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Title: The effects of typed versus handwritten essays on students' scores on proficiency tests
Creator: Lessien, Erika
Date: 2013
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: Previous researchers (Lam & Pennington, 1995; Lee, 2004) have investigated the difference between language learners' L2-writing-test scores when the learners are required to type essays compared to when they must handwrite them. The outcomes have been mixed, and this may be because the researchers did not investigate whether L2 proficiency impacts score differences. Therefore, in this study I will investigate the score differences in advanced versus intermediate-level English-language...
Show morePrevious researchers (Lam & Pennington, 1995; Lee, 2004) have investigated the difference between language learners' L2-writing-test scores when the learners are required to type essays compared to when they must handwrite them. The outcomes have been mixed, and this may be because the researchers did not investigate whether L2 proficiency impacts score differences. Therefore, in this study I will investigate the score differences in advanced versus intermediate-level English-language learners on handwritten versus typed essay tests. Sixty-one students, from three different proficiencies, were asked to handwrite one essay and type another from prompts retired from the university's English-language placement test. Two trained raters rated the essays using the university's placement test rubric. Using a multiple linear regression, I compared score differences across the conditions (handwriting versus typing) and between the groups (intermediate versus advanced English-language learners). I found that there is a significant difference for the advanced students, and their scores were much greater for the typed condition than for the handwritten condition. This study sheds light on the effects L2 essay test conditions have on L2 test program outcomes; programs that even today use handwritten essays to assess language learners' academic-writing ability.
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Title: Task-related motivational strategies in EFL classrooms : a glimpse into teacher and student perceptions
Creator: Truong, Khoa Dang
Date: 2018
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: ABSTRACTTASK-RELATED MOTIVATIONAL STRATEGIES IN EFL CLASSROOMS: A GLIMPSE INTO TEACHER AND STUDENT PERCEPTIONSByKhoa Dang TruongTaking into account the current scarcity of research on motivational teaching strategies pertaining to EFL classroom activities (tasks) and the reciprocal relationship between teacher and student perceptions of motivational teaching practice, this mixed-methods study delved into how teachers and students perceived the importance of task-related motivational...
Show moreABSTRACTTASK-RELATED MOTIVATIONAL STRATEGIES IN EFL CLASSROOMS: A GLIMPSE INTO TEACHER AND STUDENT PERCEPTIONSByKhoa Dang TruongTaking into account the current scarcity of research on motivational teaching strategies pertaining to EFL classroom activities (tasks) and the reciprocal relationship between teacher and student perceptions of motivational teaching practice, this mixed-methods study delved into how teachers and students perceived the importance of task-related motivational strategies (TRMS) in EFL classroom instruction. A seven-point Likert scale questionnaire with forty-eight items covering seven conceptual domains of TRMS were electronically delivered to EFL teachers (N = 96) operating at different tertiary institutions and private teaching centers in a large city in southern Vietnam and their students (N = 220). Concurrently, thirty-four journal entries were obtained from the teacher (N = 17) and student (N = 17) survey respondents to shed further light on their perspectives concerning TRMS. Descriptive statistics results showed similar as well as different directions in the two groups’ ranking order of the seven conceptual domains and of specific strategies. Importantly, non-parametric Mann-Whitney U test results showed both groups’ central tendencies in which they generally agreed on the motivational value of ‘task nature’, ‘task relevance’, ‘task materials’, ‘task-related feedback’, and ‘during-task teacher behavior’, yet their perceptions of ‘task presentation’ and ‘task level’ diverged. Specific item analyses further revealed statistically significant differences in their perceptions of as much as 23 percent of the total number of TRMS being studied. Recursive analysis of the journal data corroborated a substantial part of the quantitative results and offered explanations for why each specific difference occurred. Mismatches between teacher and student perceptions provide important pedagogical implications for how Vietnamese EFL teachers can strategically design and implement tasks in the way that is motivating to students whose English learning is entirely confined within classroom walls.
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Title: Self-assessment : a feisty or reliable tool to assess the oral proficiency of Chinese learners?
Creator: Ma, Wenyue
Date: 2018
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: In this study, I took a close look at the results of oral proficiency self-assessment tests and OPIc (Oral Proficiency Interview-computer) tests taken twice by the same group of students. I did this to explore the role of self-assessment in Chinese language programs. The data were collected as part of a Language Flagship Proficiency Assessment Project. I used data from 80 college students who were taking Chinese. During the spring of two subsequent years, the students took a self-assessment ...
Show moreIn this study, I took a close look at the results of oral proficiency self-assessment tests and OPIc (Oral Proficiency Interview-computer) tests taken twice by the same group of students. I did this to explore the role of self-assessment in Chinese language programs. The data were collected as part of a Language Flagship Proficiency Assessment Project. I used data from 80 college students who were taking Chinese. During the spring of two subsequent years, the students took a self-assessment (with NCSSFL-ACTFL Can-do Statements, 2015) as part of the project, and then immediately took an official ACTFL OPIc with a level of difficulty that was matched to their self-assessment outcome. I analyzed the self-assessment results on both the test and item level. In general, I investigated whether self-assessment can reliably indicate students' language gains over time, with the benchmark of true gain being (in this study) their OPIc scores. The findings revealed that most students' language trajectories were reflected by the results of the self-assessment. In addition, the accuracy rate of self-assessment was positively correlated with students' proficiency levels. After a close examination of the items that were misidentified by the students regarding the difficulty level, students tended to under-assess rather than over-assess their oral proficiency. The comparison of the scores of repeated self-assessments and OPIc tests showed that there was no significant difference in how accurately students could self-assess themselves before and after an academic year in a language program.
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Title: Language learning motivation and oral proficiency in learners of English as a foreign language : the case of university students in Rwanda
Creator: Nzanana, Jean Baptiste
Date: 2016
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: ABSTRACTLANGUAGE LEARNING MOTIVATION AND ORAL PROFICIENCY IN LEARNERS OF ENGLISH AS A FOREIGN LANGUAGE: THE CASE OF UNIVERSITY STUDENTS IN RWANDA.By Jean Baptiste NzananaBuilding on existing research on the role of motivation in language learning, the present study investigates the relationship between EFL learners’ motivation and their oral proficiency, particularly college-level EFL learners in Rwanda where there are limited opportunities for language use and exposure. The study is guided...
Show moreABSTRACTLANGUAGE LEARNING MOTIVATION AND ORAL PROFICIENCY IN LEARNERS OF ENGLISH AS A FOREIGN LANGUAGE: THE CASE OF UNIVERSITY STUDENTS IN RWANDA.By Jean Baptiste NzananaBuilding on existing research on the role of motivation in language learning, the present study investigates the relationship between EFL learners’ motivation and their oral proficiency, particularly college-level EFL learners in Rwanda where there are limited opportunities for language use and exposure. The study is guided by the following research questions: What is the status of oral proficiency and motivation in university EFL learners in Rwanda; Is there a relationship between their proficiency and motivation? To what extent are they related? Data collection tools included a survey (106 students) and interviews with students (41) and teachers (3). Interviews with students were used as both qualitative data and speech samples. The latter were rated by five native speakers of North-American English for their accentedness, comprehensibility and fluency, and the results were used as oral proficiency data. Some motivation constructs as used in the literature were found to work differently for the current population, where the Ideal L2 Self and Integrative Motivation turned out to contribute to one construct identified as Integration into the Global Community. Results from the survey and interviews with both students and teachers revealed that students were highly motivated, while their oral proficiency was found to be average. Correlation analyses were run to gauge the relationship between students’ motivation to learn English and their oral proficiency. Findings revealed a weak correlation between learners’ motivation to learn English and oral proficiency. Based on results of the study, appropriate pedagogical implications and recommendations as well as avenues for future research are proposed.
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Title: Teaching American English sounds to blind and low vision learners using assistive technology
Creator: Medina Gonzalez, Yeimy Maritza
Date: 2020
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: This project was designed to improve the inclusive nature of courses on language learning and teaching through the creation of Adaptive English Phonetic tools (ADEPT) to provide better access to the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) symbols and the sounds they represent for blind and low vision learner and teachers of American English as a second or foreign language. This approach involved the integration of auditory and tactual information to facilitate the development of phonological...
Show moreThis project was designed to improve the inclusive nature of courses on language learning and teaching through the creation of Adaptive English Phonetic tools (ADEPT) to provide better access to the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) symbols and the sounds they represent for blind and low vision learner and teachers of American English as a second or foreign language. This approach involved the integration of auditory and tactual information to facilitate the development of phonological literacy based on the effectiveness of multisensory training protocols. ADEPT consists of sets of tactile IPA symbol cards, and a companion website based on the Universal Design for Learning framework. Each IPA symbol card includes the symbol, its typographical description, and a reference number associated with the website (all with corresponding Braille notations). The website includes printed and audio-recorded information on the articulation of American English consonants and vowels with recordings of each sound in isolation and in sample words. The pedagogical efficacy of these tools was tested with 21 adult learners of English in Colombia with a focus on vowel production. A pretest-posttest design involving the delayed repetition technique was used. Learners' productions of short sentences with multiple exemplars of American English vowels were audio-recorded. Native-speaker ratings revealed a significant improvement in learners' pronunciation after 10 weeks of instruction. Qualitative data included pre- and post-study interviews and the researcher's instructional notes. Learners described the auditory-tactual approach as "invaluable". Field testing of the symbol cards indicated that they should be 3D printed for sustainability. In sum, ADEPT can facilitate a collaborative learning environment for sighted and non-sighted individuals.
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Title: Write before you speak : the impact of writing on L2 oral narratives
Creator: Bulow, Alyssa
Date: 2020
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: Current literature suggests that writing may better facilitate language learning than speaking practice alone, but direct empirical research demonstrating this is limited. Evidence is also limited as to whether grammar and vocabulary learned while writing can transfer to speaking. This study investigates the prediction that written planning, even more so than oral planning, leads to improved oral narratives. Thirty-four Spanish-speaking learners of English were randomly assigned to one of two...
Show moreCurrent literature suggests that writing may better facilitate language learning than speaking practice alone, but direct empirical research demonstrating this is limited. Evidence is also limited as to whether grammar and vocabulary learned while writing can transfer to speaking. This study investigates the prediction that written planning, even more so than oral planning, leads to improved oral narratives. Thirty-four Spanish-speaking learners of English were randomly assigned to one of two groups: writing rehearsal or oral rehearsal; rehearsal being individual practice before the final task. The writing group composed a story ending in the written modality while the oral group rehearsed by narrating theirs out loud. Both groups recorded their oral story continuation task as the final product. In order to compare the impact of writing versus oral rehearsal on learners' subsequent oral performance, final narratives were examined using complexity, accuracy, and fluency measures. Results showed that the writing group produced more fluent and lexically diverse narratives than the speaking group but there was no effect on accuracy, and limited effects on grammatical complexity. The study concludes with pedagogical implications for using writing tasks to prepare students for oral tasks.Keywords: L2 writing, complexity, fluency, story continuation task (SCT), EFL, benefits of writing for speaking, pre-task planning, rehearsal.
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Title: A corpus-based multifactorial analysis of Japanese and Chinese speakers' English article use : quantifying the deviation using MuPDAR
Creator: Aoyama, Tatsuya
Date: 2020
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: The English article system poses a unique challenge to learners of English, especially for those with article-less first language backgrounds. This multifactorial corpus-based study investigates Chinese and Japanese speakers' use of definite, indefinite, and zero articles, based on 2,461 noun phrases annotated for relevant syntactic, morphological, and semantic factors. A multinomial extension of Multifactorial Prediction and Deviation Analysis with Regressions (MuPDAR; Gries & Deshors 2014)...
Show moreThe English article system poses a unique challenge to learners of English, especially for those with article-less first language backgrounds. This multifactorial corpus-based study investigates Chinese and Japanese speakers' use of definite, indefinite, and zero articles, based on 2,461 noun phrases annotated for relevant syntactic, morphological, and semantic factors. A multinomial extension of Multifactorial Prediction and Deviation Analysis with Regressions (MuPDAR; Gries & Deshors 2014) provides insights into how such factors affect the nativelikeness of the non-native speakers' article use, and how such effects differ for the three article types and for the first language backgrounds. The results show that noun countability and pluralization, among other independent variables, had significant effects on the accuracy of Chinese and Japanese speakers' use of English articles, and such effects are significantly different for the three types of English articles: definite, indefinite, and zero articles. Limitations of this study will be discussed at the end.
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Title: Differences in hedging in L1 and L2 English essays across two genres
Creator: Brooke, Jennifer
Date: 2016
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: The ability to hedge, or qualify commitment to a claim, is an important aspect of academic writing because it allows writers to position themselves to their audience. Research indicates that L2 English writers struggle to hedge effectively, with studies such as Hyland and Milton (1997) and Hinkel (2005) demonstrating that they use less sophisticated hedges and a more limited range of hedges than L1 English writers do. This corpus study is composed of two parts. First, a methodological study...
Show moreThe ability to hedge, or qualify commitment to a claim, is an important aspect of academic writing because it allows writers to position themselves to their audience. Research indicates that L2 English writers struggle to hedge effectively, with studies such as Hyland and Milton (1997) and Hinkel (2005) demonstrating that they use less sophisticated hedges and a more limited range of hedges than L1 English writers do. This corpus study is composed of two parts. First, a methodological study was conducted with three expert raters examining the use of linguistic items traditionally considered hedges in sentential context. Two measures of rater’s judgments are reported in relation to raw frequency of each item. The second part contrasts patterns of hedging across genre (timed versus untimed) and English nativeness (L1 versus L2 English writers). Results of the first section indicate significant differences in judged versus raw frequencies. Results of the second section indicate significant differences for some hedging devices between genres and between native speakers (NSs) and non-native speakers (NNSs). Implications are given for data collection, pedagogy, and assessment.
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Title: Did we forget someone else? : foreign language students' computer access and literacy for CALL
Creator: Bousley, Chad
Date: 2018
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: This thesis examines computer access and computer literacy of French, German, and Spanish language students at a large Midwestern university. The participants (N=178) were given a four-page paper-based survey with questions related to access to technology, interest in hybrid and online classes, their computer abilities, and their usage of multimedia tools in various environments (personal, academic and professional). This paper is an approximate replication study of Winke and Goertler (2008)....
Show moreThis thesis examines computer access and computer literacy of French, German, and Spanish language students at a large Midwestern university. The participants (N=178) were given a four-page paper-based survey with questions related to access to technology, interest in hybrid and online classes, their computer abilities, and their usage of multimedia tools in various environments (personal, academic and professional). This paper is an approximate replication study of Winke and Goertler (2008). The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and frequency counts, and then compared with the 2008 study. The results on access and ownership show a slight increase in percentage of access and ownership of technology tools.
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Title: Attitudes about prescriptive grammar in ESL and EFL teachers and students
Creator: Eickhoff, Laura
Date: 2016
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: There is often a disparity between what is deemed prescriptively correct under the rules of standard English grammar and native-speaker norms within different varieties, which results in multiple options for classroom grammar instruction for second language learners. This study presents findings on L2 learners’ attitudes towards different prescriptive and descriptive forms of grammar in cases where learning formal textbook grammar may not match many native speakers’ speech patterns....
Show moreThere is often a disparity between what is deemed prescriptively correct under the rules of standard English grammar and native-speaker norms within different varieties, which results in multiple options for classroom grammar instruction for second language learners. This study presents findings on L2 learners’ attitudes towards different prescriptive and descriptive forms of grammar in cases where learning formal textbook grammar may not match many native speakers’ speech patterns. Additionally, it explores how ESL and EFL students’ attitudes about grammar coincide with or differ from those of their teachers. One hundred eight English language learners and instructors in the United States and China were surveyed to measure awareness of and attitudes towards standard and non-standard grammar in spoken English and how varying perceptions may affect the learning environment. Results indicated that many teachers’ prioritization of prescriptive norms for their students is often in contrast to the native-speaker norms that students report to prefer. Additionally, native speakers often report a stigmatized perception of some prescriptively correct forms. All groups reported a higher preference of prescriptive grammar in writing than in speaking, citing formality and permanence as determining differences between the two modes of communication.
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Title: Different approaches to written feedback from a writing center and an ESL lab
Creator: Kim, Hyojeong
Date: 2013
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: How is different instructional feedback for academic writing realized in two different tutoring contexts? What is the effect of these different approaches on Korean international students studying in the United States? This research observed the interactions between tutors and tutees in the writing center (WC) and the ESL lab (EL), which have different approaches. This research is a small case study that observed multiple tutoring sessions. Four Korean international students at Michigan State...
Show moreHow is different instructional feedback for academic writing realized in two different tutoring contexts? What is the effect of these different approaches on Korean international students studying in the United States? This research observed the interactions between tutors and tutees in the writing center (WC) and the ESL lab (EL), which have different approaches. This research is a small case study that observed multiple tutoring sessions. Four Korean international students at Michigan State University visited the WC and EL both to receive feedback on their papers. The WC and EL have different purposes for helping student writers, and their different approaches show distinctive features regarding interaction. Tutoring sessions in the WC and EL resulted in several differences - structure of the session, types of feedback, and reflections on the sessions from the student writers. This research is expected to shed light on some of the differences between general writing centers and ESL-specific labs.
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Title: EFL undergraduate students' motivation to learn English
Creator: Rasool, Ghulam (Teacher)
Date: 2018
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: In this study, EFL undergraduate students’ motivation to learn English in the context of Pakistan was investigated by using Dörnyei’s (2009) L2 Motivational Self System as the theoretical framework. This study also investigated the attitudes of the participants about the status of English as the official language of Pakistan and as the medium of competitive examinations. The participants of this study were undergraduate students in three public universities of Balochistan, Pakistan. This...
Show moreIn this study, EFL undergraduate students’ motivation to learn English in the context of Pakistan was investigated by using Dörnyei’s (2009) L2 Motivational Self System as the theoretical framework. This study also investigated the attitudes of the participants about the status of English as the official language of Pakistan and as the medium of competitive examinations. The participants of this study were undergraduate students in three public universities of Balochistan, Pakistan. This study was a mixed method study and data were collected by using a 54-item structured questionnaire survey and semi-structured interviews. The quantitative data were analyzed by using descriptive as well as inferential statistics, and qualitative data were analyzed by thematic analysis of the interviews. The findings of the study suggest that the participants reported Attitudes to Learning English, Ought-to L2 self, International Posture, Instrumentality-promotion, Milieu, Ideal L2 Self, and Instrumentality-prevention as the most important motivational factors for learning English. The results also indicate that Dörnyei’s (2009) L2 Motivational Self System is valid in the EFL context of Pakistan. The participants also mostly favored English as the official language of Pakistan and as the medium of competitive examinations.
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Title: Student attitudes toward accentedness of native and non-native speaking English teachers
Creator: Ballard, Laura
Date: 2013
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: My goal for this study was to examine participants' familiarity with specific accents, and whether participants were able to identify if a speaker was a native speaker (NS) or a non-native speaker (NNS) and what accent the speaker has. I also examined how the participants rated speakers on four Likert-scales of comprehensibility, intelligibility, accentedness, and acceptability as a teacher (the four dependent variables). I included 38 NS and 94 NNS participants from a range of first-language...
Show moreMy goal for this study was to examine participants' familiarity with specific accents, and whether participants were able to identify if a speaker was a native speaker (NS) or a non-native speaker (NNS) and what accent the speaker has. I also examined how the participants rated speakers on four Likert-scales of comprehensibility, intelligibility, accentedness, and acceptability as a teacher (the four dependent variables). I included 38 NS and 94 NNS participants from a range of first-language backgrounds. The participants listened to three NSs (Midwestern U.S., Southern U.S., and British) and two NNSs (Chinese and Albanian) and completed the identification and Likert-scale tasks outlined above. Results showed that NNSs were significantly less able than NSs to identify a speaker's nativeness and accent. Results revealed that familiarity with an accent correlated with comprehensibility and acceptability as a teacher. For familiar accents, familiarity was a significant predictor of the participant ratings on the four dependent variables, though the predicted changes in ratings were small. Overall, participants had generally positive attitudes toward NNSETs; in relation to acceptability as a teacher, accent was the least influential of the dependent variables. I conclude by discussing that students should be exposed to a range of different accents, as familiarity with an accent facilitates comprehension. These findings also challenge current language center hiring practices that exclude NNSETs from jobs based on a non-native status; this study supports the notion that administrators should hire English language teachers based on professional credentials, and not based on accent.
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Title: Attention, perception, and production of the English voiceless interdental fricative by Chinese learners of English
Creator: Zhu, Lianye
Date: 2014
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: This study investigated the relations among speaking styles, Chinese ESL learners' attention to the voiceless interdental fricative ([θ]) sound, the learners' perception of English native speaker's speech, learners' self-perception, and the learners' production. Thirty-four Chinese ESL learners participated in three production tasks and two perception tasks. A stimulated recall, questionnaire, and interview were also conducted. The results of both quantitative and qualitative studies...
Show moreThis study investigated the relations among speaking styles, Chinese ESL learners' attention to the voiceless interdental fricative ([θ]) sound, the learners' perception of English native speaker's speech, learners' self-perception, and the learners' production. Thirty-four Chinese ESL learners participated in three production tasks and two perception tasks. A stimulated recall, questionnaire, and interview were also conducted. The results of both quantitative and qualitative studies showed that a) the production accuracy of [θ], and the amount of attention paid to it, were positively related to the difficulties of the speech styles; b) the more demanding the speech style was and the less salient the word position was, the less attention was paid to the production of [θ] and the less accurately it was produced; c) the participants produced [θ] better than they perceived it; d) the participants' NS-perception was better than their self-perception.
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Title: Lexical bundles in medical research articles : structures and functions
Creator: Mbodj-Diop, Ndeye Bineta
Date: 2016
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: ABSTRACTLexical bundles, also referred to as “multi-word sequences” (Biber et al., 2004); “formulaic language” (Wray & Perkins, 2000); prefabricated routines and patterns (prefabs) (Erman & Warren, 2000); or chunks elsewhere; have been defined by Hyland (2012) as “statistically the most frequent recurring sequences of words in any collection of texts” (p. 150). Such sequences of words have received considerable attention in corpus studies in English for Academic Purposes (EAP) and English for...
Show moreABSTRACTLexical bundles, also referred to as “multi-word sequences” (Biber et al., 2004); “formulaic language” (Wray & Perkins, 2000); prefabricated routines and patterns (prefabs) (Erman & Warren, 2000); or chunks elsewhere; have been defined by Hyland (2012) as “statistically the most frequent recurring sequences of words in any collection of texts” (p. 150). Such sequences of words have received considerable attention in corpus studies in English for Academic Purposes (EAP) and English for Specific Purposes (ESP), with the underlying assumptions being that (a) experts in different discourse communities combine words in different ways to convey field-specific meanings and perform a variety of rhetorical functions; and (b) control of field-specific bundles is a key component of language production – be it written or spoken. The present study looked at the use of lexical bundles in medical research articles. Using a corpus of 1.1 million words, it investigated the frequency, structures, and functions of 4-word bundles in this particular genre of academic writing. Over 200 bundles were identified and the analysis indicated (1) a predominance in medical articles of lexical bundles beginning with noun phrases or prepositional phrases; (2) a more frequent use of research-oriented bundles compared to participant-oriented and text-oriented bundles; and (3) an extremely low frequency of specialized lexical items in the identified bundles. These results, as well as their pedagogical implications, are discussed in the present paper.
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Title: Does perceived language difficulty hinder language learning
Creator: Yao, Changchang
Date: 2015
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: "This is an empirical study that investigates 1) the relationship between perceived language difficulty and foreign language anxiety (FLA) in a beginner-level Chinese lesson as well as their effect on learning; 2) if and how participants' self-ratings of state anxiety change at different times during the treatment." -- Abstract.

Title: Evolution of a task : tracking a teacher's task-revision process along with student engagement
Creator: Solheim, Ian
Date: 2018
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: In this action research report, I investigate the process of a teacher (that is, me) implementing task-based language teaching (TBLT). I document my own construction of a language learning task and the changes I made as I taught it over and over to new sets of students. I also examine how the changes affected students’ level of task engagement. I conducted the research over six weeks with twenty sets of students at two Chinese universities as part of a Summer English Communication Program. I...
Show moreIn this action research report, I investigate the process of a teacher (that is, me) implementing task-based language teaching (TBLT). I document my own construction of a language learning task and the changes I made as I taught it over and over to new sets of students. I also examine how the changes affected students’ level of task engagement. I conducted the research over six weeks with twenty sets of students at two Chinese universities as part of a Summer English Communication Program. I employed a questionnaire and a teaching journal as data collection instruments. Analysis of student engagement revealed that the teacher’s revisions had limited impact on engagement, while analysis of the teacher’s TBLT implementation process showed that using tasks provided unforeseen context-specific benefits.
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Title: Goal setting in the EFL classroom : students' writing competence, linguistic development, and perspectives
Creator: Pham, Quy Huynh Phu
Date: 2020
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: In recent years, a growing volume of research has consistently shown the positive impacts of goal setting in the language classroom. However, there is a lack of research on the relationship between goal setting and EFL students' writing competence and their linguistic development. The present study aims to address this gap. Thirty-nine Vietnamese university students were taught to write argumentative IELTS essays and practice setting writing goals over the course of ten weeks. It was found...
Show moreIn recent years, a growing volume of research has consistently shown the positive impacts of goal setting in the language classroom. However, there is a lack of research on the relationship between goal setting and EFL students' writing competence and their linguistic development. The present study aims to address this gap. Thirty-nine Vietnamese university students were taught to write argumentative IELTS essays and practice setting writing goals over the course of ten weeks. It was found that students' writing competence significantly improved after the treatment. In terms of linguistic development, students used more advanced vocabulary and n-grams with higher mutual information. However, lexical diversity did not improve. For syntactic complexity, students tended to write shorter sentences, shorter clauses, and shorter T-units, with a reduction of coordination, subordination, and verb phrases. Instead, they tended to use more noun and preposition phrases. Regarding writing fluency, no significant change was seen in text length. However, there was a significant increase in the number of participants who were able to satisfy the word requirement of argumentative IELTS essays. The questionnaire data also revealed that students believed that it was unnecessary to increase the difficulty of their writing goals, and that students were less committed to their writing goals. The correlations showed that among the four goal factors, goal commitment showed the strongest correlation with students' perspectives toward the effectiveness of goal setting over time. Because there was no control group, the findings were confirmed in interviews with nine participants. Pedagogical and theoretical implications will also be discussed in the study.
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Title: The effects of L1/L2 subtitled American TV series on Chinese ELF students' listening comprehension
Creator: Wang, Yangting
Date: 2014
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: Pavio's dual coding theory (1991) suggested that subtitled videos consisting of verbal information and nonverbal images can facilitate information processing and language learning. This study investigates the effects of subtitled TV series on Chinese EFL learners' listening comprehension. Eighty students in a Chinese university participated. Students were divided into four groups based on their grade level, with twenty in each group. The four groups were two classes of 1st year undergraduates...
Show morePavio's dual coding theory (1991) suggested that subtitled videos consisting of verbal information and nonverbal images can facilitate information processing and language learning. This study investigates the effects of subtitled TV series on Chinese EFL learners' listening comprehension. Eighty students in a Chinese university participated. Students were divided into four groups based on their grade level, with twenty in each group. The four groups were two classes of 1st year undergraduates, one class of 3rd year undergraduates, and one class of graduate students, all at the same Chinese university. Each group watched four video clips with three subtitled treatments: L1 Chinese, L2 English, dual (L1 and L2). There was also a control video with no subtitles. The video clips, their treatments, and the order in which the students watched them, were all counterbalanced using Latin Squares. After watching each video, students did a vocabulary and a comprehension test. The main research questions are to find the most effective subtitled TV series and students' attitudes towards subtitles. Four (groups) by four (subtitle conditions) mixed ANOVAs were used to compare the differences among the four treatments and four groups. The study has practical value in that educators, teachers, and the Chinese government can implement the appropriate subtitled videos inside and outside of class to improve learning of English. -- Abstract.
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Title: Exposing the importance of hidden pronunciations in Hangul from the listener's perspective - an investigation of Korean as a foreign language
Creator: Gagnon, Steven Garrison
Date: 2020
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: This study investigated the error gravity of Korean pronunciation features as perceived by native and non-native advanced Korean speakers. The investigated phonological processes here are aspirated consonants, fortis articulation, palatalization, nasalization, lateralization, and addition of [ᄂ] or nasal /n/, both in context and in isolation. A dictogloss-esque activity, coined here as a DictoSpeak, was used to facilitate discussion between a native speaker of Korean and learners of Korean as...
Show moreThis study investigated the error gravity of Korean pronunciation features as perceived by native and non-native advanced Korean speakers. The investigated phonological processes here are aspirated consonants, fortis articulation, palatalization, nasalization, lateralization, and addition of [ᄂ] or nasal /n/, both in context and in isolation. A dictogloss-esque activity, coined here as a DictoSpeak, was used to facilitate discussion between a native speaker of Korean and learners of Korean as a foreign language to ensure the occurrence of lexical items involving the target features. The discourse during the DictoSpeak was recorded and rated by native and advanced non-native speakers of Korean to determine the perceived error gravity of the target pronunciation features both in and out of the discourse context. Results suggest students could benefit from instruction on at least four of the processes. Lateralization was found to impact comprehensibility the most, followed by palatalization, nasalization, and fortis articulation. Results imply that lateralization may have a high error gravity to the listeners’ ears, and that students can benefit from targeted pronunciation instruction on the phonological processes to improve their comprehensibility.
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