Journal of Language and Education最新文献

{"title":"Developing and Piloting a Q-sample on Chinese Language Learners’ Epistemic Beliefs","authors":"Yanyan Wang, L. Nikitina, J. Kaur, F. Furuoka","doi":"10.17323/jle.2022.13590","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.17323/jle.2022.13590","url":null,"abstract":"Background. Epistemic beliefs refer to a person’s viewpoints about the nature of knowledge and the process of knowing. A number of studies have explored language learners’ subjective views about what knowing and learning a foreign or a second language (L2) means to them personally. For the most part, these studies adopted quantitative research designs and employed self-reported questionnaires with Likert-type scales to collect the data. \u0000Purpose. This pilot study aimed to assess feasibility of adopting Q-methodology (Q) for explorations of language-related epistemic beliefs held by Chinese university students. A detailed account is given of the development of the research instrument (Q-sample); the findings from the Q-sample piloting are reported.   \u0000Methods. The newly-developed Q-sample consisting of 45 statements was tested among six students learning the English language in a university in Mainland China. The students were at a different level of the English language proficiency. The 11-point Q-sorting grid had the values ranging from -5 (“Most disagree”) to +5 (“Most agree”). To gain deeper insights into the students’ personal epistemologies, a semi-structured post Q-sorting interview was conducted with each student.   \u0000Results. The newly-developed Q-sample was found suitable for exploring language-related epistemic beliefs. Two groups of students sharing similar beliefs were distinguished. Students who clustered together to form Factor 1 held stronger viewpoints concerning certainty of knowledge; these students were at a lower English language proficiency level. The students who conglomerated on Factor 2 were at a higher level of language proficiency and they held stronger opinions relating to the authority and source of knowledge. \u0000Implications. The findings highlighted the relevance and salience of the epistemic beliefs pertaining to the process of acquiring knowledge. Further research with larger numbers of students is required to explore the role of language proficiency in shaping language learners’ personal epistemologies.","PeriodicalId":37020,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Language and Education","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2022-09-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44552867","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Changes of Meta-Representational Skills in Ageing: First Empirical Evidence on the Relation between Metalinguistic Competence and Attributions of Mental States","authors":"Federica Bianco, Ilaria Castelli, C. Belacchi","doi":"10.17323/jle.2022.13868","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.17323/jle.2022.13868","url":null,"abstract":"Background. The present paper focuses on meta-representational changes occurring in ageing by studying the decline in Definitional Competence, an ability so far little studied in this period of life. \u0000Purpose. The paper hypothesises a relation between Theory of Mind (ToM) and Definitional Competence, in a view that posits the former as a preparatory and facilitating competence for a more complex linguistic production, that is lexicographic definition. The effects of levels of education on the decline in ageing for Definitional Competence and ToM are also investigated. \u0000Methods. We recruited 24 adults (age range 21–55), 25 young-old adults (age range 60–70) and 25 old-old adults (age range 71–85) and administered them the Eyes task to measure ToM and the Co.De. Scale to assess Definitional Competence. \u0000Results. Results suggest that Definitional Competence declines earlier on than ToM, mirroring the well-known process according to which in semantic knowledge, during ageing, taxonomic relations are lost before thematic ones. Our results also show that better levels of education are associated with better performance in both our key constructs and that ToM predicts Definitional Competence, in line with our expectations. \u0000Conclusion. The paper offers one of the first systematic studies on the changes in Definitional Competence during the last phase of life and it provides theoretical insights into the relation between ToM and Definitional Competence in ageing. \u0000Implications. The paper is informative for future interventions aimed at enhancing linguistic and metalinguistic skills in ageing through the preservation of better levels of awareness and the assumption of a decentralised perspective in interpersonal communication.","PeriodicalId":37020,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Language and Education","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2022-09-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43940794","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Digital Support for Teaching Punctuation in Academic Writing in English","authors":"M. Ivanova, N. Arupova, Natalya Mekeko","doi":"10.17323/jle.2022.13608","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.17323/jle.2022.13608","url":null,"abstract":"Background. Academic writing skills are crucial to the enterprise of higher education, because much of the academic communication is in writing. As a rule, foreign language learners face different problems with vocabulary misuse, grammatical errors, spelling, capitalization, punctuation and some others when write academic texts in English. There are various technologies for solving these problems. One of them is digital support, because traditional types of academic writing instruction in the classroom are not always sufficient. \u0000Purpose. The present study researches the influence of digital support on students’ knowledge and punctuation skills in academic writing in English. \u0000Methods. The paper summarizes the results of an empirical study: training punctuation in academic writing lessons for two groups of students. The control group was applied a face-to-face and a text-book based traditional methodology. The experimental group was trained not only with a basic text-book but also with digital support. The level of knowledge and abilities in punctuation were measured with three final tests. \u0000Results. The results obtained indicate that digital support has significant didactic potential that is why it should be applied permanently in academic writing training process. \u0000 ","PeriodicalId":37020,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Language and Education","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2022-09-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45927138","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Nominal Stance in Cross-disciplinary Academic Writing of L1 and L2 Speakers in Noun + that Constructions","authors":"Ozkan Kirmizi, Gülin Dağdeviren Kırmızı","doi":"10.17323/jle.2022.12252","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.17323/jle.2022.12252","url":null,"abstract":"Background. Literature indicates that in academic writing, authors are expected to demonstrate a noticeable stance so that they can make their meaning clear. Therefore, differences between native and non-native writers along with cross-disciplinary academic writing assume great significance. \u0000Purpose. The interactional, dialogic, and reflective nature of academic writing requires writers to utilize stance-establishing tools in their writing, the most prominent ones being stance nouns. In addition, the that-clause construction plays a vital role in conveying the author’s stance. Studies that compare L1 Turkish writers of English and L1 English writers regarding academic writing are rather scarce. As such, the present paper aims to analyze L1 Turkish writers of English and L1 English writers in eight disciplines from natural and social sciences in terms of the use of stance nouns in that-clause constructions. \u0000Methods. The study employs Jiang and Hyland's (2016) functional classification model in exploring the nominal stance in cross-disciplinary writing of L1 Turkish writers of English and L1 English writers. To this end, journals with high impact in eight disciplines from social and natural sciences were scanned and a total of 320 articles were included in the corpus. The social sciences included in the present study cover applied linguistics, history, psychology, and sociology while the natural sciences cover medicine, engineering, astronomy, and biology. In total, a corpus of 2.232.164 words was formed. \u0000Results and Implications. The study found significant differences not only in terms of natural and social sciences but also in terms of L1/L2 distinction. In addition, a secondary purpose of the study was to see whether writers in social and natural sciences differed in terms of empiricist and interpretive rationality. The results indicated that writers in social sciences tended to use more status and cognition nouns, indicating that they tend to be more interpretive. With significant differences between Turkish and English writers from a cross-disciplinary perspective, the present study offers important insights into how writers weave their stance in academic writing. Moreover, the present study also confirmed that writers in social sciences, whether L1 or L2, tend to use more stance nouns compared with writers in natural sciences.","PeriodicalId":37020,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Language and Education","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2022-06-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41618845","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"An In-Depth Glimpse into Research on Academic Writing","authors":"Lilia K. Raitskaya, E. Tikhonova","doi":"10.17323/jle.2022.14586","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.17323/jle.2022.14586","url":null,"abstract":"Background. Though research on academic writing has been in focus for many years, it has been changing recently to embraces new linguistic and pedagogical aspects. The “Publish and perish” concept went global some time ago and became the measure of academic excellence and performance for universities and faculty. Subsequently, the field has widened to include issues of writing for publication, research article structured formats, rhetoric of the scholarly text, genre-specific issues. \u0000Purpose. The editorial review aims to identify and offer the emerging landscapes in academic writing as guidelines for JLE aspiring and recurrent authors. \u0000Methods. The review covers the 167 top cited publications (articles and reviews) selected from the Scopus on the basis of the inclusion criteria (published articles and reviews in the period between 2012 and 2021 in English with more than 14 citations in Social Sciences and Arts & Humanities). \u0000Results. The initial search for publications on the “academic writing” keyword brought 1,792 as of May 21, 2022.  After the inclusion criteria were applied, the list boiled down to 1,002 publications. Based on the prevailing keywords in these articles and reviews, 14 thematic clusters were formed, later increased to 15 to comply with the papers on the selected list. Then the 167 publications were distributed among the clusters, based on the keywords, and focus of the research. An in-depth analysis highlighted the popular aspects and issues within the clusters. Thus, the major directions of research were determined. The review findings contribute to better understanding of the field of AW and encourage researchers to further explore the emerging gaps and challenges in AW.  25 keywords were outlined as the most frequent in the field of academic writing. The major directions of research entail teaching and learning AW in higher education; digital issues of AW; lexical bundles and vocabulary; identity, complexity, stance, and voice; country-related research; genre issues in AW; feedback and assessment in AW; writing for publication; plagiarism and integrity; academic literacies; discourse and metadiscourse; discipline-related issues; citation issues in AW; writing a thesis; and rhetorical aspects in AW. \u0000Implications. Following the findings of the JLE editors’ review, our readers may get focused on popular and pertinent directions in their future research.","PeriodicalId":37020,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Language and Education","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2022-06-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49465127","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Exploring the Impact of Process-genre Approach on Learners’ Academic Writing and Higher Order Thinking Skills","authors":"Dian Eka Candra Wardhana","doi":"10.17323/jle.2022.12537","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.17323/jle.2022.12537","url":null,"abstract":"Background. The study of using process-genre approach that was used to increase the writing competence had been conducted by many researchers. However, the contirbution of this learning approach for HOTs aspects has not been done by many researchers, especially on learning writing Indonesian \u0000Purpose. Many studies only focused on one research approach, consequently, the finding was not quite comprehensive. Besides, to examine the effect of process-genre approach on academic writing competence and HOTs, this research also aimed to explore attitude and students’ expectation on their learning experience by using this approach. \u0000Method. The research used a sequential, mixed-method explanatory approach. Two grades were randomly chosen to enroll in the experimental class and a monitoring class of up to 52 students. The individual is a member of the Indonesian language education department who is currently taking the writing 1 course at the Bengkulu University, Indonesia. There are two instruments used in this analysis, the writing test & HOTs test for Quantitative statistics and semi-structured qualitative data interviews. The data from the writing test and the HOTs were quantitatively analysed for the paired sample t-test, the stand-alone sample t-test and the MANOVA, while the interview data were analysed using thematic analysis techniques. \u0000Results and Implications. The results have found that process-genre approach had a substantial positive effect on scholarly writing and student HOTs. Besides, thematic research also reveals that there are favorable views and expectations of students regarding the influence of the process-genre approach towards academic writing and student HOTs. This finding is iexpected to enrich knowledge about how students could enhance their writing ability and HOTs by using process-genre approach.","PeriodicalId":37020,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Language and Education","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2022-06-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44199871","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Determinants of Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) towards ICT Use for English Language Learning","authors":"U. Sulistiyo, Tubagus Zam Zam Al Arif, Reli Handayani, M. Faruq Ubaidillah, Mujiyono Wiryotinoyo","doi":"10.17323/jle.2022.12467","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.17323/jle.2022.12467","url":null,"abstract":"Background. The use of ICT in learning English can assist learners to improve their language skills, aside from empowering and motivating them in English language learning. ICT utilization can provide opportunities for collaboration and interaction in the learning process. \u0000Purpose. The present study was conducted to examine the motivation, ICT skills, equipment, and attitudes factors towards the use of ICT tools for English learning in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) context. \u0000Methods. The quantitative method was applied involving 303 pre-service teachers of English department at a state university in Jambi, Indonesia. A questionnaire was employed to collect the data and Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was used to analyze the proposed hypotheses developed in fulfilling the study objectives. Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) was used to examine the attitudes of student teachers toward the use of ICT for English language learning. \u0000Results. Findings suggested that the determinants of the technology acceptance model are the major factors influencing the usage of ICT. In addition, the effect of equipment, motivation, and ICT skills towards the use of ICT had been mediated by three main variables of TAM, namely perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, and attitudes. Furthermore, it was found that the motivation, ICT skills and attitudes factors affect the actual use of ICT for English learning while the equipment factor does not. \u0000Implications. The results of this study are beneficial for students and teachers both in schools and universities. For students, they need to equip themselves with ICT literacy, ICT skills, motivation, and positive attitudes towards the use of ICT in English learning activities. Teachers should also equip themselves with ICT skills so that they can provide learning experiences according to the needs of students in today's digital age.","PeriodicalId":37020,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Language and Education","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2022-06-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48177277","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Semantic Prosody of Research Verbs: A Corpus-Informed Study","authors":"G. Al-Otaibi","doi":"10.17323/jle.2022.12985","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.17323/jle.2022.12985","url":null,"abstract":"Background. Synonymous words behave differently, and language users should be aware of the fact that though near-synonyms share similar denotational meanings, they require different collocates. Further, with specific collocates, they provoke a special affective meaning called semantic prosody. To give an example of this problematic area, researchers use a lot of reporting verbs that merely describe an opinion such as argue, claim, believe, etc. or state facts such as find, confirm, cite, etc. Such verbs cannot be used interchangeably as some novice researchers usually do when they discuss their findings or compare their results with others'. \u0000Purpose. This study aimed at examining the semantic prosody of 24 research verbs commonly used by researchers. For this purpose, collocational behavior of nearly synonymous verbs was examined. Compared to previous studies, this study considered only adverbs co-occurring with such research verbs.    \u0000Methods. The researcher used the Directory Open Access Journals (DOAJ), which is of 2.6 billion words and 659,132 texts, and focused on predicational adverbs that end in –ly. For the purpose of the study, adverbs with positive semantic prosody are those proving a stronger attitude towards the proposition, improving the quality, quantity, manner of a piece of information or its the relation to the topic or those suggesting a higher level of certainty. \u0000Results. Investigating 24 research verbs related to hypothesizing, reporting, and summarizing, the researcher found that such verbs have different sets of collocates and thus distinct semantic prosodies. Results showed that 12 of the research verbs were positive (i.e., quantify, argue, claim, suggest, state, mention, indicate, outline, summarize, encapsulate, recapitulate, and reveal), whereas 12 verbs (i.e., hypothesize, review, conclude, presume, posit, assume, theorize, speculate, note, report, find, and postulate) were neutral. \u0000Implications. The study has its own implications for writing instructors and researchers. Novice researchers should not use some research verbs interchangeably as they require different collocates of adverbs. Further, future research should address the relationship between word's etymology and semantic prosody as the present study showed that verbs derived from Latin (e.g., conclude, hypothesize, postulate, etc.) are neutral compared to those that are originally French. ","PeriodicalId":37020,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Language and Education","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2022-06-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44989875","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The Use and Development of Lexical Bundles in Arab EFL Writing: A Corpus-driven Study","authors":"Abdulaziz Sanosi","doi":"10.17323/jle.2022.10826","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.17323/jle.2022.10826","url":null,"abstract":"Background. Lexical Bundles (LBs) have become the focus of many recent corpus linguistics studies. Research has found variable use of LBs in terms of quality and quantity pertaining to different linguistic groups or registers. Still, there is a paucity of research investigating Arab EFL writers’ use and development of such a feature. \u0000Purpose. This study investigates the 4-word LBs use and development by Arab EFL learners and expert writers in a corpus of 250000 words regarding their frequency, functions, and structure. \u0000Methods. Two corpora were compiled for Arab learners and scholars. The LB use of both groups was compared to investigate the development of LB use. Further, the Arab corpus was analysed against a native reference corpus extracted from the British Academic Written English (BAWE) corpus to compare LB use across the two corpora. \u0000Results and Implications. The results imply that there is no noticeable effect of postgraduate education or professional practice on using LBs. The other results, however, are in-line with the previous literature in that native speakers’ use of LBs varies in quantity and quality from non-natives’. The findings reveal that stance LBs are more frequent in the native corpus and that they tend to use more VP-based clausal LBs than their non-native counterparts. These findings offer empirical evidence that EFL writing quality is lower despite the current academic writing instruction they receive. They, therefore, indicate the need to foster academic writing instruction programs to include training on using LBs in learners’ writing at both Bachelor and postgraduate levels. Also, the results are expected to raise teachers’ awareness of how EFL learners use LBs to develop their writing quality and thus to adapt their teaching strategies accordingly. Moreover, Arab scholars are called to reconsider their use of effective writing techniques including LBs for more effective writing.","PeriodicalId":37020,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Language and Education","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2022-06-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41950991","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Relationships Between Language-Related Variations in Text Tasks, Reading Comprehension, and Students’ Motivation and Emotions: A Systematic Review","authors":"Lina Wirth, Poldi Kuhl, T. Ehmke","doi":"10.17323/jle.2022.13572","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.17323/jle.2022.13572","url":null,"abstract":"Background. There is consensus in research that students' motivation and emotions are important for learning and achievement processes in the educational context, as are language competencies that, related to the demands of academic language, enable participation in education. However, the interrelationships between these aspects have hardly been empirically investigated in depth. \u0000Purpose and Methods. This systematic review addresses this research need, and aims to synthesise the existing evidence on the interrelationship between motivational/emotional and language-related variables. First, the relationship between learners’ motivation and emotions, and their language competencies is considered. Second, findings on how motivation and emotion depend on language-related factors are compiled. \u0000Results. A systematic data search conducted for this purpose yields seven studies. Five studies relate to the first concern, and confirm the effects of motivational and emotional variables on reading comprehension. Emotions, in particular, emerge as strong predictors. Two studies relate to the second concern, and report significant effects of language-related variations in text tasks on students’ motivation; however, neither study considers emotions. \u0000Implications. The findings are used to derive implications for language design in the educational context and identify important research gaps.","PeriodicalId":37020,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Language and Education","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2022-06-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47110828","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}