Language Learning in Higher Education最新文献

{"title":"Evaluation for development: the E.A.S.Y. model for empowering actors and stakeholders in curriculum development","authors":"Susanna Kohonen, Jonna Kosonen, Sinikka Kettunen","doi":"10.1515/cercles-2021-2018","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/cercles-2021-2018","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract This report will discuss the process of evaluation for development in a collaborative project that integrated teaching between the Language Centre and the Law School at the University of Eastern Finland. The focus of this report will be on a model the authors devised for the purposes of developing teaching, called E.A.S.Y, Empowering Actors, Stakeholders and You (in Finnish: kehitysriihi), with its Nutshell Poster. The interactive and participatory model draws on the principles of evaluation for development instead of evaluation of development, steering away from the emphasis on making judgments, and exemplifies a novel, resource-efficient method for curriculum development in higher education in a manner that facilitates agency and implements the principles of a learning organisation. The authors propose that the model, albeit in the example project used within the context of Higher Education, could be widely adapted into other contexts, too.","PeriodicalId":53966,"journal":{"name":"Language Learning in Higher Education","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.5,"publicationDate":"2021-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41686792","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":"Personality traits as predictors of language learner engagement","authors":"Tanja Angelovska, Sarah Mercer, Kyle Talbot","doi":"10.1515/cercles-2021-2026","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/cercles-2021-2026","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Engagement is seen as a highly desirable outcome and process contributing to successful learning. In second language acquisition (SLA), we know comparatively little about the nature of engagement for learning a language, in particular the kind of individual differences in learners that account for variations in engagement. In this study, we investigate whether a relationship exists between the engagement of tertiary-level English as a Foreign Language (EFL) students and one key individual difference, student personality traits, as measured by Goldberg, Lewis R. 1992. The development of markers for the Big-Five factor structure. Psychological Assessment 4(1). 26–42, Big-Five Personality Markers. Participants in this study were 154 EFL tertiary-level students from two universities in Austria. Language learning engagement (LLE) was measured using a modified version of the standardized Student Engagement Instrument (Appleton et al. 2006) adapted specifically for the tertiary-level EFL context in which this study was conducted. The study revealed that trait neuroticism and age predicted LLE and its two dimensions, the cognitive and the affective. Pedagogical implications of the study are presented and discussed.","PeriodicalId":53966,"journal":{"name":"Language Learning in Higher Education","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.5,"publicationDate":"2021-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43201372","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":"Acquiring business knowledge through Business English reading materials: pre-experience students’ perspective","authors":"Jolanta Łącka-Badura","doi":"10.1515/cercles-2021-2030","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/cercles-2021-2030","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract The paper investigates how the type of business content found in the reading materials offered by a popular Business English course book as well as the degree of the content’s relevance and usefulness, are perceived by pre-service students learning Business English as part of their university curriculum. Twelve groups of first year undergraduate students at the University of Economics in Katowice, with no prior experience of learning either Business English or the principles of business, were asked to compare pairs of texts related to three business topics: international marketing, management styles, and stock market investment. One of the texts in each pair was selected from the Student Book of the third edition of a widely used Business English course book (upper-intermediate or intermediate level), and the other, on the same topic, extracted from online repositories of business-related articles. The results of the student survey indicate that first year students, while appreciating the course book ‘real-life examples’ of successful companies, express strong preference for the Internet-based texts which provide them with the opportunity to acquire ‘basic knowledge’ related to specific business issues. The findings also appear to confirm the rationale behind integrating the two approaches: LSP (languages for specific purposes) and CBI (content-based instruction) in the tertiary education context, as well as the importance of properly selected professional content in fostering learners’ motivation and engagement.","PeriodicalId":53966,"journal":{"name":"Language Learning in Higher Education","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.5,"publicationDate":"2021-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47282068","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":"Wellbeing in language learning and teaching","authors":"C. Argondizzo, Gillian Mansfield","doi":"10.1515/cercles-2021-2034","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/cercles-2021-2034","url":null,"abstract":"It is a pleasant challenge for us to compile each issue of Language Learning in Higher Education by capturing an underlying theme in its contributions and the threads running through them. The thoughts that go through our minds for this collection of papers is, for teacher and learner alike, a sense of wellbeing and of feeling comfortable in whatever aspect of the teaching-learning continuum the author is focusing on. The papers show that researchers give voice to learners and teachers through the number of questionnaires and surveys they present and discuss in response to their research questions. These forms of investigation give space to both individual and collective testimonies that are, on the one hand, food for thought for critical reflection from which to develop future scholarly activities. On the other, giving voice to participants in a research experiment is a means of stimulating them (be they teachers or learners) into thinking critically about what they are doing, how and why they are doing it, and whether they are satisfied with the outcome. In this Issue 11.2 in which, once again, learning is considered a dynamic aspect of the language classroom, the opening paper invites readers to focus their attention on the CercleS survey on the Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on foreign language teaching in higher education carried out by Katarina Zamborová, Isabella Stefanutti and Blanka Klimová, under the coordination of Sabina Schaffner. The authors present a survey aimed at studying teachers ’ re fl ections on teaching during the pandemic and on the future of foreign language instruction in Higher Education (HE). The fi ndings, which were collected through the feedback received from several European University Language Centres, highlight the fact that the respondents were able to see the bene fi ts of a blended and hybrid mode of language instruction despite the dif fi cult worldwide conditions. In addition to the data carefully described, the paper presents implications for teaching practices that will be useful for professionals involved in the daily action of language the paper The impacts of reading strategy instruction on improving the reading comprehension of students with different learning styles by Mojtaba Tadayonifar, Mohammadreza Valizadeh, Mahnaz Entezari and Mosfata Bahraman. In fact this paper explores the short- and long-term impacts of explicit reading strategy instruction and its aim is to help students with different learning styles improve their reading comprehension. A group of Iranian learners participated in the study. The authors describe the different steps of the research study which included a pre-test, 12 weeks of explicit a model for the purposes of developing The an interactive and participatory model draws on the of for rather than evaluation of authors a","PeriodicalId":53966,"journal":{"name":"Language Learning in Higher Education","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.5,"publicationDate":"2021-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49470210","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":"Analyse des besoins en français de spécialité pour étudiants étrangers en stage professionnel en France","authors":"Hana Delalande","doi":"10.1515/cercles-2021-2028","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/cercles-2021-2028","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract In order to make teaching of French for specific purposes more effective, a needs analysis is a necessary step to determine the real needs of students who prepare to use French language at work on a regular basis. Therefore, cooperation between universities and companies or authorities active in labour market is very important. A detailed needs analysis enables us to identify various communication situations, both formal and informal, as well as the possible imperfections in students’ language competence and problematic areas typical for work environment. This article presents results of a qualitative research on French for specific purposes and experience of Czech students during internships in France, using the Grounded Theory Method (GTM). The research sample is composed of eight Czech students of a double degree of French-Czech Public Administration diploma from Masaryk University and University of Rennes 1, and of their French tutors. In their final year of studies, the students spend a two-month internship in French public administration authorities in the city of Rennes. Throughout the internships, the researcher conducted extensive individual interviews. Based on the findings of a thorough and detailed analysis, problematic areas and needs of language and intercultural competence development are identified. The author suggests topics to be integrated in French for specific purposes courses or a new course of an international mobility preparation.","PeriodicalId":53966,"journal":{"name":"Language Learning in Higher Education","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.5,"publicationDate":"2021-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47213981","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":"Translingual transcultural competence: student agency, teacher guidance, and program support","authors":"C. Kunschak","doi":"10.1515/cercles-2021-2029","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/cercles-2021-2029","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract An increasingly interconnected world requires people to become versatile communicators in a variety of different settings. Language centers have a critical role to play in this process by offering language and culture training in multiple languages to students, professionals and the wider community alike. They may do so from the perspective of developing plurilingual pluricultural competence, translingual transcultural competence or intercultural communicative competence and intercultural citizenship. This paper takes as its framework translingual transcultural competence, which not only reflects the current trend of transnationalism and diasporic communities, but also emphasizes the need to be critically aware, culturally reflective and socially sensitive. In order to better understand affordances and challenges in developing this competence, or set of competences, the author surveyed and interviewed students and teachers at one university-affiliated language center offering 30 languages besides German as the main language of study. Students at all proficiency levels as well as native and non-native teachers of the language taught were included in the study. Whereas the student survey investigated awareness and attitude, identity and community as well as the autonomy and agency of students in the program, teacher interviews provided insights into program parameters, classroom pedagogy and out-of-class projects. Findings from the study indicate a strong foundation in multicompetence thinking with some challenges in developing the transcultural component.","PeriodicalId":53966,"journal":{"name":"Language Learning in Higher Education","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.5,"publicationDate":"2021-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45479452","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":"Shifting towards the action-oriented approach in Higher Education: language learners’ perceptions","authors":"Evelina Jaleniauskiene","doi":"10.1515/cercles-2021-2031","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/cercles-2021-2031","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract In the updated version of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: Learning, Teaching, Assessment – Companion Volume (Council of Europe 2020), the Action-Oriented Approach is highlighted as the most viable approach for learning languages. The present study explored students’ reflections on the collaborative project based on this approach. The project was offered to the learners at a tertiary level during a course of English (C1 level). Analysis of the data revealed that the project appeared to be useful for the development of both general and communicative language competences. Although collaboration was indicated among the most satisfactory aspects, the learners also experienced the most difficulties with it. Despite the finding that most students considered such a project to be of acceptable difficulty, their level of satisfaction differed significantly. The results point to some potential challenges while shifting to the Action-Oriented Approach as a more active language learning approach. Not all students may be ready for the new type of language learning which requires higher levels of cognitive effort and more collaboration in comparison to traditional language classes. As this approach marks a significant turn in language education, it is anticipated that both the detailed presentation of the project and students’ reflections on it will help to increase the awareness of other language educators seeking to design quality action-based projects.","PeriodicalId":53966,"journal":{"name":"Language Learning in Higher Education","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.5,"publicationDate":"2021-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45277007","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":"Investigating teaching assistants’ participation in a simulated meeting in a United States University English course","authors":"Justin E. Freedman, Benjamin Dotger, Denis Samburskiy","doi":"10.1515/cercles-2021-2025","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/cercles-2021-2025","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract In countries such as the United States and Canada, an increasing number of non-native English speaking graduate students work in the capacity of university teaching assistants. Over the past several decades, a number of communication challenges between non-native English speaking International Teaching Assistants (ITAs) and native English-speaking undergraduate students have emerged. Universities have responded by developing ITA education programs that aim to teach English for the specific purpose of university teaching. This paper examines how ITA education can provide ITAs opportunities for authentic practice and reflection of communicating in an instructional capacity. ITAs enrolled in an English course participated in a video-recorded clinical simulation – a form of situated practice in which individuals engage with an actor who is trained to interact with all participants in a consistent manner. ITAs met with an actor-portrayed undergraduate student who is visiting their teaching assistant to express concern about a group project. ITAs met in small groups following the simulated meeting to reflect on the shared experience. Qualitative analysis demonstrates that the simulated context elicited both challenges to comprehensibility and the use of strategies by students and ITAs to manage miscommunication, while working towards mutual understanding of the students’ concerns. Reflective discussions reveal how the ITAs evaluated approaches to communicating with a concerned student in an instructional context. Embedding clinical simulations in ITA education can provide opportunities for the situated practice of using language to communicate instructional decisions, and as a structured opportunity for supporting mutual understanding between ITAs and native English-speaking students.","PeriodicalId":53966,"journal":{"name":"Language Learning in Higher Education","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.5,"publicationDate":"2021-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49393909","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":"Fostering autonomy in learners with special needs: a specialized e-learning course","authors":"Lenka Tóthová, Jitka Sedláčková","doi":"10.1515/cercles-2021-2022","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/cercles-2021-2022","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract International engagement has become a priority and is regarded as a means to improve the quality of students’ education and their future social and professional success. It may, however, pose a major challenge for some higher education students. One of the vulnerable groups is that of learners with special needs, and particularly Deaf, deaf and hard of hearing students. These learners are limited in their chances to interact in spoken/written foreign languages and in the learning opportunities they can join. This, by extension, has an unfavourable impact on their possibilities of engaging in study abroad. Based on the experience with a newly launched e-learning course “Online English for International Mobilities”, the present paper discusses the need for building effective FL learning strategies in Deaf, deaf and hard of hearing students in connection with the process of academic internationalisation. The main argument is for the need to foster students’ ability to self-regulate, reduce their teacher dependency and reliance on directed learning, and to encourage them to take responsibility for their own learning. Secondly, the paper provides a comparison of two pilot runs of the course from the perspective of (online) classroom dynamics and cooperation. While the course is built to be as autonomous as possible and benefits from the advantages of the e-learning format, great importance is given to group dynamics and cooperation via discussion forums and online chats. It also takes advantage of the considerable benefits of individualized, personalized feedback being provided by teachers on selected assignments.","PeriodicalId":53966,"journal":{"name":"Language Learning in Higher Education","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.5,"publicationDate":"2021-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42484812","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":"Evaluating a collaborative and responsive project to develop language assessment literacy","authors":"Claudia Harsch, Sibylle Seyferth, Salomé Villa Larenas","doi":"10.1515/cercles-2021-2020","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/cercles-2021-2020","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract We report on research conducted during a language assessment literacy (LAL) project set up for employees at a university language centre. Teachers, students and an external accreditation body requested a revision of the end-of-course exams to increase comparability, transparency and alignment to course aims. We used a collaborative approach where stakeholders involved in test development, quality control, use and interpretation brought their experiences, skills, knowledge and needs to the table, following Taylor’s (2013) view of differentiated LAL needs for different stakeholders. The project involves teachers (varying in numbers), five course/assessment coordinators and three researchers with a background in assessment (principal researcher, two research assistants, i.e. the authors). LAL training is needs-based, participant-driven, and evaluated in regular intervals. In response to these participant evaluations, delivery, content and focus of the training are adjusted. We present insights from five evaluation points gained during the first 3 years. We found that the collaborative and responsive LAL project was perceived as useful and effective by the participants, leading to learning gains and positive changes in assessment, teaching and coordination practices. Our insights contribute to a better understanding of the conditions that are conducive to designing and delivering effective LAL development projects.","PeriodicalId":53966,"journal":{"name":"Language Learning in Higher Education","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.5,"publicationDate":"2021-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"66803069","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}