Volume 14 Issue 4
Transitivity Shifts in Academic Writing
This is an experimental non-equivalent designs study, comparing four groups of ESL students who have drafted a scientific essay. The main research question of this study is whether there is an observable difference in clause types as students progressed from draft to draft. T-tests and the one way ANOVA were used to test if there was a significant difference in clausal change between the groups.
“Do You Understand?”: An Analysis of Native and Non-native EFL Teachers’ Questioning Patterns at a Taiwanese Cram School
A number of young Taiwanese students take extra English lessons at cram schools where classes are taught in English by native speakers of English; however, not much has been studied in such settings in previous literature. This study investigated questioning patterns of four cram school teachers, two native and two non-native speakers of English, with high- and a low-level classes of young learners.
Revisiting English in Thailand
The article considers the impact of English in Thailand in the context of Thailand’s minority peoples, especially Thailand’s largest minority, the Isan of Northeast Thailand. It addresses the issues of bilingualism and multilingualism in Thailand and examines to what extent these have been implemented. It also considers linguistic obligations placed on Thailand as a result of its membership of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
Thematic Clustering in Second Language Vocabulary Learning: Scenarios versus Mental Scenes Development
Thematic clustering has been established to be a facilitating strategy in presenting words in a second language (L2) to be memorized (Tinkham 1997). Indeed, groups of similar words based on psychological association and shared thematic concepts (Al-Jabri 2005) appear to be easier to learn than the ones based only on semantic and syntactic similarity.
Using Cognitive Diagnostic Assessment to Model the Underlying Structure of a Listening Test: A Sub-Skill-Based Approach
Research into the psychological and cognitive aspects of language learning, and second language (L2) learning in particular, demands new measurement tools that provide highly detailed information about language learners’ progress and proficiency. A new development in measurement models is Cognitive Diagnostic Assessment (CDA), which helps language assessment researchers evaluate students’ mastery of specific language sub-skills with greater specificity than other item response theory models. T
Exploring Academic Self-Concept among Learners with Foreign Language Anxiety
This study assesses the academic self-concept of learners who experience different levels of language anxiety in Taiwan’s EFL classrooms. The findings determine that language anxiety is significantly and negatively related to two major components of academic self-concept: academic confidence and learning effort. MANOVA test results show that low-anxiety students had the most positive academic self-concept out of all the subjects.
Evaluating the Effectiveness of Genre-Based Instruction: A Writing Course of English for Hospitality and Tourism
This study investigates 24 ESP learners’ progress in composing three different promotional brochures in an 18-week genre-based writing course. Each student’s work was revised three times and subsequently evaluated by non-Chinese speakers based on the authenticity of the design and the motivation of visiting the venue. Follow-up interviews were also conducted to probe learners’ perceptions of the instruction.
