Search results for "Language Acquisition"
showing 10 items of 219 documents
Speaking English in Finnish content-based classrooms
2007
: CLIL (Content and Language Integrated Learning) is a term widely used in Europe to refer to different forms of content based education, often conducted in English. Earlier research on CLIL has tended to focus on matters of language learning or content mastery rather than on details of classroom interaction. This paper investigates how English is used in Finnish biology and physics CLIL classrooms. Classrooms are approached from a discourse-pragmatic perspective which involves close attention to social and interpersonal aspects of language use as it unfolds in authentic settings. The findings suggest that CLIL students claim ownership of English by the way they confidently use it as a res…
The development of narrative productivity, syntactic complexity, referential cohesion and event content in four- to eight-year-old Finnish children
2013
This study focuses on the development of narrative structure and the relationship between narrative productivity and event content. A total of 172 Finnish children aged between four and eight participated. Their picture-elicited narrations were analysed for productivity, syntactic complexity, referential cohesion and event content. Each measure showed a developmental trend. Concerning consecutive age groups, significant differences were observed between four- and five-year-olds in productivity and event content and between five- and six-year-olds in referential cohesion. Multiple regression analysis showed that the relationship between productivity and event content was important, and espe…
Learning English Through Social Interaction: The Case ofBig Brother 2006,Finland
2013
In line with recent Conversation Analytic work on language learning as situated practice, this article investigates how interactants can create language learning opportunities for themselves and others in and through social interaction. The study shows how the participants of BigBrother Finland, a reality TV show, whose main communication is in Finnish, take up resources provided by English and use them for learning in their interaction. This interaction is characterized by an orientation to both the local context and the television audience, a mixture of activity types and translanguaging. It focuses on one of the participants who explicitly evaluates his own proficiency in English as limi…
Content and language integrated learning
2014
This special issue of The Language Learning Journal is devoted to Content and Language Integrated Learning, frequently referred to by its acronym CLIL in Europe, but also elsewhere of late. CLIL is...
LANGUAGE POLICY AND PLANNING
2000
The field of language policy and planning is clearly a sub-field within applied linguistics. It generally does not draw heavily on formal linguistics, except for aspects of corpus and status planning. However, it does draw extensively from a range of disciplines in order to plan, implement, and evaluate language policies that respond to the needs of stake holders of various types. Despite continuous development of the field, aspects of language policy and planning need to be developed further. One of the key areas where policy can be enhanced considerably is in the area of policy and planning evaluation. This direction of inquiry is also relevant to a number of other areas within applied li…
Recensión: "Key terms in second language acquisition"
2011
Recensión: "Key terms in second language acquisition. Bill van Petten and Alessandro g. Benati. Continuum International Publishing Group, 2010."
Hands-on tasks in CLIL science classrooms as sites for subject-specific language use and learning
2015
This paper is concerned with content and language integrated learning (CLIL), i.e. classrooms where a foreign or second language (L2) is used as the means of instruction and where content and language learning objectives merge. More specifically, it explores the potential of hands-on tasks in CLIL chemistry and physics lessons to serve as sites for using and learning subject-specific language, conceptualised as both special concepts and terminology as well as subject-specific ways of constructing meaning. Using discourse analysis, attention was directed to hands-on tasks as well as pre-task and post-task phases. The findings indicate that despite the evident content orientation in the tasks…
Partial repetitions as other-initiations of repair in second language talk: Re-establishing understanding and doing learning
2014
Abstract This conversation analytical paper examines other-initiated repair sequences in everyday interactions between first and second language speakers of Finnish. More specifically, it focuses on sequences that are initiated by a second language speaker by repeating a part of the trouble source turn and shows that the repetitions are recurrently treated as actions indicating specific language-related problems of understanding. The analysis suggests that the linguistic asymmetry in second language interactions is a resource that is drawn upon in situations in which other resources for action formation and recognition are not sufficient. In addition, the analysis illustrates why and how ce…
That German Stuff : Negotiating linguistic legitimacy in a foreign language classroom
2018
This qualitative case study of one German suburban high school classroom in the Midwestern United States examines how learners of German negotiate their linguistic legitimacy, which is defined as discursively constructed acceptance or validation for their language use. Specifically, it investigates how the students negotiated legitimacy for using their target language German in their classroom. Based on the premise that linguistic legitimacy is crucial for the maintenance and development of speakers’ languages, data was collected and analyzed from classroom recordings, semi-structured interviews, and participant observations. Findings revealed that, while English dominated the lessons as th…
A review of recent research in EFL motivation: Research trends, emerging methodologies, and diversity of researched populations
2021
Abstract The increasing interest in English as a foreign language (EFL) across the globe has necessitated learning opportunities that engage and sustain students’ motivation to learn English. This paper aims to provide an analysis of trends in EFL motivation between 2016 and 2020. While examining 90 studies published during this time frame, we have focused on an overview of methodologies, theories, and backgrounds of researched populations. We have also aimed to summarize the key findings of the literature in order to discuss the emergent themes in current EFL motivation research. Hence, this paper offers a comprehensive analysis and synthesis of recent EFL motivation research trends. Altho…