Studies in Second Language Learning and Teaching
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Studies in Second Language Learning and Teaching to czasopismo ukazujące się cztery razy w roku i wydawane przez Zakład Filologii Angielskiej Wydziału Pedagogiczno-Artystycznego Uniwersytetu im. Adama Mickiewicza w Kaliszu. Językiem publikacji jest język angielski. W czasopiśmie zamieszczane są wcześniej niepublikowane najwyższej jakości prace teoretyczne i badania empiryczne dotyczące uczenia się i nauczania drugiego języka i języków obcych. Artykuły dotyczą nauczania i uczenia się różnych języków obcych, nie tylko języka angielskiego, i ogniskują się na różnych zagadnieniach, począwszy od procesów leżących u podstaw przyswajania języka drugiego, przez różne aspekty nauki języka obcego w warunkach szkolnych i pozaszkolnych, a także procesu nauczania, w tym wyboru programów nauczania, projektowania materiałów, praktyki szkolnej i oceny.
Studies in Second Language Learning and Teaching is a refereed journal published four times a year by the Department of English Studies, Faculty of Pedagogy and Fine Arts, Adam Mickiewicz University, Kalisz, Poland. The language of publication is English. The journal is devoted to reporting previously unpublished highest quality theoretical and empirical research on learning and teaching second and foreign languages. It deals with the learning and teaching of any language, not only English, and focuses on a variety of topics ranging from the processes underlying second language acquisition, various aspects of language learning in instructed and non-instructed settings, as well as different facets of the teaching process, including syllabus choice, materials design, classroom practices and evaluation.
Redaktor naczelny: Mirosław Pawlak
Kontakt: Zakład Filologii Angielskiej
Wydział Pedagogiczno-Artystyczny Uniwersytetu im. Adama Mickiewicza w Kaliszu
ul. Nowy Świat 28-30
62-800 Kalisz
Polska
strona www: http://ssllt.amu.edu.pl/
Nazwa wydawcy: Zakład Filologii Angielskiej
Wydział Pedagogiczno-Artystyczny Uniwersytetu im. Adama Mickiewicza w Kaliszu
ISSN: 2083-5205
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Item Anxiety over EFL speaking and writing: A view from language classrooms(Zakład Filologii Angielskiej: Wydział Pedagogiczno-Artystyczny Uniwersytetu im. Adama Mickiewicza w Kaliszu, 2011) Gkonou, ChristinaThe assumption that foreign language learners experience a high level of anxiety mainly when faced with speaking activities implies that research should focus on those learners prone to anxiety over that skill. Despite not being widely investigated, foreign language writing anxiety also seems to be a concern for a large number of students. Drawing on questionnaire findings, the study reported in this article examined the nature of, and the connection between the English language classroom speaking and writing anxiety of 128 Greek EFL learners in private language school settings. Speaking anxiety was operationalised by Horwitz, Horwitz, and Cope's (1986) Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale, and writng anxiety was measured by Gungle and Taylor's (1989) ESL version of the Daly and Miller's 1975) Writing Apprehension Test. Interconstruct and intraconstruct associations between the two instruments were examined through principal components analysis with varimax rotation and correlations check. A significant and high correlation was found between classroom anxiety and speaking anxiety, thus indicating that the English language classroom context is a source of speaking anxiety. Writing anxiety was found to load primarily on items relating to attitudes towards writing in English followed by self-derogation for the process and fear of negative evaluation by the teachers and/or by fellow students. On the basis of the findings, suggestions are made concerning the reassessment of the influence that writing anxiety exerts on classroom performance and the adoption of teaching techniques that promote topic-centred process writing.Item Perceived teacher support and language anxiety in Polish secondary school EFL learners(Zakład Filologii Angielskiej Wydział Pedagogiczno-Artystyczny Uniwersytetu im. Adama Mickiewicza w Kaliszu, 2011) Piechurska-Kuciel, EwaThe teacher’s role is vital, both in respect to achieving academic goals, and with regard to the regulation of emotional and social processes. Positive per-ceptions of teacher support can endorse psychological wellness, and help maintain students’ academic interests, higher academic achievement and more positive peer relationships. The teacher who shows understanding, empathy and consistency in their behavior helps students start forming an identity, which will assist them in coping with stress and anxiety directly connected with the foreign language learning process (language anxiety). The main aim of this research is to investigate the relationship between teacher support and language anxiety levels. It is speculated that teacher support functions as a buffer from the effects of negative emotions, such as language anxiety experienced in the foreign language learning process. The participants of the study were 621 secondary grammar school students whose responses to a questionnaire were the main data source. The results of the study demonstrate that students with higher levels of teacher support experience lower language anxiety levels in comparison to their peers with lower levels of teacher support. Students who have a feeling that they can count on the instructor’s help, advice, assistance, or backing manage the learning process more successfully. They evaluate their language abilities highly and receive better final grades. Nevertheless, gender and residential location do not moderate teacher support and language anxiety due to the specificity of the sample consisting of novice secondary grammar school students.Item Investigating L2 spoken English through the role play learner corpus(2011) Nava, Andrea; Pedrazzini, LucianaWe describe an exploratory study carried out within the University of Milan, Department of English the aim of which was to analyse features of the spo-ken English of first-year Modern Languages undergraduates. We compiled a learner corpus, the “Role Play” corpus, which consisted of 69 role-play in-teractions in English carried out by first-year students at B1+-B2 levels ac-cording to the Common European Framework of Reference. The analysis fo-cused on the students’ use of two features of spoken English grammar, tails and the discourse markers ‘yes’ and ‘yeah’. Instances of these features from the data were compared with examples of British native speaker, learner and Italian native speaker usage. Preliminary findings pointed to the role of the students’ first language, L2 proficiency and specific task features in the range and frequency of these phenomena as well as in the functions they deployed in the spoken discourse of the informants.Item Cognate facilitation effects in trilingual word recognition(Zakład Filologii Angielskiej: Wydział Pedagogiczno-Artystyczny Uniwersytetu im. Adama Mickiewicza w Kaliszu, 2011) Szubko-Sitarek, WeronikaResearch on bilingual word recognition suggests that lexical access is nonselective with respect to language, i.e., that word representations of both languages become active during recognition. One piece of evidence supporting nonselective access is that bilinguals recognize cognates (words that are identical or similar in form and meaning in two or more languages) faster than noncognates. In fact, any difference between how cognates and ‘monolingual’ words are processed by multilinguals would indicate that the other, currently irrelevant language must have played a role as well, at least as long as the two groups of words are comparable with respect to all dimensions other than language membership. The aim of the present paper is to report on two visual perceptual experiments conducted within the lexical decision task paradigm whose aim was to test the assumptions concerning the special position of cognates (the cognate facilitation effect, cf. Dijkstra, 2005) within a trilingual mind and to answer the question whether trilinguals rely upon their second language lexical knowledge when recognizing L3 words. The results of the experiments attest to simultaneous activation and parallel processing as well as interaction among all the three languages. At the same time, they point to the fact that cross-linguistic lexical access and the source and strength of transfer may be constrained by variables such task demands.Item Suppression of literal meanings in L2 idiom processing: Does context help?(Zakład Filologii Angielskiej: Wydział Pedagogiczno-Artystyczny Uniwersytetu im. Adama Mickiewicza w Kaliszu, 2011) Cieślicka, Anna, B.Most current idiom processing models acknowledge, after Gernsbacher and Robertson (1999) that deriving an idiomatic meaning entails suppression of contextually inappropriate, literal meanings of idiom constituent words. While embedding idioms in the rich disambiguating context can promote earlier suppression of incompatible literal meanings, idioms embedded in the neutral context, favoring neither their literal nor figurative reading, are likely to become disambiguated much later in the course of their comprehension. The study reported in this paper investigates the role of context in suppressing irrelevant, literal meanings of idioms in the course of their processing by Polish proficient speakers of English. Ambiguous (literally plausible) English idioms were embedded in sentences which were either neutral (i.e., did not bias either the literal or figurative reading of the idiom, e.g., There was no need to add fuel to the fire) or figurative-biased (e.g., The chairman is in a bad mood so do not say anything, as this will only add fuel to the fire) and followed by targets related literally (e.g., HEAT) or figuratively (e.g., WORSE) to idiom meanings and displayed either immediately at idiom offset (0 ms) or after 300 ms. The self-paced reading paradigm was employed, in which participants first read the idiomatic sentences at their own pace and then made a lexical decision, i.e., decided if the displayed target string is a legitimate English word or not. Context was shown to play an important role in suppressing irrelevant meanings, but its effects were modulated by salience (prominence) of idioms’ literal meanings as well as the time that elapsed from the end of the sentence to the display of the target stimulus.Item Foreign language anxiety and self-perceived English pronunciation competence(Zakład Filologii Angielskiej: Wydział Pedagogiczno-Artystyczny Uniwersytetu im. Adama Mickiewicza w Kaliszu, 2011) Szyszka, MagdalenaIn foreign language learning a negative correlation has been reported between language anxiety and both oral performance (Liu, 2006; Stephenson Wilson, 2006; Woodrow 2006) and self-perceived levels of speaking ability (Kitano, 2001; MacIntyre, Noels, & Clement, 1997; Piechurska-Kuciel, 2008). However, little is known about the relationship between language anxiety and the way students perceive their own competence regarding one of the integral components of oral performance – pronunciation. The present study is an attempt to investigate the link between foreign language anxiety and the self-perceived levels of pronunciation of 48 teacher training college students, who study English as a foreign language. A negative correlation, r = -.54 (p < .05), was found between the level of their language anxiety and self-perceived English pronunciation competence, indicating that more apprehensive teacher trainees perceived their pronunciation as poor, whereas those with lower levels of anxiety declared higher pronunciation competence. Moreover, statistically significant negative correlations were noted between the levels of anxiety and self-perceived competences of several suprasegmental aspects of pronunciation, such as word pronunciation, stress, weak forms, rhythm, linking, and assimilation. The teacher trainees who rated their competence of these suprasegmentals more highly experienced lower levels of foreign language anxiety. The perception of segmentals, however, appeared to be unconnected with the participants’ anxiety.Item Acculturation strategy and language experience in expert ESL speakers: An exploratory study(Zakład Filologii Angielskiej: Wydział Pedagogiczno-Artystyczny Uniwersytetu im. Adama Mickiewicza w Kaliszu, 2011) Waniek-Klimczak, EwaAcculturation and language proficiency have been found to be inter-related both from the perspective of second language acquisition (Schumann, 1978, 1986) and socio-psychological adaptation in cross-cultural contacts (Ward, Bochner, & Furnham, 2001). However, the predictions as to the effect of a particular strategy on success differ, with assimilation believed to create most favourable conditions for SLA and integration for general well-being. The present study explores acculturation patterns in three expert users of English as a second language, recent Polish immigrants to the UK, in relation to their language experience. The qualitative data were collected with the use of a questionnaire and analysed with respect to language experience and socioaffective factors. The analysis aimed at better understanding of the relationship between language learning in a formal context and language use in a natural setting on the one hand and the relationship between language expertise and acculturation strategy choice on the other. The results show that in spite of individual differences, expert language users tend to adopt an assimilation rather than integration acculturation strategy. This may suggest that attitudes are related to expertise in English as a second language in a more conservative way than advocated by cross-cultural approaches.Item L2 willingness to communicate (WTC) and international posture in the Polish educational context(Zakład Filologii Angielskiej: Wydział Pedagogiczno-Artystyczny Uniwersytetu im. Adama Mickiewicza w Kaliszu, 2011) Mystkowska-Wiertelak, Anna; Pietrzykowska, AgnieszkaSpeaking, the language skill whose mastering appears to be the ultimate aim of every attempt at learning a foreign language, constitutes a formidable challenge. Apart from involving the online interaction of complex processes of conceptualization, formulation, articulation and monitoring (Levelt, 1989), it appears prone to numerous psychological and social influences that, being difficult to control, may consistently hinder development. One of such factors, closely related to the concept of anxiety, is L2 willingness to communicate (WTC), called “the most immediate determinant of L2 use” (Clement, Baker, & MacIntyre, 2003, p. 191). Perceived as either a personality trait or/and a context-related feature, WTC seems capable of accounting for a person’s first and second language communication. Interestingly it can be related to the learner’s disposition towards the target language culture, general interest in international affairs, willingness to travel and sustain contacts with speakers of other languages, which, defined as international posture (Yashima, 2002), serves as a strong predictor of success in language learning. The present paper reports the results of a survey conducted among 111 students of English, in the majority prospect teachers of English. The aim was to establish the degree of correlation between their international posture and WTC. The results do not corroborate the outcomes of other studies performed in the field (cf. Yashima, 2002, 2009), which might point to the unique characteristics of the Polish educational context.Item Understanding CLIL as an innovation(Zakład Filologii Angielskiej: Wydział Pedagogiczno-Artystyczny Uniwersytetu im. Adama Mickiewicza w Kaliszu, 2011) Kiely, RichardContent and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) initiatives in schools have become widespread across Europe and beyond in the last decade or so. Drivers for this include the role of English as the language of international economic activity, media and culture, belief in the value of early start and meaning-focussed instruction in foreign language learning, and a policy posi-tion which promotes a multilingual Europe. In many contexts, CLIL initiatives are local: teachers and educational leaders with assistance from teacher ed-ucators and experts in universities establish programmes, which are then shaped by available resources, human and material. While the commitment, enthusiasm and energy for CLIL at classroom and school levels are essential requirements for educational innovation, they may not, in the longer term be enough for sustainability and ongoing development. This paper examines the implementation of CLIL as an innovation and identifies some issues where wider policy support and coordination may be useful. It draws on the findings of an evaluation study of a CLIL project implemented in four coun-tries, and identifies issues and ways forward for an effective strategy for CLIL in terms of foreign language learning, subject learning, and positive learning experiences for every child.Item Second language writing anxiety, computer anxiety, and performance in a classroom versus a web-based environment(Zakład Filologii Angielskiej: Wydział Pedagogiczno-Artystyczny Uniwersytetu im. Adama Mickiewicza w Kaliszu, 2011) Dracopoulos, Effie; Pichette, FrançoisThis study examined the impact of writing anxiety and computer anxiety on language learning for 45 ESL adult learners enrolled in an English grammar and writing course. Two sections of the course were offered in a traditional classroom setting whereas two others were given in a hybrid form that in-volved distance learning. Contrary to previous research, writing anxiety showed no correlation with learning performance, whereas computer anxie-ty only yielded a positive correlation with performance in the case of class-room learners. There were no significant differences across learning envi-ronments on any measures. These observations are discussed in light of the role computer technologies now play in our society as well as the merging of socio-demographic profiles between classroom and distance learners. Our data suggest that comparisons of profiles between classroom and distance learners may not be an issue worth investigating anymore in language stud-ies, at least in developed countries.Item “They can achieve their aims without native skills in the field of work or studies”: Hungarian students’ views on English as a lingua franca(Zakład Filologii Angielskiej: Wydział Pedagogiczno-Artystyczny Uniwersytetu im. Adama Mickiewicza w Kaliszu, 2011) Kontra, Edit H.; Csizér, KataDespite the fact that there is a growing body of research on the characteris-tics and use of English as a lingua franca (ELF) in Europe, there are relatively few studies aimed at investigating the ways in which language learners voice their opinions about ELF and how they see ELF impacting their own learning. Therefore, the aim of the present study is to find out what English language majors (and ELF users) think about ELF. In order to get an insiders’ perspec-tive on the issue, 250 one-paragraph argumentative essays on the necessity of learning to speak like a native or using ELF were analyzed for their con-tent. The main results show the investigated sample’s predictable though not unanimous preference for prestigious native varieties. More pertinent to this article is that in spite of this preference the students demonstrate a definite awareness of ELF expressed in a large number of statements ac-knowledging the worldwide importance of knowing English and that today English is used by far more non-native than native speakers of the language. Though not all our research participants favor the use of ELF, many of them see it as a necessity.Item Using tracking software for writing instruction(Zakład Filologii Angielskiej: Wydział Pedagogiczno-Artystyczny Uniwersytetu im. Adama Mickiewicza w Kaliszu, 2011) Yagi, Sane M.; Al-Salman, Salehis what is often evaluated in the context of language teaching, the process of giving thought to linguistic form is fascinating. For almost forty years, language teachers have found it more effective to help learners in the writing process than in the written product; it is there that they could find sources of writing problems. Despite all controversy evoked by post-process approaches with respect to process writing, information technology has lately offered tools that can shed new light on how writing takes place. Software that can record keyboard, mouse, and screen activities is capable of unraveling mysteries of the writing process. Technology has given teachers and learners the option of examining the writing process as it unfolds, enabling them to diagnose strategy as well as wording problems, thus empowering teachers to guide learners individually in how to think about each of their trouble spots in the context of a specific product of writing. With these advances in information technology, metacognitive awareness and strategy training begin to acquire new dimensions of meaning. Technology lays open aspects of the writing process, offering unprecedented insight into creative text production as well. This paper attempts to explain how tracking software can influence writing instruction. It briefly examines the process and post-process approaches to assess their viability, explains the concept of tracking software, proposes methodology needed for the adoption of this technology, and then discusses the pedagogical implications of these issues.Item Native-speaker and English as a lingua franca pronunciation norms: English majors’ views(Zakład Filologii Angielskiej: Wydział Pedagogiczno-Artystyczny Uniwersytetu im. Adama Mickiewicza w Kaliszu, 2011) Wach, AleksandraWithin the communicative approach to English as a foreign language (EFL)teaching, the aims of instruction are primarily to enable learners to communicate; hence, functional and communicative intelligibility has become the goal of pronunciation training. On the other hand, contemporary approaches to EFL teaching leave sufficient room for accommodating the individual learner and contextual factors which largely influence the choice of the target pronunciation models. Moreover, in a globalized world, where English has become a contemporary lingua franca for intercultural communication, the pronunciation norms of English as a Lingua Franca (ELF) appear to meet the needs and expectations of learners of English in international settings, coexisting with or replacing nativespeaker pronunciation models as the target of instruction. The ELF approach and the Lingua Franca Core elaborated by Jenkins (2000, 2002) have aroused controversy among both researchers and EFL teachers. The paper presents the findings of a questionnaire study involving 234 Polish students, English majors, which aimed to determine their preferences and opinions concerning nativespeaker and ELF norms as pronunciation instruction targets. The findings revealed a strong preference for native-like pronunciation models in the subjects’ own language development and a less strong preference for such models in pronunciation teaching at all levels of proficiency. Moreover, the results pointed to the significant role played by the intensity of pronunciation training and the level of awareness of native-speaker pronunciation models in shaping the subjects’ attitudes toward native-like and ELF pronunciation norms.Item The self as a complex dynamic system(Zakład Filologii Angielskiej Wydział Pedagogiczno-Artystyczny Uniwersytetu im. Adama Mickiewicza w Kaliszu, 2011) Mercer, SarahThis article explores the potential offered by complexity theories for under-standing language learners’ sense of self and attempts to show how the self might usefully be conceived of as a complex dynamic system. Rather than presenting empirical findings, the article discusses existent research on the self and aims at outlining a conceptual perspective that may inform future studies into the self and possibly other individual learner differences. The article concludes by critically considering the merits of a complexity perspective but also reflecting on the challenges it poses for research.Item Book review(Zakład Filologii Angielskiej: Wydział Pedagogiczno-Artystyczny Uniwersytetu im. Adama Mickiewicza w Kaliszu, 2011-04) Killick, SteveItem Notes on Contributors(Zakład Filologii Angielskiej: Wydział Pedagogiczno-Artystyczny Uniwersytetu im. Adama Mickiewicza w Kaliszu, 2011-04)Item Notes on Contributors(Zakład Filologii Angielskiej: Wydział Pedagogiczno-Artystyczny Uniwersytetu im. Adama Mickiewicza w Kaliszu, 2011-04)Item Editorial(Zakład Filologii Angielskiej: Wydział Pedagogiczno-Artystyczny Uniwersytetu im. Adama Mickiewicza w Kaliszu, 2011-04) Pawlak, MirosławItem Editorial(Zakład Filologii Angielskiej: Wydział Pedagogiczno-Artystyczny Uniwersytetu im. Adama Mickiewicza w Kaliszu, 2011-04) Pawlak, MirosławItem Correcting students’ written grammatical errors: The effects of negotiated versus nonnegotiated feedback(Zakład Filologii Angielskiej: Wydział Pedagogiczno-Artystyczny Uniwersytetu im. Adama Mickiewicza w Kaliszu, 2011-10) Nassaji, HosseinA substantial number of studies have examined the effects of grammar correction on second language (L2) written errors. However, most of the existing research has involved unidirectional written feedback. This classroom-based study examined the effects of oral negotiation in addressing L2 written errors. Data were collected in two intermediate adult English as a second language classes. Three types of feedback were compared: nonnegotiated direct reformulation, feedback with limited negotiation (i.e., prompt + reformulation) and feedback with negotiation. The linguistic targets chosen were the two most common grammatical errors in English: articles and prepositions. The effects of feedback were measured by means of learner-specific error identification/correction tasks administered three days, and again ten days, after the treatment. The results showed an overall advantage for feedback that involved negotiation. However, a comparison of data per error types showed that the differential effects of feedback types were mainly apparent for article errors rather than preposition errors. These results suggest that while negotiated feedback may play an important role in addressing L2 written errors, the degree of its effects may differ for different linguistic targets.