Language Teaching Research最新文献

{"title":"Beyond pleasantries: University teachers’ responses to students’ favor-asking in asynchronous online communication","authors":"Mostafa Morady Moghaddam, Neil Murray","doi":"10.1177/13621688241306165","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/13621688241306165","url":null,"abstract":"This study investigates the intricate dynamics of student–faculty interactions in asynchronous online communication, focusing in particular on professors’ responses to non-native English-speaking students’ (NNSs’) favor-asking during online exchanges. Through qualitative analysis of email exchanges, this research examines how students articulate their concerns and requests for grade reassessment, and how professors respond to such instances of favor-asking. This study indicates that politeness is a more critical issue in asynchronous email communication than whe face-to-face interactions. The findings reveal that students often challenge professors’ authority by questioning assessment fairness, whereas professors employ disaffiliative strategies to maintain academic rigor and uphold their authority. This study highlights the role of cultural norms and politeness strategies in shaping these interactions, suggesting that a lack of awareness regarding these norms can lead to misunderstanding and escalate tensions. Furthermore, this research underscores the necessity of teaching pragmatic communication skills to non-native speakers to enhance their engagement and effectiveness in academic discourse. This study illuminates the complexities of these exchanges, this study contributes to a deeper understanding of the challenges faced by both students and faculty in the context of assessment and communication in higher education.","PeriodicalId":47852,"journal":{"name":"Language Teaching Research","volume":"12 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.2,"publicationDate":"2024-12-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142884401","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Creating and evaluating corpus-informed word lists for adolescent, beginner-to-low-intermediate learners of French, German, and Spanish","authors":"Natalie Finlayson, Emma Marsden, Rachel Hawkes","doi":"10.1177/13621688241288877","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/13621688241288877","url":null,"abstract":"This study explores some of the implications of policy changes relating to the composition and use of word lists for French, German, and Spanish as foreign languages in secondary schools in England. Against the backdrop of literature relating to word list creation and use, we review requirements for the vocabulary content of high-stakes examinations in these languages under current and new policy, and describe the methodological steps we took in collaboration with teachers and members of an awarding organization to create corpus-informed lists for adolescent, beginner-to-low-intermediate learners based on frequency, word-topic relatedness, and teacher judgments of usefulness, relevance and difficulty. Under current policy, awarding organizations provide educators with non-mandatory, topic-driven word lists structured around pre-determined themes. We analyse the content of lists compiled using each approach (corpus-informed or topic-driven) and examine their lexical coverage of four corpora designed to represent potential learning goals of adolescents: passing exams, further study, reading and discussing young adult literature, and engaging with web content. Despite being 36%–44% (foundation tier) and 11%–21% (higher tier) shorter, the new lists cover an average 11% (foundation tier) and 18% (higher tier) more of every corpus. Our further analyses suggest that these stark results can be attributed to (1) the nature of the content (rather than function) words, (2) negligible coverage benefits from multiword phrases on the current lists, and (3) a more balanced part-of-speech distribution in the new lists. Some of our methods were used by awarding organizations in England to develop accredited lists for the new examinations. Those lists share large numbers of lexical items with the lists reported here, suggesting that our findings have immediate implications for secondary school foreign language education in England. More generally, we demonstrate a replicable approach to developing short lists with high coverage, suggest some pedagogical applications, and discuss how our methods could be adapted for other contexts.","PeriodicalId":47852,"journal":{"name":"Language Teaching Research","volume":"67 4 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.2,"publicationDate":"2024-12-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142879967","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Investigating EFL teachers’ use of generative AI to develop reading materials: A practice and perception study","authors":"Jieting Jerry Xin","doi":"10.1177/13621688241303321","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/13621688241303321","url":null,"abstract":"Generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools have shown great potential for assisting teachers in their teaching routines. However, there is an urgent need for more empirical research to investigate the implementation and effectiveness of these tools. This study aimed to explore how teachers in an English as a foreign language (EFL) context perceived and used a generative AI-based tool, ChatPDF, to develop materials for reading lessons. Data were collected from three EFL teachers’ dialogues with ChatPDF, artefacts (including original and finalized materials), and individual semi-structured interviews. Content analysis was used to analyse the dialogues with ChatPDF through the lens of pedagogical content knowledge. The interviews were analysed thematically, and the artefacts were used for triangulation. The findings show that the teachers mainly used ChatPDF for text modification, task design, and pedagogical suggestions. The teachers relied on their knowledge of pedagogy, knowledge of students, and teacher language awareness during the process of developing language-learning materials with ChatPDF. The findings revealed a ‘D-R-E-A-M’ pattern of teachers’ use of ChatPDF for materials development (determine the needs, render the prompts, evaluate the suggestions, adjust the prompts if necessary, and make the final decision). The teachers acknowledged several advantages and limitations of using ChatPDF to develop materials. The results of this study have pedagogical implications for EFL teachers regarding how to make better use of generative AI tools for materials development, as well as for teacher educators regarding what to include in teacher professional development programmes in the era of generative AI.","PeriodicalId":47852,"journal":{"name":"Language Teaching Research","volume":"86 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.2,"publicationDate":"2024-12-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142884402","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Analysing the use of particle verbs in German as a foreign language: Unproductive particle separation and a proposal for a data-driven learning intervention","authors":"Daniel Jach, Jing Zeng","doi":"10.1177/13621688241300399","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/13621688241300399","url":null,"abstract":"This study addresses the long-observed phenomenon of foreign language learners avoiding particle verbs from a novel perspective. Departing from the decades-old debate about the uncertain grammatical status of particle verbs, recent studies have proposed to reconceptualize particle verbs not as words or phrases but as constructions. Constructions are holistic form–meaning representations of usage regularities, which emerge from lexical patterns in language use. In accordance with this understanding, we analyse the use of particle verbs in a corpus of native and non-native German and compare lexical distributions across speaker groups, proficiency levels, and linguistic contexts. Of particular importance is the comparison of contexts of joint particle–verb conjunction (e.g. an-lächeln ‘to smile at’) with those of syntactic particle separation (e.g. lächelt an ‘smiles at’), as these contexts appear to be primarily responsible for learning difficulties and avoidance behaviors. Our findings reveal that contexts of particle separation tend to be lexically sparse and formulaic, contrasting with the more lexically diverse joint contexts. We argue that the joint construction emerges as the default for particle verb usage, ‘crowding out’ the less productive separate construction which becomes confined to specific lexical contexts in non-native language use. Building upon these findings, we use corpus material to develop data-driven learning activities that aim to prevent learners from becoming entrenched in fossilized lexical patterns and to facilitate the acquisition of productive constructions.","PeriodicalId":47852,"journal":{"name":"Language Teaching Research","volume":"119 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.2,"publicationDate":"2024-12-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142869851","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Learners’ perceptions of corrective feedback during written telecollaboration","authors":"Lieselotte Sippel, Ines A. Martin","doi":"10.1177/13621688241298741","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/13621688241298741","url":null,"abstract":"This study examined learners’ perceptions of telecollaboration, specifically an email exchange between learners in the US and Germany, and of peer and teacher corrective feedback (CF) during the exchange. Participants were 38 learners from a second-semester German course at a US university. Their virtual exchange partners were learners of English at a German high school. Learners were assigned to a telecollaboration + peer feedback (PeerF) condition ( N = 15), a telecollaboration + teacher feedback (TeacherF) condition ( N = 10), or a telecollaboration-only (Control) condition ( N = 13). Each week, they sent one email in German and one email in English to their partners. While the PeerF Group received CF on their emails from their partners, the TeacherF Group received feedback from their instructor, and the Control Group did not receive feedback. Quantitative and qualitative data from a survey and semi-structured interviews indicated that all learners strongly believed in both the effectiveness of telecollaboration and CF during telecollaboration. However, learners in the TeacherF Group found telecollaboration significantly less enjoyable than learners in the PeerF Group. Moreover, learners in both feedback groups favored receiving CF from an email partner over CF from a teacher. Pedagogical implications of these findings are discussed.","PeriodicalId":47852,"journal":{"name":"Language Teaching Research","volume":"21 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.2,"publicationDate":"2024-12-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142804609","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Notes on Contributors","authors":"","doi":"10.1177/13621688241304922","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/13621688241304922","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":47852,"journal":{"name":"Language Teaching Research","volume":"9 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.2,"publicationDate":"2024-12-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142789919","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"(L2) grit, emotions, and motivated learning behavior: The case of English majors in Hungary","authors":"Kata Csizér, Mirosław Pawlak, Ágnes Albert, Mariusz Kruk","doi":"10.1177/13621688241296857","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/13621688241296857","url":null,"abstract":"Although the number of studies into grit in second/foreign language (L2) learning is on the rise, available empirical evidence is still scant, particularly in relation to links between the two facets of (L2) grit (i.e. perseverance and interest), positive (i.e. enjoyment, curiosity) and negative (i.e. in-class and after-class boredom, anxiety) emotions as well as motivation. In addition, most research has been quantitative in nature and has mainly targeted Asian contexts. In order to fill these gaps, a mixed-methods study was undertaken among English majors and English student teachers in Hungary. It aimed to: (1) characterize the participants in terms of the variables under investigation, (2) identify their profiles in relation to general grit and L2 grit, and (3) determine the differences between the identified clusters with respect to different emotions and motivation. Quantitative data were collected from 331 students by means of a composite questionnaire while semi-structured interviews with nine participants were employed to gather qualitative data. Among other things, cluster analysis allowed identification of four distinct groups of participants while analysis of variance indicated that, overall, higher levels of (L2) grit were accompanied by higher levels of positive emotions and motivated behavior, and lower levels of negative emotions. Content analysis of the interview data, however, testified to the complexity of (L2) grit, its potential malleability, complex interactions with other variables, and context-dependence.","PeriodicalId":47852,"journal":{"name":"Language Teaching Research","volume":"27 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.2,"publicationDate":"2024-12-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142789887","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Introduction to the special issue: Challenges and practices to advance sustainable and inclusive practitioner research","authors":"Assia Slimani-Rolls, Cori Crane, Judith Hanks, Ines Kayon de Miller","doi":"10.1177/13621688241293155","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/13621688241293155","url":null,"abstract":"This introduction to Language Teaching Research’s Special Issue “Challenges and Practices to Advance Sustainable and Inclusive Practitioner Research” introduces readers to central themes and issues surrounding inclusive and sustainable Practitioner Research (PR). Three traditions that foreground practitioners as active agents (Action Research, Exploratory Practice, Reflective Practice) are discussed, providing initial context. The article considers the value that teachers, learners, and teacher educators bring to research as practitioners with agency. Empowering practitioners in agenda-setting and supporting the practice and dissemination of practitioners researching their own classrooms and instructional environments, the authors argue, are vital for the fields of Applied Linguistics, English for Academic Purposes, and Language Education. The discussion highlights two central and intertwined tenets of PR work that feature in the articles of the special issue: inclusivity of students in the learning, teaching, and research processes, and sustainability fostered through supportive communities and the use of familiar pedagogic activities to sustain teachers’ investigative efforts. The four authors bring their unique perspectives as editors, authors, and practitioners to the discussions, providing an overview of the novel conceptual and empirical work undertaken in different parts of the world. We conclude that although inclusivity in PR may be hard to achieve, it is a goal worth striving for, with rich contributions for the field.","PeriodicalId":47852,"journal":{"name":"Language Teaching Research","volume":"37 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.2,"publicationDate":"2024-11-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142753626","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Understanding teachers’ perspectives: A qualitative study on non-specialist early foreign language teachers’ educational and curricular needs","authors":"Katharina Ghamarian, Pia Resnik, Silvia Rieder-Marschallinger, Marie-Theres Gruber, Silvia Lasnik","doi":"10.1177/13621688241293376","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/13621688241293376","url":null,"abstract":"Reflecting the increased importance of early English foreign language education globally, Austrian primary English as a foreign language (EFL) education has recently been substantially reformed, ‘upgrading’ EFL classes to a mandatory graded subject. With the backdrop of these imminent curricular changes, this study examined the perspectives of 27 Austrian primary school teachers from all provinces across different career phases concerning their educational and curricular needs and prerequisites in terms of teacher education and curricular provisions. By using semi-structured interviews, data was collected and critically examined through qualitative content analysis. This revealed that primary school teachers value foreign language (FL) focused training at tertiary level, yet they wish for more instruction, particularly regarding their own language skills, but also in terms of teaching methodology. Moreover, the majority of practitioners did not feel adequately prepared to assess primary learners’ FL skills and seemed generally sceptical towards formal assessment at primary school level, fearing that especially summative assessment would be detrimental to the students’ FL development. While the context of this study might be unique, these results can be compared to a wider international context, considering that many school systems introduce FL instruction more intensively and with increasing educational standardization. Finally, the results of this study also offer insights into how teacher education might need to adjust.","PeriodicalId":47852,"journal":{"name":"Language Teaching Research","volume":"180 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.2,"publicationDate":"2024-11-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142684209","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Stage directions: Evidence-based professional development in improvisational drama for foreign language teachers","authors":"Kristina Goodnight, Catherine van Beuningen, Rick de Graaff","doi":"10.1177/13621688241292319","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/13621688241292319","url":null,"abstract":"A significant body of research supports the affective benefits of drama activities in foreign language (FL) learning, yet little is known about how to train teachers to implement such activities. In this study, we tested a professional development program (PDP) aimed at galvanizing FL teachers to integrate improvisational drama techniques (IDTs) into their repertoire. IDTs are defined here as activities which place pupils in a fictional situation and stimulate spoken interaction. Nineteen Dutch secondary school FL teachers participated in the PDP. The goal of this research was to discover the extent to which (1) teachers implement IDTs according to the study’s definition, (2) the techniques become integrated into the teacher’s repertoire, and (3) teachers develop the self-efficacy to execute IDTs. All three areas were met with positive results as evidenced through questionnaires, logbooks, observations and interviews. Teachers demonstrated that they could inspire the fictional artistry of drama while simultaneously stimulating FL speaking. Frequency of implementation also increased after the training. Self-efficacy furthermore improved widely, both in implementing IDTs and speaking activities in general.","PeriodicalId":47852,"journal":{"name":"Language Teaching Research","volume":"167 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.2,"publicationDate":"2024-11-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142643079","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}