Search results for "learner"
showing 10 items of 204 documents
Galda spēles skolēnu runāšanas prasmju attīstībai 4. klases angļu valodas stundās
2022
Diplomdarba mērķis ir izpētīt kā galda spēļu izmantošana var attīstīt skolēnu runāšanas prasmes. Šādas tēmas izvēli pamato autores saskaršanās ar problēmu – skolēniem ir grūti izmantot angļu valodu saziņai angļu valodas stundās. Galda spēļu izmantošana tiek minēta kā nozīmīga runāšanas prasmju uzlabošanā, tādēļ tā tika izmantota autores angļu valodas stundās 4.klases skolēniem. Izmantotā pētījuma metode ir gadījuma pētījums kādas Rīgas sākumskolas 4.klasē. Pētījuma gaitā tika izmantotas tādas datu vākšanas metodes kā aptaujas anketas, esošo zināšanu pārbaude un zināšanu pārbaude pēc metodes pielietošanas. Pētījuma rezultāti atklāj, ka regulāra galda spēļu izmantošana angļu valodas stundās t…
"Writing to Learn or Learning to Write". A Critical Review of "English as a Foreign Language" (EFL) Teaching Practices in Writing in Saudi Universiti…
2020
Developing proficiency in English writing has always been a challenge for L2 learners in general and Saudi learners in particular. Despite the widespread presence of English departments as a result of the sharp rise of Saudi universities in the previous decade, the numbers of outcomes or achievements in terms of skills are very discouraging. This paper aims to study this issue closely by investigating the most crucial elements that are likely to explain this weakness by reviewing the related empirical and theoretical studies in the Saudi context. This paper also aims to present to researchers a quick reference as to how English writing skills have evolved in Saudi Arabia in the recent past,…
Measuring syntactic complexity in learner Finnish
2020
In the study of complexity, accuracy and fluency (CAF), syntactic complexity can be measured by a multitude of measures. Traditionally, the measures are quantitative and they use production units such as words, clauses, T -units, and sentences. Despite the vast number o f measures available, many studies have used only one or two of them, or parallel ones tapping the same component of complexity. The present study explores syntactic complexity using seven frequently used quantitative complexity measures to gauge different facets of complexity in written learner Finnish. The data of the study consist of texts written by adult and adolescent language learners, and they cover proficiency level…
Dynamic Usage-based Principles in the Development of L2 Finnish Evaluative Constructions
2021
Abstract This study investigates the formal verbalizations of evaluation used by four beginning L2 learners of Finnish from a dynamic usage-based perspective. Longitudinal data collected weekly were used to investigate what kind of constructions learners use to express evaluation and how these interact and develop over time. The results show that when a new construction is acquired in the L2, another related construction might regress. The results also point to increased variability in the construction during a phase of rapid development and reduced variability in the phases of regression or slower progress. These findings add to our understanding of a developing L2 as a system in which cha…
Kazoo training for L2 pronunciation practice and reduced foreign accentedness?
2019
This paper presents a controlled pretest–training–posttest study on using a small membraphone instrument called kazoo for L2 pronunciation practice and reducing foreign accentedness. Learners were recorded for free speech before and after a six-week pronunciation and oral skills course including L2 prosody training with personal kazoos. A control group did not receive any kazoo training but did similar tasks in regular speech. Samples of all learners’ free speech before and after the course were rated for foreign accentedness by L1 speakers. In addition, learners taking part in the kazoo group were interviewed in focus groups to ascertain their views on kazoo training. The results imply tha…
Words, clauses, sentences, and T-units in learner language: Precise and objective units of measure?
2020
In research on learner language complexity, accuracy and fluency (CAF), syntactic complexity is often studied with quantitative measures based on words, clauses, sentences, and T-units. The findings have been mixed, but segmenting learner language into these units of measure has seldom been problematised, even if the need for accurate coding is well known. The present study explores words, clauses, sentences, and T-units as production units in written learner language using a corpus of 352 L2 Finnish texts (28,813 words). The results illustrate how written learner language can be hard to fit into the production unit categories, which are essential for the most frequently used quantitative m…
Mobilizing ‘context’: Vocabulary checks in ESL tutoring sessions
2022
This study investigates the practice of unplanned and emergent vocabulary checks, i.e. turns through which a speaker explicitly checks whether the recipient knows a word, in small-group tutorial instruction. The data are video-recorded English as a second language (ESL) tutoring sessions between a native English speaker tutor and ESL students at an urban community college in the United States. By drawing on conversation analysis, we analyze how vocabulary checks emerge sequentially and with the help of contextual interactional resources. Findings suggest that vocabulary checks constitute a practice for managing both shared understanding and pedagogical concerns. By singling out a vocabulary…
Lexically specific vs. productive constructions in L2 Finnish
2020
ABSTRACTIt is assumed from a usage-based perspective that learner language constructions emerge from natural language use in social interaction through exemplar learning. In L1, young learners have been shown to develop their constructions from lexically specific, formulaic expressions into more productive, abstract schemas. A similar developmental path has been shown for L2 development, with some exceptions. The aim of the current study is to explore to what extent the default assumption holds for L2 learning. The development of two constructions was traced in four adults learning L2 Finnish. Free-response data, collected weekly over a period of 9 months, were used to investigate the produ…
Om hur finskspråkiga och svenskspråkiga lyssnare bedömer och värderar avancerade talares uttal av finlandssvenska
2018
Syftet med denna studie är att analysera avancerade finskspråkiga inlärares uttal av finlandssvenska i fritt tal: vilka är de svåraste inlärningsmålen i S2-uttal (andra- och främmande språk) och hurdana skillnader finns det mellan talare på olika färdighetsnivåer? Därtill undersöks om finskspråkiga lyssnare värderar uttalet på samma sätt som svenskspråkiga lyssnare. S2-talarnas prestationer i en monologuppgift värderas av finskspråkiga och svenskspråkiga lyssnare gällande hur bra talarna kan segment och prosodi i finlandssvenska. Forskning i finskspråkiga talares S2-uttal av finlandssvenska ger oss ett speciellt perspektiv på S2- uttalsinlärning. Eftersom språken liknar varandra fonetiskt b…
Conjunctions and syntactic complexity: Development of the use of conjunctions in written learner Finnish
2022
Kielitaidon kehittymistä voidaan tutkia mittaamalla oppijankielen sujuvuutta, tarkkuutta ja kompleksisuutta. Kompleksisuus voidaan määritellä oppijankielen monipuolisuudeksi ja kehittyneisyydeksi, mutta syntaktista kompleksisuutta on kansainvälisessä toisen kielen oppimisen tutkimuksessa tyypillisesti mitattu alisteisiin lauserakenteisiin perustuvilla kvantitatiivisilla mittareilla. Tässä artikkelissa syntaktisen kompleksisuuden kehitystä tutkitaan tarkastelemalla rinnastus- ja alistuskonjunktioiden käyttöä suomi toisena kielenä -teksteissä Eurooppalaisen viitekehyksen eri taitotasoilla. Aineistona käytetään Jyväskylän yliopiston Cefling-hankkeen oppijansuomen korpuksen tekstejä. Rinnasteis…