Pub Date : 2023-05-01DOI: 10.1515/cercles-2023-2003
Renata Asali-van der Wal
Abstract Digitale Lernplattformen haben durch die Coronapandemie deutlich an Relevanz gewonnen. Die Hochschulen mussten in kurzer Zeit ihr Angebot komplett auf digitales Lernen umstellen. Dies galt auch für Hochschulen in Jordanien. Einsatzmöglichkeiten für LMOOCs (Language Massive Open Online Courses) für den universitären Unterricht „Deutsch als Fremdsprache“ (DaF) sowie Vorschläge zur Erstellung von Lernvideos und Beispiele für LMOOCs DaF werden präsentiert. Potentiale und Grenzen von LMOOCs für das universitäre Deutschlernen werden erläutert, um eine Entscheidung zur Etablierung eines LMOOCs DaF zu erleichtern.
{"title":"Lernen mit LMOOCs im universitären Deutschunterricht: Entscheidungshilfen für Deutschlehrende","authors":"Renata Asali-van der Wal","doi":"10.1515/cercles-2023-2003","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/cercles-2023-2003","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Digitale Lernplattformen haben durch die Coronapandemie deutlich an Relevanz gewonnen. Die Hochschulen mussten in kurzer Zeit ihr Angebot komplett auf digitales Lernen umstellen. Dies galt auch für Hochschulen in Jordanien. Einsatzmöglichkeiten für LMOOCs (Language Massive Open Online Courses) für den universitären Unterricht „Deutsch als Fremdsprache“ (DaF) sowie Vorschläge zur Erstellung von Lernvideos und Beispiele für LMOOCs DaF werden präsentiert. Potentiale und Grenzen von LMOOCs für das universitäre Deutschlernen werden erläutert, um eine Entscheidung zur Etablierung eines LMOOCs DaF zu erleichtern.","PeriodicalId":53966,"journal":{"name":"Language Learning in Higher Education","volume":"13 1","pages":"51 - 63"},"PeriodicalIF":0.5,"publicationDate":"2023-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44471215","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-05-01DOI: 10.1515/cercles-2023-2018
Martina Šindelářová Skupeňová
Abstract When asked about the impact of language advising sessions that our students attend, they report various positive effects. These sessions are a crucial part of the English Autonomously course at Masaryk University. As they were introduced to support students in their self-regulated learning, they should primarily foster course attendees’ abilities to manage their learning. This paper is based on research on how one-on-one meetings with an advisor function as a pedagogic tool and investigates whether advising sessions contribute to the development of students’ learning management skills by examining a case study of one student’s experiences. The investigation uses data collected from multiple sources – advising session recordings, a student’s self-assessment, and his reflective texts; a feedback form indicating how students perceive language advising is used for triangulation. Since the materials gained were coded and analysed using qualitative methods, their interpretation should enable a proper insight into his language learning, and thus, create a case study. This case study reveals various types of relationships between advising sessions and the student’s various metacognitive subskills, that is, planning, monitoring, and evaluating learning. The study attempts to portray the student’s ability to manage his learning as a dynamic, inter-rational and context-based phenomenon that is perceived and manifested in multiple ways.
{"title":"The story of becoming an autonomous learner: a case study of a student’s learning management","authors":"Martina Šindelářová Skupeňová","doi":"10.1515/cercles-2023-2018","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/cercles-2023-2018","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract When asked about the impact of language advising sessions that our students attend, they report various positive effects. These sessions are a crucial part of the English Autonomously course at Masaryk University. As they were introduced to support students in their self-regulated learning, they should primarily foster course attendees’ abilities to manage their learning. This paper is based on research on how one-on-one meetings with an advisor function as a pedagogic tool and investigates whether advising sessions contribute to the development of students’ learning management skills by examining a case study of one student’s experiences. The investigation uses data collected from multiple sources – advising session recordings, a student’s self-assessment, and his reflective texts; a feedback form indicating how students perceive language advising is used for triangulation. Since the materials gained were coded and analysed using qualitative methods, their interpretation should enable a proper insight into his language learning, and thus, create a case study. This case study reveals various types of relationships between advising sessions and the student’s various metacognitive subskills, that is, planning, monitoring, and evaluating learning. The study attempts to portray the student’s ability to manage his learning as a dynamic, inter-rational and context-based phenomenon that is perceived and manifested in multiple ways.","PeriodicalId":53966,"journal":{"name":"Language Learning in Higher Education","volume":"13 1","pages":"247 - 269"},"PeriodicalIF":0.5,"publicationDate":"2023-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47675506","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-05-01DOI: 10.1515/cercles-2023-2005
Ting Huang
Abstract Protecting the environment is an important topic. In this study, college Chinese as a Foreign Language (CFL) students engaged in an agentive process of informally learning the Chinese language and culture by watching The Mermaid, a movie produced in China in 2016, which focuses on sustainability. Informal learning is recognized as one of the most powerful factors in Foreign Language (FL) development (Furlong and Davies 2012). Limited research on informal CFL learning from watching online videos is available (Huang and Lammers 2018). By using key ideas of agency, mediation, and internalization in SocioCultural Theory (SCT), this qualitative case study found that informal video learning from watching The Mermaid was helpful for learning vocabulary, grammar, and cultural values in sustainability topics. By means of semi-structured interviews, observations, recalls, and documents as data, the findings suggest that using real-world movies such as The Mermaid as an environmental sustainability topic had a positive impact on FL education. Demonstrating their agencies, learners engaged in vocabulary, grammar, and cultural value learning. This study offers pedagogical implications for language learning in Higher Education. Language Centers can therefore play a role in engaging campuses in social topics such as environmental protection.
保护环境是一个重要的课题。在本研究中，大学对外汉语学生通过观看2016年中国制作的以可持续发展为主题的电影《美人鱼》，参与了非正式学习中国语言和文化的代理过程。非正式学习被认为是外语发展中最重要的因素之一(Furlong and Davies 2012)。关于通过观看在线视频学习非正式CFL的研究有限(Huang and Lammers 2018)。本定性个案研究运用社会文化理论(SCT)中中介、调解和内化的关键思想，发现观看《美人鱼》的非正式视频学习有助于学习可持续主题中的词汇、语法和文化价值观。通过半结构化访谈、观察、回忆和文件作为数据，研究结果表明，使用真实世界的电影如《美人鱼》作为环境可持续性主题对外语教育有积极的影响。学习者在词汇、语法和文化价值学习中展示了他们的能动性。本研究为高等教育的语言学习提供了教学启示。因此，语言中心可以在吸引校园参与环境保护等社会话题方面发挥作用。
{"title":"Enhance sustainability and environmental protection awareness: agency in Chinese informal video learning","authors":"Ting Huang","doi":"10.1515/cercles-2023-2005","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/cercles-2023-2005","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Protecting the environment is an important topic. In this study, college Chinese as a Foreign Language (CFL) students engaged in an agentive process of informally learning the Chinese language and culture by watching The Mermaid, a movie produced in China in 2016, which focuses on sustainability. Informal learning is recognized as one of the most powerful factors in Foreign Language (FL) development (Furlong and Davies 2012). Limited research on informal CFL learning from watching online videos is available (Huang and Lammers 2018). By using key ideas of agency, mediation, and internalization in SocioCultural Theory (SCT), this qualitative case study found that informal video learning from watching The Mermaid was helpful for learning vocabulary, grammar, and cultural values in sustainability topics. By means of semi-structured interviews, observations, recalls, and documents as data, the findings suggest that using real-world movies such as The Mermaid as an environmental sustainability topic had a positive impact on FL education. Demonstrating their agencies, learners engaged in vocabulary, grammar, and cultural value learning. This study offers pedagogical implications for language learning in Higher Education. Language Centers can therefore play a role in engaging campuses in social topics such as environmental protection.","PeriodicalId":53966,"journal":{"name":"Language Learning in Higher Education","volume":"13 1","pages":"65 - 87"},"PeriodicalIF":0.5,"publicationDate":"2023-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46202768","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-05-01DOI: 10.1515/cercles-2023-2007
Francesco Screti
Abstract This paper studies undergraduate students’ perceptions about using Google Docs® for guided writing of the final assessment in an Academic Writing course at a Higher Education level. Qualitative data have been collected through a Moodle survey and analysed employing Thematic Analysis. The aim is to see if students’ perceptions matched with their teacher’s aims, which were to reduce assessment anxiety toward a new and complex writing assignment such as a Literature Review; help working more effectively and reduce procrastination; and possibly enhance success rate. Results show that overall, students liked the technical features (autosaving, accessibility), the guidelines and examples contained in the template shared, and the role of the teacher as controller and provider of feedback and feedforward. Yet some few divergences between the teacher’s aim and students’ perceptions emerged: some students did not like working on-line, expressed preference for Microsoft Word®, found the procedure time-consuming or constraining, or even too easy. Most importantly, some students felt stressed about being watched. Therefore, if teachers want to adopt the same procedure, they should make sure they explain as clearly as possible the aims of the use of technology to maximize effectiveness and minimize students’ resistance.
{"title":"Using Google Docs for guided Academic Writing assessments: students’ perspectives","authors":"Francesco Screti","doi":"10.1515/cercles-2023-2007","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/cercles-2023-2007","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract This paper studies undergraduate students’ perceptions about using Google Docs® for guided writing of the final assessment in an Academic Writing course at a Higher Education level. Qualitative data have been collected through a Moodle survey and analysed employing Thematic Analysis. The aim is to see if students’ perceptions matched with their teacher’s aims, which were to reduce assessment anxiety toward a new and complex writing assignment such as a Literature Review; help working more effectively and reduce procrastination; and possibly enhance success rate. Results show that overall, students liked the technical features (autosaving, accessibility), the guidelines and examples contained in the template shared, and the role of the teacher as controller and provider of feedback and feedforward. Yet some few divergences between the teacher’s aim and students’ perceptions emerged: some students did not like working on-line, expressed preference for Microsoft Word®, found the procedure time-consuming or constraining, or even too easy. Most importantly, some students felt stressed about being watched. Therefore, if teachers want to adopt the same procedure, they should make sure they explain as clearly as possible the aims of the use of technology to maximize effectiveness and minimize students’ resistance.","PeriodicalId":53966,"journal":{"name":"Language Learning in Higher Education","volume":"13 1","pages":"153 - 174"},"PeriodicalIF":0.5,"publicationDate":"2023-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42084578","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-05-01DOI: 10.1515/cercles-2023-2001
Lilan Chen
Abstract For Chinese EFL students, learning English has always been a great challenge, and research has shown that cognitive and affective factors increasingly become important issues in the field of foreign language learning and teaching (Naderifar and Esfandiari 2016). This study is designed to investigate the relationship between learner autonomy, ambiguity tolerance, foreign language classroom anxiety (FLCA) and English achievement. It also explores the inner mechanism of the relationship between learner autonomy and English achievement in Chinese EFL undergraduates. A sample of 291 third and fourth grade undergraduates in China was assessed for their levels of learner autonomy, ambiguity tolerance and foreign language anxiety using the Learner Autonomy Questionnaire (LAQ), Second Language Tolerance of Ambiguity Scale (SLTAS) and Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (FLCAS), respectively. Participants’ scores of the College English Test Band Four (CET-4) were used to measure their achievement in English. The results revealed a link between learner autonomy, ambiguity tolerance, FLCA, and English achievement. Ambiguity tolerance and FLCA mediated the relationship between learner autonomy and English achievement, accounting for 36.58 % of the total effect. These findings suggest a process through which ambiguity tolerance can decrease FLCA and identify the mediating effects of ambiguity tolerance and FLCA in the relationship between learner autonomy and English achievement in Chinese EFL undergraduates. Pedagogical implications of the study are presented and discussed.
{"title":"Learner autonomy and English achievement in Chinese EFL undergraduates: the mediating role of ambiguity tolerance and foreign language classroom anxiety","authors":"Lilan Chen","doi":"10.1515/cercles-2023-2001","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/cercles-2023-2001","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract For Chinese EFL students, learning English has always been a great challenge, and research has shown that cognitive and affective factors increasingly become important issues in the field of foreign language learning and teaching (Naderifar and Esfandiari 2016). This study is designed to investigate the relationship between learner autonomy, ambiguity tolerance, foreign language classroom anxiety (FLCA) and English achievement. It also explores the inner mechanism of the relationship between learner autonomy and English achievement in Chinese EFL undergraduates. A sample of 291 third and fourth grade undergraduates in China was assessed for their levels of learner autonomy, ambiguity tolerance and foreign language anxiety using the Learner Autonomy Questionnaire (LAQ), Second Language Tolerance of Ambiguity Scale (SLTAS) and Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (FLCAS), respectively. Participants’ scores of the College English Test Band Four (CET-4) were used to measure their achievement in English. The results revealed a link between learner autonomy, ambiguity tolerance, FLCA, and English achievement. Ambiguity tolerance and FLCA mediated the relationship between learner autonomy and English achievement, accounting for 36.58 % of the total effect. These findings suggest a process through which ambiguity tolerance can decrease FLCA and identify the mediating effects of ambiguity tolerance and FLCA in the relationship between learner autonomy and English achievement in Chinese EFL undergraduates. Pedagogical implications of the study are presented and discussed.","PeriodicalId":53966,"journal":{"name":"Language Learning in Higher Education","volume":"13 1","pages":"295 - 308"},"PeriodicalIF":0.5,"publicationDate":"2023-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46874768","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-05-01DOI: 10.1515/cercles-2023-2010
H. Finch
Abstract This report will discuss the development and implementation of a dialogic co-creation model for English language teaching in the Language Resource Centre at the Technical University of Darmstadt, Germany. The focus of this report will be on the impact of content co-creation and its impact on learner and teacher autonomy in English language learning and teaching. This collaborative, dialogic model draws primarily on principles of dialogism and exploratory talk (ET) and exemplifies a novel, learner-centered method for curriculum development and teaching in Higher Education. This learner-centered perspective advances an in-depth understanding of the relationship between language learner and teacher, content and language integrated learning (CLIL), language for specific purposes (LSP), their respective content boundaries, the role of content expert and the inhibition threshold. Three examples of teaching English to university professors and professional staff using this model will be discussed. The author proposes that such a model could be adapted and scaled into larger student groups, too.
{"title":"Dialogic co-creation in English language teaching and learning: a personal experience","authors":"H. Finch","doi":"10.1515/cercles-2023-2010","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/cercles-2023-2010","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract This report will discuss the development and implementation of a dialogic co-creation model for English language teaching in the Language Resource Centre at the Technical University of Darmstadt, Germany. The focus of this report will be on the impact of content co-creation and its impact on learner and teacher autonomy in English language learning and teaching. This collaborative, dialogic model draws primarily on principles of dialogism and exploratory talk (ET) and exemplifies a novel, learner-centered method for curriculum development and teaching in Higher Education. This learner-centered perspective advances an in-depth understanding of the relationship between language learner and teacher, content and language integrated learning (CLIL), language for specific purposes (LSP), their respective content boundaries, the role of content expert and the inhibition threshold. Three examples of teaching English to university professors and professional staff using this model will be discussed. The author proposes that such a model could be adapted and scaled into larger student groups, too.","PeriodicalId":53966,"journal":{"name":"Language Learning in Higher Education","volume":"13 1","pages":"341 - 348"},"PeriodicalIF":0.5,"publicationDate":"2023-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47672335","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-05-01DOI: 10.1515/cercles-2023-2004
Ana García-Allén, Shelley K. Taylor
Abstract This article focuses on the implementation of a flipped classroom approach in two different levels of Spanish foreign By foreign language (FL), the authors mean modern language (ML), as strongly suggested by the European Commission. language university courses for beginner and intermediate learners. The flipped classroom approach delivers course content that prioritizes both digital technology and active learning. Despite its potential advantages in the language classroom, empirical research in this area remains limited. The present study addresses the gap by investigating the effects of the flipped classroom approach on Spanish as a foreign language by comparing student attitudes in flipped and traditional classrooms in beginner and intermediate Spanish courses at a university level. Specifically, this research explores the use of the flipped classroom approach in a second language classroom as a way to present grammar content prior to the in-class lesson and compares the results to those of a traditional, lecture-like delivery of the same grammar content. Drawing on data elicited from students and instructors in these course levels, this study investigates student and instructor perceptions, as well as student autonomy, engagement, and achievement through a qualitative lens.
{"title":"Seeing innovation from different prisms: university students’ and instructors’ perspectives on flipping the Spanish language classroom","authors":"Ana García-Allén, Shelley K. Taylor","doi":"10.1515/cercles-2023-2004","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/cercles-2023-2004","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract This article focuses on the implementation of a flipped classroom approach in two different levels of Spanish foreign By foreign language (FL), the authors mean modern language (ML), as strongly suggested by the European Commission. language university courses for beginner and intermediate learners. The flipped classroom approach delivers course content that prioritizes both digital technology and active learning. Despite its potential advantages in the language classroom, empirical research in this area remains limited. The present study addresses the gap by investigating the effects of the flipped classroom approach on Spanish as a foreign language by comparing student attitudes in flipped and traditional classrooms in beginner and intermediate Spanish courses at a university level. Specifically, this research explores the use of the flipped classroom approach in a second language classroom as a way to present grammar content prior to the in-class lesson and compares the results to those of a traditional, lecture-like delivery of the same grammar content. Drawing on data elicited from students and instructors in these course levels, this study investigates student and instructor perceptions, as well as student autonomy, engagement, and achievement through a qualitative lens.","PeriodicalId":53966,"journal":{"name":"Language Learning in Higher Education","volume":"13 1","pages":"105 - 125"},"PeriodicalIF":0.5,"publicationDate":"2023-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43440279","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-10-01DOI: 10.1515/cercles-2022-2065
M. Woźniak
Abstract This paper considers the cultural aspects of Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) in Higher Education and its contribution towards cultural literacy and sustainable development in health sciences. It reports on a study conducted within a pharmacy degree programme at a Spanish university which seeks to examine the study plan and CLIL activities and explore pharmacy lecturers’ insights into the cultural impact of the integration of English in their content subjects. As one of the main components of the conceptual framework of CLIL, culture by default is an integral part in any activity in a foreign language and thus has the potential to foster intercultural competence and cultural literacy. This literacy, in turn, is essential for the attainment of the United Nations’ 2030 Agenda and each of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Although science subject lecturers may have reservations about the contribution of English towards cultural literacy and tend to treat culture as merely transmitting knowledge about other cultures, they recognise its significance regarding the pursuit of SDGs. CLIL activities and support from English teachers clearly internationalised the contents of their subjects, which abound with opportunities for the development of cultural literacy and sustainability awareness. Further collaboration and joint actions between content and language specialists can help to exploit them more fully in class and reinforce the role of languages and language teachers at university.
{"title":"Cultural literacy and sustainable development through English: a look from CLIL in pharmacy","authors":"M. Woźniak","doi":"10.1515/cercles-2022-2065","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/cercles-2022-2065","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract This paper considers the cultural aspects of Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) in Higher Education and its contribution towards cultural literacy and sustainable development in health sciences. It reports on a study conducted within a pharmacy degree programme at a Spanish university which seeks to examine the study plan and CLIL activities and explore pharmacy lecturers’ insights into the cultural impact of the integration of English in their content subjects. As one of the main components of the conceptual framework of CLIL, culture by default is an integral part in any activity in a foreign language and thus has the potential to foster intercultural competence and cultural literacy. This literacy, in turn, is essential for the attainment of the United Nations’ 2030 Agenda and each of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Although science subject lecturers may have reservations about the contribution of English towards cultural literacy and tend to treat culture as merely transmitting knowledge about other cultures, they recognise its significance regarding the pursuit of SDGs. CLIL activities and support from English teachers clearly internationalised the contents of their subjects, which abound with opportunities for the development of cultural literacy and sustainability awareness. Further collaboration and joint actions between content and language specialists can help to exploit them more fully in class and reinforce the role of languages and language teachers at university.","PeriodicalId":53966,"journal":{"name":"Language Learning in Higher Education","volume":"12 1","pages":"587 - 604"},"PeriodicalIF":0.5,"publicationDate":"2022-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49024418","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-10-01DOI: 10.1515/cercles-2022-2053
Marga Stander
Abstract Students with a mother tongue other than English often struggle with the demands of an academic programme at tertiary institutions where the medium of instruction is English. If their English language proficiency is inadequate, it may hamper their academic progress. Students feel that their command of English is unsatisfactory, and this causes tension and anxiety. This influences their motivation, self-confidence, self-image, and self-efficacy and serves as an affective filter which prevents comprehensible input necessary for successful learning. Therefore, a study amongst first-year university students was carried out to establish the relationship between language learning strategies, affective factors, and language proficiency. The aim was to find a connection between these three elements and to see whether they have an impact on each other. A combination of Krashen’s Affective Filter Hypothesis and the Comprehensible Input Hypothesis was used as the theoretical framework for this study. The data were collected using a quantitative and qualitative method, a language proficiency test and a questionnaire based on language learning strategies and affective factors. The results show a positive correlation between compensation and affective strategies and language proficiency, which are directly linked to affective factors. It is essential for teachers to be aware of these factors, because they have a huge bearing on second language learning, academic development, and success. The conclusion is that affective factors can either enhance or hinder language proficiency, and that the use of language learning strategies have an influence on the outcome. This study contributes to the field of second language acquisition by creating an awareness of these factors in language education.
{"title":"The relationship between language learning strategies, affective factors and language proficiency","authors":"Marga Stander","doi":"10.1515/cercles-2022-2053","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/cercles-2022-2053","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Students with a mother tongue other than English often struggle with the demands of an academic programme at tertiary institutions where the medium of instruction is English. If their English language proficiency is inadequate, it may hamper their academic progress. Students feel that their command of English is unsatisfactory, and this causes tension and anxiety. This influences their motivation, self-confidence, self-image, and self-efficacy and serves as an affective filter which prevents comprehensible input necessary for successful learning. Therefore, a study amongst first-year university students was carried out to establish the relationship between language learning strategies, affective factors, and language proficiency. The aim was to find a connection between these three elements and to see whether they have an impact on each other. A combination of Krashen’s Affective Filter Hypothesis and the Comprehensible Input Hypothesis was used as the theoretical framework for this study. The data were collected using a quantitative and qualitative method, a language proficiency test and a questionnaire based on language learning strategies and affective factors. The results show a positive correlation between compensation and affective strategies and language proficiency, which are directly linked to affective factors. It is essential for teachers to be aware of these factors, because they have a huge bearing on second language learning, academic development, and success. The conclusion is that affective factors can either enhance or hinder language proficiency, and that the use of language learning strategies have an influence on the outcome. This study contributes to the field of second language acquisition by creating an awareness of these factors in language education.","PeriodicalId":53966,"journal":{"name":"Language Learning in Higher Education","volume":"12 1","pages":"391 - 408"},"PeriodicalIF":0.5,"publicationDate":"2022-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49067994","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-10-01DOI: 10.1515/cercles-2022-2056
S. Hartle
Abstract The implementation of emergency remote teaching (ERT) in many institutions has led to radical changes in both teaching and studying approaches in Higher Education institutions worldwide. This pilot study examines the changes in study strategies from the first to the second term in the 2019–2020 academic year in the Foreign Languages and Literatures Department at the University of Verona. A survey was conducted with a group of 19 language students, all of whom studied English as a foreign language. They completed a questionnaire, which consisted of both closed and open-ended questions, as part of a mixed methods study of their perceptions of ways in which their learning strategies had changed from the first to the second term. They were also asked to identify which elements of the ERT experience they considered effective. The aim of the study was primarily to examine the changing strategies with an eye to determining elements to be integrated into our pedagogical approach in the future: to establish which factors had been positive and where the problems lay. This paper focuses mainly on the findings from the qualitative analysis of the open-ended questions section of the questionnaire, which underline the changes that came about as a consequence of the emergency. Whilst many strategies remained the same, a positive evaluation of the blending of asynchronous online resources with synchronous online lessons held in video-conferencing contexts also emerged. A partially mixed message, however, was noted. This was because, despite their endorsement of social interaction when studying in groups during streamed lessons, a preference for “studying alone” to prepare for their exams was also highlighted by participants.
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