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Language Learning Strategies Used by Students at Different Proficiency Levels
This study is designed to determine: (1) whether a statistically significant difference exists in the extent of language learning strategy use between higher proficiency and lower proficiency EFL students; (2) the strength of the effect of language learning strategy use on English proficiency.
A Call for New Benchmarks at Saudi Language and Translation Schools
Since the year 2000, Saudi universities have cancelled all admission tests and have adopted an open admission policy that depends on high school GPA only. Many high school graduates in Saudi Arabia, especially females, show a great interest in joining colleges of languages and translation and admission to those colleges has been highly competitive.
Vocabulary Size, Background Characteristics and Reading Skills of Korean Intensive English Students
This study examines the relationship between breadth of vocabulary, background experiences in learning English and student skill in the reading of an academic text. The author used the Swansea Levels Tests to estimate vocabulary sizes and collected information on background characteristics via questionnaire from eleven Korean students enrolled in an Intensive English program and five Korean undergraduate students at Utah State University.
Learner Beliefs and Language Learning
This article explores the nature of learner beliefs, how these beliefs can change over time and how their beliefs relate to learners’ developing proficiency. It reports three studies of learner beliefs. Ellis (2002) used metaphor analysis to explore the beliefs of six beginner classroom learners of L2 German.
Catering for the Specific Needs of Elementary Level Korean Learners in the Australian ELICOS Sector – A Case Study of a School in Sydney
Given the large numbers of Korean students in Australian ESL classrooms, many teachers have developed a broad knowledge of Korean culture and learning styles. However, the problem remains of how to incorporate this knowledge into everyday teaching practices in the multilingual classroom.
Building Formal Schemata with ESL Student Writers: Linking Schema Theory to Contrastive Rhetoric
Much research has been done on content and formal schemata in reading with students of English as a Second Language (ESL), but the research into formal schemata in ESL writing is a more recent area of study. The concept of “formal schemata†has been neglected in the field of second language writing.
Verbs in the Written English of Chinese Learners: A Corpus-based Comparison between Non-native Speakers and Native Speakers
This thesis consists of ten chapters and its research methodology is a combination of quantitative and qualitative. Chapter One introduces the theme of the thesis, a demonstration of a corpus-based comparative approach in detecting the needs of the learners by looking for the similarities and disparities between the learner English (the COLEC corpus) and the NS English (the LOCNESS corpus). Chapter Two reviews the literature in relevant learner language studies and indicates the tasks of the research. The data and technology are introduced in Chapter Three.
What do we want teaching-materials for in EFL teacher training programs?
During the past several decades, scholarly consideration has focused on the concept of teacher knowledge and a variety of reform efforts to rethink both the structure and practices of teacher education to enhance teacher preparation process.
An Investigation on the Language Anxiety and Fear of Negative Evaluation among Turkish EFL Learners
Teachers’ observations, students’ experiences, and the review of related literature indicate that language anxiety is a significant factor adversely affecting the language learning process. Thus, this study aims to investigate the sources and levels of fear of negative evaluation as well as language anxiety among Turkish students as EFL learners, and to determine the correlation between the two.
Exploring the Role of Model Essays in the IELTS Writing Test: A Feedback Tool
A challenge for English teachers working on EAP or IELTS preparation courses is to find methods to teach essay-writing more efficiently and effectively. The purpose of this study is to explore the role of model texts (sample answers) as a source of feedback in L2 writing. Using the IELTS writing test as focus material, the study focuses on what aspects of language ESL learners may notice by comparing their original texts to model texts in order to improve their writing skills. After classifying the learners‟ noticing into four categories (lexical, form, discourse and content), the study analyses the differences in quality and quantity of noticing, depending on (1) learners‟ proficiency and (2) the type of writing tasks.
