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Examining katakana synform errors made by Japanese university students
No full textLaufer (1988) introduced the concept of synform errors, where second language (L2) learners confuse a word for a different but similar looking or sounding L2 word. Stubbe and Cochrane (2016) reported that of 1,187 commonly repeated errors on a Japanese to English non-contextual translation test, 461 were synform errors (39%). This study introduces the concept of katakana consonant pairing synform errors, where Japanese learners of English can confuse one English word for another because some English consonants have no Japanese equivalent, for example, l and v. Words containing these consonants can be transcribed into katakana using the closest Japanese consonant sound: r, b, respectively. This can result in katakana pairings (l-r, v-b), which may lead to confusion for the Japanese learners. “Vest” may be interpreted as “best,” for instance. In the present study, English students at one Japanese university (N = 235) were given a Japanese to English non-contextual translation test containing the lower frequency member of 30 such katakana pairs (“vest” being a much less frequent word than its pair “best,” for instance). Thirty words not having a katakana partner (e.g., shade) from the same JACET8000 frequency levels were also tested. The study results suggest that katakana consonant pairing synform errors are problematic for these Japanese university students. Implications for the classroom and vocabulary assessment are presented
On creating a large-scale corpus-based academic multi-word unit resource
No full textThis study outlines the steps taken to create an academic multi-word unit list derived from corpus data. It gives details on the procedure used and the rationale behind why certain approaches were utilised. It also compares existing resources and makes some suggestions for practical use of the resulting resource
The effects of digital scaffolding on adolescent English reading in Japan: An experimental study on visual-syntactic text formatting
No full textThis experimental study examined how VSTF (Visual-Syntactic Text Formatting)-based text benefits reading speed, reading comprehension, reading efficiency and retention for middle and high school students. Prospective within-subjects tests were conducted in Japan on a total of 132 students: 76 high school students from 12th grade and 56 middle school students from eighth grade. Students read both block-formatted text and VSTF-based text and answered quizzes and subjective questionnaires related to what they read. Objectively, although middle school students did not show a significant difference between using block-formatted text and VSTF-based text, low proficiency students in high school showed a significant increase in reading speed, reading comprehension, reading efficiency and retention, while high proficiency students in high school showed a significant increase in reading speed and retention. Regarding subjective questionnaires, most students among all of the grades felt reading VSTF-based text was more effective than reading block-formatted text. Based on these results, future long-term studies with multiple texts should be considered
Language, diversity and culturally responsive education
No full textAdvanced economies are experiencing demographic shifts brought about by increased immigration. There are more students in schools who speak a language other than English. This has placed dialogue with regards to language diversity at the center of educational discourse. This conceptual article examines notions of identity and language within a poststructural framework and explores strategies that culturally responsive and social justice educators can employ to support emerging bilinguals (EBs) in diverse contexts. Grounded within an equity and social justice framework this articles uggests that teachers must be prepared to teach in culturally affirming and transformative ways to support emerging bilinguals
The evolution of intercultural communicative competence: Conceptualisations, critiques and consequences for 21st century classroom practice
No full textThis article discusses intercultural communicative competence (ICC) as a present-day theoretical and practical concern. Byram’s (1997) model of ICC serves as a point of departure for the discussion since this is a theoretical construct which has had considerable impact on curriculum development and teaching materials in a number of countries over the past two decades. However, several theoretical criticisms have been directed at the model in recent years, and Byram’s own theoretical stance has evolved since the model was introduced. The aim of the article is to provide insight into how these recent perspectives lay the foundation for a state-of-the-art understanding of ICC. First, the article provides an overview of key issues which have been raised in critiques of Byram’s model. It considers the merits of such evaluations and shows how some of this criticism has been met by Byram’s later work. Second, the article deliberates how reconceptualisations and alternative voices in the academic discourse have illuminated aspects of intercultural communication on which Byram’s model is unclear. In connection with this discussion of theoretical matters, some practical implications for teaching and learning are considered. The article concludes by pointing to the need for a new theoretical model which is suited to serve as a comprehensive guideline for intercultural teaching and learning in the 21st century classroom
Impact of using blogs on summary writing skills of EFL university students
No full textThis study examines the impact of using blogs on developing students’ summary writing skills and the perceptions of Saudi undergraduate EFL students on using blogs in developing their summary writing skills. The study participants comprised 20 female students, and the data were drawn from pre/post-tests and a questionnaire. The results revealed that blogs are an effective tool that positively impacts learners’ summary writing skills. Moreover, most participants showed positive attitudes towards using blogs in EFL writing; they perceived blogging as a helpful tool that increases motivation and interest to learn, fosters autonomous learning and critical thinking, improves collaboration skills, and provides powerful feedback. Furthermore, the participants reported many benefits of this blogging project: improving learners’ English language skills, facilitating collaboration among students, saving time, developing summary writing skills, and ease of use. However, some participants mentioned drawbacks such as the difficulty of using blogs and the lack of peer comments. Further, some found blogging to be time-consuming. Overall, the benefits of blogging outperformed the drawbacks, demonstrating that blogs are a beneficial and effective tool for EFL learning and teaching; they can improve student writing skills in general and summary writing skills in particular
Engagement in PC-based, smartphone-based, and paper-based materials: Learning vocabulary through Chinese Stories
No full textVarious studies have discussed learners’ attitudes and achievement in CALL and MALL (Kiernan & Aizawa, 2004; Lu, 2008; Huang & Lin, 2011, but there has been little research into a combination of these with paper-based materials to date in terms of their attitudes and the factors leading to decisions about which to use. Research has suggested that learners show generally positive attitudes towards using technology for learning, but this is not necessarily reflected in actual usage (e.g., Stockwell, 2010), and there have been few studies that have looked at all three of these methods within a single study. Thus, this study investigated 70 Japanese learners of Chinese to examine their task engagement and attitudes toward PC-based, smartphone-based, and paper-based materials designed to supplement their learning outside the classroom, as well as to identify the potential reasons behind their choice of method. All of the materials were largely the same, but the materials on the website and mobile application included several interactive activities that were not possible to replicate with the paper-based materials. The study was carried out over an eight-week period in three classes, and the learners could choose which materials to use at any point throughout the period. Data collection included weekly, pre- and post- surveys, along with interviews to determine how they framed the activities as a supplement of their courses. The results revealed that learners made informed decisions about what materials they used, with which technological difficulties, learning strategies and conditions had varying effects on engagement and attitude
Machine versus human translation outputs: Which one results in better reading comprehension among EFL learners?
No full textEFL university students in general and Iranian EFL university learners in particular, specifically in the commencement of their study at bachelor degree prefer to have their assigned English texts translated into mother tongue since they do not have a good command of the language. Machine translation (MT) has recently turned into a favorite tool for all students including EFL ones since it is free and readily available. The aim of this study, therefore, was to evaluate the effect of MT output on such students. To achieve this goal, two sample texts in students’ mother tongue were selected and translated into English by a proficient human translator whose native language was English and by an MT system (Google Translate). Next, 167 homogenous EFL freshman students were given a proficiency test and 152 homogenous ones randomly assigned to two groups, namely, control and experimental groups. The control group was given the human translation (HT) and the experimental group was exposed to machine translation. Using an independent t-test, indicated that there was a negligible difference between mentioned groups. That is, MT has improved to such an extent that it can compete with the HT. It can be concluded that due to its great improvements in the last few years and its widespread use among university students, EFL educators should accept the presence of this tool and try to implement it effectively in their teaching instead of banning students from using it