Second Language Acquisiton

It has been generally well-known that most people faced some problems in learning English as a second or foreign language in non-English speaking countries; for example, in Lao People Democratic Republic (Lao PDR). This paper has a main purpose to explore students-teachers’ weakness towards English language learning as a foreign language of a Continuing Summer Program for Bachelor’s degree of Teacher Education in English at the Faculty of Education (FOE), the National University of Laos (NUOL) in Lao. A study focuses on the reasons that impact on their poor English performance. Data were drawn from the question “Why Lao students weak in English?”. This question was administered to 30 English students-teachers in order to respond with their own views. Each respondent listed ten reasons that mentioned why students are poor in English language performance. Based on the findings of this research, main causes have been included namely: first, the majority of students stated that the English teachers are not well-trained; for instance, they use Lao language when teaching, so they cannot perform well to attract the interest of the student. Secondly, students lack of English foundation background. Third, students lack of confidence to use English because they are afraid of mistakes and shy feeling. Fourth, the curriculum is inappropriate for helping students to improve their English proficiency. Last but not least, English language is difficult to learn due to students are not well-motivated, encouraged and gained learning strategy. Furthermore, students do not practice speaking English with English native speakers, and the class environment is crowded and noisy that is not fulfilled with teaching pedagogy.

How humans possess the language ability is a matter of long controversy among the linguists. Some of them believe that the ability of language is the result of innate knowledge. Unlike other species humans possess that innate ability which is genetically coded. To them language is the outcome of nature (genes). Conversely, others claim that the ability of language is learned through experience extracting all the linguistic information from the outside environment. It is the outcome of nurture (environmental factors/stimuli). At present, there is no clear winner regarding the debate as both genes and environmental factors/stimuli seem to play a vital and important role in language acquisition.

These are notes on English stress, rhythm and intonation.

Part A is for students and Part B is for teachers.

The treatment here is “technical”, as by a linguist, but in very plain language. Even with poor formal English, L2 speakers who “sound right” will gain social acceptance, and this in turn will greatly accelerate their learning.

Firstly the concept of “the music of a language” is introduced. It is noted that languages are on a scale of “syllable timed” to “stress timed” (though this is not a simple matter). English is a stress-timed language. Both word stress and sentence stress are essential in English. However, proper word liaison and elision marks native speakers from non-native speakers. Some advice is given on how to practice privately and in a classroom. The importance of teacher talk as a model is noted.

Teaching Vocabulary explores different approaches to teaching vocabulary in ESL/EFL classrooms. It provides an overview of the place and importance of vocabulary in English language learning and teaching in an easy-to-follow guide that language teachers will find very practical for their own contexts. Topics covered include understanding vocabulary, the importance of vocabulary, relevant research findings that impact vocabulary, knowing your students’ vocabulary levels, and how to teach vocabulary effectively. [Note: The attached file includes the Table of Contents, front matter, and a sample of Ch. 1.]

In this paper, the position and significance of sociolinguistics in foreign language education is examined along three dimensions: attitudes towards learning a foreign language, inclusion of culture in foreign language lessons, and the contribution of language planning to foreign language education. Curriculum and instruction can be arranged to promote positive attitudes toward the foreign language to be learned and nationalities associated with the language. Inclusion of cultural elements in the foreign language curriculum helps learners to understand new language concepts and provides a context for their use. Language planning at the highest level, on the other hand, must be based on data derived from research and must be conducted by foreign language educators. Finally, the status of English as an international language is also examined and Kachru’s (1985) three-circle model of English speaking countries is reviewed. In the world today, no country and no culture can claim sole ownership of the English language.
Key words: Strategic planning; Narrative storyline complexity; Complexity; Accuracy; Fluency; EFL context

This paper investigates the frequency of the present perfect (PP) in 20 national varieties of English, many of which have so far rarely been studied from a corpus-linguistic point of view, with data from the 1.9 billion word GloWbE corpus. PP frequency was measured (1) per million words and (2) as a percentage of all past references. Linear regression models were used to determine which of the factors identified in previous research can account for differences in PP frequency across varieties. The results revealed that a major factor is geographic proximity: Varieties spoken in the same region tend to be similar in PP frequency. Other factors such as degree of formality or the classification in Kachru’s Circles Model and Schneider’s Dynamic Model of Postcolonial English appear to have little or no influence on the frequency of the PP. The paper also discusses other factors that might be influential, such as substrate influence, the heterogeneous superstrate, national identities, and the degree of cultural contact between varieties. Finally, the discussion explores implications for teaching English as a local and as an international language, arguing that norms of English language teaching should depend on the learners’ communicative needs.

The objective of the ICT for Language Learning conference is to promote the sharing of good practice and transnational cooperation in the field of the application of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) to Language Learning and Teaching. The ICT for Language Learning conference will also be an excellent opportunity for the presentation of previous and current language learning projects and innovative initiatives.

In this globalised world, learning English has become of great importance for some developing countries. Some have implemented strategies to enhance the teaching and learning of English as a foreign language (EFL) from an early age. The teaching environment, however, is often characterized by language classrooms with limited resources, large classes, and unqualified teachers among other features. This is the case in Chile, according to the OECD (2004).
The Chilean government through the Ministry of Education has developed a programme to improve the EFL teaching-learning process in primary and secondary education. It has also modified its National Curriculum for EFL in order improve linguistics skills. Despite these efforts, research about the EFL teaching strategies
implemented in primary and secondary education is still limited in Chile.
This small-scale research study assesses the implementation of group work and the difficulties faced by Chilean EFL teachers of young learners in large classes. Using a sample of 30 Chilean teachers, this study is based on teachers’ perspectives. It uses a
mixed methods approach, including questionnaires (quantitative approach) and follow up semi-structured interviews (qualitative approach). The findings suggest some similarities with previous studies on large classes in difficulties on giving the students the opportunity to express themselves in English and accounting
for individual learning styles. Similarly, they spark a discussion on some unexplored issues in the Chilean EFL context of young learners in large classes such as positive teachers’ attitude towards group work, classroom management, number of hours of EFL lessons and demanding syllabus.

Students who are English language learners (ELL) are becoming a greater part of our school culture Classroom teachers need to be ready and able to teach children whose first language is not English.  But often, without some professional development it is unfair to expect that general education teachers will have the necessary knowledge and skills to work effectively with this group of students.  This article describes some very simple strategies that general education classroom teacher can used for the teaching of literacy.

Over the last few years, increased attention has been paid to nonnative English- speaking (NNES) professionals. Work in this area has looked at the labels ―native speaker‖ and ―nonnative speaker,‖ perceptions about NNES professionals, including the perceptions they hold of themselves and the perceptions others hold of them as English language teaching (ELT) professionals, issues of teacher identity, and, more recently, students’ perceptions of NNES professionals (for complete reviews of the literature on these topics, see Kamhi-Stein, 2005; Moussu & Llurda, 2008).

Let us suppose that you are a research linguist, tormented by some doubts and questions about the state of your profession, and not constrained by having to repeat a catechism of "known truths" to Linguistics 101 students, and not worried about employment tenure. How would you actually go about tackling "the central problem of linguistics", namely how we acquire and maintain knowledge of the probability of systemic relationships in a language?

This study investigates students‘ perceptions of learning English as a Second Language (ESL). Specifically, it aims to obtain students‘ views of what they consider as their areas of weakness among the four communication skills of reading, writing, speaking and listening. It also seeks to understand their perceptions concerning the quality of the instructional material they use in the ESL class and the method of teaching they experience during the teaching/learning sessions. The findings reveal the existence of potential areas of weakness, some of which the learners are consciously aware of and others which they are unaware of—but which require appropriate solution in order to
facilitate effective learning. In addition to the identification of the learners‘ areas of weakness, the study attempts to highlight possible causes of the problems and provides suggestions for further studies in order to tackle the predicament.

This action-research case study examines the potential benefits of explicit formfocused instruction (FFI) on the English learning of Mexican-origin adolescent students attending a middle school designated as low-performing. During the first year of the study I taught two sections of English as a second language to students beginning their second or third year in U.S. schools. At the beginning of the year I administered a pretest to 20 students, and throughout the year I documented and reflected on my teaching and my students’ learning through written and recorded notes. At the end of the year I administered a posttest to my students. During the second year of the study, I collected tests results using the same grammar test from students whom I had not taught and who had attended U.S. schools from two to eight years. I reported the results and analysis of the study through a retrospective narrative format. The findings suggest that grammar—as the abstract system it is—is difficult to teach and challenging to learn for adolescent immigrant students with varying degrees of prior knowledge. The findings also suggest that immigrant youngsters appear to benefit in diverse ways from being taught through a grammar-based approach. The retrospective narrative provides a description of research process, the contexts of the study, the students, the teaching and learning that went on in viii my classroom, and the results of the grammar test. Although the results of the grammar test favored the students exposed to FFI, these findings cannot be generalized to other students in other FFI classrooms. Limitations of the study are provided along with suggestion for future research and implications for teachers.

The field of TESL is constantly looking towards the field of linguistics for new and better ways of teaching English as a second or foreign language. Unfortunately, since the advent of generative grammars of almost a half century age, very little of the myriad of linguistic research has found its way into the ESL/EFL classroom in the form of practical teaching materials. In recent years, the field of cognitive linguistics has become more prominent and its theory more well-known. Some of its concepts and their representations outwardly appear to lend themselves to adaptation as classroom teaching materials with little alteration. Two of these concepts are image schemas and conceptual metaphors, which are interrelated. As the overwhelming majority of the work in the area of image schemas has had to do with particles (prepositions and phrasal verb particles), the graphical representations of some of these image schemas have been selected to test their efficacy as teaching material for the teaching of English particles.

This is a collection of things to do in a classroom, plus a little explanation for teachers. The collection is not a syllabus, it is not graded and it is certainly not “complete” (what would “complete” mean here?). However bits of it should be useful for almost anyone teaching English.

"Language proficiency is typically measured in relation to ‘standard’ Englishes, such as American or British English. However, in today’s globalized world, such a ‘standard’-based approach to language proficiency is an anachronism. With NNS-NNS and NNS-NS communication in English on the rise, we need models of language proficiency that can account for the varying patterns of language that emerge in these contexts. The Dynamic Approach to Language Proficiency (DALP) described in this paper is one way of doing this.

Drawing on work on World Englishes, ELF, and genre theory, DALP posits that being proficient in a language implies that we are sensitive to the setting of the communicative event, and have the ability to select, adapt, and use a range of linguistic resources that are appropriate in the context. This proficiency in language changes as our familiarity with diverse settings and contexts increases, and our repertoire of linguistic resources and strategies expands. "

TASOL in Qatar
Geopolitical changes in the region
Language Context
I. Sociopolitical Changes
II. Bilingualism
III. Diglossia
The Qatar TASL Landscape
I. Learners
II. Teachers
III. Teaching Resources
Arabic for Non-Native Speakers Center: Case Study
A. Historical Background
B. Arabic for Non-Native Speakers Center
I. Teachers
II. Students
III. Academic Practices
• Courses: Full-time and Part-time
• Pedagogy and Approaches:
• Educational Resources
IV. Challenges
• Market Demand
• SA vs. Dialect
• Immersive Environment
• Appropriate Educational Resources
• Finance
• Weather
Conclusion
References

Pour citer cet article : Germain, C. (2017). Acquisition ou apprentissage de la grammaire? In M. L. Cárdenas & N. M. Basurto Santos (Eds.), Investigación-Research-Recherche: En lenguas extranjeras y lingüística aplicada (pp. 149-167). Bogotá, Colombia: Universidad Nacional de Colombia & Universidad Veracruzana.

Abstract. References to other scholars’ work is an important component of research writing, and one which requires careful attention in order to convey the writer’s stance toward the reported propositions and their relationship to each other and to the writer’s own work. Second language writers often find it difficult to master the skill of selecting appropriate forms for reporting verbs, and this is an area in which English for Academic Purposes (EAP) materials and teachers are called upon to provide guidance. However, accounts of reporting verb usage have demonstrated that this is a complex area, and simple prescriptions or proscriptions are not sufficient: appropriate choices are dependent on the relationship between form and function, both locally and globally in the citing text. The present paper extends the existing research literature on reporting verbs by examining some of the factors which guide the citing writer’s choices. Implications for the EAP classroom are also taken up.

Motivation plays a significant role in the rate and success of second and foreign language learning in general, and in classroom language learning in particular. This paper overviews research on motivation as a promoting determinant in second and foreign language classroom and deals with the meaning of motivation, theories of motivation and explains how teachers can generate and maintain motivation in second language classroom. Research on motivation for second language learning has shown that teachers should be aware of their actions and behaviours in classroom because it is very likely that teachers' actions can demotivate learners.

In this monograph on Educational Semiotics, Francois Victor Tochon (along with a number of research colleagues) has produced a work that is truly groundbreaking on a number of fronts.  First of all, in his concise but brilliant introductory comments, Tochon clearly debunks the potential notion that semiotics might provide yet another methodological tool in the toolkit of educational researchers. Drawing skillfully on the work of Peirce, Deely, Sebeok, Merrell, and others, Tochon shows us just how fundamentally different semiotic research can be when compared to the modes and techniques that have dominated educational research for many decades.  That is, he points out how semiotic methods can provide the capability for both students and researchers to look at this basic and fundamental human process in inescapably transformational ways, by acknowledging and accepting that the path to knowledge is, in his words “through the fixation of belief.”

But he does not stop there – instead, in four brilliantly conceived studies, he shows us how semiotic concepts in general, and semiotic mapping in particular, can allow both student teachers and researchers alike insights in these students’ development of insights and concepts into the very heart of the teaching and learning process.

By tackling both theoretical and practical research considerations, Tochon has provided the rest of us the beginnings of a blueprint that, if adopted, can push educational research out of (in the words of Deely) its entrenchment in the Age of Ideas into the new and exciting frontiers of the Age of Signs.

- Gary Shank, Duquesne University

Ethics have received increased attention from the media and academia in recent years. Most reports suggest that one form of unethical conduct – plagiarism – is on the rise in the business schools. Stereotypes of Asian students as being more prone to plagiarize are frequently found in the literature, though not concretely substantiated. This study used a behavioral criterion to examine the relationships among ethnicity, acculturation, and plagiarism in a sample of 158 undergraduate and graduate students. Significant differences in plagiarism behavior were found based on level of student acculturation, but not ethnicity. Considerations and implications for training and managing international students and workers are discussed.