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Age-related Variations in E.F.L Learners’ Attentiveness to Prosodic vs. Syntactic Cues of Sentence Structure
This study has investigated the relationship between the age of Iranian EFL learners and the strategy they seek in their interpretation of sentences. A task was devised to solicit either prosodically or syntactically motivated responses from two groups of participants aged 12-13, and 17 and over, respectively.
Using World Literatures to Promote Intercultural Competence In Asian EFL Learners
The following paper re-examines the place of literature in Asian EFL contexts. Critiquing standard approaches for teaching literature to English learners in Japanese university settings, the author proposes an alternate pedagogical framework for ELT practitioners in Asia based on an interculturalist perspective.
Associating Interference with Strategy Instruction: An Investigation into the Learning of the Present Continuous
Analysing errors committed by second language learners in the acquisition of English tenses, particularly the present continuous, can offer great insights into learners’ difficulties in acquiring target language rules. Focusing on a set of eight rules governing the use of the present continuous, one of the verb forms frequently employed in daily conversations, the researcher employed elicitation procedures aimed at discovering difficulties encountered by learners in second language acquisition.
The Effect Of The Use Of L1 In A Multimedia Tutorial On Grammar Learning: An Error Analysis Of Taiwanese Beginning Efl Learners’ English Essays
The purpose of this study was to examine whether the CAI (computer assisted instruction) tutorial program had an impact on the EFL (English as a Foreign Language) grammar skills of the beginning EFL language learners. A quasi-experimental research design was conducted at a private college located in southern Taiwan.
Cross-cultural Communication: Saudi, Ukrainian, and Russian Students Online
This paper describes a cross-cultural online writing project in which three English-as-a foreign language (EFL) college instructors in Ukraine, Russia and Saudi Arabia and their undergraduate students participated. The aim of the project was to develop students’ writing skills in EFL, to develop their awareness of local and global cultural issues and events, and to develop their ability to communicate and interact with students from other cultures.
An investigation into the task features affecting EFL listening comprehension test performance
The construct validation of a multiple-choice listening test requires some evidence that text and text associated variables play a significant role in predicting item difficulty. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of task features on test performance in EFL listening tests by determining how well item difficulty can be accounted for by text factors, item factors and text-item factors.
EFL EXAMINATION WASHBACK IN JAPAN: INVESTIGATING THE EFFECTS OF ORAL ASSESSMENT ON TEACHING AND LEARNING
The influence a test has on teaching and learning is commonly referred to as the ‘washback effect’. It is often argued that English examinations in Japan, which tend to be heavily grammar-orientated, have a negative washback effect on teaching and learning. The areas of writing and speaking are of particular concern as both tend to be assessed via indirect testing methods. This study, then, examines the effects of existing English tests in Japan and also proposes an original direct test of speaking, which is subsequently trialled in a sample learning context. An attempt is then made to determine the extent and nature of washback resulting from this new speaking test.
Validating a Simulated Test of CET 4
A simulated test of CET4 (College English Test, Band 4) was validated to check if it served the specific purposes of predicting and diagnosing. The study data came from a CET 4 simulated test sat by a class of sophomores who were to take a CET 4 test one month later.
The Time In Between: Socialization Training as a Learning Priority for Japanese University Students
It is generally accepted and understood by many if not most countries around the globe that success in academics is the priority of learning at university. However, this does not mean that there are not unique understandings and perceptions of learning and the priorities it is given.
