1. Applied Linguistics (Language Teaching and Learning)
Elizabeth Maria Kissling
Abstract
Concept-Based Language Instruction (C-BLI) is rooted in Vygotskian sociocultural theories (SCT) of learning and modeled after Systemic Theoretical Instruction. Investigations of C-BLI have reported positive instructional outcomes such as increased conceptual awareness and control for a variety of targeted ...
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Concept-Based Language Instruction (C-BLI) is rooted in Vygotskian sociocultural theories (SCT) of learning and modeled after Systemic Theoretical Instruction. Investigations of C-BLI have reported positive instructional outcomes such as increased conceptual awareness and control for a variety of targeted concepts in a variety of languages, including aspect in Spanish. This study followed suit, by exposing novice Spanish learners (n = 26) to the concept of viewpoint aspect as a matter of boundedness. It also directly tested the learners’ ability to form nonprototypical associations between preterite-imperfect morphology and lexical aspectual categories, which is the kind of learner development most of interest to scholars working in semantic theoretical perspectives outside of SCT such as the Aspect Hypothesis (AH). Comparisons with corpus data (n = 75) suggested that the C-BLI learners were able to use the Spanish preterite and imperfect non-prototypically, more like advanced learners than novices. The results suggest that C-BLI can facilitate aspectual development applied to disassociating viewpoint aspect from lexical aspect. It is argued that C-BLI and other approaches rooted in SCT principles could be enriched by engaging with new ways of examining learner development, and thereby perhaps garner the interest of scholars working outside of SCT. It is further argued that research on the AH could be enriched by considering data that elucidates effects of specific instructional approaches.
1. Applied Linguistics (Language Teaching and Learning)
Behrooz Marzban; Seyyed Mohammad Reza Adel; Ahmad Reza Eghtesadi; Mahmood Elyasi
Abstract
This study intended to investigate the effect of identity types on learners’ involvement, perceptions, and achievement scores using the validated L2 Quadripolar Questionnaire (Taylor, 2010), in the EFL context of Iran amongst the adult advanced learners of English in private institutions. Therefore, ...
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This study intended to investigate the effect of identity types on learners’ involvement, perceptions, and achievement scores using the validated L2 Quadripolar Questionnaire (Taylor, 2010), in the EFL context of Iran amongst the adult advanced learners of English in private institutions. Therefore, 170 participants, 69 females and 101 males were selected through convenience sampling. The data were analyzed using multivariate analysis of variance. The analysis of the relationship between the four main sub-constructs of the model and the two sub-constructs of involvement and perception showed significant mediation between the factors and achievement score of the language learners. Moreover, the finding of the study revealed that learners with strong public and imposed selves have a weak private self. Also, the other sub-constructs were determined to be affected by age and years of studying English. Females’ identity was dominantly reported to have higher ties with the sub-constructs of the L2 Quadripolar Model.
1. Applied Linguistics (Language Teaching and Learning)
Javad Gholami; Mahsa Alinasab; Saeed Ayiewbey; Mohammad Nasimfar
Abstract
Nowadays, studying in higher education is not as uncomplicated as it seems to be, particularly in PhD programs. Given the complex interplay of multiple variables affecting one’s experience in such programs, there is a mounting need for probing more into the ways in which PhD students’ lives ...
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Nowadays, studying in higher education is not as uncomplicated as it seems to be, particularly in PhD programs. Given the complex interplay of multiple variables affecting one’s experience in such programs, there is a mounting need for probing more into the ways in which PhD students’ lives are affected by these factors, and how their transition trajectories emerge. The present study explored the elements which shape PhD students’ lives, and how they interact with each other. Employing an ecological model framework, this cross-sectional study investigated how present as well as graduate students’ lives were affected in different phases of the program. To this end, ten PhD students or graduates of Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL), representing early, mid, and completion phases of the program, were interviewed to qualitatively elicit the views they harbor toward the program. The findings emanating from the content analysis of the interview transcripts revealed that multiple factors in tandem mold students’ perceptions of the program. The most notable extracted themes embraced dissatisfaction with academic procedures, satisfaction with university professors, and challenges related to the students’ private lives.
