan; Li, Ping

2012-01-01

Teaching listening and speaking in English in China has been given top priority on the post-secondary level. This has lead to the question of how learners develop communicative language ability (CLA) effectively in computer-assisted language learning (CALL) environments. The authors demonstrate a self-developed language skill learning system with…

ELT Teacher Trainees' Attitudes towards Environmental Education and Their Tendency to Use It in the Language Classroom

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gursoy, Esim; Saglam, Gulderen T.

2011-01-01

With the change of focus in language teaching from grammar-based approaches to more communicative approaches, contextual language learning gained importance and found body in the English Language classroom. Global issues constitute one of the most popular contexts for purposeful language learning and meaningful language use. Increasing number of…

Investigating Reciprocal Meaning-Making as an Element of Intercultural Language Learning in the Languages Classroom

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Skene, Catherine

2013-01-01

The "Australian Curriculum: Languages" is based on an intercultural orientation to the teaching and learning of languages. Reciprocal meaning-making, or interpreting self in relation to others as language users, is a key element in an intercultural orientation. The concept of reciprocating is embedded in the language-specific curricula…

Early Education of the Language-Learning Handicapped Child.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Easter Seal Treatment Center of Montgomery County, Rockville, MD.

The brochure descrbies a demonstration program on the early education of the language learning handicapped preschool child. Discussed are symptoms of the language learning problem (such as misunderstanding what is said), a remedial approach based on specific disability intervention, the Easter Seal Treatment Center, project objectives (such as the…

Task-Based Language Learning and Teaching: An Action-Research Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Calvert, Megan; Sheen, Younghee

2015-01-01

The creation, implementation, and evaluation of language learning tasks remain a challenge for many teachers, especially those with limited experience with using tasks in their teaching. This action-research study reports on one teacher's experience of developing, implementing, critically reflecting on, and modifying a language learning task…

A Software Development Approach for Computer Assisted Language Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cushion, Steve

2005-01-01

Over the last 5 years we have developed, produced, tested, and evaluated an authoring software package to produce web-based, interactive, audio-enhanced language-learning material. That authoring package has been used to produce language-learning material in French, Spanish, German, Arabic, and Tamil. We are currently working on increasing…

Get Networked and Spy Your Languages

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rico, Mercedes; Ferreira, Paula; Dominguez, Eva M.; Coppens, Julian

2012-01-01

Our proposal describes ISPY, a multilateral European K2 language project based on the development of an Online Networking Platform for Language Learning (http://www.ispy-project.com/). Supported by the Lifelong Learning European Programme, the platform aims to help young adults across Europe, secondary and vocational school programs, learn a new…

HOW TO LEARN AN UNWRITTEN LANGUAGE.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

GUDSCHINSKY, SARAH C.

A PRACTICAL GUIDE FOR THE ANTHROPOLOGY STUDENT CONFRONTED WITH LEARNING A LANGUAGE IN THE FIELD, THIS BOOK FOCUSES ON ACQUIRING EVERYDAY CONVERSATION RATHER THAN DIFFICULT LINGUISTIC PROBLEMS. THE FORM AND CONTENT ARE BASED ON THE FOLLOWING BASIC PREMISES--(1) LEARNING A LANGUAGE CONSISTS OF DISCOVERING AND CONTROLLING AS AUTOMATIC HABITS THE…

Power within Blended Language Learning Programs in Japan

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hinkelman, Don; Gruba, Paul

2012-01-01

As blended language learning environments evolve within tertiary foreign language institutions, issues of power with regards to the privileging of electronic technologies come to the fore. Blended learning, or the principled mix of online and classroom-based activities, challenges the practices of traditional CALL and face-to-face teaching within…

A 5E Learning Cycle Approach-Based, Multimedia-Supplemented Instructional Unit for Structured Query Language

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Piyayodilokchai, Hongsiri; Panjaburee, Patcharin; Laosinchai, Parames; Ketpichainarong, Watcharee; Ruenwongsa, Pintip

2013-01-01

With the benefit of multimedia and the learning cycle approach in promoting effective active learning, this paper proposed a learning cycle approach-based, multimedia-supplemented instructional unit for Structured Query Language (SQL) for second-year undergraduate students with the aim of enhancing their basic knowledge of SQL and ability to apply…

Negotiation of Meaning and Language-Related Episodes in Synchronous, Audio-Based Chinese-German eTandem

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Renner, Julia

2017-01-01

The present paper examines negotiation of meaning and language-related episodes in Chinese-German eTandem interaction, focusing on Chinese as target language. Against the background of the interactionist approach to language learning and drawing upon Swain and Lapkin's (1998, Interaction and second language learning: Two adolescent French…

Automatic Selection of Suitable Sentences for Language Learning Exercises

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pilán, Ildikó; Volodina, Elena; Johansson, Richard

2013-01-01

In our study we investigated second and foreign language (L2) sentence readability, an area little explored so far in the case of several languages, including Swedish. The outcome of our research consists of two methods for sentence selection from native language corpora based on Natural Language Processing (NLP) and machine learning (ML)…

A Personalized Recommendation-Based Mobile Learning Approach to Improving the Reading Performance of EFL Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hsu, Ching-Kun; Hwang, Gwo-Jen; Chang, Chih-Kai

2013-01-01

In this paper, a personalized recommendation-based mobile language learning approach is proposed. A mobile learning system has been developed based on the approach by providing a reading material recommendation mechanism for guiding EFL (English as Foreign Language) students to read articles that match their preferences and knowledge levels, and a…

Body and Language: Intercultural Learning through Drama. Advances in Foreign and Second Language Pedagogy.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brauer, Gerd, Ed.

This third volume in a series provides an introduction to the use of drama in the foreign and second language classroom, highlighting the bridging character of drama-based teaching for intercultural learning. Twelve chapters include: (1) "Understanding Drama-Based Education" (Betty Jane Wagner); (2) "Intercultural Recognitions…

Problem-Based Learning in the English Language Classroom

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Othman, Normala; Shah, Mohamed Ismail Ahamad

2013-01-01

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of the problem-based learning approach (PBL) on students in language classes in two areas: course content and language development. The study was conducted on 128 students, grouped into the experimental and control groups, and employed an experimental research design. The syllabus, textbook,…

Evaluating Automatic Speech Recognition-Based Language Learning Systems: A Case Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

van Doremalen, Joost; Boves, Lou; Colpaert, Jozef; Cucchiarini, Catia; Strik, Helmer

2016-01-01

The purpose of this research was to evaluate a prototype of an automatic speech recognition (ASR)-based language learning system that provides feedback on different aspects of speaking performance (pronunciation, morphology and syntax) to students of Dutch as a second language. We carried out usability reviews, expert reviews and user tests to…

Phraseology and Frequency of Occurrence on the Web: Native Speakers' Perceptions of Google-Informed Second Language Writing

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Geluso, Joe

2013-01-01

Usage-based theories of language learning suggest that native speakers of a language are acutely aware of formulaic language due in large part to frequency effects. Corpora and data-driven learning can offer useful insights into frequent patterns of naturally occurring language to second/foreign language learners who, unlike native speakers, are…

The Influence of Affordances on Learner Preferences in Mobile Language Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Uther, Maria; Banks, Adrian

2015-01-01

This study investigates the influence of sensory and cognitive affordances on the usability of mobile devices for multimedia language learning applications. An audio-based learning application--the "Vowel Trainer" (audio-based speech app), developed by University College London was chosen, against a comparison, text and picture-based…

Language Learning Podcasts and Learners' Belief Change

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Basaran, Süleyman; Cabaroglu, Nese

2014-01-01

The ubiquitous use of Internet-based mobile devices in educational contexts means that mobile learning has become a plausible alternative to or a good complement for conventional classroom-based teaching. However, there is a lack of research that explores and defines the characteristics and effects of mobile language learning (LL) through language…

Learning Disabilities: A Neurobiological Perspective in Humans.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bonnet, Kenneth A.

1989-01-01

The mechanisms of both language-based and non-language-based learning disabilities are presented within the framework of central nervous system development and the compromises to that development that arise from genetic, hormonal, antibody, medication, and postnatal compromises. Also reviewed is the need for a taxonomy of learning disabilities.…

Experimenting with an Integrated Syllabus Design in Modern Languages.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Towell, Richard

1991-01-01

Describes a university's experimental task-based French program that successfully integrated foreign language learning more fully with the learning of interpersonal skills and nonlinguistic content, although some language skills, especially those needed for advanced written language and translation, appeared to suffer. (14 references) (Author/CB)

Automatic Dialogue Scoring for a Second Language Learning System

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Huang, Jin-Xia; Lee, Kyung-Soon; Kwon, Oh-Woog; Kim, Young-Kil

2016-01-01

This paper presents an automatic dialogue scoring approach for a Dialogue-Based Computer-Assisted Language Learning (DB-CALL) system, which helps users learn language via interactive conversations. The system produces overall feedback according to dialogue scoring to help the learner know which parts should be more focused on. The scoring measures…

Creating Success for Students with Learning Disabilities in Postsecondary Foreign Language Courses

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Skinner, Michael E.; Smith, Allison T.

2011-01-01

The number of students with learning disabilities (LD) attending postsecondary institutions has increased steadily over the past two decades. Many of these students have language-based learning difficulties that create barriers to success in foreign language (FL) courses. Many institutions have responded by providing these students with exemptions…

Learning New Grammatical Structures in Task-Based Language Learning: The Effects of Recasts and Prompts

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Van de Guchte, Marrit; Braaksma, Martine; Rijlaarsdam, Gert; Bimmel, Peter

2015-01-01

In the present study, we examine the effects of prompts and recasts on the acquisition of two new and different grammar structures in a task-based learning environment. Sixty-four 14-year-old 9th grade students (low intermediate) learning German as a foreign language were randomly assigned to three conditions: two experimental groups (one…

Reading and Language Learning: Crosslinguistic Constraints on Second Language Reading Development

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Koda, Keiko

2007-01-01

The ultimate goal of reading is to construct text meaning based on visually encoded information. Essentially, it entails converting print into language and then to the message intended by the author. It is hardly accidental, therefore, that, in all languages, reading builds on oral language competence and that learning to read uniformly requires…

Multilingual Learners in Language Assessment: Assessment Design for Linguistically Diverse Communities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schissel, Jamie L.; Leung, Constant; López-Gopar, Mario; Davis, James R.

2018-01-01

The assessments designed for and analyzed in this study used a task-based language design template rooted in theories of language reflecting heteroglossic language practices and funds of knowledge learning theories, which were understood as transforming classroom teaching, learning, and assessment through continua of biliteracy lenses. Using a…

Team-Based Learning in a Capstone Course in Speech-Language Pathology: Learning Outcomes and Student Perceptions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wallace, Sarah E.

2015-01-01

Team-based learning (TBL), although found to increase student engagement and higher-level thinking, has not been examined in the field of speech-language pathology. The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of integrating TBL into a capstone course in evidence-based practice (EBP). The researcher evaluated 27 students' understanding of…

On JALT 95: Curriculum and Evaluation. Proceedings of the JALT International Conference on Language Teaching/Learning (22nd, Nagoya, Japan, November 1995).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Troyer, Gene van, Ed.; And Others

The conference proceedings include 62 papers on aspects of language teaching and learning, organized in seven sections: looking back, looking forward (history of language teaching, future directions); curriculum design (curriculum development, competency-based curricula, content-based instruction, global issues in curriculum and evaluation,…

Children Literature Based Program for Developing EFL Primary Pupils' Life Skills and Language Learning Strategies

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Abdelhalim, Safaa M.

2015-01-01

This study examines the effectiveness of a proposed English language program based on integrating two forms of children literature, mainly short stories and songs, in developing the needed life skills and language learning strategies of primary school students. Besides, it emphasized the importance of providing EFL fifth year primary students with…

Language Learning Going Global: Linking Teachers and Learners via Commercial Skype-Based CMC

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Terhune, N. M.

2016-01-01

This paper reports on students' use of face-to-face synchronous computer-mediated communication (CMC) for oral language learning. It describes a university English language class designed to prepare students for overseas study in which a Skype-based English conversation school was piloted. The study offers analysis of how students used the CMC…

Listening Strategy Use and Influential Factors in Web-Based Computer Assisted Language Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chen, L.; Zhang, R.; Liu, C.

2014-01-01

This study investigates second and foreign language (L2) learners' listening strategy use and factors that influence their strategy use in a Web-based computer assisted language learning (CALL) system. A strategy inventory, a factor questionnaire and a standardized listening test were used to collect data from a group of 82 Chinese students…

Multimedia Scenario Based Learning Programme for Enhancing the English Language Efficiency among Primary School Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tupe, Navnath

2015-01-01

This research was undertaken with a view to assess the deficiencies in English language among Primary School Children and to develop Multimedia Scenario Based Learning Programme (MSBLP) for mastery of English language which required special attention and effective treatment. The experimental study with pre-test, post-test control group design was…

Internet Technology-Based Projects in Learning and Teaching English as a Foreign Language at Yakutsk State University

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zamorshchikova, Lena; Egorova, Olga; Popova, Marina

2011-01-01

This paper discusses recent uses of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in fostering Internet-based projects for learning English as a Foreign Language (EFL) at the Faculty of Foreign Languages in Yakutsk State University, Russia. It covers the authors' experiences integrating distance education and creating educational resources…

Introducing IoT and Wearable Technologies into Task-Based Language Learning for Young Children

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

de la Guia, Elena; Camacho, Vincent Lopez; Orozco-Barbosa, Luis; Brea Lujan, Victor M.; Penichet, Victor M. R.; Perez, Maria Lozano

2016-01-01

In the last few years, in an attempt to further motivate students to learn a foreign language, there has been an increasing interest in task-based teaching techniques, which emphasize communication and the practical use of language, thus moving away from the repetitive grammar-translation methods. Within this approach, the significance of…

Time-Decayed User Profile for Second Language Vocabulary Learning System

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Li, Li; Wei, Xiao

2014-01-01

Vocabulary learning is the foundation of second language learning. Many E-learning systems have been developed to help learners to learn vocabulary efficiently. Most of these systems employ Ebbinghaus Forgetting Curve to make the review schedule for learners. However, learners are different in learning ability and the review schedule based on…

Dynamic Learning Objects to Teach Java Programming Language

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Narasimhamurthy, Uma; Al Shawkani, Khuloud

2010-01-01

This article describes a model for teaching Java Programming Language through Dynamic Learning Objects. The design of the learning objects was based on effective learning design principles to help students learn the complex topic of Java Programming. Visualization was also used to facilitate the learning of the concepts. (Contains 1 figure and 2…

Genetics Home Reference: 48,XXYY syndrome

MedlinePlus

... degree of difficulty with speech and language development. Learning disabilities, especially those that are language-based, are very ... Autism Speaks CHADD: The National Resource on ADHD Learning Disabilities Association of America National Center for Learning Disabilities ...

Musical Experience Influences Statistical Learning of a Novel Language

PubMed Central

Shook, Anthony; Marian, Viorica; Bartolotti, James; Schroeder, Scott R.

2014-01-01

Musical experience may benefit learning a new language by enhancing the fidelity with which the auditory system encodes sound. In the current study, participants with varying degrees of musical experience were exposed to two statistically-defined languages consisting of auditory Morse-code sequences which varied in difficulty. We found an advantage for highly-skilled musicians, relative to less-skilled musicians, in learning novel Morse-code based words. Furthermore, in the more difficult learning condition, performance of lower-skilled musicians was mediated by their general cognitive abilities. We suggest that musical experience may lead to enhanced processing of statistical information and that musicians’ enhanced ability to learn statistical probabilities in a novel Morse-code language may extend to natural language learning. PMID:23505962

Songs as an aid for language acquisition.

PubMed

Schön, Daniele; Boyer, Maud; Moreno, Sylvain; Besson, Mireille; Peretz, Isabelle; Kolinsky, Régine

2008-02-01

In previous research, Saffran and colleagues [Saffran, J. R., Aslin, R. N., & Newport, E. L. (1996). Statistical learning by 8-month-old infants. Science, 274, 1926-1928; Saffran, J. R., Newport, E. L., & Aslin, R. N. (1996). Word segmentation: The role of distributional cues. Journal of Memory and Language, 35, 606-621.] have shown that adults and infants can use the statistical properties of syllable sequences to extract words from continuous speech. They also showed that a similar learning mechanism operates with musical stimuli [Saffran, J. R., Johnson, R. E. K., Aslin, N., & Newport, E. L. (1999). Abstract Statistical learning of tone sequences by human infants and adults. Cognition, 70, 27-52.]. In this work we combined linguistic and musical information and we compared language learning based on speech sequences to language learning based on sung sequences. We hypothesized that, compared to speech sequences, a consistent mapping of linguistic and musical information would enhance learning. Results confirmed the hypothesis showing a strong learning facilitation of song compared to speech. Most importantly, the present results show that learning a new language, especially in the first learning phase wherein one needs to segment new words, may largely benefit of the motivational and structuring properties of music in song.

Managing Self-Access Language Learning: Principles and Practice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gardner, David; Miller, Lindsay

2011-01-01

This paper is based on a research project looking at the management of self-access language learning (SALL) from the perspective of the managers of self-access centres. It looks at the factors which influence the practice of seven managers of self-access language learning in tertiary institutions in Hong Kong. The discussion centres around five…

Design and Implementation of BusinessApp, a MALL Application to Make Successful Business Presentations

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Calle-Martínez, Cristina; Yanes, Lourdes Pomposo; Pareja-Lora, Antonio

2016-01-01

Little by little, (or, simply, MALL) is taking force in the field of education, as it supports language blended learning and language learning ubiquity. The study presented here belongs in the Social Ontology-based Cognitively Augmented Language Learning Mobile Environment (SO-CALL-ME) research project, whose final aim is to design and create…

Contributions of Language and Memory Demands to Verbal Memory Performance in Language-Learning Disabilities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Isaki, Emi; Spaulding, Tammie J.; Plante, Elena

2008-01-01

The purpose of this study is to investigate the performance of adults with language-based learning disorders (L/LD) and normal language controls on verbal short-term and verbal working memory tasks. Eighteen adults with L/LD and 18 normal language controls were compared on verbal short-term memory and verbal working memory tasks under low,…

The Evolution of Networked Computing in the Teaching of Japanese as a Foreign Language.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Harrison, Richard

1998-01-01

Reviews the evolution of Internet-based projects in Japanese computer-assisted language learning and suggests future directions in which the field may develop, based on emerging network technology and learning theory. (Author/VWL)

The Effect of Formative Assessments on Language Performance

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Radford, Brian W.

2014-01-01

This study sought to improve the language learning outcomes at the Missionary Training Center in Provo, Utah. Young men and women between the ages of 19-24 are taught a foreign language in an accelerated environment. In an effort to improve learning outcomes, computer-based practice and teaching of language performance criteria were provided to…

LingoBee--Crowd-Sourced Mobile Language Learning in the Cloud

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Petersen, Sobah Abbas; Procter-Legg, Emma; Cacchione, Annamaria

2013-01-01

This paper describes three case studies, where language learners were invited to use "LingoBee" as a means of supporting their language learning. LingoBee is a mobile app that provides user-generated language content in a cloud-based shared repository. Assuming that today's students are mobile savvy and "Digital Natives" able…

Of Elastic Clouds and Treebanks: New Opportunities for Content-Based and Data-Driven Language Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Godwin-Jones, Robert

2008-01-01

Creating effective electronic tools for language learning frequently requires large data sets containing extensive examples of actual human language use. Collections of authentic language in spoken and written forms provide developers the means to enrich their applications with real world examples. As the Internet continues to expand…

20 Years of Technology and Language Assessment in "Language Learning & Technology"

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chapelle, Carol A.; Voss, Erik

2016-01-01

This review article provides an analysis of the research from the last two decades on the theme of technology and second language assessment. Based on an examination of the assessment scholarship published in "Language Learning & Technology" since its launch in 1997, we analyzed the review articles, research articles, book reviews,…

Design and Empirical Validation of Effectiveness of LANGA, an Online Game-Based Platform for Second Language Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Usai, Francesco; O'Neil, Kiera G. R.; Newman, Aaron J.

2018-01-01

Computer and smartphone-based applications for second language (L2) learning have become popular tools, being integrated in many classroom-based courses and adopted by the public at large. Yet, despite a significant body of research that suggests that individuals differ in their ability to learn L2, it is still unclear what factors predict…

The Use of Computer-Based Simulation to Aid Comprehension and Incidental Vocabulary Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mohsen, Mohammed Ali

2016-01-01

One of the main issues in language learning is to find ways to enable learners to interact with the language input in an involved task. Given that computer-based simulation allows learners to interact with visual modes, this article examines how the interaction of students with an online video simulation affects their second language video…

An Investigation into Chinese College English Teachers' Beliefs of Students' Web-Based Informal Language Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jiang, Jiahong

2016-01-01

With the rapid development of information and technology, language learners have more ways to acquire the target language. Recently, WILL has gained popularity, for informal web-based learning of English has been depicted as a process driven by the purpose of communication. Thus, teachers have many challenges when teaching learners who have…

Impact of Contextuality on Mobile Learning Acceptance: An Empirical Study Based on a Language Learning App

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Böhm, Stephan; Constantine, Georges Philip

2015-01-01

The mobility of both the device and the learner will determine how mobile learning takes place. Mobile learning offers new educational opportunities that allow for autonomous, personalized and context aware learning. This paper focuses on contextualized features for mobile language learning apps. Context-awareness is seen as a particularly…

Learning second language vocabulary: neural dissociation of situation-based learning and text-based learning.

PubMed

Jeong, Hyeonjeong; Sugiura, Motoaki; Sassa, Yuko; Wakusawa, Keisuke; Horie, Kaoru; Sato, Shigeru; Kawashima, Ryuta

2010-04-01

Second language (L2) acquisition necessitates learning and retrieving new words in different modes. In this study, we attempted to investigate the cortical representation of an L2 vocabulary acquired in different learning modes and in cross-modal transfer between learning and retrieval. Healthy participants learned new L2 words either by written translations (text-based learning) or in real-life situations (situation-based learning). Brain activity was then measured during subsequent retrieval of these words. The right supramarginal gyrus and left middle frontal gyrus were involved in situation-based learning and text-based learning, respectively, whereas the left inferior frontal gyrus was activated when learners used L2 knowledge in a mode different from the learning mode. Our findings indicate that the brain regions that mediate L2 memory differ according to how L2 words are learned and used. Copyright 2009 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Teaching a Foreign Language to Deaf People via Vodcasting & Web 2.0 Tools

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Drigas, Athanasios; Vrettaros, John; Tagoulis, Alexandors; Kouremenos, Dimitris

This paper presents the design and development of an e-learning course in teaching deaf people in a foreign language, whose first language is the sign language. The course is based in e-material, vodcasting and web 2.0 tools such as social networking and blog The course has been designed especially for deaf people and it is exploring the possibilities that e-learning material vodcasting and web 2.0 tools can offer to enhance the learning process and achieve more effective learning results.

Six principles of language development: implications for second language learners.

PubMed

Konishi, Haruka; Kanero, Junko; Freeman, Max R; Golinkoff, Roberta Michnick; Hirsh-Pasek, Kathy

2014-01-01

The number of children growing up in dual language environments is increasing in the United States. Despite the apparent benefits of speaking two languages, children learning English as a second language (ESL) often face struggles, as they may experience poverty and impoverished language input at home. Early exposure to a rich language environment is crucial for ESL children's academic success. This article explores how six evidenced-based principles of language learning can be used to provide support for ESL children.

Learning Vocabulary in a Foreign Language: A Computer Software Based Model Attempt

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yelbay Yilmaz, Yasemin

2015-01-01

This study aimed at devising a vocabulary learning software that would help learners learn and retain vocabulary items effectively. Foundation linguistics and learning theories have been adapted to the foreign language vocabulary learning context using a computer software named Parole that was designed exclusively for this study. Experimental…

What Counts as a Developmental Sequence? Exemplar-Based L2 Learning of English Questions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Eskildsen, Søren W.

2015-01-01

Drawing on usage-based linguistics and its exemplar-based path of language learning, from recurring multiword expressions to increasingly abstract, schematized constructions, this article examines evidence for the exemplar-based developmental sequences for yes/no interrogatives and WH interrogatives in English as a second language (L2). The…

Decreasing Cognitive Load for Learners: Strategy of Web-Based Foreign Language Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zhang, Jianfeng

2013-01-01

Cognitive load is one of the important factors that influence the effectiveness and efficiency of web-based foreign language learning. Cognitive load theory assumes that human's cognitive capacity in working memory is limited and if it overloads, learning will be hampered, so that high level of cognitive load can affect the performance of learning…

Use of Interactive Web-Based Exercises for English as a Foreign Language Learning: Learners' Perceptions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wang, Yen-Hui

2014-01-01

The study investigated the learner perceptions of a CALL component in a blended language learning context. 52 Taiwanese college students attended instructional classroom sessions and did weekly online assignments in the form of interactive web-based exercises over one semester. Their learning performance was measured by means of two computer-based…

FLAX: Flexible and Open Corpus-Based Language Collections Development

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fitzgerald, Alannah; Wu, Shaoqun; Marín, María José

2015-01-01

In this case study we present innovative work in building open corpus-based language collections by focusing on a description of the opensource multilingual Flexible Language Acquisition (FLAX) language project, which is an ongoing example of open materials development practices for language teaching and learning. We present language-learning…

Exploring the Potential of a Location Based Augmented Reality Game for Language Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Richardson, Donald

2016-01-01

This paper adds to the small but growing body of research into the potential of augmented reality games for teaching and learning English as a foreign language (EFL). It explores the extent to which such games enhance the language learning experience of advanced level EFL learners. The author draws on his work developing "Mission not really…

Language Assessment Literacy as Self-Awareness: "Understanding" the Role of Interpretation in Assessment and in Teacher Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Scarino, Angela

2013-01-01

The increasing influence of sociocultural theories of learning on assessment practices in second language education necessitates an expansion of the knowledge base that teacher-assessors need to develop (what teachers need to know) and related changes in the processes of language teacher education (how they learn and develop it). Teacher assessors…

The "7 Keys of the Dragon": An E-Learning Gamelike Environment for Albanian and Russian

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Revithiadou, Anthi; Kourtis-Kazoullis, Vasilia; Soukalopoulou, Maria; Konstantoudakis, Konstantinos; Zarras, Christos; Pelesoglou, Nestoras

2014-01-01

In this article we report on the development of an interactive open source extensible software, dubbed "The 7 Keys of the Dragon," for the teaching/learning of Albanian and Russian to students (9-12 years old) with the respective languages as their heritage languages. Based on the assumption that games in language learning are associated…

Which Learning Style is Most Effective in Learning Chinese as a Second Language

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ren, Guanxin

2013-01-01

Chinese is not only a tonal but also a visual language represented by tens of thousands of characters which are pictographic in nature. This presents a great challenge to learners whose mother tongue is alphabetical-based such as English. To assist English-speaking background learners to learn Chinese as a Second Language (CSL) well, a good…

Learning English While Exploring the National Cultural Heritage: Technology-Assisted Project-Based Language Learning in an Upper-Secondary School

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pitura, Joanna; Berlinska-Kopec, Monika

2018-01-01

The quality and content of English language courses offered in secondary schools require special attention as they affect many students who learn English as one of their school subjects. Despite curricular provisions prescribing balanced development of language competence and a number of so-called "key competences", class work in Polish…

Language, Learning, and Identity in Social Networking Sites for Language Learning: The Case of Busuu

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Alvarez Valencia, Jose Aldemar

2014-01-01

Recent progress in the discipline of computer applications such as the advent of web-based communication, afforded by the Web 2.0, has paved the way for novel applications in language learning, namely, social networking. Social networking has challenged the area of Computer Mediated Communication (CMC) to expand its research palette in order to…

Multilingualism in Action: A Conversation Analytic View on How Children Are Re-Voicing a Story in a French Second Language Learning Lesson

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Arend, Béatrice; Sunnen, Patrick

2017-01-01

Our paper provides an empirically based perspective on the contribution of Conversation Analysis (CA) to our understanding of children's second language learning practices in a multilingual classroom setting. While exploring the interactional configuration of a French second language learning activity, we focus our analytic lens on how five…

Effects of DDL Technology on Genre Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cotos, Elena; Link, Stephanie; Huffman, Sarah

2017-01-01

To better understand the promising effects of data-driven learning (DDL) on language learning processes and outcomes, this study explored DDL learning events enabled by the Research Writing Tutor (RWT), a web-based platform containing an English language corpus annotated to enhance rhetorical input, a concordancer that was searchable for…

Ways of Talking (and Acting) about Language Reclamation: An Ethnographic Perspective on Learning Lenape in Pennsylvania

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hornberger, Nancy H.; De Korne, Haley; Weinberg, Miranda

2016-01-01

The experiences of a community of people learning and teaching Lenape in Pennsylvania provide insights into the complexities of current ways of talking and acting about language reclamation. We illustrate how Native and non-Native participants in a university-based Indigenous language class constructed language, identity, and place in nuanced ways…

Applying a Universal Design for Learning Framework to Mediate the Language Demands of Mathematics

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Thomas, Cathy Newman; Van Garderen, Delinda; Scheuermann, Amy; Lee, Eun Ju

2015-01-01

This article provides information about the relationship between mathematics, language, and literacy and describes the difficulties faced by students with disabilities with math content based on the language demands of mathematics. We conceptualize mathematics language as a mode of discourse for math learning that can be thought of as receptive…

Comparing the Language Policies and the Students' Perceptions of CLIL in Tertiary Education in Spain and Japan

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tsuchiya, Keiko; Pérez Murillo, María D.

2015-01-01

Content and language integrated learning (CLIL) has been widely implemented in educational systems in Europe since the mid-1990s based on their multilingual education policy. CLIL integrates acquisition of subject knowledge with language learning, either a second or foreign language, simultaneously. Recently, CLIL in English has been introduced in…

Using a Humanoid Robot to Develop a Dialogue-Based Interactive Learning Environment for Elementary Foreign Language Classrooms

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chang, Chih-Wei; Chen, Gwo-Dong

2010-01-01

Elementary school is the critical stage during which the development of listening comprehension and oral abilities in language acquisition occur, especially with a foreign language. However, the current foreign language instructors often adopt one-way teaching, and the learning environment lacks any interactive instructional media with which to…

Learners' Perceptions of the Use of Mobile Technology in a Task-Based Language Teaching Experience

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Calabrich, Simone L.

2016-01-01

This research explored perceptions of learners studying English in private language schools regarding the use of mobile technology to support language learning. Learners were first exposed to both a mobile assisted and a mobile unassisted language learning experience, and then asked to express their thoughts on the incorporation of mobile devices…

English Language Instructors' Perceptions about Technology-Based Language Learning at Northern Border University in Saudi Arabia

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Saqlain, Nadeem; Mahmood, Zahir

2013-01-01

This study used qualitative research methods to explore English language teachers' perceptions about the use of technology for language learning at Northern Border University (NBU) in Saudi Arabia. Data collection relied on interviews. Stream of behaviour chronicles was also used as a strategy of non interactive data collection.14 non native…

Whose "Crisis in Language"? Translating and the Futurity of Foreign Language Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gramling, David J.; Warner, Chantelle

2016-01-01

This contribution questions to whom and to whose learning experience has the idiom of crisis that so pervades the domain of U.S. foreign language teaching been addressed. The authors report on an advanced foreign language classroom-based study from 2013, in which undergraduate German learners translated a 14-page prose poem about translingual…

Pragmatics & Language Learning. Volume 13

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Greer, Tim, Ed.; Tatsuki, Donna, Ed.; Roever, Carsten, Ed.

2013-01-01

"Pragmatics & Language Learning. Volume 13" examines the organization of second language and multilingual speakers' talk and pragmatic knowledge across a range of naturalistic and experimental activities. Based on data collected among ESL and EFL learners from a variety of backgrounds, the contributions explore the nexus of pragmatic…

Promoting CLT within a Computer Assisted Learning Environment: A Survey of the Communicative English Course of FLTC

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Haider, Md. Zulfeqar; Chowdhury, Takad Ahmed

2012-01-01

This study is based on a survey of the Communicative English Language Certificate (CELC) course run by the Foreign Language Training Center (FLTC), a Project under the Ministry of Education, Bangladesh. FLTC is working to promote the teaching and learning of English through its eleven computer-based and state of the art language laboratories. As…

Underspecification-Based Grammatical Feedback Generation Tailored to the Learner's Current Acquisition Level in an e-Learning System for German as Second Language

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Harbusch, Karin; Cameran, Christel-Joy; Härtel, Johannes

2014-01-01

We present a new feedback strategy implemented in a natural language generation-based e-learning system for German as a second language (L2). Although the system recognizes a large proportion of the grammar errors in learner-produced written sentences, its automatically generated feedback only addresses errors against rules that are relevant at…

The Impact of Problem-Based Learning on Iranian EFL Learners' Speaking Proficiency

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ansarian, Loghman; Adlipour, Ali Akbar; Saber, Mehrnoush Akhavan; Shafiei, Elmira

2016-01-01

The study investigated the effect of problem-based learning through cognition-based tasks on speaking proficiency of Iranian intermediate EFL learners in comparison to the effect of objective-based tasks. To this end, a true experimental research design was employed. Ninety five (N = 95) language learners studying at a language institute in the…

Task-Based Learning and Content and Language Integrated Learning Materials Design: Process and Product

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Moore, Pat; Lorenzo, Francisco

2015-01-01

Content and language integrated learning (CLIL) represents an increasingly popular approach to bilingual education in Europe. In this article, we describe and discuss a project which, in response to teachers' pleas for materials, led to the production of a significant bank of task-based primary and secondary CLIL units for three L2s (English,…

Effects of Problem-Based Learning on a Fifth Grade Language Arts Classroom

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Blackwell, Deborah

2013-01-01

The main purpose of this qualitative research was to discover the effects of problem-based learning on a fifth grade language arts classroom. The secondary purpose was to examine how receptive fifth grade students were to a new way of learning. In this descriptive study, a group of nine students created an alternate reality game as part of a…

Competitive Team-Based Learning versus Group Investigation with Reference to the Language Proficiency of Iranian EFL Intermediate Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hosseini, Seyed Mohammad Hassan

2014-01-01

This paper is a report on an experimental study which intended to look into the possible effects of Competitive Team-Based Learning (CTBL) vis-à-vis Group Investigation (GI) method of Cooperative Learning (CL) on the language proficiency of Iranian EFL intermediate students. Seventy homogeneous Iranian intermediate students were selected out of a…

A Study of the Effects of Competitive Team-Based Learning and Structured Academic Controversy on the Language Proficiency of Iranian EFL College Seniors

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hosseini, Seyed Mohammad Hassan

2012-01-01

This paper presents reports on an experimental study which intended to look into and compare the possible effects of this researcher's instructional innovation, Competitive Team-Based Learning (CTBL), with Structured Academic Controversy (SAC) -- the most popular method of Cooperative Learning (CL) -- on language proficiency of Iranian EFL college…

Learning multiple rules simultaneously: Affixes are more salient than reduplications.

PubMed

Gervain, Judit; Endress, Ansgar D

2017-04-01

Language learners encounter numerous opportunities to learn regularities, but need to decide which of these regularities to learn, because some are not productive in their native language. Here, we present an account of rule learning based on perceptual and memory primitives (Endress, Dehaene-Lambertz, & Mehler, Cognition, 105(3), 577-614, 2007; Endress, Nespor, & Mehler, Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 13(8), 348-353, 2009), suggesting that learners preferentially learn regularities that are more salient to them, and that the pattern of salience reflects the frequency of language features across languages. We contrast this view with previous artificial grammar learning research, which suggests that infants "choose" the regularities they learn based on rational, Bayesian criteria (Frank & Tenenbaum, Cognition, 120(3), 360-371, 2013; Gerken, Cognition, 98(3)B67-B74, 2006, Cognition, 115(2), 362-366, 2010). In our experiments, adult participants listened to syllable strings starting with a syllable reduplication and always ending with the same "affix" syllable, or to syllable strings starting with this "affix" syllable and ending with the "reduplication". Both affixation and reduplication are frequently used for morphological marking across languages. We find three crucial results. First, participants learned both regularities simultaneously. Second, affixation regularities seemed easier to learn than reduplication regularities. Third, regularities in sequence offsets were easier to learn than regularities at sequence onsets. We show that these results are inconsistent with previous Bayesian rule learning models, but mesh well with the perceptual or memory primitives view. Further, we show that the pattern of salience revealed in our experiments reflects the distribution of regularities across languages. Ease of acquisition might thus be one determinant of the frequency of regularities across languages.

Supporting Foreign Language Vocabulary Learning through Kinect-Based Gaming

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Urun, Mehmet Faith; Aksoy, Hasan; Comez, Rasim

2017-01-01

This study aimed to explore the effectiveness of a Kinect-based game called Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Future Soldier to investigate possible contributions of game-based learning in a virtual language classroom at a state university in Ankara, Turkey. A quasi-experimental design where the treatment group (N= 26) was subjected to kinect-based…

Students Perspective of Using Content-Based Approach in ESP Class

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yang, Ju Yin; Chen, Wen Ching

2015-01-01

The purpose of this study is to understand the perspectives of using content-based approach on college students in International Trade Business English (ITBE) Class. Content-based Approach (CBA) viewed as language learning with contents for academic subject matter. It provides a cognitive and motivational basis of language learning. CBA approach…

Switching Codes in the Plurilingual Classroom

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Corcoll López, Cristina; González-Davies, Maria

2016-01-01

The English as a foreign language classroom is a plurilingual setting par excellence since it involves at least two languages. However, plurilingual practices such as code-switching and translation have been consistently discouraged in formal learning contexts, based on the belief that keeping languages compartmentalized helps learning, and…

Exploring Taiwanese College Students' Perceptions of Text-Based, Computer-Mediated Communication Technology in Learning Japanese as a Foreign Language

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tanaka, Makiko

2015-01-01

The use of computers as an educational tool has become very popular in the context of language teaching and learning. Research into computer mediated communication (CMC) in a Japanese as a foreign language (JFL) learning and teaching context can take advantage of various pedagogical possibilities, just as in the English classroom. This study…

The U.S.-China E-Language Project: A Study of a Gaming Approach to English Language Learning for Middle School Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Green, Patricia J.; Sha, Mandy; Liu, Lu

2011-01-01

In 2001, the U.S. Department of Education and the Ministry of Education in China entered into a bilateral partnership to develop a technology-driven approach to foreign language learning that integrated gaming, immersion, voice recognition, problem-based learning tasks, and other features that made it a significant research and development pilot…

The Old Brain, the New Mirror: Matching Teaching and Learning Styles in Foreign Language Class (Based on Neuro-Linguistic Programming).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Knowles, John K.

The process of matching teaching materials and methods to the student's learning style and ability level in foreign language classes is explored. The Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) model offers a diagnostic process for the identification of style. This process can be applied to the language learning setting as a way of presenting material to…

Modeling social learning of language and skills.

PubMed

Vogt, Paul; Haasdijk, Evert

2010-01-01

We present a model of social learning of both language and skills, while assuming—insofar as possible—strict autonomy, virtual embodiment, and situatedness. This model is built by integrating various previous models of language development and social learning, and it is this integration that, under the mentioned assumptions, provides novel challenges. The aim of the article is to investigate what sociocognitive mechanisms agents should have in order to be able to transmit language from one generation to the next so that it can be used as a medium to transmit internalized rules that represent skill knowledge. We have performed experiments where this knowledge solves the familiar poisonous-food problem. Simulations reveal under what conditions, regarding population structure, agents can successfully solve this problem. In addition to issues relating to perspective taking and mutual exclusivity, we show that agents need to coordinate interactions so that they can establish joint attention in order to form a scaffold for language learning, which in turn forms a scaffold for the learning of rule-based skills. Based on these findings, we conclude by hypothesizing that social learning at one level forms a scaffold for the social learning at another, higher level, thus contributing to the accumulation of cultural knowledge.

Analytical learning and term-rewriting systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Laird, Philip; Gamble, Evan

1990-01-01

Analytical learning is a set of machine learning techniques for revising the representation of a theory based on a small set of examples of that theory. When the representation of the theory is correct and complete but perhaps inefficient, an important objective of such analysis is to improve the computational efficiency of the representation. Several algorithms with this purpose have been suggested, most of which are closely tied to a first order logical language and are variants of goal regression, such as the familiar explanation based generalization (EBG) procedure. But because predicate calculus is a poor representation for some domains, these learning algorithms are extended to apply to other computational models. It is shown that the goal regression technique applies to a large family of programming languages, all based on a kind of term rewriting system. Included in this family are three language families of importance to artificial intelligence: logic programming, such as Prolog; lambda calculus, such as LISP; and combinatorial based languages, such as FP. A new analytical learning algorithm, AL-2, is exhibited that learns from success but is otherwise quite different from EBG. These results suggest that term rewriting systems are a good framework for analytical learning research in general, and that further research should be directed toward developing new techniques.

A Task-Based Language Teaching Approach to Developing Metacognitive Strategies for Listening Comprehension

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chou, Mu-Hsuan

2017-01-01

In second (L2) or foreign language (FL) learning, learning strategies help learners perform tasks, solve specific problems, and compensate for learning deficits. Of the strategy types, metacognitive strategies manage and regulate the construction of L2 or FL knowledge. Although learning strategies are frequently taught via teacher demonstration,…

Language Learning in Preschool Children: An Embodied Learning Account

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ionescu, Thea; Ilie, Adriana

2018-01-01

In Romanian preschool settings, there is a tendency to use abstract strategies in language-learning activities. The present study explored if strategies based on an embodied cognition approach facilitate learning more than traditional strategies that progress from concrete to abstract. Twenty-five children between 4 and 5 years of age listened to…

The Relationship between the Learning Strategies and Learning Styles in a Hypermedia Environment.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Liu, Min; Reed, W. Michael

Different learning strategies that are used by field-independent (FI) and field-dependent (FD) people in a hypermedia-assisted instructional setting were studied with 63 international college students for whom English was a second language. The treatment was a semantic network-based hypermedia-assisted language-learning environment to help…

Learning Processes in Blended Language Learning: A Mixed-Methods Approach

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shahrokni, Seyed Abdollah; Talaeizadeh, Ali

2013-01-01

This article attempts to investigate the learning processes in blended language learning through assessing sources of information: logs, chat and forum scripts, and semi-structured interviews. Creating a MOODLE-based parallel component to face-to-face instruction for a group of EFL learners, we probed into 2,984 logged actions providing raw…

Comparing the Effects of Traditional Face-to-Face, Technology-Based, and Blended Instructional Strategies in a Post-Secondary Spanish Language Learning Environment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Harris, Richard

2017-01-01

Understanding the way humans communicate linguistically helps to define what proficiency in a particular language is. The general problem is scholars' assumption that the implementation of technology in the language learning environment acts a substitute for the human dynamic in achieving language proficiency. The purpose of this quantitative…

Measuring Opportunity to Learn and Academic Language Exposure for English Language Learners in Elementary Science Classrooms. CRESST Report 767

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Martinez, Jose Felipe; Bailey, Alison L.; Kerr, Deirdre; Huang, Becky H.; Beauregard, Stacey

2010-01-01

The present study piloted a survey-based measure of Opportunity to Learn (OTL) and Academic Language Exposure (ALE) in fourth grade science classrooms that sought to distinguish teacher practices with ELL (English language learner) and non-ELL students. In the survey, participant teachers reported on their instructional practices and the context…

Bootstrapping language acquisition.

PubMed

Abend, Omri; Kwiatkowski, Tom; Smith, Nathaniel J; Goldwater, Sharon; Steedman, Mark

2017-07-01

The semantic bootstrapping hypothesis proposes that children acquire their native language through exposure to sentences of the language paired with structured representations of their meaning, whose component substructures can be associated with words and syntactic structures used to express these concepts. The child's task is then to learn a language-specific grammar and lexicon based on (probably contextually ambiguous, possibly somewhat noisy) pairs of sentences and their meaning representations (logical forms). Starting from these assumptions, we develop a Bayesian probabilistic account of semantically bootstrapped first-language acquisition in the child, based on techniques from computational parsing and interpretation of unrestricted text. Our learner jointly models (a) word learning: the mapping between components of the given sentential meaning and lexical words (or phrases) of the language, and (b) syntax learning: the projection of lexical elements onto sentences by universal construction-free syntactic rules. Using an incremental learning algorithm, we apply the model to a dataset of real syntactically complex child-directed utterances and (pseudo) logical forms, the latter including contextually plausible but irrelevant distractors. Taking the Eve section of the CHILDES corpus as input, the model simulates several well-documented phenomena from the developmental literature. In particular, the model exhibits syntactic bootstrapping effects (in which previously learned constructions facilitate the learning of novel words), sudden jumps in learning without explicit parameter setting, acceleration of word-learning (the "vocabulary spurt"), an initial bias favoring the learning of nouns over verbs, and one-shot learning of words and their meanings. The learner thus demonstrates how statistical learning over structured representations can provide a unified account for these seemingly disparate phenomena. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Developing Learner Autonomy for Oral Language on the Base of Emergent Metacognition

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fu, Jing-yuan

2007-01-01

This paper conducted on an empirical study among 466 first-year semester diploma students of Wenzhou University, contemplates some metacognitive strategies for facilitating learners' self-autonomy for oral language learning. Oral language appropriateness and procuration within the context of globality and lifelong learning are essential to the…

Advanced Foreign Language Learning: A Challenge to College Programs. Issues in Language Program Direction.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Byrnes, Heidi, Ed.; Maxim, Hiram H., Ed.

This book includes the following chapters: "Literacy and Advanced Foreign Language Learning: Rethinking he Curriculum" (Richard G. Kern); "A Template for Advanced Learner Tasks: Staging Genre Reading and Cultural Literacy Through the Precis" (Janet Swaffar); "Fostering Advanced L2 Literacy: A Genre-Based, Cognitive…

A Study of Multimedia Application-Based Vocabulary Acquisition

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shao, Jing

2012-01-01

The development of computer-assisted language learning (CALL) has created the opportunity for exploring the effects of the multimedia application on foreign language vocabulary acquisition in recent years. This study provides an overview the computer-assisted language learning (CALL) and detailed a developing result of CALL--multimedia. With the…

An Investigation of the Relationship between College Chinese EFL Students' Autonomous Learning Capacity and Motivation in Using Computer-Assisted Language Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pu, Minran

2009-01-01

The purpose of the study was to investigate the relationship between college EFL students' autonomous learning capacity and motivation in using web-based Computer-Assisted Language Learning (CALL) in China. This study included three questionnaires: the student background questionnaire, the questionnaire on student autonomous learning capacity, and…

Using Mixed-Modality Learning Strategies via e-Learning for Second Language Vocabulary Acquisition

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yang, Fang-Chuan Ou; Wu, Wen-Chi Vivian

2015-01-01

This study demonstrated an e-learning system, MyEVA, based on a mixed-modality vocabulary strategy in assisting learners of English as a second language (L2 learners) to improve their vocabulary. To explore the learning effectiveness of MyEVA, the study compared four vocabulary-learning techniques, MyEVA in preference mode, MyEVA in basic mode, an…

Structural plasticity in the language system related to increased second language proficiency.

PubMed

Stein, Maria; Federspiel, Andrea; Koenig, Thomas; Wirth, Miranka; Strik, Werner; Wiest, Roland; Brandeis, Daniel; Dierks, Thomas

2012-04-01

While functional changes linked to second language learning have been subject to extensive investigation, the issue of learning-dependent structural plasticity in the fields of bilingualism and language comprehension has so far received less notice. In the present study we used voxel-based morphometry to monitor structural changes occurring within five months of second language learning. Native English-speaking exchange students learning German in Switzerland were examined once at the beginning of their stay and once about five months later, when their German language skills had significantly increased. We show that structural changes in the left inferior frontal gyrus are correlated with the increase in second language proficiency as measured by a paper-and-pencil language test. Contrary to the increase in proficiency and grey matter, the absolute values of grey matter density and second language proficiency did not correlate (neither on first nor on second measurement). This indicates that the individual amount of learning is reflected in brain structure changes, regardless of absolute proficiency. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Srl. All rights reserved.

What Can Technology Offer to Linguistically Diverse Classrooms? Using Multilingual Content in a Computer-Based Learning Environment for Primary Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Van Laere, Evelien; Rosiers, Kirsten; Van Avermaet, Piet; Slembrouck, Stef; van Braak, Johan

2017-01-01

Computer-based learning environments (CBLEs) have the potential to integrate the linguistic diversity present in classrooms as a resourceful tool in pupils' learning process. Particularly for pupils who speak a language at home other than the language which is used at school, more understanding is needed on how CBLEs offering multilingual content…

The relationship between English language learning strategies and proficiency of pre-university students: A study case of UMS

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kiram, Johannah Jamalul; Sulaiman, Jumat; Swanto, Suyansah; Din, Wardatul Akmam

2014-07-01

This paper seeks to investigate the relationship between language learning strategies and proficiency in English. Fifty-six pre-university students (22 males, 34 females) of University Malaysia Sabah participated in this study. Oxford's Strategy Inventory for Language Learning (SILL) self-report questionnaire was adopted to identify the students' language learning strategies, whereas their proficiencies were judged based on their Malaysian University English Test (MUET) Results. Pearson's correlation coefficient, Spearman's rank correlation coefficient and the t-test were utilized to make statistical interpretation about the relationship. The knowledge obtained from this study will be helpful for future studies on how to improve the quality of learning and proficiency in English.

Language Choice among Peers in Project-Based Learning: A Hong Kong Case Study of English Language Learners' Plurilingual Practices in Out-of-Class Computer-Mediated Communication

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hafner, Christoph A.; Li, David C. S.; Miller, Lindsay

2015-01-01

Recently there has been considerable interest in the role of first language use in second/foreign language learning, especially where students share a common first language. However, most research has focused on in-class interaction between teachers and learners. Much less attention has been given to students' out-of-class practices, for example,…

The Effectiveness of Using an Explicit Language Learning Strategy-Based Instruction in Developing Secondary School Students' EFL Listening Comprehension Skills

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Amin, Iman Abdul-Reheem; Amin, Magdy Mohammad; Aly, Mahsoub Abdul-Sadeq

2011-01-01

The present study aimed at exploring the effectiveness of using explicit language learning strategy-based instruction in developing secondary school students' EFL listening comprehension skills. It was hypothesized that using explicit strategy-based instruction would develop students' EFL listening comprehension skill and its sub-skills. The…

Designing a Syntax-Based Retrieval System for Supporting Language Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tsao, Nai-Lung; Kuo, Chin-Hwa; Wible, David; Hung, Tsung-Fu

2009-01-01

In this paper, we propose a syntax-based text retrieval system for on-line language learning and use a fast regular expression search engine as its main component. Regular expression searches provide more scalable querying and search results than keyword-based searches. However, without a well-designed index scheme, the execution time of regular…

A Mobile Game-Based English Vocabulary Practice System Based on Portfolio Analysis

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wu, Ting-Ting; Huang, Yueh-Min

2017-01-01

English learning has become a vital educational strategy in many non-English-speaking countries. Vocabulary is a critical element for language learners. Therefore, developing sufficient vocabulary knowledge enables effective communication. However, learning a foreign language is difficult and stressful. In addition, memorizing English vocabulary…

Implicit Schemata and Categories in Memory-Based Language Processing

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

van den Bosch, Antal; Daelemans, Walter

2013-01-01

Memory-based language processing (MBLP) is an approach to language processing based on exemplar storage during learning and analogical reasoning during processing. From a cognitive perspective, the approach is attractive as a model for human language processing because it does not make any assumptions about the way abstractions are shaped, nor any…

The Threshold Level--For Schools?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lauerbach, Gerda

1979-01-01

Comments on the document "Threshold Level for Modern Language Learning Schools" (J. A. Van Ek, Strasbourg, 1976) and its appropriateness as a description of learning goals for the first years of foreign language teaching. Criticizes particularly the "reduced learning" concept, on which the threshold projects are based. (IFS/WGA)

The relationship between English language learning strategies and gender among pre-university students: An overview of UMS

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kiram, Johannah Jamalul; Sulaiman, Jumat; Swanto, Suyansah; Din, Wardatul Akmam

2014-06-01

This study aims to analyze the effects psychological gender differences on the relationship between language learning strategies and their proficiency in English language for pre-university students. Previous researchers found that the more employment of language learning strategies, the more successful the learners are and those with higher level of strategy use are female rather than male. In this study, fifty-six pre-university students (22 males, 34 females) of University Malaysia Sabah participated in this study. Oxford's Strategy Inventory for Language Learning (SILL) self-report questionnaire was adopted to identify the students' language learning strategies, whereas their proficiencies were based on their Malaysian University English Test (MUET) results. Pearson's correlation coefficient, one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and the t-test were utilized to make statistical interpretation about the relationship. The knowledge obtained from this study will be helpful for future studies on how to improve the quality of learning and proficiency in English.

Oracy and the Educational Achievement of Pupils with English as an Additional Language: The Impact of Bringing "Talking Partners" into Bradford Schools.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kotler, Angie; Wegerif, Rupert; LeVoi, Martin

2001-01-01

Examined whether an intervention based on what is known about how children learn language could make a significant difference to English as an additional language learners' control over oral language, particularly in relation to literacy learners. Results from a range of assessments show it is possible to accelerate such learning. (Author/VWL)

Imitative Modeling as a Theoretical Base for Instructing Language-Disordered Children

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Courtright, John A.; Courtright, Illene C.

1976-01-01

A modification of A. Bandura's social learning theory (imitative modeling) was employed as a theoretical base for language instruction with eight language disordered children (5 to 10 years old). (Author/SBH)

A Seamless Learning Design for Mobile Assisted Language Learning: An Iranian Context

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Foomani, Elham Mohammadi; Hedayati, Mohsen

2016-01-01

Recent developments in information communication technology (ICT) have resulted in a paradigm shift in e-Learning and there is a growing interest in developing design-based research (DBR) focusing on learners and their involvement in knowledge sharing in a contextualized mode. The present study reports a mobile-assisted language learning (MALL)…

A Fuzzy Logic-Based Personalized Learning System for Supporting Adaptive English Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hsieh, Tung-Cheng; Wang, Tzone-I; Su, Chien-Yuan; Lee, Ming-Che

2012-01-01

As a nearly global language, English as a Foreign Language (EFL) programs are essential for people wishing to learn English. Researchers have noted that extensive reading is an effective way to improve a person's command of English. Choosing suitable articles in accordance with a learner's needs, interests and ability using an e-learning system…

Using Trialogues to Measure English Language Skills

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

So, Youngsoon; Zapata-Rivera, Diego; Cho, Yeonsuk; Luce, Christine; Battistini, Laura

2015-01-01

We explored the use of technology-assisted, trialogue-based tasks to measure the English language proficiency of students learning English as a second or foreign language. A presumed benefit of the system for language assessment is its suitability for use in scenario-based tasks that integrate multiple language skills. This integration allows test…

Turkmen Language Competencies for Peace Corps Volunteers in Turkmenistan.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tyson, David; Clark, Larry

This textbook is designed for use by Peace Corps volunteers learning Turkmen in preparation for serving in Turkmenistan. It takes a competency-based approach to language learning, focusing on specific tasks the learner will need to accomplish through language. Some competencies are related to work tasks and others to survival needs or social…

Young Children Learning English as a Second Language: An Intensive Summer Program.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sowers, Jayne

This paper describes the development and implementation of an intensive summer course in English as a Second Language (ESL) designed for children aged 4-5. Planning included development of a curriculum and instructional materials based on theory and practice in the teaching of young children, English language learning and instruction, and…

Enhancing Grammatical Structures in Web-Based Texts

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zilio, Leonardo; Wilkens, Rodrigo; Fairon, Cédrick

2017-01-01

Presentation of raw text to language learners is not enough to ensure learning. Thus, we present the Smart and Immersive Language Learning Environment (SMILLE), a system that uses Natural Language Processing (NLP) for enhancing grammatical information in texts chosen by a given user. The enhancements, carried out by means of text highlighting, are…

The Integration of Technology and Language Instruction to Enhance EFL Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Marek, Michael W.

2014-01-01

There is much research in the scholarly literature about using technology to support language learning, and particularly English as a Foreign Language, but the technology is rarely integrated into the curriculum, largely because the research is the product of the pressure on faculty to publish. The author explores curriculum integration, based on…

Language Aptitude and Grammatical Difficulty: An EFL Classroom-Based Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yalçin, Sebnem; Spada, Nina

2016-01-01

This study investigates the relationship between foreign language aptitude and the learning of two English structures defined as easy or difficult to learn. Using a quasiexperimental design, 66 secondary-level learners of English as a foreign language from three intact classes were provided with four hours of instruction on the "passive"…

Attitudes of Students towards Learning Objects in Web-Based Language Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Basal, Ahmet; Gurol, Mehmet; Sevindik, Tuncay

2012-01-01

Language education is important in the rapidly changing world. Every year much effort has spent on preparing teaching materials for language education. Since positive attitudes of learners towards a teaching material enhance the effectiveness of that material, it is important to determine the attitudes of learners towards the material used.…

Perceptions of the IWB for Second Language Teaching and Learning: The iTILT Project

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Whyte, Shona; Beauchamp, Gary; Hillier, Emily

2012-01-01

Recent emphasis on target language interaction in task-based, technologymediated language classrooms makes the interactive whiteboard (IWB) an attractive tool: it constitutes a "digital hub" particularly suited to younger learners who require greater visual support and active learning. However, recent research in UK and French primary…

Task-Oriented Spoken Dialog System for Second-Language Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kwon, Oh-Woog; Kim, Young-Kil; Lee, Yunkeun

2016-01-01

This paper introduces a Dialog-Based Computer Assisted second-Language Learning (DB-CALL) system using task-oriented dialogue processing technology. The system promotes dialogue with a second-language learner for a specific task, such as purchasing tour tickets, ordering food, passing through immigration, etc. The dialog system plays a role of a…

Teaching Science through the Language of Students in Technology-Enhanced Instruction

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ryoo, Kihyun

2015-01-01

This study examines whether and how tapping into students' everyday language in a web-based learning environment can improve all students' science learning in linguistically heterogeneous classrooms. A total of 220 fifth-grade English Language Learners (ELLs) and their non-ELL peers were assigned to either an everyday English approach…

Language Students Learning to Manage Complex Pedagogic Situations in a Technology-Rich Environment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tumelius, Riikka; Kuure, Leena

2017-01-01

Being a language teacher in the modern world requires sensitivity to complexity, which may pose challenges for student teachers and teachers in the field accustomed to classroom-based learning and teaching. This study examines how language students are managing complex pedagogic situations in a technologyrich environment while exploring new ways…

Explicit and Implicit Learning: Exploring Their Simultaneity and Immediate Effectiveness

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bell, Philippa K.

2017-01-01

Do adults learn the same syntactic second language (L2) form explicitly and implicitly simultaneously during meaning-based exposure, and does the type of learning (explicit and/or implicit) affect subsequent performance. In this study, 81 anglophones completed comprehension tasks providing incidental exposure to a semi-artificial language (English…

Designing Distance Learning Tasks to Help Maximize Vocabulary Development

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Loucky, John Paul

2012-01-01

Task-based language learning using the benefits of online computer-assisted language learning (CALL) can be effective for rapid vocabulary expansion, especially when target vocabulary has been pre-arranged into bilingual categories under simpler, common Semantic Field Keywords. Results and satisfaction levels for both Chinese English majors and…

Factors Influencing the Learning of Chinese Characters

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sung, Ko-Yin; Wu, Hsiao-Ping

2011-01-01

This survey study, which involved 108 language learners enrolled in first-year Chinese as a foreign language classrooms in the United States, intended to address the research questions, "What types of Chinese-character learning strategies do US learners use?" and "Do US learners' Chinese-character learning strategy use differ based on the…

Looking Back--A Lesson Learned: From Videotape to Digital Media

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lys, Franziska

2010-01-01

This paper chronicles the development of Drehort Neubrandenburg Online, an interactive, content-rich audiovisual language learning environment based on documentary film material shot on location in Neubrandenburg, Germany, in 1991 and 2002 and aimed at making language learning more interactive and more real. The paper starts with the description…

Self-Regulated Learning in the Digital Age: An EFL Perspective

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sahin Kizil, Aysel; Savran, Zehra

2016-01-01

Research on the role of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in language learning has ascertained heretofore various potentials ranging from metacognitive domain to skill-based practices. One area in which the potentials of ICT tools requires further exploration is self-regulated language learning, an active, constructive process in…

Designing Online Assignments for Japanese Language Teaching

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tsurutani, Chiharu; Imura, Taeko

2015-01-01

An increasing number of language educators are taking a blended approach to their teaching in order to enhance students' learning experiences and outcomes. During recent years, online tools have become a valuable resource, aiding teachers in course delivery and assessment. Blended learning, which is campus-based learning supported by online…

Complexity in language acquisition.

PubMed

Clark, Alexander; Lappin, Shalom

2013-01-01

Learning theory has frequently been applied to language acquisition, but discussion has largely focused on information theoretic problems-in particular on the absence of direct negative evidence. Such arguments typically neglect the probabilistic nature of cognition and learning in general. We argue first that these arguments, and analyses based on them, suffer from a major flaw: they systematically conflate the hypothesis class and the learnable concept class. As a result, they do not allow one to draw significant conclusions about the learner. Second, we claim that the real problem for language learning is the computational complexity of constructing a hypothesis from input data. Studying this problem allows for a more direct approach to the object of study--the language acquisition device-rather than the learnable class of languages, which is epiphenomenal and possibly hard to characterize. The learnability results informed by complexity studies are much more insightful. They strongly suggest that target grammars need to be objective, in the sense that the primitive elements of these grammars are based on objectively definable properties of the language itself. These considerations support the view that language acquisition proceeds primarily through data-driven learning of some form. Copyright © 2013 Cognitive Science Society, Inc.

Co-occurrence statistics as a language-dependent cue for speech segmentation.

PubMed

Saksida, Amanda; Langus, Alan; Nespor, Marina

2017-05-01

To what extent can language acquisition be explained in terms of different associative learning mechanisms? It has been hypothesized that distributional regularities in spoken languages are strong enough to elicit statistical learning about dependencies among speech units. Distributional regularities could be a useful cue for word learning even without rich language-specific knowledge. However, it is not clear how strong and reliable the distributional cues are that humans might use to segment speech. We investigate cross-linguistic viability of different statistical learning strategies by analyzing child-directed speech corpora from nine languages and by modeling possible statistics-based speech segmentations. We show that languages vary as to which statistical segmentation strategies are most successful. The variability of the results can be partially explained by systematic differences between languages, such as rhythmical differences. The results confirm previous findings that different statistical learning strategies are successful in different languages and suggest that infants may have to primarily rely on non-statistical cues when they begin their process of speech segmentation. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Incorporating Competency-Based Blended Learning in a Chinese Language Classroom: A Web 2.0 Drupal Module Design

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Huang, Chung-Kai; Lin, Chun-Yu; Chiang, Yueh-Hui

2010-01-01

This study aims to create a blended learning environment, based on the concept of competency-based training, in a Chinese as a Foreign Language (CFL) classroom at an American university. Drupal platform and web 2.0 tools were used as supplements to traditional face-to-face classroom instruction. Students completed various selective tasks and…

A Customizable Language Learning Support System Using Ontology-Driven Engine

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wang, Jingyun; Mendori, Takahiko; Xiong, Juan

2013-01-01

This paper proposes a framework for web-based language learning support systems designed to provide customizable pedagogical procedures based on the analysis of characteristics of both learner and course. This framework employs a course-centered ontology and a teaching method ontology as the foundation for the student model, which includes learner…

A Chatbot for a Dialogue-Based Second Language Learning System

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Huang, Jin-Xia; Lee, Kyung-Soon; Kwon, Oh-Woog; Kim, Young-Kil

2017-01-01

This paper presents a chatbot for a Dialogue-Based Computer-Assisted second Language Learning (DB-CALL) system. A DB-CALL system normally leads dialogues by asking questions according to given scenarios. User utterances outside the scenarios are normally considered as semantically improper and simply rejected. In this paper, we assume that raising…

Web Based Projects Enhancing English Language and Generic Skills Development for Asian Hospitality Industry Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wang, Mei-jung

2009-01-01

This study investigated hospitality students' responses toward their learning experiences from undertaking group projects based upon a College web platform, the "Ubiquitous Hospitality English Learning Platform" (U-HELP). Twenty-six students in the Department of Applied Foreign Languages participated in this study. Their attitudes toward…

Evaluating a Web-Based Video Corpus through an Analysis of User Interactions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Caws, Catherine G.

2013-01-01

As shown by several studies, successful integration of technology in language learning requires a holistic approach in order to scientifically understand what learners do when working with web-based technology (cf. Raby, 2007). Additionally, a growing body of research in computer assisted language learning (CALL) evaluation, design and…

Scaffolding Strategies for Wiki-Based Collaboration: Action Research in a Multicultural Japanese Language Program

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jung, Insung; Suzuki, Yoko

2015-01-01

Wikis can be used to encourage and support collaborative constructivist learning. However, their effectiveness depends upon the use of scaffolding strategies to guide the students in their use. This action research investigated three scaffolding strategies for wiki-based multicultural Japanese language learning: worked examples, grouping and peer…

Speaking English in Finnish Content-Based Classrooms

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nikula, Tarja

2007-01-01

CLIL (Content and Language Integrated Learning) is a term widely used in Europe to refer to different forms of content based education, often conducted in English. Earlier research on CLIL has tended to focus on matters of language learning or content mastery rather than on details of classroom interaction. This paper investigates how English is…

The Negotiation Model in Asynchronous Computer-Mediated Communication (CMC): Negotiation in Task-Based Email Exchanges

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kitade, Keiko

2006-01-01

Based on recent studies, computer-mediated communication (CMC) has been considered a tool to aid in language learning on account of its distinctive interactional features. However, most studies have referred to "synchronous" CMC and neglected to investigate how "asynchronous" CMC contributes to language learning. Asynchronous CMC possesses…

Project-Based Learning through the Eyes of Teachers and Students in Adult ESL Classrooms

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Petersen, Cristina; Nassaji, Hossein

2016-01-01

The use of projects and project-based learning has recently received much attention as a way of promoting meaning-focused communication and integrating different language skills into second and foreign language classrooms. However, perspectives on the effective implementation of projects have not been fully explored. This study examines and…

Corpora Processing and Computational Scaffolding for a Web-Based English Learning Environment: The CANDLE Project

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Liou, Hsien-Chin; Chang, Jason S; Chen, Hao-Jan; Lin, Chih-Cheng; Liaw, Meei-Ling; Gao, Zhao-Ming; Jang, Jyh-Shing Roger; Yeh, Yuli; Chuang, Thomas C.; You, Geeng-Neng

2006-01-01

This paper describes the development of an innovative web-based environment for English language learning with advanced data-driven and statistical approaches. The project uses various corpora, including a Chinese-English parallel corpus ("Sinorama") and various natural language processing (NLP) tools to construct effective English…

Action or Reaction, Learning or Display: Interactional Development and Usage-Based Data

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Huth, Thorsten

2013-01-01

This paper investigates how instances of language use can serve as analytic anchors for insight into interactional development over time. I present a usage-based, longitudinal study of multi-turn sequences underlying telephone openings in order to specify if and to whom "language learning" may be relevantly ascribed. Two successive…

Implementation of Markerless Augmented Reality Technology Based on Android to Introduction Lontara in Marine Society

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jumarlis, Mila; Mirfan, Mirfan

2018-05-01

Local language learning had been leaving by people especially young people had affected technology advances so that involved lack of interest to learn culture especially local language. So required interactive and interest learning media for introduction Lontara. This research aims to design and implement augmented reality on introduction Lontara on mobile device especially android. Application of introduction Lontara based on Android was designed by Vuforia and Unity. Data collection method were observation, interview, and literature review. That data was analysed for being information. The system was designed by Unified Modeling Language (UML). The method used is a marker. The test result found that application of Augmented Reality on introduction Lontara based on Android could improve public interest for introducing local language particularly young people in learning about Lontara because of using technology. Application of introduction of Lontara based on Android used augmented reality occurred sound and how to write Lontara with animation. This application could be running without an internet connection, so that its used more efficient and could maximize from user.

Language Trends 2013/14: The State of Language Learning in Primary and Secondary Schools in England. Executive Summary

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Board, Kathryn; Tinsley, Teresa

2014-01-01

The Language Trends survey 2013/4 is the 12th in a series of annual research exercises charting the health of language teaching and learning in English schools. The findings are based on an online survey completed by teachers in a large sample of secondary schools across the country from both the state and independent sectors. In 2012, and again…

The Computer Integration into the EFL Instruction in Indonesia: An Analysis of Two University Instructors in Integrating Computer Technology into EFL Instruction to Encourage Students' Language Learning Engagement

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Prihatin, Pius N.

2012-01-01

Computer technology has been popular for teaching English as a foreign language in non-English speaking countries. This case study explored the way language instructors designed and implemented computer-based instruction so that students are engaged in English language learning. This study explored the beliefs, practices and perceptions of…

Peeling the Onion of Auditory Processing Disorder: A Language/Curricular-Based Perspective

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wallach, Geraldine P.

2011-01-01

Purpose: This article addresses auditory processing disorder (APD) from a language-based perspective. The author asks speech-language pathologists to evaluate the functionality (or not) of APD as a diagnostic category for children and adolescents with language-learning and academic difficulties. Suggestions are offered from a…

Tourism English Education Based on Students' Beliefs on Foreign Language Learning.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Seong, Myeong-Hee

1999-01-01

Investigates beliefs held by Korean college students majoring in tourism English about learning foreign languages, particularly English, and suggests desirable directions that English instruction may take. The student questionnaire is appended. (Author/VWL)

Active physiology learning in a diverse class: an analysis of medical student responses in terms of sex, home language, and self-reported test performance.

PubMed

Higgins-Opitz, Susan B; Tufts, Mark

2012-06-01

The student body at the Nelson R. Mandela School of Medicine (NRMSM) is very diverse, representing many cultures, religions, and languages. Research has shown that weakness in English can impact student performance. Recent studies have also highlighted sex-based differences in students' learning and listening styles. These factors pose both challenges and opportunities for teachers of physiology. Student presentations were incorporated for a number of years into the traditional didactic second-year medical physiology curriculum at the NRMSM. Feedback obtained about the perceived benefits of these presentations for the learning of gastrointestinal and endocrine physiology included demographic data pertaining to students' sex, home language, and self-reported performance in tests. Analysis of the 50-item questionnaire responses, obtained over a 2-yr period, provided some interesting insights. Student responses to the items differed significantly in 27 of the 50 items in the questionnaire, based on sex alone (22%), sex and home language (7%), home language alone (37%), performance alone (26%), and performance and home language (7%). Our analyses of student perceptions support the findings of other studies and show that factors such as sex, home language, and student performance can play an important role in the way students are motivated to learn. In designing active learning strategies, academics need to take into account the potential influences that might affect student learning in diverse, multicultural, and multilingual classes.

Discourses of prejudice in the professions: the case of sign languages

PubMed Central

Humphries, Tom; Kushalnagar, Poorna; Mathur, Gaurav; Napoli, Donna Jo; Padden, Carol; Rathmann, Christian; Smith, Scott

2017-01-01

There is no evidence that learning a natural human language is cognitively harmful to children. To the contrary, multilingualism has been argued to be beneficial to all. Nevertheless, many professionals advise the parents of deaf children that their children should not learn a sign language during their early years, despite strong evidence across many research disciplines that sign languages are natural human languages. Their recommendations are based on a combination of misperceptions about (1) the difficulty of learning a sign language, (2) the effects of bilingualism, and particularly bimodalism, (3) the bona fide status of languages that lack a written form, (4) the effects of a sign language on acquiring literacy, (5) the ability of technologies to address the needs of deaf children and (6) the effects that use of a sign language will have on family cohesion. We expose these misperceptions as based in prejudice and urge institutions involved in educating professionals concerned with the healthcare, raising and educating of deaf children to include appropriate information about first language acquisition and the importance of a sign language for deaf children. We further urge such professionals to advise the parents of deaf children properly, which means to strongly advise the introduction of a sign language as soon as hearing loss is detected. PMID:28280057

Grammatical pattern learning by human infants and cotton-top tamarin monkeys

PubMed Central

Saffran, Jenny; Hauser, Marc; Seibel, Rebecca; Kapfhamer, Joshua; Tsao, Fritz; Cushman, Fiery

2008-01-01

There is a surprising degree of overlapping structure evident across the languages of the world. One factor leading to cross-linguistic similarities may be constraints on human learning abilities. Linguistic structures that are easier for infants to learn should predominate in human languages. If correct, then (a) human infants should more readily acquire structures that are consistent with the form of natural language, whereas (b) non-human primates’ patterns of learning should be less tightly linked to the structure of human languages. Prior experiments have not directly compared laboratory-based learning of grammatical structures by human infants and non-human primates, especially under comparable testing conditions and with similar materials. Five experiments with 12-month-old human infants and adult cotton-top tamarin monkeys addressed these predictions, employing comparable methods (familiarization-discrimination) and materials. Infants rapidly acquired complex grammatical structures by using statistically predictive patterns, failing to learn structures that lacked such patterns. In contrast, the tamarins only exploited predictive patterns when learning relatively simple grammatical structures. Infant learning abilities may serve both to facilitate natural language acquisition and to impose constraints on the structure of human languages. PMID:18082676

Students of "Easy" Languages: Their Beliefs about Language Learning.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kuntz, Patricia S.

This paper investigates the beliefs about language learning held by 53 first-month university students enrolled in Swahili compared to those of 113 students of French and Spanish. Based in part upon the research design and instrument of Elaine Horwitz (University of Texas-Austin), this paper isolates the results from a larger study of eight…

Creativity and Mobile Language Learning Using LingoBee

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Petersen, Sobah Abbas; Procter-Legg, Emma; Cacchione, Annamaria

2013-01-01

In this paper, the authors explore the ideas of mobility and creativity through the use of LingoBee, a mobile app for situated language learning. LingoBee is based on ideas from crowd-sourcing and social networking to support language learners. Learners are able to create their own content and share it with other learners through a repository. The…

Exploring the Potential for Language Supportive Learning in English Medium Instruction: A Rwandan Case Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Milligan, Lizzi O.; Clegg, John; Tikly, Leon

2016-01-01

This article puts forward the argument for language supportive learning for learners in English medium instruction (EMI) classrooms based on the findings from a mixed methods study in Rwanda. The article first reviews the relevant literature and research which looks at the concept of language support, focusing on textbooks and pedagogy in…

Japanese Students' Perceptions of Digital Game Use for English-Language Learning in Higher Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bolliger, Doris U.; Mills, Daniel; White, Jeremy; Kohyama, Megumi

2015-01-01

Researchers investigated perceptions of Japanese college students toward the use of digital games in English-language learning. The study was conducted at one large private university in Japan. Undergraduate students who were enrolled in 14 English-language courses were invited to complete a paper-based survey during class time. The survey…

The Contribution of CALL to Advanced-Level Foreign/Second Language Instruction

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Burston, Jack; Arispe, Kelly

2016-01-01

This paper evaluates the contribution of instructional technology to advanced-level foreign/second language learning (AL2) over the past thirty years. It is shown that the most salient feature of AL2 practice and associated Computer-Assisted Language Learning (CALL) research are their rarity and restricted nature. Based on an analysis of four…

Second Language and Literacy Learning in School and at Home: An Ethnographic Study of Chinese Canadian First Graders' Experiences

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Li, Guofang

2007-01-01

Based on the theoretical perspectives of socio-constructivism and language socialization, this study reports two Chinese Canadian first grader's experiences of language and literacy learning in and out of school in a unique sociocultural setting where they were "the mainstream." The article examines the students' reading and writing…

Do neural nets learn statistical laws behind natural language?

PubMed

Takahashi, Shuntaro; Tanaka-Ishii, Kumiko

2017-01-01

The performance of deep learning in natural language processing has been spectacular, but the reasons for this success remain unclear because of the inherent complexity of deep learning. This paper provides empirical evidence of its effectiveness and of a limitation of neural networks for language engineering. Precisely, we demonstrate that a neural language model based on long short-term memory (LSTM) effectively reproduces Zipf's law and Heaps' law, two representative statistical properties underlying natural language. We discuss the quality of reproducibility and the emergence of Zipf's law and Heaps' law as training progresses. We also point out that the neural language model has a limitation in reproducing long-range correlation, another statistical property of natural language. This understanding could provide a direction for improving the architectures of neural networks.

Do neural nets learn statistical laws behind natural language?

PubMed Central

Takahashi, Shuntaro

2017-01-01

The performance of deep learning in natural language processing has been spectacular, but the reasons for this success remain unclear because of the inherent complexity of deep learning. This paper provides empirical evidence of its effectiveness and of a limitation of neural networks for language engineering. Precisely, we demonstrate that a neural language model based on long short-term memory (LSTM) effectively reproduces Zipf’s law and Heaps’ law, two representative statistical properties underlying natural language. We discuss the quality of reproducibility and the emergence of Zipf’s law and Heaps’ law as training progresses. We also point out that the neural language model has a limitation in reproducing long-range correlation, another statistical property of natural language. This understanding could provide a direction for improving the architectures of neural networks. PMID:29287076

Possibilities and Challenges of Learning German in a Multimodal Environment: A Case Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Abrams, Zsuzsanna Ittzes

2016-01-01

Despite a growing body of research on task-based language learning (TBLT) (Samuda & Bygate, 2008; Ellis, 2003), there is still little information available regarding the pedagogical design behind tasks and how they are implemented (Samuda & Bygate, 2008). Scholars in computer-mediated second language (L2) learning have called for research…

Hypermedia-Assisted Instruction and Second Language Learning: A Semantic-Network-Based Approach.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Liu, Min

This literature review examines a hypermedia learning environment from a semantic network basis and the application of such an environment to second language learning. (A semantic network is defined as a conceptual representation of knowledge in human memory). The discussion is organized under the following headings and subheadings: (1) Advantages…

Real-Time Interactive Social Environments: A Review of BT's Generic Learning Platform.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gardner, Michael; Ward, Holly

1999-01-01

Describes the development of a generic learning platform for online distance learning and explains RISE (Real-time Interactive Social Environments), a Web-based system. Reports results of trials at the University of Hull Language Institute in an English as a Foreign Language course that investigated system usability, teacher roles, and student…

Does Project-Based Learning Enhance Iranian EFL Learners' Vocabulary Recall and Retention?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shafaei, Azadeh; Rahim, Hajar Abdul

2015-01-01

Vocabulary knowledge is an integral part of second/foreign language learning. Thus, using teaching methods that can help learners retain and expand their vocabulary knowledge is necessary to facilitate the language learning process. The current research investigated the effectiveness of an interactive classroom method, known as Project-Based…

Virtual Learning Environments on the Go: CALL Meets MALL

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Arús Hita, Jorge

2016-01-01

This paper presents "Eating out," a Moodle-based digital learning resource for English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teaching that can be run both on computers and mobile devices. It is argued that Mobile Assisted Language Learning (MALL) resources do not necessarily need to be specifically designed for such platforms. Rather, a carefully…

Interactive Syllable-Based English Vocabulary Learning in a Context-Aware Environment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wang, Wen-Yen; Huang, Yueh-Min

2017-01-01

English is one of the most important second languages in nonnative English-speaking countries, where learning English usually begins in primary school. To this end, vocabulary learning is regarded as the most fundamental and crucial stage in developing the student's English language capability. While some studies have explored strategies of…

Algorithm Building and Learning Programming Languages Using a New Educational Paradigm

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jain, Anshul K.; Singhal, Manik; Gupta, Manu Sheel

2011-08-01

This research paper presents a new concept of using a single tool to associate syntax of various programming languages, algorithms and basic coding techniques. A simple framework has been programmed in Python that helps students learn skills to develop algorithms, and implement them in various programming languages. The tool provides an innovative and a unified graphical user interface for development of multimedia objects, educational games and applications. It also aids collaborative learning amongst students and teachers through an integrated mechanism based on Remote Procedure Calls. The paper also elucidates an innovative method for code generation to enable students to learn the basics of programming languages using drag-n-drop methods for image objects.

Communication and Gamification in the Web-Based Foreign Language Educational System: Web- Based Foreign Language Educational System

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Osipov, Ilya V.; Volinsky, Alex A.; Nikulchev, Evgeny; Prasikova, Anna Y.

2016-01-01

The paper describes development of the educational online web communication platform for teaching and learning foreign languages. The main objective was to develop a web application for teaching foreigners to understand casual fluent speech. The system is based on the time bank principle, allowing users to teach others their native language along…

Construction of the Questionnaire on Foreign Language Learning Strategies in Specific Croatian Context.

PubMed

Božinović, Nikolina; Sindik, Joško

2017-03-01

Learning strategies are special thoughts or behaviours that individuals use to understand, learn or retain new information, according to the point of view of O’Malley & Chamot. The other view, promoted by Oxford, believes learning strategies are specific actions taken by the learner to make learning easier, faster, more enjoyable, and more transferrable to new situations of language learning and use. The use of appropriate strategies ensures greater success in language learning. The aim of the research was to establish metric characteristics of the Questionnaire on learning strategies created by the author, in line with the template of the original SILL questionnaire (Strategy Inventory for Language Learning). The research was conducted at the Rochester Institute of Technology Croatia on a sample of 201 participants who learned German, Spanish, French and Italian as a foreign language. The results have shown that one-component latent dimensions which describe the space of foreign language learning strategies according to Oxford’s classification, have metric characteristics which are low, but still satisfactory (reliability and validity). All dimensions of learning strategies appeared not to be adequately defined. Therefore, we excluded compensation strategies and merged social and affective strategies into social-affective strategies into the unique dimension. Overall, this version of Oxford’s original questionnaire, based on Oxford’s theoretical construct, applied on Croatian students, clearly shows that current version of the questionnaire has poor metric characteristics. One of the explanations of the results obtained could be positioned in multicultural context and intercultural dialogue. Namely, particular social, political and economic context in Croatia could shape even foreign language learning strategies.

Supporting Teachers in Designing CSCL Activities: A Case Study of Principle-Based Pedagogical Patterns in Networked Second Language Classrooms

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wen, Yun; Looi, Chee-Kit; Chen, Wenli

2012-01-01

This paper proposes the identification and use of principle-based pedagogical patterns to help teachers to translate design principles into actionable teaching activities, and to scaffold student learning with sufficient flexibility and creativity. A set of pedagogical patterns for networked Second language (L2) learning, categorized and…

Educator Perceptions of Digital Game-Based Learning in the Instruction of Foreign Languages in Japanese Higher Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Franciosi, Stephan J.

2014-01-01

Digital Game-Based Learning (DGBL) is an innovative educational approach that is becoming increasingly popular among researchers and practitioners in technologically advanced countries in the West, but is largely unknown or ignored in the instruction of Foreign Languages (FL) in Japanese higher education. This is problematic because more interest…

GenieTutor: A Computer Assisted Second-Language Learning System Based on Semantic and Grammar Correctness Evaluations

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kwon, Oh-Woog; Lee, Kiyoung; Kim, Young-Kil; Lee, Yunkeun

2015-01-01

This paper introduces a Dialog-Based Computer-Assisted second-Language Learning (DB-CALL) system using semantic and grammar correctness evaluations and the results of its experiment. While the system dialogues with English learners about a given topic, it automatically evaluates the grammar and content properness of their English utterances, then…

From the Mouths of Canadian University Students: Web-Based Information-Seeking Activities for Language Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Peters, Martine; Weinberg, Alysse; Sarma, Nandini; Frankoff, Mary

2011-01-01

This article presents student perceptions about different types of web-based activities used to seek information for French language learning. Group interviews were conducted with 71 students in five Canadian universities to elicit data on their use of the Internet for information-seeking activities. These students use the Web for three main…

Learning to Do Concept-Based Pragmatics Instruction: Teacher Development and L2 Pedagogical Content Knowledge

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

van Compernolle, Rémi A.; Henery, Ashlie

2015-01-01

This article explores the development of pedagogical content knowledge in relation to one teacher's experience in learning to engage in a Vygotskian approach to teaching second language (L2) pragmatics known as "concept-based pragmatics instruction" (CBPI). The teacher, Mrs. Hanks, was a PhD candidate in second language acquisition at…

A CALL-Based Lesson Plan for Teaching Reading Comprehension to Iranian Intermediate EFL Learners

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Khoshsima, Hooshang; Khosravani, Mahboobeh

2014-01-01

The main purpose of this descriptive research is to provide a CALL (Computer-Assisted Language Learning)-based lesson plan for teaching reading comprehension to Iranian intermediate EFL learners. CALL is a new way of learning and teaching language. It is proved that CALL mainly has positive effects on educational contexts. Although teachers…

Virtual Task-Based Situated Language-Learning with "Second Life": Developing EFL Pragmatic Writing and Technological Self-Efficacy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Abdallah, Mahmoud M. S.; Mansour, Marian M.

2015-01-01

This paper reports on an experimental research study that aimed at investigating the effectiveness of employing a virtual task-based situated language learning (TBSLL) environment mediated by Second Life (SL) in developing EFL student teachers' pragmatic writing skills and their technological self-efficacy. To reach this goal, a control-only…

Proposing a Web-Based Tutorial System to Teach Malay Language Braille Code to the Sighted

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wah, Lee Lay; Keong, Foo Kok

2010-01-01

The "e-KodBrailleBM Tutorial System" is a web-based tutorial system which is specially designed to teach, facilitate and support the learning of Malay Language Braille Code to individuals who are sighted. The targeted group includes special education teachers, pre-service teachers, and parents. Learning Braille code involves memorisation…

Effects of Tasks on Spoken Interaction and Motivation in English Language Learners

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Carrero Pérez, Nubia Patricia

2016-01-01

Task based learning (TBL) or Task based learning and teaching (TBLT) is a communicative approach widely applied in settings where English has been taught as a foreign language (EFL). It has been documented as greatly useful to improve learners' communication skills. This research intended to find the effect of tasks on students' spoken interaction…

Project Based-Content Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) at Mathematics Department Universitas Lampung

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yufrizal, Hery; Huzairin; Hasan, Basturi

2017-01-01

This article aims at exploring whether project based content language integrated learning (CLIL) has a significant effect on the oral capability of students of science department of the University of Lampung. The number of students involved in this study was 88 students. Quantitative data was obtained from the value of students' English…

The Relationship between the Fidelity of Project-Based Curriculum Implementation and Foreign Language Teachers' Beliefs in Teaching and Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

de Fur, Karen

2009-01-01

The purpose of this correlational study was to examine the relationship between fidelity of project-based curriculum implementation and foreign language teachers' beliefs in teaching and learning as constructivist or behaviorist. Quantitative data on teachers' beliefs was collected using a self-administered survey. Quantitative data on fidelity of…

Blogs as Powerful Learning Tools: The Perception from EFL Students in Riau Main Island Indonesia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hamuddin, Budianto; Dahler

2018-05-01

Promoting the potential value of blogs in English Language Teaching (ELT) for English as a Foreign Language (EFL) students is the focus of this present study. It’s aimed to explain in a quantitative way the perceptions from English as a Foreign Language (EFL) students in using blogs in Riau main island context. The students from PBIG FKIP Universitas Lancang Kuning in Riau mainland, Indonesia was selected based on the increasing trends of the blog used as alternative media to learn English during these two years. The analysis of this present study based its data from online questionnaire as the main instrument to collect the data. The online questionnaire was open from August 2016-February 2017 (6 months) and filled up by 161 students from English Department of FKIP Unilak who enroll in 6 different blog-based classes at PBIG FKIP Unilak. The analysis showing that the majority of the students had a positive perception that blog can be used as powerful tools to promote English language skills especially reading and writing. The data also reveals that using the blog as a learning journal can raise students’ motivation in learning English and publishing article. These positive results somehow showing that blog can be promoted as an alternative media of learning English for English as Foreign Language Students at PBIG FKIP Unilak or in other institutions around the globe that teach English as a Foreign language.

Impact of Mobile Assisted Language Learning (MALL) on EFL: A Meta-Analysis

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Taj, Imtiaz Hassan; Sulan, Norrihan Binti; Sipra, Muhammad Aslam; Ahmad, Waqar

2016-01-01

Mobile Assisted Language Learning (MALL) has emerged as a potential tool in the instruction of English as a foreign language (EFL). Meta-analysis of 13 studies published between year 2008 and 2015 was conducted. Four point criteria for the selection of studies for analysis is based on the year of publication, quasi-experimental design, pretest and…

A Critical Review of Research on Strategies in Learning Chinese as Both a Second and Foreign Language

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jiang, Xiaoli; Cohen, Andrew D.

2012-01-01

This article critically reviews strategy research on learning Chinese both as a second and foreign language. Through a careful examination of major data bases in both the Chinese and English languages, the article summarizes research in the field and the principal research methods used in the studies reviewed. Moreover, key limitations in research…

The History of Language Learning and Teaching in Britain

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McLelland, Nicola

2018-01-01

This article provides an introduction, based on the most recent research available, to the history of language learning and teaching (HoLLT) in Britain. After an overview of the state of research, I consider which languages have been learnt, why and how that has changed; the role of teachers and tests in determining what was taught; changes in how…

Revisiting the Principles and Functions of the European Language Portfolio with a Focus on Tertiary Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schärer, Rolf

2012-01-01

The European Language Portfolio (ELP) is based on principles which tend to challenge traditional learning and teaching practices and thus impact on education policy and systems. The primary owner of the ELP is the learner, and as a personal language learning companion, the ELP has three core functions: pedagogic, reporting and catalytic. For it to…

Vocabulary Learning: A Comparison of Learners of English as a Second and Third Language

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dibaj, Farzad

2011-01-01

The purpose of this study is to compare the vocabulary learning of monolingual learners of English as a second language with bilingual learners of English as a third language. The study is based on data from 52 monolingual Persian-speaking learners of English and 45 bilingual Azeri-Persian-speaking learners of English. All the participants were…

Validating a Computer-Assisted Language Learning Attitude Instrument Used in Iranian EFL Context: An Evidence-Based Approach

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Aryadoust, Vahid; Mehran, Parisa; Alizadeh, Mehrasa

2016-01-01

A few computer-assisted language learning (CALL) instruments have been developed in Iran to measure EFL (English as a foreign language) learners' attitude toward CALL. However, these instruments have no solid validity argument and accordingly would be unable to provide a reliable measurement of attitude. The present study aimed to develop a CALL…

Model for Bilingual Language Skill Building. Bilingual/Bicultural Education. Series No. 3. Indochinese Refugee Education Guides.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Center for Applied Linguistics, Arlington, VA.

This guide is designed to aid the teacher who has both Vietnamese and native American children in the classroom. It presents some language learning strategies based on a collection of Vietnamese folktales which have been adapted for elementary school children. It is divided into four parts: (1) suggested language/ cultural learning activities; (2)…

Supporting the Language Development of Limited English Proficient Students through Arts Integration in the Primary Grades

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brouillette, Liane

2012-01-01

This article looks at how arts integration can boost the language development of limited English proficient students in kindergarten through second grade. I first review existing research on how young children learn and describe the special challenges faced by children who must learn in an unfamiliar language. I then identify arts-based mechanisms…

CBM Progress Monitoring in Foreign Language Learning for Secondary School Students: Technical Adequacy of Different Measures and Scoring Procedures

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chung, Siuman; Espin, Christine A.

2013-01-01

The reliability and validity of three curriculum-based measures as indicators of learning English as a foreign language were examined. Participants were 260 Dutch students in Grades 8 and 9 who were receiving English-language instruction. Predictor measures were maze-selection, Dutch-to-English word translation, and English-to-Dutch word…

Rethinking Task Design for the Digital Age: A Framework for Language Teaching and Learning in a Synchronous Online Environment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hampel, Regina

2006-01-01

This article discusses a framework for the development of tasks in a synchronous online environment used for language learning and teaching. It shows how a theoretical approach based on second language acquisition (SLA) principles, sociocultural and constructivist theories, and concepts taken from research on multimodality and new literacies, can…

Brain-Based Research & Language Teaching.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Christison, MaryAnn

2002-01-01

Introduces brain-based teaching and learning. Reviews basic biological facts about the human brain and discusses seven principles based on recent research that have practical benefits for English-as-a-Foreign-Language teachers. (Author/VWL)

Affect and Willingness to Communicate in Digital Game-Based Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Reinders, Hayo; Wattana, Sorada

2015-01-01

The possible benefits of digital games for language learning and teaching have received increasing interest in recent years. Games are said, amongst others, to be motivating, to lower affective barriers in learning, and to encourage foreign or second language (L2) interaction. But how do learners actually experience the use of games? What impact…

Content and Language Integrated Learning through an Online Game in Primary School: A Case Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dourda, Kyriaki; Bratitsis, Tharrenos; Griva, Eleni; Papadopoulou, Penelope

2014-01-01

In this paper an educational design proposal is presented which combines two well established teaching approaches, that of Game-based Learning (GBL) and Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL). The context of the proposal was the design of an educational geography computer game, utilizing QR Codes and Google Earth for teaching English…

Teacher Training in a Synchronous Cyber Face-to-Face Classroom: Characterizing and Supporting the Online Teachers' Learning Process

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wang, Yuping; Chen, Nian-Shing; Levy, Mike

2010-01-01

This article discusses the learning process undertaken by language teachers in a cyber face-to-face teacher training program. Eight tertiary Chinese language teachers attended a 12-week training program conducted in an online synchronous learning environment characterized by multimedia-based, oral and visual interaction. The term "cyber…

Brain-Based Aspects of Cognitive Learning Approaches in Second Language Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Moghaddam, Alireza Navid; Araghi, Seyed Mahdi

2013-01-01

Language learning process is one of the complicated behaviors of human beings which has called many scholars and experts' attention especially after the middle of last century by the advent of cognitive psychology that later on we see its implication to education. Unlike previous thought of schools, cognitive psychology deals with the way in which…

Teaching and Learning Science with Understanding to Limited English Proficient Students: Excellence through Reform.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sutman, Francis X.; Guzman, Ana

This paper, which considers effective science teaching and learning for limited English proficient (LEP) students in U.S. schools, is based on the assumption that science and English language can be effectively learned together without excessive emphasis on students' native language, although teachers and aides who have knowledge of LEP students'…

Learners' Representation of Their Affective Domain through Figurative Language in a Web-Based Learning Environment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Manca, Stefania; Delfino, Manuela

2007-01-01

This study investigated how the participants of an online learning course employed figurative language to express their emotions and feelings during the learning experience. Textual analysis was carried out in the social and metacognitive discussion areas as those related to the expression of the social dimension. Its aim was to analyze the…

Self-Regulation in the Learning Process: Actions through Self-Assessment Activities with Brazilian Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Punhagui, Giovana Chimentão; de Souza, Nadia Aparecida

2013-01-01

Learning a foreign language is, among other factors, based on the perception of one's own development and on undertaking strategies for greater communicative competence, which are founded in autonomous procedures that span the necessity for greater responsibility. As learning a language demands constant study, even after the school period--when…

Why Should We Care about Sound Symbolism in EFL Learning?: Two Pilot Studies

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Roig-Marín, Amanda

2017-01-01

Given the importance of the phonological and lexical components of the language in L2 learning, this article discusses an innovative, holistic approach to learning these two components of the language based on the existence of "sound symbolism"--the interrelation between sound and meaning--in English. In particular, it describes how and…

Player-Game Interaction: An Ecological Analysis of Foreign Language Gameplay Activities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ibrahim, Karim

2018-01-01

This article describes how the literature on game-based foreign language (FL) learning has demonstrated that player-game interactions have a strong potential for FL learning. However, little is known about the fine-grained dynamics of these interactions, or how they could facilitate FL learning. To address this gap, the researcher conducted a…

Learning Computers, Speaking English: Cooperative Activities for Learning English and Basic Word Processing.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Quann, Steve; Satin, Diana

This textbook leads high-beginning and intermediate English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) students through cooperative computer-based activities that combine language learning with training in basic computer skills and word processing. Each unit concentrates on a basic concept of word processing while also focusing on a grammar topic. Skills are…

Language Travel or Language Tourism: Have Educational Trips Changed So Much?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Laborda, Jesus Garcia

2007-01-01

This article points out the changes in organization, students and language learning that language trips, as contrasted with educational trips (of which language trips are a subgroup) have gone through in the last years. The article emphasizes the need to differentiate between language trips and language tourism based on issues of additional…

Effective Prediction of Errors by Non-native Speakers Using Decision Tree for Speech Recognition-Based CALL System

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Hongcui; Kawahara, Tatsuya

CALL (Computer Assisted Language Learning) systems using ASR (Automatic Speech Recognition) for second language learning have received increasing interest recently. However, it still remains a challenge to achieve high speech recognition performance, including accurate detection of erroneous utterances by non-native speakers. Conventionally, possible error patterns, based on linguistic knowledge, are added to the lexicon and language model, or the ASR grammar network. However, this approach easily falls in the trade-off of coverage of errors and the increase of perplexity. To solve the problem, we propose a method based on a decision tree to learn effective prediction of errors made by non-native speakers. An experimental evaluation with a number of foreign students learning Japanese shows that the proposed method can effectively generate an ASR grammar network, given a target sentence, to achieve both better coverage of errors and smaller perplexity, resulting in significant improvement in ASR accuracy.

A Single-Display Groupware Collaborative Language Laboratory

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Calderón, Juan Felipe; Nussbaum, Miguel; Carmach, Ignacio; Díaz, Juan Jaime; Villalta, Marco

2016-01-01

Language learning tools have evolved to take into consideration new teaching models of collaboration and communication. While second language acquisition tasks have been taken online, the traditional language laboratory has remained unchanged. By continuing to follow its original configuration based on individual work, the language laboratory…

Sounding Right.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Burling, Robbins

Aspects of second language learning and instruction are explored in order to develop a rationale for a comprehension-based approach to language instruction. Eight characteristic pedagogical assumptions are critically examined, including assumptions regarding the role of grammar, age differences in learning ability, the priority given to each of…

New Trends in Computer Assisted Language Learning and Teaching.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Perez-Paredes, Pascual, Ed.; Cantos-Gomez, Pascual, Ed.

2002-01-01

Articles in this special issue include the following: "ICT and Modern Foreign Languages: Learning Opportunities and Training Needs" (Graham Davies); "Authoring, Pedagogy and the Web: Expectations Versus Reality" (Paul Bangs); "Web-based Instructional Environments: Tools and Techniques for Effective Second Language…

Language learning and the technology of international communications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Batley, Edward

1991-03-01

The author posits a reciprocal relationship between the recent popularisation of computer-based technology and the democratisation of Central and Eastern Europe. Brief reference is made to their common denominator, language and language change. The advent of the communicative approach to language learning and the new wave of language authenticity arising from it, both enhanced by the technological revolution, have made the defining of acceptability in the classroom and of communication in the process of testing more problematic than ever, although several advantages have also accrued. Advances in technology have generally outstripped our ability to apply their full or characteristic potential. While technology can personalise learning and in this way make learning more efficient, it can also impede motivation. Old methods, drills and routines are tending to be sustained by it. Lack of technology can also widen the gulf between developed, developing and underdeveloped countries of the world. The author proposes international partnerships as a means of preventing an imbalance which could threaten stability. Single language dominance is another threat to international understanding, given the growing awareness of our multilingual and multicultural environment. Enlightened language policies reaching from the individual to beyond the national community are needed, which adopt these aspects of language learning, explain decisions about the state's choice of languages and, at the same time, promote individual choice wherever practicable.

Developing Pedagogical Practices for English-Language Learners: A Design-Based Approach

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Iddings, Ana Christina DaSilva; Rose, Brian Christopher

2012-01-01

This study draws on the application of sociocultural theory to second-language learning and teaching to examine the impact of a design-based research approach on teacher development and literacy instruction to English-language learners (ELLs). Design-based research methodology was employed to derive theoretical suppositions relating to the process…

The Effects of Learning-Style Based Activities on Students' Reading Comprehension Skills and Self-Efficacy Perceptions in English Foreign Language Classes

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Balci, Özgül

2017-01-01

This study investigated the effects of learning-style based activities on students' reading comprehension skills and self-efficacy perceptions in English foreign language classes. A quasi-experimental, matching-only pretest-posttest control group design was utilized. The study was conducted with freshmen university students majoring in Elementary…

Assessment of Programming Language Learning Based on Peer Code Review Model: Implementation and Experience Report

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wang, Yanqing; Li, Hang; Feng, Yuqiang; Jiang, Yu; Liu, Ying

2012-01-01

The traditional assessment approach, in which one single written examination counts toward a student's total score, no longer meets new demands of programming language education. Based on a peer code review process model, we developed an online assessment system called "EduPCR" and used a novel approach to assess the learning of computer…

Evaluation of Computer Based Foreign Language Learning Software by Teachers and Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Baz, Fatih Çagatay; Tekdal, Mehmet

2014-01-01

The aim of this study is to evaluate Computer Based Foreign Language Learning software called Dynamic Education (DYNED) by teachers and students. The study is conducted with randomly chosen ten primary schools with the participants of 522 7th grade students and 7 English teachers. Three points Likert scale for teachers and five points Likert scale…

Application of Case-Task Based Approach in Business English Teaching--A Case Study of the Marketing Course in SEIB of GDUFS

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Guiyu, Dai; Yi, Cai

2017-01-01

Business English Teaching aims at cultivating students' ability to analyze and solve problems, improving students' comprehensive language competence and honing their business practical skills. Adhering to the principle of learning by doing and learning by teaching others, Case-Task Based Approach emphasizes students' ability of language use in…

A Glimpse into the Effectiveness of L2-Content Cross-Curricular Collaboration in Content-Based Instruction Programmes

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lo, Yuen Yi

2015-01-01

In content-based instruction (CBI) programmes, students learn content subjects through a second language (L2), so that they can incidentally learn the language. To further facilitate students' L2 development, the collaboration between L2 and content subject teachers has been strongly advocated. Previous research on such kind of collaboration…

Non-Native Student's Communication Is Affected Due to the Lack of Pragmatic Competence

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Latha, V. G.; Rajan, Premalatha

2012-01-01

This paper aims at focusing how the lack of pragmatic competence affects student's communication in L2 (Second language) at tertiary level. The city based Indian students learn English which is their second language from 3 years onwards whereas the rural based students learn English only from 6 years onwards. This exposure of the L2 shows the…

Schematization and Sentence Processing by Foreign Language Learners: A Reading-Time Experiment and a Stimulated-Recall Analysis

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tode, Tomoko

2012-01-01

This article examines how learners of English as a foreign language process reduced relative clauses (RRCs) from the perspective of usage-based language learning, which posits that language knowledge forms a hierarchy from item-based knowledge consisting only of entrenched frequent exemplars to more advanced schematized knowledge. Twenty-eight…

Laying the Foundations for Video-Game Based Language Instruction for the Teaching of EFL

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Galvis, Héctor Alejandro

2015-01-01

This paper introduces video-game based language instruction as a teaching approach catering to the different socio-economic and learning needs of English as a Foreign Language students. First, this paper reviews statistical data revealing the low participation of Colombian students in English as a second language programs abroad (U.S. context…

Computerized Sign Language-Based Literacy Training for Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Children

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Holmer, Emil; Heimann, Mikael; Rudner, Mary

2017-01-01

Strengthening the connections between sign language and written language may improve reading skills in deaf and hard-of-hearing (DHH) signing children. The main aim of the present study was to investigate whether computerized sign language-based literacy training improves reading skills in DHH signing children who are learning to read. Further,…

Graphical qualities of educational technology: Using drag-and-drop and text-based programs for introductory computer science.

PubMed

DiSalvo, Betsy

2014-01-01

To determine appropriate computer science curricula, educators sought to better understand the different affordances of teaching with a visual programming language (Alice) or a text-based language (Jython). Although students often preferred one language, that language wasn't necessarily the one from which they learned the most.

Lateralization of temporal lobe epilepsy and learning disabilities, as defined by disability-related civil rights law.

PubMed

Butterbaugh, Grant; Olejniczak, Piotr; Roques, Betsy; Costa, Richard; Rose, Marcy; Fisch, Bruce; Carey, Michael; Thomson, Jessica; Skinner, John

2004-08-01

Epilepsy research has identified higher rates of learning disorders in patients with temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE). However, most studies have not adequately assessed complex functional adult learning skills, such as reading comprehension and written language. We designed this study to evaluate our predictions that higher rates of reading comprehension, written language, and calculation disabilities would be associated with left TLE versus right TLE. Reading comprehension, written language, and calculation skills were assessed by using selected subtests from the Woodcock-Johnson Psycho-Educational Tests of Achievement-Revised in a consecutive series of 31 presurgical patients with TLE. Learning disabilities were defined by one essential criterion consistent with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. Patients had left hemisphere language dominance based on Wada results, left or right TLE based on inpatient EEG monitoring, and negative magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), other than MRI correlates of mesial temporal sclerosis. Higher rates of reading comprehension, written language, and calculation disabilities were associated with left TLE, as compared with right TLE. Nearly 75% of patients with left TLE, whereas fewer than 10% of those with right TLE, had at least one learning disability. Seizure onset in the language-dominant hemisphere, as compared with the nondominant hemisphere, was associated with higher rates of specific learning disabilities and a history of poor literacy or career development or both. These results support the potential clinical benefits of using lateralization of seizure onset as a predictor of the risk of learning disabilities that, once evaluated, could be accommodated to increase the participation of patients with epilepsy in work and educational settings.

Project Activities as a Form of English Language Teaching Based on the Interdisciplinary Approach to Form Intercultural Communicative Competence

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Redchenko, Nadezhda N.

2016-01-01

The authors of this article suggest a thesis about the purpose of teaching a foreign language--it is student's communicative activities, i.e. learning a foreign language in practice. The teacher's task is to encourage activities of every student and to create situations to develop their creative activities in a learning process. New information…

Input Skewedness, Consistency, and Order of Frequent Verbs in Frequency-Driven Second Language Construction Learning: A Replication and Extension of Casenhiser and Goldberg (2005) to Adult Second Language Acquisition

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nakamura, Daisuke

2012-01-01

Recent usage-based models of language acquisition research has found that three frequency manipulations; (1) skewed input (Casenhiser & Goldberg 2005), (2) input consistency (Childers & Tomasello 2001), and (3) order of frequent verbs (Goldberg, Casenhiser, & White 2007) facilitated construction learning in children. The present paper addresses…

Developing a Multidimensional Checklist for Evaluating Language-Learning Websites Coherent with the Communicative Approach: A Path for the Knowing-How-to-Do Enhancement

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Moncada Linares, Sthephanny; Díaz Romero, Andrea Carolina

2016-01-01

As a result of the rapid development of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and the growing interest in Internet-based tools for language classroom, it has become a pressing need for educators to locate, evaluate and select the most appropriate language-learning digital resources that foster more communicative and meaningful learning…

Language Disorders of Children: The Bases and Diagnoses.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Berry, Mildred Freburg

Taking an interdisciplinary approach, the text is intended as an introduction to language disorders in children. Aspects of tracking language in the nervous system considered include neural substrates of language development, operational systems, and operational mechanisms. Language and learning are discussed in terms of the psychological…

Service Learning to Promote Brain-Based Learning in Undergraduate Teaching

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nwokah, Eva E.; Leafblad, Stefanie

2013-01-01

In this study 44 undergraduate students in a language development course participated in service learning with preschool homeless and low-income children as a course requirement. Students completed a survey, questionnaires, reflective journaling, and small-group debriefing sessions. Based on current views on brain-based learning from cortical…

Resting-state low-frequency fluctuations reflect individual differences in spoken language learning.

PubMed

Deng, Zhizhou; Chandrasekaran, Bharath; Wang, Suiping; Wong, Patrick C M

2016-03-01

A major challenge in language learning studies is to identify objective, pre-training predictors of success. Variation in the low-frequency fluctuations (LFFs) of spontaneous brain activity measured by resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (RS-fMRI) has been found to reflect individual differences in cognitive measures. In the present study, we aimed to investigate the extent to which initial spontaneous brain activity is related to individual differences in spoken language learning. We acquired RS-fMRI data and subsequently trained participants on a sound-to-word learning paradigm in which they learned to use foreign pitch patterns (from Mandarin Chinese) to signal word meaning. We performed amplitude of spontaneous low-frequency fluctuation (ALFF) analysis, graph theory-based analysis, and independent component analysis (ICA) to identify functional components of the LFFs in the resting-state. First, we examined the ALFF as a regional measure and showed that regional ALFFs in the left superior temporal gyrus were positively correlated with learning performance, whereas ALFFs in the default mode network (DMN) regions were negatively correlated with learning performance. Furthermore, the graph theory-based analysis indicated that the degree and local efficiency of the left superior temporal gyrus were positively correlated with learning performance. Finally, the default mode network and several task-positive resting-state networks (RSNs) were identified via the ICA. The "competition" (i.e., negative correlation) between the DMN and the dorsal attention network was negatively correlated with learning performance. Our results demonstrate that a) spontaneous brain activity can predict future language learning outcome without prior hypotheses (e.g., selection of regions of interest--ROIs) and b) both regional dynamics and network-level interactions in the resting brain can account for individual differences in future spoken language learning success. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Resting-state low-frequency fluctuations reflect individual differences in spoken language learning

PubMed Central

Deng, Zhizhou; Chandrasekaran, Bharath; Wang, Suiping; Wong, Patrick C.M.

2016-01-01

A major challenge in language learning studies is to identify objective, pre-training predictors of success. Variation in the low-frequency fluctuations (LFFs) of spontaneous brain activity measured by resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (RS-fMRI) has been found to reflect individual differences in cognitive measures. In the present study, we aimed to investigate the extent to which initial spontaneous brain activity is related to individual differences in spoken language learning. We acquired RS-fMRI data and subsequently trained participants on a sound-to-word learning paradigm in which they learned to use foreign pitch patterns (from Mandarin Chinese) to signal word meaning. We performed amplitude of spontaneous low-frequency fluctuation (ALFF) analysis, graph theory-based analysis, and independent component analysis (ICA) to identify functional components of the LFFs in the resting-state. First, we examined the ALFF as a regional measure and showed that regional ALFFs in the left superior temporal gyrus were positively correlated with learning performance, whereas ALFFs in the default mode network (DMN) regions were negatively correlated with learning performance. Furthermore, the graph theory-based analysis indicated that the degree and local efficiency of the left superior temporal gyrus were positively correlated with learning performance. Finally, the default mode network and several task-positive resting-state networks (RSNs) were identified via the ICA. The “competition” (i.e., negative correlation) between the DMN and the dorsal attention network was negatively correlated with learning performance. Our results demonstrate that a) spontaneous brain activity can predict future language learning outcome without prior hypotheses (e.g., selection of regions of interest – ROIs) and b) both regional dynamics and network-level interactions in the resting brain can account for individual differences in future spoken language learning success. PMID:26866283

Using Google as a Super Corpus to Drive Written Language Learning: A Comparison with the British National Corpus

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sha, Guoquan

2010-01-01

Data-driven learning (DDL), or corpus-based language learning, involves the learner in an exploratory task to discover appropriate expressions or collocates regarding his writing. However, the problematic units of meaning in each learner's writing are so diverse that conventional corpora often prove futile. The search engine Google with the…

Between Learning and Playing? Exploring Learners' Perceptions of Corrective Feedback in an Immersive Game for English Pragmatics

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cornillie, Frederik; Clarebout, Geraldine; Desmet, Piet

2012-01-01

This paper aims to provide a rationale for the utility of corrective feedback (CF) in digital games designed for language learning, with specific reference to learners' perceptions. Explicit and elaborate CF has the potential to increase learners' understanding of language, but might not be found useful in a game-based learning environment where…

English Language Learning in Mexico: A Case Study of Implementing Problem Based Learning into a Technology Enhanced Writing Curriculum

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Graham, Leah Sharice

2006-01-01

English for Academic Purposes literature is often criticized for its very functional interpretation of language (e.g. Benesch, 2001) which ignores the intellectual, cultural, and social side of learning in an attempt to appear "neutral." Furthermore, writing is the EAP skill area which seems to provide students with the most difficulty.…

"Yes, Your Honor!": A Corpus-Based Study of Technical Vocabulary in Discipline-Related Movies and TV Shows

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Csomay, Eniko; Petrovic, Marija

2012-01-01

Vocabulary is an essential element of every second/foreign language teaching and learning program. While the goal of language teaching programs is to focus on explicit vocabulary teaching to promote learning, "materials which provide visual and aural input such as movies may be conducive to incidental vocabulary learning." (Webb and Rodgers, 2009,…

How Intuition and Language Use Relate to Students' Understanding of Span and Linear Independence in an Elementary Linear Algebra Class

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Parker, Catherine Frieda

2010-01-01

A possible contributing factor to students' difficulty in learning advanced mathematics is the conflict between students' "natural" learning styles and the formal structure of mathematics, which is based on definitions, theorems, and proofs. Students' natural learning styles may be a function of their intuition and language skills. The purpose of…

A Metadata Model for E-Learning Coordination through Semantic Web Languages

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Elci, Atilla

2005-01-01

This paper reports on a study aiming to develop a metadata model for e-learning coordination based on semantic web languages. A survey of e-learning modes are done initially in order to identify content such as phases, activities, data schema, rules and relations, etc. relevant for a coordination model. In this respect, the study looks into the…

More than Words: Towards a Development-Based Approach to Language Revitalization

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Henderson, Brent; Rohloff, Peter; Henderson, Robert

2014-01-01

Existing models for language revitalization focus almost exclusively on language learning and use. While recognizing the value of these models, we argue that their effective application is largely limited to situations in which languages have low numbers of speakers. For languages that are rapidly undergoing language shift, but which still…

M3D (Media 3D): a new programming language for web-based virtual reality in E-Learning and Edutainment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chakaveh, Sepideh; Skaley, Detlef; Laine, Patricia; Haeger, Ralf; Maad, Soha

2003-01-01

Today, interactive multimedia educational systems are well established, as they prove useful instruments to enhance one's learning capabilities. Hitherto, the main difficulty with almost all E-Learning systems was latent in the rich media implementation techniques. This meant that each and every system should be created individually as reapplying the media, be it only a part, or the whole content was not directly possible, as everything must be applied mechanically i.e. by hand. Consequently making E-learning systems exceedingly expensive to generate, both in time and money terms. Media-3D or M3D is a new platform independent programming language, developed at the Fraunhofer Institute Media Communication to enable visualisation and simulation of E-Learning multimedia content. M3D is an XML-based language, which is capable of distinguishing between the3D models from that of the 3D scenes, as well as handling provisions for animations, within the programme. Here we give a technical account of M3D programming language and briefly describe two specific application scenarios where M3D is applied to create virtual reality E-Learning content for training of technical personnel.

Modelling language evolution: Examples and predictions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gong, Tao; Shuai, Lan; Zhang, Menghan

2014-06-01

We survey recent computer modelling research of language evolution, focusing on a rule-based model simulating the lexicon-syntax coevolution and an equation-based model quantifying the language competition dynamics. We discuss four predictions of these models: (a) correlation between domain-general abilities (e.g. sequential learning) and language-specific mechanisms (e.g. word order processing); (b) coevolution of language and relevant competences (e.g. joint attention); (c) effects of cultural transmission and social structure on linguistic understandability; and (d) commonalities between linguistic, biological, and physical phenomena. All these contribute significantly to our understanding of the evolutions of language structures, individual learning mechanisms, and relevant biological and socio-cultural factors. We conclude the survey by highlighting three future directions of modelling studies of language evolution: (a) adopting experimental approaches for model evaluation; (b) consolidating empirical foundations of models; and (c) multi-disciplinary collaboration among modelling, linguistics, and other relevant disciplines.

Effects of Anxiety Levels on Learning Performance and Gaming Performance in Digital Game-Based Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yang, J. C.; Lin, M. Y. D.; Chen, S. Y.

2018-01-01

Anxiety plays an influential role in foreign language learning. However, a lack of attention was paid to examining the effects of anxiety levels on learning performance and gaming performance in digital game-based learning. To this end, this study developed a game-based English learning system and investigated how different levels of anxiety…

Spoken language identification based on the enhanced self-adjusting extreme learning machine approach.

PubMed

Albadr, Musatafa Abbas Abbood; Tiun, Sabrina; Al-Dhief, Fahad Taha; Sammour, Mahmoud A M

2018-01-01

Spoken Language Identification (LID) is the process of determining and classifying natural language from a given content and dataset. Typically, data must be processed to extract useful features to perform LID. The extracting features for LID, based on literature, is a mature process where the standard features for LID have already been developed using Mel-Frequency Cepstral Coefficients (MFCC), Shifted Delta Cepstral (SDC), the Gaussian Mixture Model (GMM) and ending with the i-vector based framework. However, the process of learning based on extract features remains to be improved (i.e. optimised) to capture all embedded knowledge on the extracted features. The Extreme Learning Machine (ELM) is an effective learning model used to perform classification and regression analysis and is extremely useful to train a single hidden layer neural network. Nevertheless, the learning process of this model is not entirely effective (i.e. optimised) due to the random selection of weights within the input hidden layer. In this study, the ELM is selected as a learning model for LID based on standard feature extraction. One of the optimisation approaches of ELM, the Self-Adjusting Extreme Learning Machine (SA-ELM) is selected as the benchmark and improved by altering the selection phase of the optimisation process. The selection process is performed incorporating both the Split-Ratio and K-Tournament methods, the improved SA-ELM is named Enhanced Self-Adjusting Extreme Learning Machine (ESA-ELM). The results are generated based on LID with the datasets created from eight different languages. The results of the study showed excellent superiority relating to the performance of the Enhanced Self-Adjusting Extreme Learning Machine LID (ESA-ELM LID) compared with the SA-ELM LID, with ESA-ELM LID achieving an accuracy of 96.25%, as compared to the accuracy of SA-ELM LID of only 95.00%.

Spoken language identification based on the enhanced self-adjusting extreme learning machine approach

PubMed Central

Tiun, Sabrina; AL-Dhief, Fahad Taha; Sammour, Mahmoud A. M.

2018-01-01

Spoken Language Identification (LID) is the process of determining and classifying natural language from a given content and dataset. Typically, data must be processed to extract useful features to perform LID. The extracting features for LID, based on literature, is a mature process where the standard features for LID have already been developed using Mel-Frequency Cepstral Coefficients (MFCC), Shifted Delta Cepstral (SDC), the Gaussian Mixture Model (GMM) and ending with the i-vector based framework. However, the process of learning based on extract features remains to be improved (i.e. optimised) to capture all embedded knowledge on the extracted features. The Extreme Learning Machine (ELM) is an effective learning model used to perform classification and regression analysis and is extremely useful to train a single hidden layer neural network. Nevertheless, the learning process of this model is not entirely effective (i.e. optimised) due to the random selection of weights within the input hidden layer. In this study, the ELM is selected as a learning model for LID based on standard feature extraction. One of the optimisation approaches of ELM, the Self-Adjusting Extreme Learning Machine (SA-ELM) is selected as the benchmark and improved by altering the selection phase of the optimisation process. The selection process is performed incorporating both the Split-Ratio and K-Tournament methods, the improved SA-ELM is named Enhanced Self-Adjusting Extreme Learning Machine (ESA-ELM). The results are generated based on LID with the datasets created from eight different languages. The results of the study showed excellent superiority relating to the performance of the Enhanced Self-Adjusting Extreme Learning Machine LID (ESA-ELM LID) compared with the SA-ELM LID, with ESA-ELM LID achieving an accuracy of 96.25%, as compared to the accuracy of SA-ELM LID of only 95.00%. PMID:29672546

Innovative Second Language Education: Bilingual Immersion Programs.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Snow, Marguerite Ann

Bilingual immersion programs combine second language immersion for language majority children and bilingual education for language minority children. The programs are based on the underlying assumption of the immersion model: that a second language is best learned as a medium of instruction, not as the object of instruction. However, they are not…

The Effect of Computer Game-Based Learning on FL Vocabulary Transferability

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Franciosi, Stephan J.

2017-01-01

In theory, computer game-based learning can support several vocabulary learning affordances that have been identified in the foreign language learning research. In the observable evidence, learning with computer games has been shown to improve performance on vocabulary recall tests. However, while simple recall can be a sign of learning,…

Using Learning Analytics for Preserving Academic Integrity

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Amigud, Alexander; Arnedo-Moreno, Joan; Daradoumis, Thanasis; Guerrero-Roldan, Ana-Elena

2017-01-01

This paper presents the results of integrating learning analytics into the assessment process to enhance academic integrity in the e-learning environment. The goal of this research is to evaluate the computational-based approach to academic integrity. The machine-learning based framework learns students' patterns of language use from data,…

Opinions of Turkish Language and Literature Teachers on the Curriculum of Turkish Literature Course Based on the Constructivist Learning Theory

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Epcacan, Cahit

2013-01-01

The main objective of this study is to collect the opinions of Turkish Language and Literature teachers at secondary schools about the Curriculum of the Turkish Literature Course based on the constructivist learning theory. To this end, the descriptive method was employed to collect teacher opinions. Structured interview was used as a data…

Research within Reach II: Research-Guided Responses to the Concerns of Foreign Language Teachers.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Galloway, Vicki, Ed.; Herron, Carol, Ed.

Based on the questions of second language teachers concerning classroom practice, generated by survey, research on aspects of second language teaching and learning was reviewed and is summarized here. In each case, a question or questions are posed and a brief discussion follows, in layman's language and based on relevant research, with a brief…

Focus-on-Form and EFL Learners' Language Development in Synchronous Computer-Mediated Communication: Task-Based Interactions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Eslami, Zohreh R.; Kung, Wan-Tsai

2016-01-01

The purpose of this study was to explore the occurrence of incidental focus-on-form and its effect on subsequent second language (L2) production of learners of different dyads in an online task-based language learning context. The participants included Taiwanese learners of English as a foreign language at different proficiency levels, and native…

Language-Building Activities and Interaction Variations with Mixed-Ability ESL University Learners in a Content-Based Course

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Serna Dimas, Héctor Manuel; Ruíz Castellanos, Erika

2014-01-01

The preparation of both language-building activities and a variety of teacher/student interaction patterns increase both oral language participation and content learning in a course of manual therapy with mixed-language ability students. In this article, the researchers describe their collaboration in a content-based course in English with English…

Foreign Language Learning, Motivation and the Market Economy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Diamantatou, Christina; Hawes, Thomas

2016-01-01

This study explores UK students' motivation to study foreign languages, linking unrewarding past learning experiences with attrition rates and posing questions about the influence of official policy and socially structured conditions. 31 Further Education college students were given a questionnaire based on Gardner's (1975) Attitude/Motivation…

Developing Phonological Awareness in Blended-Learning Language Courses

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dell'Aria, Carmela; McLoughlin, Laura Incalcaterra

2013-01-01

This study is based on Second Language Acquisition through blended learning and explores the application of new educational technologies in the development of distance education. In particular, the paper focuses on ways to enhance oral, aural, and intercultural skills through learners' engagement, develop authentic social interaction and…

Artificial Language Learning and Feature-Based Generalization

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Finley, Sara; Badecker, William

2009-01-01

Abstract representations such as subsegmental phonological features play such a vital role in explanations of phonological processes that many assume that these representations play an equally prominent role in the learning process. This assumption is tested in three artificial grammar experiments involving a mini language with morpho-phonological…

Iterated learning and the evolution of language.

PubMed

Kirby, Simon; Griffiths, Tom; Smith, Kenny

2014-10-01

Iterated learning describes the process whereby an individual learns their behaviour by exposure to another individual's behaviour, who themselves learnt it in the same way. It can be seen as a key mechanism of cultural evolution. We review various methods for understanding how behaviour is shaped by the iterated learning process: computational agent-based simulations; mathematical modelling; and laboratory experiments in humans and non-human animals. We show how this framework has been used to explain the origins of structure in language, and argue that cultural evolution must be considered alongside biological evolution in explanations of language origins. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Investigating the Effectiveness of Computer-Assisted Language Learning (CALL) Using Google Documents in Enhancing Writing--A Study on Senior 1 Students in a Chinese Independent High School

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ambrose, Regina Maria; Palpanathan, Shanthini

2017-01-01

Computer-assisted language learning (CALL) has evolved through various stages in both technology as well as the pedagogical use of technology (Warschauer & Healey, 1998). Studies show that the CALL trend has facilitated students in their English language writing with useful tools such as computer based activities and word processing. Students…

Enhancement of Automatization through Vocabulary Learning Using CALL: Can Prompt Language Processing Lead to Better Comprehension in L2 Reading?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sato, Takeshi; Matsunuma, Mitsuyasu; Suzuki, Akio

2013-01-01

Our study aims to optimize a multimedia application for vocabulary learning for English as a Foreign Language (EFL). Our study is based on the concept that difficulty in reading a text in a second language is due to the need for more working memory for word decoding skills, although the working memory must also be used for text comprehension…

Acquiring and processing verb argument structure: distributional learning in a miniature language.

PubMed

Wonnacott, Elizabeth; Newport, Elissa L; Tanenhaus, Michael K

2008-05-01

Adult knowledge of a language involves correctly balancing lexically-based and more language-general patterns. For example, verb argument structures may sometimes readily generalize to new verbs, yet with particular verbs may resist generalization. From the perspective of acquisition, this creates significant learnability problems, with some researchers claiming a crucial role for verb semantics in the determination of when generalization may and may not occur. Similarly, there has been debate regarding how verb-specific and more generalized constraints interact in sentence processing and on the role of semantics in this process. The current work explores these issues using artificial language learning. In three experiments using languages without semantic cues to verb distribution, we demonstrate that learners can acquire both verb-specific and verb-general patterns, based on distributional information in the linguistic input regarding each of the verbs as well as across the language as a whole. As with natural languages, these factors are shown to affect production, judgments and real-time processing. We demonstrate that learners apply a rational procedure in determining their usage of these different input statistics and conclude by suggesting that a Bayesian perspective on statistical learning may be an appropriate framework for capturing our findings.

A Cognitive Neural Architecture Able to Learn and Communicate through Natural Language.

PubMed

Golosio, Bruno; Cangelosi, Angelo; Gamotina, Olesya; Masala, Giovanni Luca

2015-01-01

Communicative interactions involve a kind of procedural knowledge that is used by the human brain for processing verbal and nonverbal inputs and for language production. Although considerable work has been done on modeling human language abilities, it has been difficult to bring them together to a comprehensive tabula rasa system compatible with current knowledge of how verbal information is processed in the brain. This work presents a cognitive system, entirely based on a large-scale neural architecture, which was developed to shed light on the procedural knowledge involved in language elaboration. The main component of this system is the central executive, which is a supervising system that coordinates the other components of the working memory. In our model, the central executive is a neural network that takes as input the neural activation states of the short-term memory and yields as output mental actions, which control the flow of information among the working memory components through neural gating mechanisms. The proposed system is capable of learning to communicate through natural language starting from tabula rasa, without any a priori knowledge of the structure of phrases, meaning of words, role of the different classes of words, only by interacting with a human through a text-based interface, using an open-ended incremental learning process. It is able to learn nouns, verbs, adjectives, pronouns and other word classes, and to use them in expressive language. The model was validated on a corpus of 1587 input sentences, based on literature on early language assessment, at the level of about 4-years old child, and produced 521 output sentences, expressing a broad range of language processing functionalities.

The neurobiology of syntax: beyond string sets.

PubMed

Petersson, Karl Magnus; Hagoort, Peter

2012-07-19

The human capacity to acquire language is an outstanding scientific challenge to understand. Somehow our language capacities arise from the way the human brain processes, develops and learns in interaction with its environment. To set the stage, we begin with a summary of what is known about the neural organization of language and what our artificial grammar learning (AGL) studies have revealed. We then review the Chomsky hierarchy in the context of the theory of computation and formal learning theory. Finally, we outline a neurobiological model of language acquisition and processing based on an adaptive, recurrent, spiking network architecture. This architecture implements an asynchronous, event-driven, parallel system for recursive processing. We conclude that the brain represents grammars (or more precisely, the parser/generator) in its connectivity, and its ability for syntax is based on neurobiological infrastructure for structured sequence processing. The acquisition of this ability is accounted for in an adaptive dynamical systems framework. Artificial language learning (ALL) paradigms might be used to study the acquisition process within such a framework, as well as the processing properties of the underlying neurobiological infrastructure. However, it is necessary to combine and constrain the interpretation of ALL results by theoretical models and empirical studies on natural language processing. Given that the faculty of language is captured by classical computational models to a significant extent, and that these can be embedded in dynamic network architectures, there is hope that significant progress can be made in understanding the neurobiology of the language faculty.

The neurobiology of syntax: beyond string sets

PubMed Central

Petersson, Karl Magnus; Hagoort, Peter

2012-01-01

The human capacity to acquire language is an outstanding scientific challenge to understand. Somehow our language capacities arise from the way the human brain processes, develops and learns in interaction with its environment. To set the stage, we begin with a summary of what is known about the neural organization of language and what our artificial grammar learning (AGL) studies have revealed. We then review the Chomsky hierarchy in the context of the theory of computation and formal learning theory. Finally, we outline a neurobiological model of language acquisition and processing based on an adaptive, recurrent, spiking network architecture. This architecture implements an asynchronous, event-driven, parallel system for recursive processing. We conclude that the brain represents grammars (or more precisely, the parser/generator) in its connectivity, and its ability for syntax is based on neurobiological infrastructure for structured sequence processing. The acquisition of this ability is accounted for in an adaptive dynamical systems framework. Artificial language learning (ALL) paradigms might be used to study the acquisition process within such a framework, as well as the processing properties of the underlying neurobiological infrastructure. However, it is necessary to combine and constrain the interpretation of ALL results by theoretical models and empirical studies on natural language processing. Given that the faculty of language is captured by classical computational models to a significant extent, and that these can be embedded in dynamic network architectures, there is hope that significant progress can be made in understanding the neurobiology of the language faculty. PMID:22688633

Discourses of prejudice in the professions: the case of sign languages.

PubMed

Humphries, Tom; Kushalnagar, Poorna; Mathur, Gaurav; Napoli, Donna Jo; Padden, Carol; Rathmann, Christian; Smith, Scott

2017-09-01

There is no evidence that learning a natural human language is cognitively harmful to children. To the contrary, multilingualism has been argued to be beneficial to all. Nevertheless, many professionals advise the parents of deaf children that their children should not learn a sign language during their early years, despite strong evidence across many research disciplines that sign languages are natural human languages. Their recommendations are based on a combination of misperceptions about (1) the difficulty of learning a sign language, (2) the effects of bilingualism, and particularly bimodalism, (3) the bona fide status of languages that lack a written form, (4) the effects of a sign language on acquiring literacy, (5) the ability of technologies to address the needs of deaf children and (6) the effects that use of a sign language will have on family cohesion. We expose these misperceptions as based in prejudice and urge institutions involved in educating professionals concerned with the healthcare, raising and educating of deaf children to include appropriate information about first language acquisition and the importance of a sign language for deaf children. We further urge such professionals to advise the parents of deaf children properly, which means to strongly advise the introduction of a sign language as soon as hearing loss is detected. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/.

Profound Expressive Language Impairment in Low Functioning Children with Autism: An Investigation of Syntactic Awareness Using a Computerised Learning Task

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McGonigle-Chalmers, Maggie; Alderson-Day, Ben; Fleming, Joanna; Monsen, Karl

2013-01-01

Nine low-functioning children with profound expressive language impairment and autism were studied in terms of their responsiveness to a computer-based learning program designed to assess syntactic awareness. The children learned to touch words on a screen in the correct sequence in order to see a corresponding animation, such as "monkey…

The Effectiveness of a Programme-Based Vocabulary Learning Strategies for Developing English Vocabulary for EFL Female Students at Taif University

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ismaiel, Nasrah Mahmoud; Al Asmari, AbdulRahman Awadh

2017-01-01

The study of vocabulary can be considered a chief issue which the second language students encounter within the learning of another language especially, for non-English major students. This study aims at assessing the influence of a suggested program for enhancing EFL students` vocabulary and vocabulary learning strategies use. The sample of this…

Integrating Socio-Cultural Contexts and Location-based Systems for Ubiquitous Language Learning in Museums: A State of the Art Review of 2009-2014

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wang, Hong-You; Liu, Gi-Zen; Hwang, Gwo-Jen

2017-01-01

Context-dependent learning systems are now becoming more common in museums, as most students are equipped with mobile devices. As there has been little research into context-aware mobile applications in museums, the present study aims to investigate ubiquitous language learning in socio-cultural contexts, as well as recent trends in using…

Effect of Phonetic Association on Lexis Learning in Natural Language Context: A Comparative Study of English, French and Turkish Words

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ebubekir, Bozavli

2017-01-01

Mother tongue acquisition starts with words and grammar acquired spontaneously by means of communication, while at school foreign language learning takes place based on grammar. Vocabulary learning is very often neglected or rather it turns into an individual activity. The present study, which is considered to be unique on its own, is to reveal…

Teaching Writing within the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR): A Supplement Asynchronous Blended Learning Approach in an EFL Undergraduate Course in Egypt

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shaarawy, Hanaa Youssef; Lotfy, Nohayer Esmat

2013-01-01

Based on the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) and following a blended learning approach (a supplement model), this article reports on a quasi-experiment where writing was taught evenly with other language skills in everyday language contexts and where asynchronous online activities were required from students to extend learning beyond…

The Relevance of Multiple Intelligences to CALL Instruction

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kim, In-Seok

2009-01-01

Many teachers and researchers believe learning preferences or learning styles can be used advantageously to enhance language study and motivate learners. Following an overview of Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences (MI) and research on multimedia-based approaches in foreign language instruction, this paper first describes a study comparing…

Group Work in a Technology-Rich Environment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Penner, Nikolai; Schulze, Mathias

2010-01-01

This paper addresses several components of successful language-learning methodologies--group work, task-based instruction, and wireless computer technologies--and examines how the interplay of these three was perceived by students in a second-year university foreign-language course. The technology component of our learning design plays a central…

The Semantization of Vocabulary in Foreign Language Learning.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Beheydt, Ludo

1987-01-01

What is notably missing in the teaching of foreign language vocabulary is a systematically elaborated strategy for vocabulary acquisition that is based on the findings of linguistics and learning psychology. The practical implications of such a double anchorage in linguistics and psychology are outlined in a proposed model of a semantization…

Student Initiatives in Urban Elementary Science Classrooms

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lewis, Scott; Lee, Okhee; Santau, Alexandra; Cone, Neporcha

2010-01-01

Student initiatives play an important role in inquiry-based science with all students, including English language learning (ELL) students. This study examined initiatives that elementary students made as they participated in an intervention to promote science learning and English language development over a three-year period. In addition, the…

Culturally Responsive Instruction for English Language Learners with Learning Disabilities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Orosco, Michael John; O'Connor, Rollanda

2014-01-01

This case study describes the culturally responsive instruction of one special education teacher with Latino English language learners (ELLs) with learning disabilities in an urban elementary school setting. This study was situated in a social constructivist research based framework. In investigating this instruction with ELLs, this study focused…

Using Wikis to Promote Collaborative EFL Writing

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Aydin, Zelilha; Yildiz, Senem

2014-01-01

This study focuses on the use of wikis in collaborative writing projects in foreign language learning classrooms. A total of 34 intermediate level university students learning English as a foreign language (EFL) were asked to accomplish three different wiki-based collaborative writing tasks, (argumentative, informative and decision-making) working…

Problem-Based Learning: An Experiential Strategy for English Language Teacher Education in Chile

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Muñoz Campos, Diego

2017-01-01

The Chilean education system requires English language teachers to be equipped with non-conventional teaching strategies that can foster meaningful learning and assure successful learners' performances in diverse and complex settings. This exploratory, descriptive, research study aimed at discovering the perceptions of 54 pre-service teachers…

Language Learning Technology and Alternative for Public Education.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jarvis, Stan

1984-01-01

While supporting the use of interactive video technologies in public education, universities, and government, the need for standardization of the materials is stressed, which would allow for program exchange and a wider use of expertise and creativity. Concerning technology-based language learning, an emphasis on quality, yet affordable…

Enhancing Automaticity through Task-Based Language Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

De Ridder, Isabelle; Vangehuchten, Lieve; Gomez, Marta Sesena

2007-01-01

In general terms automaticity could be defined as the subconscious condition wherein "we perform a complex series of tasks very quickly and efficiently, without having to think about the various components and subcomponents of action involved" (DeKeyser 2001: 125). For language learning, Segalowitz (2003) characterised automaticity as a…

Balancing Generalization and Lexical Conservatism: An Artificial Language Study with Child Learners

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wonnacott, Elizabeth

2011-01-01

Successful language acquisition involves generalization, but learners must balance this against the acquisition of lexical constraints. Such learning has been considered problematic for theories of acquisition: if learners generalize abstract patterns to new words, how do they learn lexically-based exceptions? One approach claims that learners use…

Tandem Translation Classroom: A Case Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kim, Dohun; Koh, Taejin

2018-01-01

The transition to student-centred learning, advances in teleconferencing tools, and active international student exchange programmes have stimulated tandem learning in many parts of the world. This pedagogical model is based on a mutual language exchange between tandem partners, where each student is a native speaker in the language the…

Non-linguistic learning and aphasia: Evidence from a paired associate and feedback-based task

PubMed Central

Vallila-Rohter, Sofia; Kiran, Swathi

2013-01-01

Though aphasia is primarily characterized by impairments in the comprehension and/or expression of language, research has shown that patients with aphasia also show deficits in cognitive-linguistic domains such as attention, executive function, concept knowledge and memory (Helm-Estabrooks, 2002 for review). Research in aphasia suggests that cognitive impairments can impact the online construction of language, new verbal learning, and transactional success (Freedman & Martin, 2001; Hula & McNeil, 2008; Ramsberger, 2005). In our research, we extend this hypothesis to suggest that general cognitive deficits influence progress with therapy. The aim of our study is to explore learning, a cognitive process that is integral to relearning language, yet underexplored in the field of aphasia rehabilitation. We examine non-linguistic category learning in patients with aphasia (n=19) and in healthy controls (n=12), comparing feedback and non-feedback based instruction. Participants complete two computer-based learning tasks that require them to categorize novel animals based on the percentage of features shared with one of two prototypes. As hypothesized, healthy controls showed successful category learning following both methods of instruction. In contrast, only 60% of our patient population demonstrated successful non-linguistic category learning. Patient performance was not predictable by standardized measures of cognitive ability. Results suggest that general learning is affected in aphasia and is a unique, important factor to consider in the field of aphasia rehabilitation. PMID:23127795

Relationships of Attention and Executive Functions to Oral Language, Reading, and Writing Skills and Systems in Middle Childhood and Early Adolescence.

PubMed

Berninger, Virginia; Abbott, Robert; Cook, Clayton R; Nagy, William

Relationships between attention/executive functions and language learning were investigated in students in Grades 4 to 9 ( N = 88) with and without specific learning disabilities (SLDs) in multiword syntax in oral and written language (OWL LD), word reading and spelling (dyslexia), and subword letter writing (dysgraphia). Prior attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) diagnosis was correlated only with impaired handwriting. Parental ratings of inattention, but not hyperactivity, correlated with measures of written language but not oral language. Sustaining switching attention correlated with writing the alphabet from memory in manuscript or by keyboard and fast copying of a sentence with all the letters of the alphabet. Multiple regressions based on a principal component for composites of multiple levels of language (subword, word, and syntax/text) showed that measures of attention and executive function involving language processing rather than ratings of attention and executive function not specifically related to language accounted for more variance and identified more unique predictors in the composite outcomes for oral language, reading, and writing systems. Inhibition related to focused attention uniquely predicted outcomes for the oral language system. Findings are discussed in reference to implications for assessing and teaching students who are still learning to pay attention to heard and written language and self-regulate their language learning during middle childhood and adolescence.

Toward a Framework for Linking Linguistic Knowledge and Writing Expertise: Interplay between SFL-Based Genre Pedagogy and Task-Based Language Teaching

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yasuda, Sachiko

2017-01-01

This article attempts to apply some systemic functional linguistic (SFL) concepts to task-based language teaching (TBLT) as a means of enriching the fields of learning, teaching, and evaluating writing in an additional language. The purposes are twofold. First, this article presents a concrete example concerning SFL-initiated genre-based tasks,…

The Impact of a Peer-Learning Agent Based on Pair Programming in a Programming Course

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Han, Keun-Woo; Lee, EunKyoung; Lee, YoungJun

2010-01-01

This paper analyzes the educational effects of a peer-learning agent based on pair programming in programming courses. A peer-learning agent system was developed to facilitate the learning of a programming language through the use of pair programming strategies. This system is based on the role of a peer-learning agent from pedagogical and…

Subcategory learning in normal and language learning-disabled adults: how much information do they need?

PubMed

Richardson, Jessica; Harris, Laurel; Plante, Elena; Gerken, Louann

2006-12-01

The purpose of this experiment was to determine if nonreferential morphophonological information was sufficient to facilitate the learning of gender subcategories (i.e., masculine vs. feminine) in individuals with normal language (NL) and those with a history of language-based learning disabilities (HLD). Thirty-two adults listened for 18 min to a familiarization set of Russian words that included either 1 (single-marked) or 2 (double-marked) morphophonological markers indicating gender. Participants were then tested on their knowledge of both trained and untrained members of each gender subcategory. Testing indicated that morphophonological information is sufficient for lexical subcategory learning in both NL and HLD groups, although the HLD group had lower overall accuracy. The HLD group benefited from double-marking relative to single-marking for subcategory learning. The results demonstrated that learning through implicit mechanisms occurred after a relatively brief exposure to the language stimuli. In addition, the weaker overall learning by the HLD group was facilitated when multiple cues to linguistic subcategory were available in the input group members received.

Language Models and the Teaching of English Language to Secondary School Students in Cameroon

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ntongieh, Njwe Amah Eyovi

2016-01-01

This paper investigates Language models with an emphasis on an appraisal of the Competence Based Language Teaching Model (CBLT) employed in the teaching and learning of English language in Cameroon. Research endeavours at various levels combined with cumulative deficiencies experienced over the years have propelled educational policy makers to…

A Discussion-Based Online Approach to Fostering Deep Cultural Inquiry in an Introductory Language Course

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Garrett-Rucks, Paula

2013-01-01

Fostering and assessing language learners' cultural understanding is a daunting task, particularly at the early stages of language learning with target language instruction. The purpose of this study was to explore the development of beginning French language learners' intercultural understanding in a computer-mediated environment where students…

Seamless Language Learning: Second Language Learning with Social Media

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wong, Lung-Hsiang; Chai, Ching Sing; Aw, Guat Poh

2017-01-01

This conceptual paper describes a language learning model that applies social media to foster contextualized and connected language learning in communities. The model emphasizes weaving together different forms of language learning activities that take place in different learning contexts to achieve seamless language learning. it promotes social…

iPad Learning Ecosystem: Developing Challenge-Based Learning Using Design Thinking

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Marin, Catalina; Hargis, Jace; Cavanaugh, Cathy

2013-01-01

In order to maximize college English language students' learning, product development, 21st Century skills and engagement with real world meaningful challenges, a course was designed to integrate Challenge Based Learning (CBL) and iPad mobile learning technology. This article describes the course design, which was grounded in design thinking, and…

School Based Factors Affecting Learning of Kenyan Sign Language in Primary Schools for Hearing Impaired in Embu and Isiolo Counties, Kenya

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rwaimba, Samuel Muthomi

2016-01-01

This was a descriptive survey study design which sought to establish the school based factors that affect the learning of Kenyan Sign Language in primary schools for learners with hearing impairment in Embu and Isiolo counties in Kenya. The target population was all teachers teaching in primary schools for learners with hearing impairment in the…

Video-Based Interaction, Negotiation for Comprehensibility, and Second Language Speech Learning: A Longitudinal Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Saito, Kazuya; Akiyama, Yuka

2017-01-01

This study examined the impact of video-based conversational interaction on the longitudinal development (one academic semester) of second language production by college-level Japanese English-as-a-foreign-language learners. Students in the experimental group engaged in weekly dyadic conversation exchanges with native speakers in the United States…

Sweet Science for ALL! Supporting Inquiry-Based Learning through M&Ms Investigation for English Language Learners

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Song, Youngjin; Higgins, Teresa; Harding-DeKam, Jenni

2014-01-01

This article describes a series of inquiry-based lessons that provide English language learners (ELLs) with opportunities to experience science and engineering practices with conceptual understanding as well as to develop their language proficiency in elementary classrooms. The four-lesson sequence models how various types of instructional…

Three Francophone Teachers' Use of Language-Based Activities in Science Classrooms

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rivard, Leonard P.; Levesque, Annabel

2011-01-01

Research suggests that language-based activities should be an integral part of science teaching and learning and that these are even more important in minority-language contexts. The present cross-case study investigates how literacy is enacted in francophone science classrooms. Three francophone teachers were observed while they taught Grade 9…

Constructing a Language Assessment Knowledge Base: A Focus on Language Assessment Courses

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Inbar-Lourie, Ofra

2008-01-01

The competencies required for conducting assessment in the educational context have recently been reformulated in view of social constructivist perspectives and the acknowledgement of the role of classroom assessment in promoting learning. These changes have impacted the knowledge base language assessors need to obtain, and hence the contents of…

Russian Language Competencies for Peace Corps Volunteers in Russia.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Strobykina, Irina; Fomenko, Nataliya

This Peace Corps volunteer language training manual is based on the experience of two pre-service trainings and was guided by the Peace Corps language training curriculum. The learning approach is competency-based or topic-oriented to provide survival competencies. Three main sections review phonetics, topics for discussion, and practical grammar…

An Open-Sourced and Interactive Ebook Development Program for Minority Languages

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sheepy, Emily; Sundberg, Ross; Laurie, Anne

2017-01-01

According to Long (2014), genuine task-based pedagogy is centered around the real-world activities that learners need to complete using the target language. We are developing the OurStories mobile application to support learners and instructors of minority languages in the development of personally relevant, task-based learning resources. The…

Short Research Note: The Beginning Spanish Lexicon--A Web-Based Interface to Calculate Phonological Similarity among Spanish Words in Adults Learning Spanish as a Foreign Language

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vitevitch, Michael S.; Stamer, Melissa K.; Kieweg, Douglas

2012-01-01

A number of resources provide psycholinguistic researchers with information about the words that the typical child or adult knows in a variety of languages. What is currently not available is a resource that provides information about the words that a typical adult learning a foreign language knows. We created such a resource for Spanish: The…

Science education and literacy: imperatives for the developed and developing world.

PubMed

Webb, Paul

2010-04-23

This article explores current language-based research aimed at promoting scientific literacy and examines issues of language use in schools, particularly where science teaching and learning take place in teachers' and learners' second language. Literature supporting the premise that promoting reading, writing, and talking while "doing science" plays a vital role in effective teaching and learning of the subject is highlighted. A wide range of studies suggest that, whether in homogenous or language-diverse settings, science educators can make a significant contribution to both understanding science and promoting literacy.

Affective Aspects of Language Learning: Beliefs, Attitudes, Efficacy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Oliver, Rhonda; Purdie, Nola; Rochecouste, Judith

2005-01-01

The focus of this study is the relationship between language attitude, beliefs, efficacy, English language competence, and language achievement. Two hundred and eighty-five students from five metropolitan primary schools in Western Australia completed a specially designed questionnaire based on the Attitude/Motivation Test Battery (Gardner,…

Task-based language teaching: how it is implemented effectively?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Somawati, N. P.; Wahyu Astuti, N. W.; Kanca, I. N.; Widanta, I. M. R. J.; Ardika, I. W. D.

2018-01-01

There have been a number of ideas on how task-based language teaching (TBLT) is applied in English instruction. This research attempted to investigate how the task-based language teaching (TBLT) should appropriately be implemented in vocational college. A group of twenty eight students majoring in tourism were involved as research participant. Prior to treatment, they were given pre-test (Tl) to see their basic level. The test, assessment rubric, learning materials, and learning syntax were developed and validated by an expert judge prior to their use. The treatment using task-based learning materials and learning syntax stages of “leading in - enriching - activating - naturalizing” (LEAN) was undertaken for three times. The post test (T2) was then given two days upon treatment to avoid their being able to answer the test because they just still remember of the materials during the learning. The analysis result of T1 and T2 using paired sample t-test showed that there was significant difference between means of T1 (M=6.14) and T2 (M=15.46), indicated by t (27) = -54.51, p < .05. Further development is recommended to use other English for specific purposes’ materials and different research participant.

It's Rather like Learning a Language: Development of talk and conceptual understanding in mechanics lessons

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rincke, Karsten

2011-01-01

Although a broad literature exists concerning the development of conceptual understanding of force and other topics within mechanics, little is known about the role and development of students' talk about the subject. The paper presents an in-depth investigation of students' talk whilst being introduced to the concept of force. The main research goal was to investigate and understand how students develop an understanding of the concept of force and how they use and understand the term 'force'. Therefore, we make relation to the research field of students' preconceptions and the field of second language learning. Two classes of students (N = 47) were videotaped during a time period of nine lessons, each transcribed and analysed using a category system. Additional data were obtained via written tasks, logs kept by the students, and tests. The detailed analysis of the talk and the results of the tests indicate that students face difficulties in using the term 'force' scientifically similar to those in a foreign language instruction. Vygotsky already recognised a relationship between learning in science and learning a language. In this paper, important aspects of this relationship are discussed based upon empirical data. We conclude that in some respects it might be useful to make reference to the research related to language learning when thinking about improving science education. In particular, according to Selinker's concept of interlanguage describing language-learning processes within language instruction, the language used by the students during physics lessons can be viewed as a 'scientific interlanguage'.

Neurophysiological Markers of Statistical Learning in Music and Language: Hierarchy, Entropy, and Uncertainty.

PubMed

Daikoku, Tatsuya

2018-06-19

Statistical learning (SL) is a method of learning based on the transitional probabilities embedded in sequential phenomena such as music and language. It has been considered an implicit and domain-general mechanism that is innate in the human brain and that functions independently of intention to learn and awareness of what has been learned. SL is an interdisciplinary notion that incorporates information technology, artificial intelligence, musicology, and linguistics, as well as psychology and neuroscience. A body of recent study has suggested that SL can be reflected in neurophysiological responses based on the framework of information theory. This paper reviews a range of work on SL in adults and children that suggests overlapping and independent neural correlations in music and language, and that indicates disability of SL. Furthermore, this article discusses the relationships between the order of transitional probabilities (TPs) (i.e., hierarchy of local statistics) and entropy (i.e., global statistics) regarding SL strategies in human's brains; claims importance of information-theoretical approaches to understand domain-general, higher-order, and global SL covering both real-world music and language; and proposes promising approaches for the application of therapy and pedagogy from various perspectives of psychology, neuroscience, computational studies, musicology, and linguistics.

Communicative Task-Based Learning: What Does It Resolve?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bruton, Anthony

A discussion of communicative task-based second language learning looks at what differentiates a number of related classroom approaches: (1) two orientations, one focusing on learning-to-communicate and the other on communicating-to-learn; (2) emphasis on input, reception, and analysis in contrast to emphasis on communicative tasks; (3)…

Alternative and Asset-Based Evaluation and Assessment in Language Teaching and Literacy: Resources for Research, Classroom Instruction and Evaluation of Language Competence

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Eaton, Sarah Elaine

2011-01-01

This annotated bibliography surveys key resources and research related specifically to language learning and literacy. It focuses on resources that will be valuable to teaching professionals and researchers who specialize in the areas of foreign and second language teaching, language arts and first and second language literacy. Significant…

A Frequency-Based Approach to L2 Phonological Learning: Teacher Input and Student Output in an Intensive ESL Context

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Trofimovich, Pavel; Collins, Laura; Cardoso, Walcir; White, Joanna; Horst, Marlise

2012-01-01

Most second language (L2) researchers and teachers would agree that input, often defined as the language a learner hears or reads, plays an important role in L2 learning. There is a great deal of research investigating which types of input are most beneficial for learning, how learners process and internalize input (e.g., Schmidt, 2001), and how…

Do Teachers Make All Their Students Play the Same Learning Games? A Comparative Study of Learning Games in Biology and English as a Second Language

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gruson, Brigitte; Marlot, Corinne

2016-01-01

This article, based upon the field of comparative didactics, seeks to contribute to the identification of generic and specific features in the teaching and learning process. More particularly, its aim was to examine, through the study of two different school subjects: biology and English as a second language, how "passive didactic…

Seamless Integration of Desktop and Mobile Learning Experience through an Ontology-Based Adaptation Engine: Report of a Pilot-Project

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mercurio, Marco; Torre, Ilaria; Torsani, Simone

2014-01-01

The paper describes a module within the distance language learning environment of the Language Centre at the Genoa University which adapts, through an ontology, learning activities to the device in use. Adaptation means not simply resizing a page but also the ability to transform the nature of a task so that it fits the device with the smallest…

Incidental acquisition of foreign language vocabulary through brief multi-modal exposure.

PubMed

Bisson, Marie-Josée; van Heuven, Walter J B; Conklin, Kathy; Tunney, Richard J

2013-01-01

First language acquisition requires relatively little effort compared to foreign language acquisition and happens more naturally through informal learning. Informal exposure can also benefit foreign language learning, although evidence for this has been limited to speech perception and production. An important question is whether informal exposure to spoken foreign language also leads to vocabulary learning through the creation of form-meaning links. Here we tested the impact of exposure to foreign language words presented with pictures in an incidental learning phase on subsequent explicit foreign language learning. In the explicit learning phase, we asked adults to learn translation equivalents of foreign language words, some of which had appeared in the incidental learning phase. Results revealed rapid learning of the foreign language words in the incidental learning phase showing that informal exposure to multi-modal foreign language leads to foreign language vocabulary acquisition. The creation of form-meaning links during the incidental learning phase is discussed.

Native-language N400 and P600 predict dissociable language-learning abilities in adults

PubMed Central

Qi, Zhenghan; Beach, Sara D.; Finn, Amy S.; Minas, Jennifer; Goetz, Calvin; Chan, Brian; Gabrieli, John D.E.

2018-01-01

Language learning aptitude during adulthood varies markedly across individuals. An individual’s native-language ability has been associated with success in learning a new language as an adult. However, little is known about how native-language processing affects learning success and what neural markers of native-language processing, if any, are related to success in learning. We therefore related variation in electrophysiology during native-language processing to success in learning a novel artificial language. Event-related potentials (ERPs) were recorded while native English speakers judged the acceptability of English sentences prior to learning an artificial language. There was a trend towards a double dissociation between native-language ERPs and their relationships to novel syntax and vocabulary learning. Individuals who exhibited a greater N400 effect when processing English semantics showed better future learning of the artificial language overall. The N400 effect was related to syntax learning via its specific relationship to vocabulary learning. In contrast, the P600 effect size when processing English syntax predicted future syntax learning but not vocabulary learning. These findings show that distinct neural signatures of native-language processing relate to dissociable abilities for learning novel semantic and syntactic information. PMID:27737775

Self-Access Language Learning: Students' Perceptions of and Experiences within This New Mode of Learning (Aprendizaje de idiomas mediante la modalidad de autoacceso: percepciones y experiencias de los estudiantes)

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Herrera Díaz, Luz Edith

2012-01-01

With the aim of fostering autonomy in learning, both innovations, the self-access centre and the mode of learning derived from it, were adopted in the context of the study (Language Centre in the University of Veracruz, Mexico). Based on a case study, I have adopted a qualitative perspective to do this research, which aimed to know how the…

Transformational Bilingual Learning: Re-Engaging Marginalized Learners through Language, Culture, Community, and Identity

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tulloch, Shelley; Kusugak, Adriana; Chenier, Cayla; Pilakapsi, Quluaq; Uluqsi, Gloria; Walton, Fiona

2017-01-01

The Miqqut project was a participatory action research project through which Inuit language and literacy learning was embedded in a traditional skills program. Community-based researchers tracked learners' progress through entrance, exit, and post-program interviews and questionnaires, as well as through participant observation. Results show that…

Learning Languages in 3D Worlds with Machinima

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schneider, Christel

2016-01-01

This paper, based on the findings of the EU funded CAMELOT project (2013-2015), explores the added value of Machinima (videos produced in 3D virtual environments) in language learning. The project research evaluated all stages, from developing to field testing Machinima. To achieve the best outcome, mixed methods were used for the research,…

Negotiating Business, Negotiating Self: Crossing Cultural Borders in Bilingual Entrepreneurial Contexts

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Collier, Shartriya

2011-01-01

Characterized by both cultural and gender-based barriers to English language learning, language learning is a continual process of identity renegotiation, as several theorists have argued. While this identity renegotiation has been explored for women who assume the roles of wives, daughters, and employees, less attention has been directed to the…

Re-Integrating Academic Development and Academic Language and Learning: A Call to Reason

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Percy, Alisa

2014-01-01

This paper argues for the re-integration of academic development (AD) and a academic language and learning (ALL) practitioners in Australian higher education. This argument is made as universities aim to develop internationally recognised, inter-disciplinary and standards-based curricula against the backdrop of international comparative education…

Power in Methods: Language to Infants in Structured and Naturalistic Contexts

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tamis-LeMonda, Catherine S.; Kuchirko, Yana; Luo, Rufan; Escobar, Kelly; Bornstein, Marc H.

2017-01-01

Methods can powerfully affect conclusions about infant experiences and learning. Data from naturalistic observations may paint a very different picture of learning and development from those based on structured tasks, as illustrated in studies of infant walking, object permanence, intention understanding, and so forth. Using language as a model…

A Functional Specification for a Programming Language for Computer Aided Learning Applications.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

National Research Council of Canada, Ottawa (Ontario).

In 1972 there were at least six different course authoring languages in use in Canada with little exchange of course materials between Computer Assisted Learning (CAL) centers. In order to improve facilities for producing "transportable" computer based course materials, a working panel undertook the definition of functional requirements of a user…

Does It Really Matter whether Students' Contributions Are Spoken versus Typed in an Intelligent Tutoring System with Natural Language?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

D'Mello, Sidney K.; Dowell, Nia; Graesser, Arthur

2011-01-01

There is the question of whether learning differs when students speak versus type their responses when interacting with intelligent tutoring systems with natural language dialogues. Theoretical bases exist for three contrasting hypotheses. The "speech facilitation" hypothesis predicts that spoken input will "increase" learning,…

A System for English Vocabulary Acquisition Based on Code-Switching

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mazur, Michal; Karolczak, Krzysztof; Rzepka, Rafal; Araki, Kenji

2016-01-01

Vocabulary plays an important part in second language learning and there are many existing techniques to facilitate word acquisition. One of these methods is code-switching, or mixing the vocabulary of two languages in one sentence. In this paper the authors propose an experimental system for computer-assisted English vocabulary learning in…

ICT and an Exploratory Pedagogy for Classroom-Based Chinese Language Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zhao, XingLong; Wang, MinJuan; Wu, Juan; He, KeKang

2011-01-01

This paper reports on a new pedagogy for Chinese language teaching and learning at elementary schools through exploratory classroom instruction using Information and Communication Technologies. The study used quantitative method to collect data from two elementary schools of China. The results showed that: (1) the three-in-one pedagogy of…

Environmental Factors Affecting Computer Assisted Language Learning Success: A Complex Dynamic Systems Conceptual Model

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Marek, Michael W.; Wu, Wen-Chi Vivian

2014-01-01

This conceptual, interdisciplinary inquiry explores Complex Dynamic Systems as the concept relates to the internal and external environmental factors affecting computer assisted language learning (CALL). Based on the results obtained by de Rosnay ["World Futures: The Journal of General Evolution", 67(4/5), 304-315 (2011)], who observed…

Infusing Alcohol and Drug Prevention with Existing Classroom Study Units: Language Arts.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Valencia Community Coll., Orlando, FL.

This curriculum module, one of seven in Infusion Project, offers information and lessons on drug use prevention for integration into an existing seventh-grade middle school language arts curriculum. The module, based on a type of interactive learning called infusion learning, contains 18 lessons each providing objectives, a list of resource…

Technologies for Foreign Language Learning: A Review of Technology Types and Their Effectiveness

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Golonka, Ewa M.; Bowles, Anita R.; Frank, Victor M.; Richardson, Dorna L.; Freynik, Suzanne

2014-01-01

This review summarizes evidence for the effectiveness of technology use in foreign language (FL) learning and teaching, with a focus on empirical studies that compare the use of newer technologies with more traditional methods or materials. The review of over 350 studies (including classroom-based technologies, individual study tools,…

A Corpus-Based Comparative Study of "Learn" and "Acquire"

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yang, Bei

2016-01-01

As an important yet intricate linguistic feature in English language, synonymy poses a great challenge for second language learners. Using the 100 million-word British National Corpus (BNC) as data and the software Sketch Engine (SkE) as an analyzing tool, this article compares the usage of "learn" and "acquire" used in natural…

Children's Voices and Positive Affective Outcomes Regarding Play-Based Language Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cheep-Aranai, Rin; Wasanasomsithi, Punchalee

2016-01-01

Learner-centeredness is a consistent theme in the field of education. Yet, the perspectives of young learners are still barely considered. Lightbown and Spada (2013) have pointed out that even though young children have not developed cognitive maturity and the metalinguistic awareness of adolescents or adults, they learn a language without any…

Cultivating Early Trajectories of Participation: A Blended Learning Environment for Business German

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Neville, David O.

2016-01-01

The essay forwards suggestions for developing a blended learning environment to insert genre-based language for specific purposes (LSP) subject matter into the undergraduate second language development curriculum. Specifically, the essay will highlight: (1) the development of an overarching narrative for structuring the LSP subject matter; (2) the…

Service Learning and Student Engagement: A Dual Language Book Project

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Roessingh, Hetty

2012-01-01

A model is proposed followed by a case study of collaborative project work between student teachers, teachers and English language learners in kindergarten and grade 1. As a model, service learning provides a framework for making explicit linkages between course-based, credit bearing academic content, the identified need of the community school,…

Consonant-Vowel Co-Occurrence Patterns in Mandarin-Learning Infants

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chen, Li-Mei; Kent, Raymond D.

2005-01-01

Most studies on CV co-occurrence patterns in early phonetic development have been based on Indo-European languages. Data from infants learning Mandarin, which has a substantially different phonological system from Indo-European languages, can confirm or refute the findings of previous studies, thus shedding further light on the theoretical bases…

A Sociocultural View of Language Learning: The Importance of Meaning-Based Instruction

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Eun, Barohny; Lim, Hye-Soon

2009-01-01

The process of second-language teaching is grounded in the sociocultural theory of Vygotsky, which emphasizes meaningful interaction among individuals as the greatest motivating force in human development and learning. In this theoretical framework, the concepts of meaning and mediation are considered as the two essential elements affecting an…

A Large-Scale Analysis of Variance in Written Language

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Johns, Brendan T.; Jamieson, Randall K.

2018-01-01

The collection of very large text sources has revolutionized the study of natural language, leading to the development of several models of language learning and distributional semantics that extract sophisticated semantic representations of words based on the statistical redundancies contained within natural language (e.g., Griffiths, Steyvers,…

Les programmes de base: des principes a la realite (Core Programs: From Principles to Reality).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Calve, Pierre

1985-01-01

The recent evolution of second language teaching theory regarding language, learning, communication, and teaching is summarized, and factors contributing to resistance to core second language programs are examined. They include tradition, school programs, time of instruction, language of instruction, teacher training, attitudes, and…

The Strategies Used in Japanese Advertisement.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kurose, Yuki

This paper investigates the possibility of using Japanese advertising language as a teaching tool in the second language classroom. First, it reviews the aims of advertising and the advantages of learning advertising language in the classroom based on previous research. Next, it discusses language strategies used in Japanese advertising,…

Using Tasks to Assess Spanish Language Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Herrera Mosquera, Leonardo

2012-01-01

The methodology of Task-based teaching (TBT) has been positively regarded by many researchers and language teachers around the world. Yet, this language teaching methodology has been mainly implemented in English as a second language (ESL) classrooms and in English for specific purpose (ESP) courses; and more specifically with advanced-level…

Dynamic Assessment of Language Disabilities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Martin, Deirdre

2015-01-01

The paper reports a study of a narrative-based Dynamic Assessment (DA) procedure developed in the USA that is used in the UK with children with developmental language disabilities. Three monolingual English children with language disabilities are assessed by a speech/language pathologist/therapist who is learning to work with DA in collaboration…

The language faculty that wasn't: a usage-based account of natural language recursion

PubMed Central

Christiansen, Morten H.; Chater, Nick

2015-01-01

In the generative tradition, the language faculty has been shrinking—perhaps to include only the mechanism of recursion. This paper argues that even this view of the language faculty is too expansive. We first argue that a language faculty is difficult to reconcile with evolutionary considerations. We then focus on recursion as a detailed case study, arguing that our ability to process recursive structure does not rely on recursion as a property of the grammar, but instead emerges gradually by piggybacking on domain-general sequence learning abilities. Evidence from genetics, comparative work on non-human primates, and cognitive neuroscience suggests that humans have evolved complex sequence learning skills, which were subsequently pressed into service to accommodate language. Constraints on sequence learning therefore have played an important role in shaping the cultural evolution of linguistic structure, including our limited abilities for processing recursive structure. Finally, we re-evaluate some of the key considerations that have often been taken to require the postulation of a language faculty. PMID:26379567

The language faculty that wasn't: a usage-based account of natural language recursion.

PubMed

Christiansen, Morten H; Chater, Nick

2015-01-01

In the generative tradition, the language faculty has been shrinking-perhaps to include only the mechanism of recursion. This paper argues that even this view of the language faculty is too expansive. We first argue that a language faculty is difficult to reconcile with evolutionary considerations. We then focus on recursion as a detailed case study, arguing that our ability to process recursive structure does not rely on recursion as a property of the grammar, but instead emerges gradually by piggybacking on domain-general sequence learning abilities. Evidence from genetics, comparative work on non-human primates, and cognitive neuroscience suggests that humans have evolved complex sequence learning skills, which were subsequently pressed into service to accommodate language. Constraints on sequence learning therefore have played an important role in shaping the cultural evolution of linguistic structure, including our limited abilities for processing recursive structure. Finally, we re-evaluate some of the key considerations that have often been taken to require the postulation of a language faculty.

The nature of the language input affects brain activation during learning from a natural language

PubMed Central

Plante, Elena; Patterson, Dianne; Gómez, Rebecca; Almryde, Kyle R.; White, Milo G.; Asbjørnsen, Arve E.

2015-01-01

Artificial language studies have demonstrated that learners are able to segment individual word-like units from running speech using the transitional probability information. However, this skill has rarely been examined in the context of natural languages, where stimulus parameters can be quite different. In this study, two groups of English-speaking learners were exposed to Norwegian sentences over the course of three fMRI scans. One group was provided with input in which transitional probabilities predicted the presence of target words in the sentences. This group quickly learned to identify the target words and fMRI data revealed an extensive and highly dynamic learning network. These results were markedly different from activation seen for a second group of participants. This group was provided with highly similar input that was modified so that word learning based on syllable co-occurrences was not possible. These participants showed a much more restricted network. The results demonstrate that the nature of the input strongly influenced the nature of the network that learners employ to learn the properties of words in a natural language. PMID:26257471

Integrating Mobile Technologies into Very Young Second Language Learners' Curriculum

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sadykova, Gulnara; Gimaletdinova, Gulnara; Khalitova, Liliia; Kayumova, Albina

2016-01-01

This report is based on an exploratory case study of a private multilingual preschool language program that integrated a Mobile-Assisted Language Learning (MALL) project into the curriculum of five/six year-old children whose native language(s) is/are Russian and/or Tatar. The purpose of the study was to reveal teachers' and parents' perceptions…

Eithne: A Study of Second Language Development. CLCS Occasional Paper No. 15.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Owens, Maire

The acquisition of Irish as a second language in a four-year-old child of bilingual parents attending an Irish-language preschool group in Ireland is chronicled, with emphasis on the characteristic features of her language learning process and the factors determining which language she uses with others. The study was based on transcribed…

Unpacking Teachers' Language Ideologies: Attitudes, Beliefs, and Practiced Language Policies in Schools in Alsace, France

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Young, Andrea S.

2014-01-01

In France, most teachers still receive scant training in how to support plurilingual children in their learning of and through the language of instruction. In the absence of relevant, in-depth knowledge about language, we believe that many teachers are practising language policies based on beliefs rooted in ideologies unsupported by research…

Value of Web-based learning activities for nursing students who speak English as a second language.

PubMed

Koch, Jane; Salamonson, Yenna; Du, Hui Yun; Andrew, Sharon; Frost, Steven A; Dunncliff, Kirstin; Davidson, Patricia M

2011-07-01

There is an increasing need to address the educational needs of students with English as a second language. The authors assessed the value of a Web-based activity to meet the needs of students with English as a second language in a bioscience subject. Using telephone contact, we interviewed 21 Chinese students, 24 non-Chinese students with English as a second language, and 7 native English-speaking students to identify the perception of the value of the intervention. Four themes emerged from the qualitative data: (1) Language is a barrier to achievement and affects self-confidence; (2) Enhancement intervention promoted autonomous learning; (3) Focusing on the spoken word increases interaction capacity and self-confidence; (4) Assessment and examination drive receptivity and sense of importance. Targeted strategies to promote language acculturation and acquisition are valued by students. Linking language acquisition skills to assessment tasks is likely to leverage improvements in competence. Copyright 2011, SLACK Incorporated.

Dialogue-Based CALL: An Overview of Existing Research

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bibauw, Serge; François, Thomas; Desmet, Piet

2015-01-01

Dialogue-based Computer-Assisted Language Learning (CALL) covers applications and systems allowing a learner to practice the target language in a meaning-focused conversational activity with an automated agent. We first present a common definition for dialogue-based CALL, based on three features: dialogue as the activity unit, computer as the…

Web-Based New Literacies and EFL Curriculum Design in Teacher Education: A Design Study for Expanding EFL Student Teachers' Language-Related Literacy Practices in an Egyptian Pre-Service Teacher Education Programme

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Abdallah, Mahmoud Mohammad Sayed

2011-01-01

With the dominance of the Web in education and English language learning, new literacies have emerged. This thesis is motivated by the assumption that these literacies need to be integrated into the Egyptian pre-service EFL teacher education programmes so that EFL student teachers can cope with the new reality of language teaching/learning.…

Assessment of oral storytelling abilities of Latino junior high school students with learning handicaps.

PubMed

Goldstein, B C; Harris, K C; Klein, M D

1993-02-01

This study investigated the relationship between reading comprehension and oral storytelling abilities. Thirty-one Latino junior high school students with learning handicaps were selected as subjects based on learning handicapped designation, home language, and language proficiency status. Reading comprehension was measured by the Reading Comprehension subtest of the Peabody Individual Achievement Test. Storytelling was measured by (a) the Oral Production subtest of the Language Assessment Scales using the standard scoring protocol and (b) a story structure analysis. A comparison of the standard scoring protocol and reading comprehension revealed no relationship, while the comparison of the story structure analysis and reading comprehension revealed a significant correlation. The implications of these results for language assessment of bilingual students are discussed.

Tool Mediation in Focus on Form Activities: Case Studies in a Grammar-Exploring Environment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Karlstrom, Petter; Cerratto-Pargman, Teresa; Lindstrom, Henrik; Knutsson, Ola

2007-01-01

We present two case studies of two different pedagogical tasks in a Computer Assisted Language Learning environment called Grim. The main design principle in Grim is to support "Focus on Form" in second language pedagogy. Grim contains several language technology-based features for exploring linguistic forms (static, rule-based and statistical),…

Teaching and Learning English as a Foreign Language in Taiwan: A Socio-Cultural Analysis

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kung, Fan-Wei

2017-01-01

This article examines the English as a Foreign Language (EFL) context in Taiwan based on Vygotsky's (1978) socio-cultural framework. The historical context is provided after some delineations of the educational system in Taiwan with regard to its foreign language instruction policy and development. Based upon the proposed socio-cultural framework,…

Moving closer to a public health model of language and learning disabilities: the role of genetics and the search for etiologies.

PubMed

Miller, Brett; McCardle, Peggy

2011-01-01

Continued progress in language and learning disabilities (LDs) research requires a renewed focused on issues of etiology. Genetics research forms a central tenet of such an agenda and is critical in clarifying relationships among oral language development, acquisition of literacy and mathematics, executive function skills, and comorbid conditions. For progress to be made, diversified efforts must continue to emphasize molecular and behavioral genetics (including quantitative genetics) approaches, in concert with multi-disciplinary and multi-modal projects, to provide an integrated understanding of the behavioral and biological manifestations of language and learning disabilities. Critically, increased efforts to include ethnic, socio-economic, and linguistically diverse participant samples across a range of developmental stages is required to meet the public health needs of learners in the US and across the world. Taken together, this body of work will continue to enhance our understanding of LDs and help us move toward a truly prevention based approach to language and learning disabilities.

Native-language N400 and P600 predict dissociable language-learning abilities in adults.

PubMed

Qi, Zhenghan; Beach, Sara D; Finn, Amy S; Minas, Jennifer; Goetz, Calvin; Chan, Brian; Gabrieli, John D E

2017-04-01

Language learning aptitude during adulthood varies markedly across individuals. An individual's native-language ability has been associated with success in learning a new language as an adult. However, little is known about how native-language processing affects learning success and what neural markers of native-language processing, if any, are related to success in learning. We therefore related variation in electrophysiology during native-language processing to success in learning a novel artificial language. Event-related potentials (ERPs) were recorded while native English speakers judged the acceptability of English sentences prior to learning an artificial language. There was a trend towards a double dissociation between native-language ERPs and their relationships to novel syntax and vocabulary learning. Individuals who exhibited a greater N400 effect when processing English semantics showed better future learning of the artificial language overall. The N400 effect was related to syntax learning via its specific relationship to vocabulary learning. In contrast, the P600 effect size when processing English syntax predicted future syntax learning but not vocabulary learning. These findings show that distinct neural signatures of native-language processing relate to dissociable abilities for learning novel semantic and syntactic information. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Language Learning Enhanced by Massive Multiple Online Role-Playing Games (MMORPGs) and the Underlying Behavioral and Neural Mechanisms.

PubMed

Zhang, Yongjun; Song, Hongwen; Liu, Xiaoming; Tang, Dinghong; Chen, Yue-E; Zhang, Xiaochu

2017-01-01

Massive Multiple Online Role-Playing Games (MMORPGs) have increased in popularity among children, juveniles, and adults since MMORPGs' appearance in this digital age. MMORPGs can be applied to enhancing language learning, which is drawing researchers' attention from different fields and many studies have validated MMORPGs' positive effect on language learning. However, there are few studies on the underlying behavioral or neural mechanism of such effect. This paper reviews the educational application of the MMORPGs based on relevant macroscopic and microscopic studies, showing that gamers' overall language proficiency or some specific language skills can be enhanced by real-time online interaction with peers and game narratives or instructions embedded in the MMORPGs. Mechanisms underlying the educational assistant role of MMORPGs in second language learning are discussed from both behavioral and neural perspectives. We suggest that attentional bias makes gamers/learners allocate more cognitive resources toward task-related stimuli in a controlled or an automatic way. Moreover, with a moderating role played by activation of reward circuit, playing the MMORPGs may strengthen or increase functional connectivity from seed regions such as left anterior insular/frontal operculum (AI/FO) and visual word form area to other language-related brain areas.

Age of second language acquisition in multilinguals has an impact on gray matter volume in language-associated brain areas.

PubMed

Kaiser, Anelis; Eppenberger, Leila S; Smieskova, Renata; Borgwardt, Stefan; Kuenzli, Esther; Radue, Ernst-Wilhelm; Nitsch, Cordula; Bendfeldt, Kerstin

2015-01-01

Numerous structural studies have established that experience shapes and reshapes the brain throughout a lifetime. The impact of early development, however, is still a matter of debate. Further clues may come from studying multilinguals who acquired their second language at different ages. We investigated adult multilinguals who spoke three languages fluently, where the third language was learned in classroom settings, not before the age of 9 years. Multilinguals exposed to two languages simultaneously from birth (SiM) were contrasted with multinguals who acquired their first two languages successively (SuM). Whole brain voxel based morphometry revealed that, relative to SuM, SiM have significantly lower gray matter volume in several language-associated cortical areas in both hemispheres: bilaterally in medial and inferior frontal gyrus, in the right medial temporal gyrus and inferior posterior parietal gyrus, as well as in the left inferior temporal gyrus. Thus, as shown by others, successive language learning increases the volume of language-associated cortical areas. In brains exposed early on and simultaneously to more than one language, however, learning of additional languages seems to have less impact. We conclude that - at least with respect to language acquisition - early developmental influences are maintained and have an effect on experience-dependent plasticity well into adulthood.

A Scaffolding Strategy to Develop Handheld Sensor-Based Vocabulary Games for Improving Students' Learning Motivation and Performance

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Huang, Yong-Ming; Huang, Yueh-Min

2015-01-01

Vocabulary is the foundation for students who learn a foreign language. Nevertheless, students may be bored by the painstaking process of rote learning. To this end, this study designed a handheld sensor-based vocabulary game based on a scaffolding strategy for improving students' motivation and achievement in vocabulary learning. On the one hand,…

The Impact of a Cooperative Learning Program on the Academic Achievement in Mathematics and Language in Fourth Grade Students and Its Relation to Cognitive Style

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vega, Mery Luz; Hederich M., Christian

2015-01-01

This study is expected to determine the impact of a program based on the cooperative learning methodology. This, in comparison to a traditional learning situation in both mathematics and language achievement. The study was carried out on a group of fourth grade students of primary school. In addition, it tried to find the differential impact…

Do written mandatory accreditation standards for residential care positively model learning organizations? Textual and critical discourse analysis.

PubMed

Bell, Erica; Robinson, Andrew; See, Catherine

2013-11-01

Unprecedented global population ageing accompanied by increasing complexity of aged care present major challenges of quality in aged care. In the business literature, Senge's theory of adaptive learning organisations offers a model of organisational quality. However, while accreditation of national standards is an increasing mechanism for achieving quality in aged care, there are anecdotal concerns it creates a 'minimum standards compliance mentality' and no evidence about whether it reinforces learning organisations. The research question was 'Do mandatory national accreditation standards for residential aged care, as they are written, positively model learning organisations?'. Automatic text analysis was combined with critical discourse analysis to analyse the presence of learning concepts from Senge's learning organisation theory in an exhaustive sample of national accreditation standards from 7 countries. The two stages of analysis were: (1) quantitative mapping of the presence of learning organisation concepts in standards using Bayesian-based textual analytics software and (2) qualitative critical discourse analysis to further examine how the language of standards so identified may be modelling learning organisation concepts. The learning concepts 'training', 'development', 'knowledge', and 'systems' are present with relative frequencies of 19%, 11%, 10%, and 10% respectively in the 1944 instances, in paragraph-sized text blocks, considered. Concepts such as 'team', 'integration', 'learning', 'change' and 'innovation' occur with 7%, 6%, 5%, 5%, and 1% relative frequencies respectively. Learning concepts tend to co-occur with negative rather than positive sentiment language in the 3176 instances in text blocks containing sentiment language. Critical discourse analysis suggested that standards generally use the language of organisational change and learning in limited ways that appear to model 'learning averse' communities of practice and organisational cultures. The aged care quality challenge and the role of standards need rethinking. All standards implicitly or explicitly model an organisation of some type. If standards can model a limited and negative learning organisation language, they could model a well-developed and positive learning organisation language. In the context of the global aged care crisis, the modelling of learning organisations is probably critical for minimal competence in residential aged care and certainly achievable in the language of standards. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Learners' Use of Communication Strategies in Text-Based and Video-Based Synchronous Computer-Mediated Communication Environments: Opportunities for Language Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hung, Yu-Wan; Higgins, Steve

2016-01-01

This study investigates the different learning opportunities enabled by text-based and video-based synchronous computer-mediated communication (SCMC) from an interactionist perspective. Six Chinese-speaking learners of English and six English-speaking learners of Chinese were paired up as tandem (reciprocal) learning dyads. Each dyad participated…

Processing prosodic structure by adults with language-based learning disability.

PubMed

Bahl, Megha; Plante, Elena; Gerken, LouAnn

2009-01-01

Two experiments investigated the ability of adults with a history of language-based learning disability (hLLD) and their normal language (NL) peers to learn prosodic patterns of a novel language. Participants were exposed to stimuli from an artificial language and tested on items that required generalization of the stress patterns and the hierarchical principles of stress assignment that could be inferred from the input. In Study 1, the NL group successfully generalized the patterns of stress heard during familiarization, but failed to show generalization of the hierarchical principles. The hLLD group performed at chance for both types of generalization items. In Study 2, the intensity of stress elements was increased. The performance of the NL group improved whereas the hLLD groups' performance decreased on both types of generalization items. The results indicate that NL adults are able to successfully abstract the complex hierarchical rules of stress if the prosodic cues are made sufficiently salient, but this same task is difficult for adults with hLLD. The reader will be able to understand: (1) the difference in the ability of hLLD and NL adults to process stress assignment in an implicit learning context and (2) that typical adults can abstract complex hierarchical rules of stress assignment when provided with strong cues.

Interactions between statistical and semantic information in infant language development

PubMed Central

Lany, Jill; Saffran, Jenny R.

2013-01-01

Infants can use statistical regularities to form rudimentary word categories (e.g. noun, verb), and to learn the meanings common to words from those categories. Using an artificial language methodology, we probed the mechanisms by which two types of statistical cues (distributional and phonological regularities) affect word learning. Because linking distributional cues vs. phonological information to semantics make different computational demands on learners, we also tested whether their use is related to language proficiency. We found that 22-month-old infants with smaller vocabularies generalized using phonological cues; however, infants with larger vocabularies showed the opposite pattern of results, generalizing based on distributional cues. These findings suggest that both phonological and distributional cues marking word categories promote early word learning. Moreover, while correlations between these cues are important to forming word categories, we found infants’ weighting of these cues in subsequent word-learning tasks changes over the course of early language development. PMID:21884336

Creative Writing, Problem-Based Learning, and Game-Based Learning Principles

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Trekles, Anastasia M.

2012-01-01

This paper examines how virtual worlds and other advanced social media can be married with problem-based learning to encourage creativity and critical thinking in the English/Language Arts classroom, particularly for middle school, high school, and undergraduate college education. Virtual world experiences such as "Second Life," Jumpstart.com, and…

Adult Learning in a Computer-Based ESL Acquisition Program

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sanchez, Karen Renee

2013-01-01

This study explores the self-efficacy of students learning English as a Second Language on the computer-based Rosetta Stone program. The research uses a qualitative approach to explore how a readily available computer-based learning program, Rosetta Stone, can help adult immigrant students gain some English competence and so acquire a greater…

Concept-Based Approach to Second Language Teaching and Learning: Cognitive Lingusitics-Inspired Instruction of English Phrasal Verbs

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lee, Hyewon

2012-01-01

In recent years, L2 researchers from the sociocultural and cognitive linguistic perspectives have emphasized the importance of properly organized explicit and in-depth grammar instruction for second or foreign language learning. Such instruction is believed to lead learners to systematic understanding of the target features faster and more…

The TeCoLa Project: Pedagogical Differentiation through Telecollaboration and Gaming for Intercultural and Content Integrated Language Teaching

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jauregi, Kristi; Melchor-Couto, Sabela

2017-01-01

The Erasmus+ TeCoLa project (2016-2019) aims to develop and test innovative gamified telecollaboration approaches for secondary schools that address issues of learning diversity in intercultural and Content Integrated Language Learning (CLIL) and teaching. Authentic task-based transnational interactions among peers from different socio-cultural,…

K-5 Educators' Perceptions of the Role of Speech Language Pathologists

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hatcher, Karmon D.

2017-01-01

Rarely is a school-based speech language pathologist (SLP) thought of as an active contributor to the achievement of students or to the learning community in general. Researchers have found benefits for students when members of the learning community collaborate, and the SLP should be a part of this community collaboration. This qualitative case…

Assessing and Acknowledging Learning through Non-Accredited Community Adult Language, Literacy and Numeracy Programs: Support Document

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dymock, Darryl; Billett, Stephen

2008-01-01

This Support Document was produced by the authors based on their research for the report, "Assessing and Acknowledging Learning through Non-Accredited Community Adult Language, Literacy and Numeracy Programs," and is an added resource for further information. There were five phases of this project: Phase 1 comprised further interrogation…

Language Learning Strategies of English for Specific Purposes Students at a Public University in Malaysia

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shah, Mohamed Ismail Ahamad; Ismail, Yusof; Esa, Zaleha; Muhamad, Ainon Jariah

2013-01-01

Studies on strategy research have shown the usefulness and importance of language learning strategies (LLS) for ESL and EFL learners. However, research on content-based learners in relation to English for Academic Purposes (EAP) and English for Occupational Purposes (EOP) has yet to be undertaken. This study, therefore, investigated the learning…

Retesting the Limits of Data-Driven Learning: Feedback and Error Correction

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Crosthwaite, Peter

2017-01-01

An increasing number of studies have looked at the value of corpus-based data-driven learning (DDL) for second language (L2) written error correction, with generally positive results. However, a potential conundrum for language teachers involved in the process is how to provide feedback on students' written production for DDL. The study looks at…

Grammar and Grammaring: Toward Modes for English Grammar Teaching in China

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nan, Chengyu

2015-01-01

The value of grammar instruction in foreign language learning and teaching has been a focus of debate for quite some time, which has resulted in different views on grammar and grammar teaching as well as different teaching approaches based on different perspectives or in different language learning contexts. To explore some modes for grammar…

Using Gamification to Enhance Second Language Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Figueroa Flores, Jorge Francisco

2015-01-01

One major competence for learners in the 21st century is acquiring a second language (L2). Based on this, L2 instruction has integrated new concepts to motivate learners in their pursue of achieving fluency. A concept that is adaptable to digital natives and digital immigrants that are learning a L2 is Gamification. As a pedagogical strategy,…

The Use of a Task-Based Online Forum in Language Teaching: Learning Practices and Outcomes

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Batardière, Marie-Thérèse

2013-01-01

This chapter investigates students' reported patterns of use and perceived outcomes of an online intercultural exchange. It is hoped that the study will inform our understanding of the students' language learning process on an online discussion forum and consequently will help us maximise the educational potential of computer-mediated…

Dialogue-Based Call: A Case Study on Teaching Pronouns

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vlugter, P.; Knott, A.; McDonald, J.; Hall, C.

2009-01-01

We describe a computer assisted language learning (CALL) system that uses human-machine dialogue as its medium of interaction. The system was developed to help students learn the basics of the Maori language and was designed to accompany the introductory course in Maori running at the University of Otago. The student engages in a task-based…

Exploring Cross-Linguistic Vocabulary Effects on Brain Structures Using Voxel-Based Morphometry

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Green, David W.; Crinion, Jenny; Price, Cathy J.

2007-01-01

Given that there are neural markers for the acquisition of a non-verbal skill, we review evidence of neural markers for the acquisition of vocabulary. Acquiring vocabulary is critical to learning one's native language and to learning other languages. Acquisition requires the ability to link an object concept (meaning) to sound. Is there a region…

The Impact of Reading to Engage Children with Autism in Language and Learning (RECALL)

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Whalon, Kelly; Martinez, Jose R.; Shannon, Darbianne; Butcher, Colleen; Hanline, Mary Frances

2015-01-01

A multiple baseline across participants design was used to investigate the impact of RECALL (Reading to Engage Children With Autism in Language and Learning) on the correct, unprompted responding and initiations of young children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). RECALL is an adapted shared reading intervention based on dialogic reading. RECALL…

The Religion of Learning English in "English": A Language Educator's Reading

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gao, Xuesong

2011-01-01

This essay is my reading of "English," a novel based on author Wang Gang's experiences in Urumqi, Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, Northwest China during the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976). As a language educator, I was particularly interested in the way that Wang describes learning English in the novel. The essay focuses on three…

User Experience of a Mobile Speaking Application with Automatic Speech Recognition for EFL Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ahn, Tae youn; Lee, Sangmin-Michelle

2016-01-01

With the spread of mobile devices, mobile phones have enormous potential regarding their pedagogical use in language education. The goal of this study is to analyse user experience of a mobile-based learning system that is enhanced by speech recognition technology for the improvement of EFL (English as a foreign language) learners' speaking…

Using a Dialogue System Based on Dialogue Maps for Computer Assisted Second Language Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Choi, Sung-Kwon; Kwon, Oh-Woog; Kim, Young-Kil; Lee, Yunkeun

2016-01-01

In order to use dialogue systems for computer assisted second-language learning systems, one of the difficult issues in such systems is how to construct large-scale dialogue knowledge that matches the dialogue modelling of a dialogue system. This paper describes how we have accomplished the short-term construction of large-scale and…

What Are More Effective in English Classrooms: Textbooks or Podcasts?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Selwood, Jaime; Lauer, Joe; Enokida, Kazumichi

2016-01-01

In the 21st century it has become clear that more and more language-learning pedagogical materials have begun to shift to a digital mobile-access format and away from being a textbook and classroom based one. High quality language-learning podcasts can provide a cheap, beneficial and portable technology that allows learners the freedom to access…

Student and Teacher Success: The Impact of Computers in Primary Grades.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Drexler, Nancy Gadzuk; And Others

This paper discusses the impact of computers on student learning as reported by teachers participating in a study of a computer-based language arts instructional program for the early elementary grades--the Apple Learning Series: Early Language (ALS-EL). Although they found the program difficult to evaluate, some teachers stated that the ALS-EL…

The Effect of Radical-Based Grouping in Character Learning in Chinese as a Foreign Language

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Xu, Yi; Chang, Li-Yun; Perfetti, Charles A.

2014-01-01

The logographic nature of the Chinese writing system creates a huge hurdle for Chinese as a foreign language (CFL) learners. Existing literature (e.g., Shen, [Shen, H. H., 2010]; Taft & Chung, [Taft, M., 1999]) suggests that radical knowledge facilitates character learning. In this project, we selected 48 compound characters in eight radical…

Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games as Arenas for Second Language Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Peterson, Mark

2010-01-01

This article investigates contemporary research on the use of massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs) in language education. The development and key features of these games are explored. This is followed by an examination of the theories proposed as a basis for game-based learning, and the claims made regarding the value of…

Teaching Arabic with Technology at BYU: Learning from the Past to Bridge to the Future

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bush, Michael D.; Browne, Jeremy M.

2004-01-01

Reporting in 1971 on research related to computer-based methods for teaching the Arabic writing system, Bunderson and Abboud cited the potential that computers have for language learning, a largely unfulfilled potential even in 2004. After a review of the relevant historical background for the justification of computer-aided language learning…

Internet-Based French as a Foreign Language Vocabulary Learning: Academic Success and Opinions on FFL Learners

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Erkan, Senem Seda Sahenk

2017-01-01

In the 21st century, globalization and technological developments in different domains of life have accentuated the importance of multilingualism and multiculturalism in studying English and French as foreign languages in different countries of the world, including Turkey. This research is aimed at determining the effects of learning vocabulary in…

A Sociocultural-Theory-Based Study of the Impact of Mediation during Post- Observation Conferences on Language Teacher Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Harvey, Jane

2011-01-01

The post-observation conference offers a potentially fecund context for promoting language teacher learning, but very little research has been conducted into how this actually happens. Taking Vygotskian sociocultural theory as its theoretical framework, this study examined the mediational discourse of a series of post-observation conferences…

Brave New (Virtual) World: Transforming Language Learning into Cultural Studies through Online Learning Environments (MOOs).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schneider, Jeffrey; von der Emde, Silke

2000-01-01

Describes an online approach through using a MOO, a computer program that allows students to share text-based virtual reality. The goal of the program was to build an environment that both enabled practice in the target language and sustained reflection on the processes of cultural production and reception. (Author/VWL)

Effects of Using Self-Explanation on a Web-Based Chinese Sentence-Learning System

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chang, Jia-Wei; Lee, Ming-Che; Su, Chien-Yuan; Wang, Tzone-I

2017-01-01

Chinese as a foreign language (CFL) learners generally encounter difficulty in using some special rules of Chinese grammar because such grammar points do not exist in their native languages. CFL learners require an effective learning strategy to assist them in acquiring a greater understanding of Chinese grammar. Thus, we integrated a…

Nociones de la programacion de lenguas extranjeras: ensayo metodologico (Notions on the Programming of Foreign Languages: Methodological Experiment)

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Feldman, David

1975-01-01

Presents a computerized program for foreign language learning giving drills for all the major language skills. The drills are followed by an extensive bibliography of documents in some way dealing with computer based instruction, particularly foreign language instruction. (Text is in Spanish.) (TL)

Sounds of Science

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lott, Kimberly; Lott, Alan; Ence, Hannah

2018-01-01

Inquiry-based active learning in science is helpful to all students but especially to those who have a hearing loss. For many deaf or hard of hearing students, the English language may be their second language, with American Sign Language (ASL) being their primary language. Therefore, many of the accommodations for the deaf are similar to those…

LingoBee: Engaging Mobile Language Learners through Crowd-Sourcing

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Petersen, Sobah Abbas; Procter-Legg, Emma; Cacchione, Annamaria

2014-01-01

This paper describes three case studies, where language learners were invited to use "LingoBee" as a means of supporting their language learning. LingoBee is a mobile app that provides user-generated language content in a cloud-based shared repository. Assuming that today's students are mobile savvy and "Digital Natives" able…

Language Intervention for Hispanic Children with Language-Learning Disabilities: Evidence-Based Practice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kummerer, Sharon Elizabeth

2010-01-01

The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (1996) estimated that 10% of the United States population has a disorder of speech, language, or hearing, with proportional distribution among members of racially and ethnically diverse groups. Individuals of Hispanic origin are the fastest-growing minority group in the country. Current national…

Alignment of World Language Standards and Assessments: A Multiple Case Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kaplan, Carolyn Shemwell

2016-01-01

Previous research has examined world language classroom-based assessment practices as well as the impact of the Standards for Foreign Language Learning in the 21st Century (National Standards in Foreign Language Education Project, 1999) on practice. However, the extent to which K-12 teachers' assessment practices reflect national and state…

Using Whole Language Materials in the Adult ESOL Classroom.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schiffer, Edward W.

A practicum explored the use of instructional materials based on the whole language approach to second language learning in adult English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) instruction. The approach was implemented in a beginning ESL classroom at an adult education center that had previously used publisher textbooks, which were not thought to provide…

Structural Analysis of a Tablet PC Based Language Test

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Magal Royo, Teresa; Garcia Laborda, Jesus; Gimenez Lopez, Jose Luis; Otero de Juan, Nuria

2015-01-01

Ubiquitous language learning and testing has become a new challenging trend. Budget constraints in Europe and the rest of the world have made this way of delivery very attractive for materials designers as well as language testing organizations. Ubiquitous testing has a very especial interest in low and medium stakes language testing in which…

Ideas and Insights: Language Arts in the Elementary School.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Watson, Dorothy J., Ed.

Intended to provide elementary school language arts teachers with new and interesting teaching activities, this book contains over 100 teacher-tested classroom activities that are based on the whole language approach to learning. Chapters discuss the following: (1) a world of language in use; (2) literature points the way (including themes and…

Experiences with Autonomy: Learners' Voices on Language Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kristmanson, Paula; Lafargue, Chantal; Culligan, Karla

2013-01-01

This article focuses on the experiences of Grade 12 students using a language portfolio based on the principles and guidelines of the European Language Portfolio (ELP) in their second language classes in a large urban high school. As part of a larger action-research project, focus group interviews were conducted to gather data related to…

Contemporary Reflections on Speech-Based Language Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gustafson, Marianne

2009-01-01

In "The Relation of Language to Mental Development and of Speech to Language Teaching," S.G. Davidson displayed several timeless insights into the role of speech in developing language and reasons for using speech as the basis for instruction for children who are deaf and hard of hearing. His understanding that speech includes more than merely…

Invented Rule with English Language Learners

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Boyer, Valerie E.; Martin, Kathryn Y.

2012-01-01

The purpose of this study was to utilize an invented rule with English language learners (ELLs) in a clinical setting to determine differences based on language and age of the children. The performance was correlated with teacher reports of strong and weak language learning. Using a within-participants design, ELLs of age three to five were taught…

Language and Learning to Read: What Teachers Should Know about Language.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hodges, Richard E., Ed.; Rudorf, E. Hugh, Ed.

Written by teachers, linguists, psychologists, and reading specialists, this book elucidates the relationship between reading and language, and explains why reading should be regarded as a language-based process. The book is divided into eight sections, each of which includes an introduction and sources for further reading. The essays for each…

Exploring Gender Issues across Cultures: A Literature Based Whole Language Approach.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lo, Yi-Hsuan Gloria

This paper explores the whole language approach to teaching English as a Second Language (ESL) in the context of gender issues. More specifically, this study is focused on teaching ESL to university freshman in Taiwan. The whole language approach is used for two reasons: language can best be learned when it kept as a whole--especially with…

A Critical Appraisal of Foreign Language Research in Content and Language Integrated Learning, Young Language Learners, and Technology-Enhanced Language Learning Published in Spain (2003-2012)

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dooly, Melinda; Masats, Dolors

2015-01-01

This state-of-the-art review provides a critical overview of research publications in Spain in the last ten years in three areas of teaching and learning foreign languages (especially English): context and language integrated learning (CLIL), young language learners (YLL), and technology-enhanced language learning (TELL). These three domains have…

Language Learning Strategies and Beliefs about Language Learning in High-School Students and Students Attending English Institutes: Are They Different?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Saeb, Fateme; Zamani, Elham

2013-01-01

This paper reports a comparative study exploring language learning strategy use and beliefs about language learning of high-school students and students attending English institutes. Oxford's (1990) strategy inventory for language learning (SILL) and Horwitz's (1987) beliefs about language learning inventory (BALLI), were used to collect data.…

Elevating "Low" Language for High Stakes: A Case for Critical, Community-Based Learning in a Medical Spanish for Heritage Learners Program

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Martinez, Glenn; Schwartz, Adam

2012-01-01

Critical approaches to Spanish heritage language (SHL) pedagogy have called for more meaningful engagement with heritage language communities (Leeman, 2005). In a recent survey, furthermore, SHL students expressed a desire for more community-based activities in SHL curricula (Beaudrie, Ducar, & Relano-Pastor, 2009). This paper reports on the…

Our Policies, Their Text: German Language Students' Strategies with and Beliefs about Web-Based Machine Translation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

White, Kelsey D.; Heidrich, Emily

2013-01-01

Most educators are aware that some students utilize web-based machine translators for foreign language assignments, however, little research has been done to determine how and why students utilize these programs, or what the implications are for language learning and teaching. In this mixed-methods study we utilized surveys, a translation task,…

Cognitive biases, linguistic universals, and constraint-based grammar learning.

PubMed

Culbertson, Jennifer; Smolensky, Paul; Wilson, Colin

2013-07-01

According to classical arguments, language learning is both facilitated and constrained by cognitive biases. These biases are reflected in linguistic typology-the distribution of linguistic patterns across the world's languages-and can be probed with artificial grammar experiments on child and adult learners. Beginning with a widely successful approach to typology (Optimality Theory), and adapting techniques from computational approaches to statistical learning, we develop a Bayesian model of cognitive biases and show that it accounts for the detailed pattern of results of artificial grammar experiments on noun-phrase word order (Culbertson, Smolensky, & Legendre, 2012). Our proposal has several novel properties that distinguish it from prior work in the domains of linguistic theory, computational cognitive science, and machine learning. This study illustrates how ideas from these domains can be synthesized into a model of language learning in which biases range in strength from hard (absolute) to soft (statistical), and in which language-specific and domain-general biases combine to account for data from the macro-level scale of typological distribution to the micro-level scale of learning by individuals. Copyright © 2013 Cognitive Science Society, Inc.

Computerized Sign Language-Based Literacy Training for Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Children

PubMed Central

Holmer, Emil; Heimann, Mikael; Rudner, Mary

2017-01-01

Abstract Strengthening the connections between sign language and written language may improve reading skills in deaf and hard-of-hearing (DHH) signing children. The main aim of the present study was to investigate whether computerized sign language-based literacy training improves reading skills in DHH signing children who are learning to read. Further, longitudinal associations between sign language skills and developing reading skills were investigated. Participants were recruited from Swedish state special schools for DHH children, where pupils are taught in both sign language and spoken language. Reading skills were assessed at five occasions and the intervention was implemented in a cross-over design. Results indicated that reading skills improved over time and that development of word reading was predicted by the ability to imitate unfamiliar lexical signs, but there was only weak evidence that it was supported by the intervention. These results demonstrate for the first time a longitudinal link between sign-based abilities and word reading in DHH signing children who are learning to read. We suggest that the active construction of novel lexical forms may be a supramodal mechanism underlying word reading development. PMID:28961874

Computerized Sign Language-Based Literacy Training for Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Children.

PubMed

Holmer, Emil; Heimann, Mikael; Rudner, Mary

2017-10-01

Strengthening the connections between sign language and written language may improve reading skills in deaf and hard-of-hearing (DHH) signing children. The main aim of the present study was to investigate whether computerized sign language-based literacy training improves reading skills in DHH signing children who are learning to read. Further, longitudinal associations between sign language skills and developing reading skills were investigated. Participants were recruited from Swedish state special schools for DHH children, where pupils are taught in both sign language and spoken language. Reading skills were assessed at five occasions and the intervention was implemented in a cross-over design. Results indicated that reading skills improved over time and that development of word reading was predicted by the ability to imitate unfamiliar lexical signs, but there was only weak evidence that it was supported by the intervention. These results demonstrate for the first time a longitudinal link between sign-based abilities and word reading in DHH signing children who are learning to read. We suggest that the active construction of novel lexical forms may be a supramodal mechanism underlying word reading development. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press.

Language, Language Development and Teaching English to Emergent Bilingual Users: Challenging the Common Knowledge Theory in Teacher Education & K-12 School Settings

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Faltis, Christian

2013-01-01

Popular views about language and how children and youth learn language are based mainly in cognitive approaches in support of a common knowledge theory of language development. This common theory feeds into the efforts to increase teacher and learner accountability as measured on narrow assessments of what it means to use language well and in…

Attentional effects on rule extraction and consolidation from speech.

PubMed

López-Barroso, Diana; Cucurell, David; Rodríguez-Fornells, Antoni; de Diego-Balaguer, Ruth

2016-07-01

Incidental learning plays a crucial role in the initial phases of language acquisition. However the knowledge derived from implicit learning, which is based on prediction-based mechanisms, may become explicit. The role that attention plays in the formation of implicit and explicit knowledge of the learned material is unclear. In the present study, we investigated the role that attention plays in the acquisition of non-adjacent rule learning from speech. In addition, we also tested whether the amount of attention during learning changes the representation of the learned material after a 24h delay containing sleep. For that, we developed an experiment run on two consecutive days consisting on the exposure to an artificial language that contained non-adjacent dependencies (rules) between words whereas different conditions were established to manipulate the amount of attention given to the rules (target and non-target conditions). Furthermore, we used both indirect and direct measures of learning that are more sensitive to implicit and explicit knowledge, respectively. Whereas the indirect measures indicated that learning of the rules occurred regardless of attention, more explicit judgments after learning showed differences in the type of learning reached under the two attention conditions. 24 hours later, indirect measures showed no further improvements during additional language exposure and explicit judgments indicated that only the information more robustly learned in the previous day, was consolidated. Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Attentional effects on rule extraction and consolidation from speech

PubMed Central

López-Barroso, Diana; Cucurell, David; Rodríguez-Fornells, Antoni; de Diego-Balaguer, Ruth

2016-01-01

Incidental learning plays a crucial role in the initial phases of language acquisition. However the knowledge derived from implicit learning, which is based on prediction-based mechanisms, may become explicit. The role that attention plays in the formation of implicit and explicit knowledge of the learned material is unclear. In the present study, we investigated the role that attention plays in the acquisition of non-adjacent rule learning from speech. In addition, we also tested whether the amount of attention during learning changes the representation of the learned material after a 24 h delay containing sleep. For that, we developed an experiment run on two consecutive days consisting on the exposure to an artificial language that contained non-adjacent dependencies (rules) between words whereas different conditions were established to manipulate the amount of attention given to the rules (target and non-target conditions). Furthermore, we used both indirect and direct measures of learning that are more sensitive to implicit and explicit knowledge, respectively. Whereas the indirect measures indicated that learning of the rules occurred regardless of attention, more explicit judgments after learning showed differences in the type of learning reached under the two attention conditions. 24 hours later, indirect measures showed no further improvements during additional language exposure and explicit judgments indicated that only the information more robustly learned in the previous day, was consolidated. PMID:27031495

Using conceptual metaphor and functional grammar to explore how language used in physics affects student learning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brookes, David T.; Etkina, Eugenia

2007-06-01

This paper introduces a theory about the role of language in learning physics. The theory is developed in the context of physics students and physicists talking and writing about the subject of quantum mechanics. We found that physicists’ language encodes different varieties of analogical models through the use of grammar and conceptual metaphor. We hypothesize that students categorize concepts into ontological categories based on the grammatical structure of physicists’ language. We also hypothesize that students overextend and misapply conceptual metaphors in physicists’ speech and writing. Using our theory, we will show how, in some cases, we can explain student difficulties in quantum mechanics as difficulties with language.

Saul: Towards Declarative Learning Based Programming

PubMed Central

Kordjamshidi, Parisa; Roth, Dan; Wu, Hao

2015-01-01

We present Saul, a new probabilistic programming language designed to address some of the shortcomings of programming languages that aim at advancing and simplifying the development of AI systems. Such languages need to interact with messy, naturally occurring data, to allow a programmer to specify what needs to be done at an appropriate level of abstraction rather than at the data level, to be developed on a solid theory that supports moving to and reasoning at this level of abstraction and, finally, to support flexible integration of these learning and inference models within an application program. Saul is an object-functional programming language written in Scala that facilitates these by (1) allowing a programmer to learn, name and manipulate named abstractions over relational data; (2) supporting seamless incorporation of trainable (probabilistic or discriminative) components into the program, and (3) providing a level of inference over trainable models to support composition and make decisions that respect domain and application constraints. Saul is developed over a declaratively defined relational data model, can use piecewise learned factor graphs with declaratively specified learning and inference objectives, and it supports inference over probabilistic models augmented with declarative knowledge-based constraints. We describe the key constructs of Saul and exemplify its use in developing applications that require relational feature engineering and structured output prediction. PMID:26635465

Saul: Towards Declarative Learning Based Programming.

PubMed

Kordjamshidi, Parisa; Roth, Dan; Wu, Hao

2015-07-01

We present Saul , a new probabilistic programming language designed to address some of the shortcomings of programming languages that aim at advancing and simplifying the development of AI systems. Such languages need to interact with messy, naturally occurring data, to allow a programmer to specify what needs to be done at an appropriate level of abstraction rather than at the data level, to be developed on a solid theory that supports moving to and reasoning at this level of abstraction and, finally, to support flexible integration of these learning and inference models within an application program. Saul is an object-functional programming language written in Scala that facilitates these by (1) allowing a programmer to learn, name and manipulate named abstractions over relational data; (2) supporting seamless incorporation of trainable (probabilistic or discriminative) components into the program, and (3) providing a level of inference over trainable models to support composition and make decisions that respect domain and application constraints. Saul is developed over a declaratively defined relational data model, can use piecewise learned factor graphs with declaratively specified learning and inference objectives, and it supports inference over probabilistic models augmented with declarative knowledge-based constraints. We describe the key constructs of Saul and exemplify its use in developing applications that require relational feature engineering and structured output prediction.

Pragmatics & Language Learning. Volume 12

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kasper, Gabriele, Ed.; Nguyen, Hanh thi, Ed.; Yoshimi, Dina Rudolph, Ed.; Yoshioka, Jim K., Ed.

2010-01-01

This volume examines the organization of second language and multilingual speakers' talk and pragmatic knowledge across a range of naturalistic and experimental activities. Based on data collected on Danish, English, Hawai'i Creole, Indonesian, and Japanese as target languages, the contributions explore the nexus of pragmatic knowledge,…

Child Language Acquisition: Contrasting Theoretical Approaches

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ambridge, Ben; Lieven, Elena V. M.

2011-01-01

Is children's language acquisition based on innate linguistic structures or built from cognitive and communicative skills? This book summarises the major theoretical debates in all of the core domains of child language acquisition research (phonology, word-learning, inflectional morphology, syntax and binding) and includes a complete introduction…

Simulation/Gaming and the Acquisition of Communicative Competence in Another Language.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Garcia-Carbonell, Amparo; Rising, Beverly; Montero, Begona; Watts, Frances

2001-01-01

Discussion of communicative competence in second language acquisition focuses on a theoretical and practical meshing of simulation and gaming methodology with theories of foreign language acquisition, including task-based learning, interaction, and comprehensible input. Describes experiments conducted with computer-assisted simulations in…

Meaningful Learning in the Teaching of Culture: The Project Based Learning Approach

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kean, Ang Chooi; Kwe, Ngu Moi

2014-01-01

This paper reports on a collaborative effort taken by a team of three teacher educators in using the Project Based Learning (PBL) approach in the teaching of Japanese culture with the aim to investigate the presence of actual "meaningful learning" among 15 students of a 12-Week Preparatory Japanese Language course under a teacher…

Impacts of the Problem-Based Learning Pedagogy on English Learners' Reading Comprehension, Strategy Use, and Active Learning Attitudes

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lin, Lu-Fang

2017-01-01

This study investigated whether an English reading course integrated with the problem-based learning approach could foster foreign language learners' reading comprehension ability, strategy use, and their active learning attitudes. The pedagogy was featured with the small group scaffolding. Two intact English classes in a Taiwanese university were…

An Examination of Digital Game-Based Situated Learning Applied to Chinese Language Poetry Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chen, Hong-Ren; Lin, You-Shiuan

2016-01-01

By gradually placing more importance on game-based education and changing learning motivation by applying game-playing characteristics, students' learning experiences can be enhanced and a better learning effect can be achieved. When teaching the content of Chinese poetry in Taiwanese junior high schools, most teachers only explain the meaning of…

Influences on infant speech processing: toward a new synthesis.

PubMed

Werker, J F; Tees, R C

1999-01-01

To comprehend and produce language, we must be able to recognize the sound patterns of our language and the rules for how these sounds "map on" to meaning. Human infants are born with a remarkable array of perceptual sensitivities that allow them to detect the basic properties that are common to the world's languages. During the first year of life, these sensitivities undergo modification reflecting an exquisite tuning to just that phonological information that is needed to map sound to meaning in the native language. We review this transition from language-general to language-specific perceptual sensitivity that occurs during the first year of life and consider whether the changes propel the child into word learning. To account for the broad-based initial sensitivities and subsequent reorganizations, we offer an integrated transactional framework based on the notion of a specialized perceptual-motor system that has evolved to serve human speech, but which functions in concert with other developing abilities. In so doing, we highlight the links between infant speech perception, babbling, and word learning.

Status of teaching elementary science for English learners in science, mathematics and technology centered magnet schools

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Han, Alyson Kim

According to the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing (2001), one in three students speaks a language other than English. Additionally, the Commission stated that a student is considered to be an English learner if the second language acquisition is English. In California more than 1.4 million English learners enter school speaking a variety of languages, and this number continues to rise. There is an imminent need to promote instructional strategies that support this group of diverse learners. Although this was not a California study, the results derived from the nationwide participants' responses provided a congruent assessment of the basic need to provide effective science teaching strategies to all English learners. The purpose of this study was to examine the status of elementary science teaching practices used with English learners in kindergarten through fifth grade in public mathematics, science, and technology-centered elementary magnet schools throughout the country. This descriptive research was designed to provide current information and to identify trends in the areas of curriculum and instruction for English learners in science themed magnet schools. This report described the status of elementary (grades K-5) school science instruction for English learners based on the responses of 116 elementary school teachers: 59 grade K-2, and 57 grade 3-5 teachers. Current research-based approaches support incorporating self-directed learning strategy, expository teaching strategy, active listening strategies, questioning strategies, wait time strategy, small group strategy, peer tutoring strategy, large group learning strategy, demonstrations strategy, formal debates strategy, review sessions strategy, mediated conversation strategy, cooperative learning strategy, and theme-based instruction into the curriculum to assist English learners in science education. Science Technology Society (STS) strategy, problem-based learning strategy, discovery learning strategy, constructivist learning strategy, learning cycle strategy, SCALE technique strategy, conceptual change strategy, inquiry-based strategy, cognitive academic language learning approach (CALLA) strategy, and learning from text strategy provide effective science teaching instruction to English learners. These science instructional strategies assist elementary science teachers by providing additional support to make science instruction more comprehensible for English learners.

A Rational Analysis of Rule-Based Concept Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Goodman, Noah D.; Tenenbaum, Joshua B.; Feldman, Jacob; Griffiths, Thomas L.

2008-01-01

This article proposes a new model of human concept learning that provides a rational analysis of learning feature-based concepts. This model is built upon Bayesian inference for a grammatically structured hypothesis space--a concept language of logical rules. This article compares the model predictions to human generalization judgments in several…

Training English Language Pre-Service Teachers Using a Team Based Learning Approach

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Samad, Arshad Abd; Husein, Hawanum; Rashid, Juridah Md; Rahman, Sharifah Zainab Syd Abd

2015-01-01

Team Based Learning which focuses on enhancing positive group dynamics is a relatively popular instructional approach in several disciplines such as Health Sciences and Business but has yet to gain popularity in Education. This paper examines the use of Team Based Learning in teacher training as well as the receptiveness towards the approach as…

VR-Based Gamification of Communication Training and Oral Examination in a Second Language

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Reitz, Liesa; Sohny, Aline; Lochmann, Gerrit

2016-01-01

The authors present a novel way of oral language training by embedding the English as a foreign language (EFL) learning process into a generic 3D Cooperative Virtual Reality (VR) Game. Due to lack of time, resources and innovation, the language classroom is limited in its possibilities of promoting authentic communication. Therefore, the…

Exploring Learner Language through Corpora: Comparing and Interpreting Corpus Frequency Information

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gablasova, Dana; Brezina, Vaclav; McEnery, Tony

2017-01-01

This article contributes to the debate about the appropriate use of corpus data in language learning research. It focuses on frequencies of linguistic features in language use and their comparison across corpora. The majority of corpus-based second language acquisition studies employ a comparative design in which either one or more second language…

Collaborative Research Projects in the Technology-Enhanced Language Classroom: Preservice and In-Service Teachers Exchange Knowledge about Technology

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schmid, Euline Cutrim; Hegelheimer, Volker

2014-01-01

This paper presents research findings of a longitudinal empirical case study that investigated an innovative Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL) professional development program for pre-service English as Foreign Language (EFL) teachers. The conceptualization of the program was based on the assumption that pre-service language teachers…

Learning with and by Language: Bilingual Teaching Strategies for the Monolingual Language-Aware Geography Classroom

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Morawski, Michael; Budke, Alexandra

2017-01-01

Geography lessons center on a language-based product with socially relevant geographic content. The subject of geography in secondary schools in Germany faces three major challenges that make a stronger focus on language in the monolingual geography classroom necessary. First, more than 30 percent of German pupils in secondary schools have a…

The Role of Mother Tongue Literacy in Language Learning and Mathematical Learning: Is There a Multilingual Benefit for Both?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dahm, Rebecca; De Angelis, Gessica

2018-01-01

The present study examines the multilingual benefit in relation to language learning and mathematical learning. The objective is to assess whether speakers of three or more languages, depending on language profile and personal histories, show significant advantages in language learning and/or mathematical learning, and whether mother tongue…

Auditory access, language access, and implicit sequence learning in deaf children.

PubMed

Hall, Matthew L; Eigsti, Inge-Marie; Bortfeld, Heather; Lillo-Martin, Diane

2018-05-01

Developmental psychology plays a central role in shaping evidence-based best practices for prelingually deaf children. The Auditory Scaffolding Hypothesis (Conway et al., 2009) asserts that a lack of auditory stimulation in deaf children leads to impoverished implicit sequence learning abilities, measured via an artificial grammar learning (AGL) task. However, prior research is confounded by a lack of both auditory and language input. The current study examines implicit learning in deaf children who were (Deaf native signers) or were not (oral cochlear implant users) exposed to language from birth, and in hearing children, using both AGL and Serial Reaction Time (SRT) tasks. Neither deaf nor hearing children across the three groups show evidence of implicit learning on the AGL task, but all three groups show robust implicit learning on the SRT task. These findings argue against the Auditory Scaffolding Hypothesis, and suggest that implicit sequence learning may be resilient to both auditory and language deprivation, within the tested limits. A video abstract of this article can be viewed at: https://youtu.be/EeqfQqlVHLI [Correction added on 07 August 2017, after first online publication: The video abstract link was added.]. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

English for Business: Student Responses to Language Learning through Social Networking Tools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

García Laborda, Jesús; Litzler, Mary Frances

2017-01-01

This action research based case study addresses the situation of a first year class of Business English students at Universidad de Alcalá and their attitudes towards using Web 2.0 tools and social media for language learning. During the semester, the students were asked to collaborate in the creation and use of some tools such as blogs, video…

Motivation and Gender Differences in Learning Spanish as a Foreign Language in a Malaysian Technical University

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Khong, Hou-Keat; Hassan, Nurul Husna; Ramli, Norasrani

2017-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to investigate student motivation and gender differences in learning Spanish as a foreign language in the Malaysian context. Method: Student motivation was measured by means of a self-report questionnaire based on Gardner's social psychological model. The questionnaire contained both close-ended and open-ended…

Analysing Institutional Influences on Teaching-Learning Practices of English as Second Language Programme in a Pakistani University

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rind, Irfan Ahmed; Kadiwal, Laila

2016-01-01

This paper examines the institutional influences on the teaching-learning practices within English as Second Language (ESL) programme in the University of Sindh (UoS), Pakistan. The study uses qualitative case study approach, basing its findings on documentary review, observations, and responses of teachers and students. The analysis of the data…

Benefits and Constraints of Distributed Cognition in Foreign Language Learning: Creating a Web-Based Tourist Guide for London

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Narciss, Susanne; Koerndle, Hermann

2008-01-01

This paper uses the framework of distributed cognition to discuss benefits and constraints of technology adoption and use in social-constructive language learning scenarios. The purposes of this paper are (a) to describe how the open-ended knowledge construction and communication tools TEE (The Electronic Exercise) and EF-editor (Exercise Format…

Teaching Mathematics Bilingually for Kindergarten Students with Teaching Aids Based on Local Wisdom

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ambarini, Ririn; Setyaji, Arso; Suneki, Sri

2018-01-01

Language and Mathematics are both skills and knowledge that need to master well so that it can be the provision for students' future life when mingling with the community or society. Because of that the integration of teaching both language and Mathematics in bilingual Math learning will give many benefits to the students. They will learn not only…

The Effects of Cultural Video Resources on Teaching and Learning Korean Language

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Roh, Jaemin

2011-01-01

This dissertation sought to evaluate the potential of a customized, video-based instructional method, the Cultural Video Project (CVP), which was designed to meet the needs of both heritage and non-heritage students learning Korean as a second language in a university setting. The goal of this study was to design and create the CVP, document the…

Task Repetition Effects on L1 Use in EFL Child Task-Based Interaction

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Azkarai, Agurtzane; García Mayo, María del Pilar

2017-01-01

Research has shown that tasks provide second language (L2) learners with many opportunities to learn the L2. Task repetition has been claimed to benefit L2 learning since familiarity with procedure and/or content gives learners the chance to focus on more specific aspects of language. Most research on task repetition has focused on adult…