Castledown Journals
Not a member yet
968 research outputs found
Sort by
Chronicling Indonesian EFL students’ engagement in podcast-based speaking activities in online learning milieu: A selfdetermination theory perspective
No full textThe abrupt shift of teaching and learning to the online mode due to the Covid19 outbreak has inevitably called for technology integration to better engage students in online instruction. This call includes the possibility to enact podcast in an English as a foreign language (EFL) class, particularly in speaking. However, despite the increasing number of studies on the benefits of podcasting for language teaching and learning, little attention has been paid to EFL students’ engagement in self-created podcast at the micro-level of instruction. Thus, this study aimed to fill this void by enquiring how students engage in podcast-based speaking activities and what drives their engagement. It involved 23 EFL students at a public university in West Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia. The data were gleaned from learning portfolios, oral reflections, and students’ written narratives in sixteen sessions. The framework of engagement and self-determination theory were employed to carry out thematic analysis. The findings evince that, in general, the students disclosed positive behavioral, cognitive, and emotional engagement in a series of podcast based-speaking activities. More autonomy 336Khotimah, Cahyono & Batunan: Student engagement in podcast-based speaking activities The JALT CALL Journal vol. 18 no.3 and competence-supportive learning environment and unbalanced relatednesssupportive learning environment were found to be the contributing factors of students’ engagement. In addition to teachers’ and students’ factors, parents, families, and students’ friends beyond the classroom appeared to be other social factors which might affect students’ engagement. This study suggests three recommendations for improving podcast-based speaking classrooms in EFL practices. Some possible research topics for extended investigation are also suggested
Book Review: Language, Culture, and the Embodied Mind: A Developmental Model of Linguaculture Learning
No full textE-portfolios in EFL writing: Benefits and challenges
No full textWhile the benefits of portfolio assessment are well documented in second language (L2) writing literature, educators still face challenges as they seek to incorporate it in their classrooms. This study explored English as a Foreign Language (EFL) college writers’ perceived benefits and challenges of e-portfolio creation and evaluation by following two classes of sophomore students for two academic years. Through the analyses of a questionnaire, students’ reflections, and interviews, five themes emerged regarding the perceived benefits: 1) allowing students to review and reflect, 2) developing ownership and authorship, 3) seeing improvement and feeling empowered for writing, 4) cultivating digital literacies skills, and 5) enhancing scaffolded learning. Moreover, three challenges were found regarding students’ utilization of e-portfolios: technical difficulties, time taken to edit their posts, and learner issues. Overall, most students valued the practices of creating and evaluating their own Wix-based e-portfolios which displayed their development and growth as writers and learners over time. Although some students reported challenges to constructing the Wix-based e-portfolios, they considered the e-portfolio approach innovative, integrated, and reflective. This study concludes with implications for educators who wish to integrate the portfolio approach through web-based platforms
Review of Language and Digital Media: Pragmatics Online
No full textReview of Language and Digital Media: Pragmatics Online, by K. Scott, Routledge, 2022. 168pp., 44.95 (Paperback) $45.00 (eBook). ISBN 97810032524201
(Re)turning to contrastive rhetoric’s basic communication principles: A Common Ground theory perspective
No full textContrastive rhetoric (CR) has made great contributions to our understanding of L2 writing. Nevertheless, CR has endured countless criticisms over the years, resulting in “reimagined” forms attempting to address many of these criticisms. In doing so, these forms have shaped CR into a collection of complex ideologies that have unnecessarily complicated CR and impeded its efficacy in both research and the classroom. Therefore, to make CR more practicable, it must be decluttered and brought back to its fundamentals. To accomplish this, I look at CR within the theoretical framework of Clark’s (1996) Common Ground (CG) theory, which affixes it to something much more universal and heterogeneous–communication. Essentially, what I postulate here is that when CR is considered in tandem with CG theory, CR is shifted from an ideological theory that fails to take into consideration socially and politically constructed notions of L2 writing to an approach concerned with basic communication principles. When this shift occurs, many of its criticisms can be assuaged and CR can once again become more practical for researchers and an effective tool for teachers to help their students achieve their writing goals
Statistical analysis of the impact of the e-learning platform Furago on French learners’ listening skills
No full textThe current study focuses on an e-learning platform called Furago designed to provide language instructors with exercises complementing activities already implemented in their classes. Its objective was to assess the impact the use of Furago could have on the listening skills of first-year Japanese university students. Statistical analyses that were used to outline the correlations between the main test variables (i.e., the grades achieved by students on two listening comprehension tests) and several predictor variables pertaining to the platform, such as the score the participants had accumulated or the consistency in which they use it, were all found to be statistically significant, albeit with correlation coefficients that were rather weaker than expected. Despite its users’ slow margin of progression, as evidenced by the linear model conducted during this study, such results confirmed the value of Furago as a means to improve students’ listening skills, especially, it would seem, at the very beginning of foreign language acquisition. Unexpectedly, these results also suggested that the users’ improvement might have more to do with the overall amount of time they put in their study (reflected here by their scores on Furago) than their consistency
Digital games and the development of plurilingual competence: Language models, language awareness and transformational play
No full textThe potential of games to support language learning and acquisition – be it in the digital wilds or in the foreign language classroom – has often been discussed. In this article, I will look at digital games from an explicitly plurilingual perspective. I describe five existing games that demonstrate a plurilingual outlook (Romanica, MElang-E, BabelAR, LoCALL, World of Languages), focusing on their potential regarding modelling plurilingual competencies, fostering language awareness, and encouraging transformational play. I finish with a discussion of overall trends that can be observed across the five games and ramifications regarding pedagogy and future research
Work integrated language learning: Boundary crossing, connectivity, and L2 affordances
No full textIn contexts of transnational migration, language skills provide the key to employability and successful integration into host country societies. To enhance the learning process, and facilitate transitions into the workforce, integrated programs of L2 learning have been developed in several Nordic countries. In these undertakings, language learning, vocational education, and workplace practice are combined, the rationale being that each element is enhanced by the others. Drawing on interviews with L2 teachers, vocational educators, and workplace supervisors on five integrated programs in Sweden, this study explores the ways in which connections between program elements are created. Results indicate that when boundaries are crossed, learning affordances arise. Two categories of affordances are identified. While domain affordances facilitate the development of practice knowledge within a relevant occupational/linguistic sphere, communication affordances facilitate engagement in L2 interaction, and increase students’ willingness to communicate. Implications of the research are assessed, and proposals for the future study of work integrated language learning are made
Film and the intercultural multimodal reader: Expanding intercultural literary literacy as a theoretical and pedagogical concept
No full textThis article addresses key theoretical and practical concerns related to the intercultural encounter with multimodal literature. Previous efforts to incorporate an intercultural dimension into conceptualisations of literary literacy have primarily focused on competences associated with the reading of traditional, script-based texts. However, as the term “literature” is today associated with a wide range of new media texts, there is a need to take this into account in theoretical constructs as well as in pedagogical practice. The article provides insight into how the multimodal elements of film function as a complex meaning-making ensemble which adds layers of potential insight as well as potential misunderstanding to the text interpretation process. With a basis in the Model of the Intercultural Reader (Hoff, 2016), the article sheds light on how issues related to the narrative style and structure of a Hollywood motion picture can be navigated through an exploration of the recognisable audio-visual rhetoric of oft-repeated tropes. Drawing on Baz Luhrmann’s film Romeo + Julietas a practical example, concrete suggestions for pedagogical practice are offered. By integrating practices of script-based intercultural reading with new literacies, the article expands upon previous theorisations of the intercultural reader and provides insight into how teachers may facilitate nuanced intercultural explorations of literary multimodal texts in the 21stcentury language classroom
Review of Learning How to Learn Using Multimedia
No full textLearning How to Learn Using Multimedia, edited by Deepanjali Mishra and Yuangshan Chuang, Springer, 2021, 195pp., 109 (eBook). ISBN 9789811617836