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Socio-Cultural Factors Contributing to the Formation of the Russian Technical University Students’ Bilingual Strategies

Author(s): Elena Vladimirovna Susimenko,Elena Yurievna Litvinenko / Language(s): English Issue: 1-2/2015

The article considers the socio-cultural factors that motivate stable bilingual strategies of technical university students, necessary for their future career and employment in the new economic and social conditions in Russia. Particular attention is paid to factors such as the intensification of the modern technical university’s international activities and the formation of a cultural capital. The students’ attitudes towards the priority selection of English language are reviewed, considering instrumental and universal interests. The cited data were obtained from the empirical research conducted among students of the 4 study courses at the Platov South-Russian State Polytechnic University (NPI) during 2010-2013.

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Slušno procesiranje kod djece s jezičnim teškoćama

Author(s): Draženka Blaži,Marijana Balažinec,Helena Obučina / Language(s): English,Croatian Issue: 2/2014

Auditory processing is a system of processes that consists of active and passive noticing, following, discriminating, and continously transmitting information throughout the peripheral and central nervous system, as well as filtering, sorting, and combining the same information at the appropriate perceptive and conceptual level. Auditory processing deficit includes difficulties in interpreting speech sounds despite normal hearing abilities and regular cognitive functioning. Language impairment refers to a delay in language development and poor language skills despite regular cognitive functioning and the absence of neurological, motor, and sensory deficits. The aim of this study was to examine the auditory processing skills of language elements in children with language impairment and to compare the results with those of children with regular speech and language development, by adminstering a battery of tests for the evaluation of auditory processing deficit. Another aim was to determine differences within the group of children with language impairment in auditory processing skills considering the different types of language impairment, age, and gender of the examinees. The sample included 68 examinees ranging in age between 5,6 and 7,6 years (21 examinees with language impairment and 47 examinees with regular speech and language development) and was balanced for gender and age. The analysis of the results showed poorer auditory processing skills in examinees with language impairment. Differences corresponded to gender and type of language impairment, but did not correspond to the age of the examinees. These results suggest that there is a relation between neurological dismaturation, poorer auditory processing skills, and the development of language impairment because the most discriminative were the dichotic subtests, which can assess the functioning of neurological connections in the auditory system. Despite a probable close connection between language impairment and auditory processing deficit, we cannot claim that an auditory processing deficit alone is sufficient to cause language impairment.

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Do Foreign Language Learners Need Failures?

Author(s): Joanna Kic-Drgas / Language(s): English Issue: 1/2016

A lack of motivation, incomprehensible content and a high workload are only some of the causes leading to students’ failures in the learning process. Dealing with failures seems to have become a new core competence in the current world, which is why the definition and implementation of an appropriate strategy is essential for prospective learning results. The focus of the contribution is on the meaning of failure and sources of potential student failures in the foreign language learning at the university level. The results presented in the paper base on the survey conducted with English language students at Koszalin University of Technology. Students were asked to identify the field causing learning failures. The described survey delivers information about the sources of failures from learner’s point of view, which can be an incentive to develop and implement strategies to cope with failures in the ESP class.

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TECHNOLOGY-ASSISTED TEACHING ACTIVITIES IN AN ESAP CONTEXT: AN ECOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE

Author(s): Adina-Maria Mezei / Language(s): English Issue: 4/2024

Technology-Assisted Teaching Activities in an ESAP Context: An Ecological Perspective. The present article focuses on the design of various technology-assisted teaching activities as part of a practical English for Specific Academic Purposes (ESAP) course addressed to undergraduate students in Biology and Geology, Babeș-Bolyai University. As more and more AI-assisted tools – ‘traditional’ or generative AI (GenAI) – are becoming readily available to the general public, there is a growing pressure on educators to employ such tools in the classroom in order to foster technology-enhanced learning. I start from the idea that the ESAP teaching-learning process can benefit from the usage of such tools, even though some precautionary measures may be needed at this point. The perspective adopted draws on an ecological approach in the sense that theory and practice are viewed as intermingling in the research process (Van Lier 2010). Additionally, pedagogic decisions are taken in relation to “local realities” (Tudor 2003), such as, the targeted students’ general knowledge of English, attitudes to language learning, preferred modes of learning, relevant background knowledge and also with respect to the functionality of the digital tools examined. The central point of the envisaged activities is the bringing into play of relevant specific-subject and/or academic vocabulary. In other words, the underlying objective of these activities is to depict some contextualised vocabulary appropriate for the students in Biology (as suggested by Hyland 2007). First, I present some definitions regarding various types of vocabulary linked to the specific academic learning context, then I discuss some of the students’ expectations. Next, I illustrate several teaching activities in which digital tools are involved, evaluating some of their benefits and/or disadvantages. The tools discussed are the following: two search engines, SkELL, Sentence Stack, four instruments provided by the EAPFoundation.com website, i.e. the Vocabulary profiler & Academic word profiler (online corpus-based tools), The AWL highlighter & Gapfill maker, and ChatGPT 3.5 (gen-AI, the current freely-available version). Finally, I outline some considerations regarding the practicality of some digital learning tools.

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REFLECTIONS ON USING CHATGPT TO GENERATE ESP MATERIALS. A CASE STUDY

Author(s): Olivia Chirobocea-Tudor / Language(s): English Issue: 4/2024

Reflections on Using ChatGPT to Generate ESP Materials. A Case Study. Although artificial intelligence (AI) and its use in language teaching is not new, its more recent configurations and the launch of ChatGPT in 2022 have sparked controversies, resumed discussions about potential apocalyptic consequences and spread fears of an imminent extinction of numerous professions, including teacher. This article endeavors an exploration of the previous research on the use of ChatGPT for language teaching in general, the benefits and limitations ascertained by others who have studied the phenomenon over the past year, since the launch of the chatbot, and their conclusions as to whether language teachers are indeed in danger of extinction. The main purpose of the article, however, is to ascertain certain aspects of ChatGPT’s use for ESP, namely whether it can generate relevant results that can actually help teachers save time in creating useful, comprehensive and interesting materials using specific terminology, especially from niche fields such as horticulture, for which ready-made materials or extensive glossaries may not be available or suitable for their students. A line of questioning was developed within a case study in order to build a corpus of responses that can be used to analyze its utility in generating useful ESP materials. The findings of the study support to a large extent those of previous researchers in terms of reserve towards the reliability of the information generated. However, it also offers options and ways in which adequate prompts can lead to useful teaching materials that are generated according to the teachers’ parameters and their students’ needs.

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GAME-MODE ACTIVATED: BUILDING COMMUNITIES OF PRACTICE THROUGH DIGITAL ESCAPE ROOMS AS ESP TEACHING AND LEARNING TOOLS

Author(s): Ioana Mudure-Iacob / Language(s): English Issue: 4/2024

Game-Mode Activated: Building Communities of Practice through Digital Escape Rooms as ESP Teaching and Learning Tools. The paper aims to explore the creative potential and practical use of digital escape rooms as innovative and multimodal tools for the building of communities of practice within English for Specific Purposes education. Designed and customised for ESP courses, digital educational escape rooms can present a valuable opportunity to engage learners in an immersive, interactive, and collaborative experience meant to enhance the development of language and creative thinking skills. The study explores how the incorporation of escape rooms as ESP formative assessment may facilitate learning by allowing students to develop communities of practice based on experiential learning, by shedding light on the challenges and opportunities raised by this educational approach. It also analyses how the design and use of escape rooms as an effort to employ digital pedagogical competence can boost motivation among language learners while also creating a socio-emotional learning environment. In order to investigate the pedagogical value of escape rooms, this paper outlines the design process, the targeted learning paths, the multimodal storyline, as well as the ESP-specific content organised as puzzles, tasks, and activities embedded in the escape room. A digital escape room meant to teach and assess language, digital, and communication competences for undergraduates majoring in the Pedagogy of Preschool and Primary Education is exemplified, the study sharing results obtained from a questionnaire administered to undergraduate students based on their experience of completing digital escape room sessions. Digital escape rooms can provide impactful learning environments for a social-emotional framework of teaching ESP, while also allowing participants to bond into communities in practice where they interact by putting to test their 21st century skills.

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INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATIVE COMPETENCE: A CASE STUDY ON ACADEMIC EXCHANGE PROGRAMMES

Author(s): Raluca Pop / Language(s): English Issue: 4/2024

Intercultural Communicative Competence: A Case Study on Academic Exchange Programmes. The paper intends to identify the challenges experienced by students during their study abroad in a post-pandemic context. In addition, emphasis is placed on respondents’ self-perceived level of intercultural communicative competence. The COVID-19 pandemic has brought considerable changes in the educational field and many academic exchange programmes have been ceased. While numerous studies have identified linguistic competence and cultural awareness as outcomes of academic exchange programmes before the COVID-19 pandemic, there is a gap in research in this area in a post-pandemic context when people were reluctant to engage with each other. Students exposed to potentially stressful situations in their academic lives might experience negative outcomes in their achievement. Thus, respondents’ coping mechanisms when faced with culture shock abroad are also referred to. The study included 15 participants. A survey was used as a research method. The data obtained were analysed qualitatively and quantitatively through descriptive statistics using Google Forms' built-in tools or Voyant Tools for content analysis. Findings indicate that 93.3% of the participants self-evaluate themselves as having developed intercultural communicative competence and that 40% have experienced culture shock. Nevertheless, respondents perceived the academic exchange programme as a valuable experience for engaging in reflective practice even if they faced various challenges related to weather, the school system and contact with a new society.

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OPTIMIZING FRENCH FOR HEALTH SCIENCES: A NEEDS-BASED APPROACH TO COURSE CONTENT

Author(s): Ariel-Sebastián Mercado / Language(s): English Issue: 4/2024

Optimizing French for Health Sciences: A Needs-Based Approach to Course Content. Since the release of John Swales' seminal work, Genre Analysis: English in Academic and Research Settings (1990), the notions of genre and genre analysis have significantly influenced teaching methodologies in language for specific purposes (LSP). Through genre analysis, LSP professors can determine the structure of genres and what the most important oral and written genres in a specific professional field are. In 2006, McGill University started offering elective French courses to students from different areas of the Faculty of Health Sciences. Many McGill students are native English speakers from various regions of Canada and the United States, as well as international students whose first language is not necessarily English. In Quebec, students who did not complete their secondary education in French are required to pass an exam demonstrating a minimum B2 proficiency level in French, according to the CEFR, to be eligible to work in the province. Keeping this reality in mind, the question that arises is which genres should be taught in French for healthcare. Therefore, the objective of this paper is to determine the most important written and oral genres in French for healthcare and which ones are the most relevant for McGill University learners. To accomplish this objective, a review of the literature was conducted, followed by an analysis of relevant textbooks. Finally, a group of healthcare professionals was interviewed. At the conclusion of this paper, recommendations are made for the most important written and oral genres in health sciences that should be incorporated into the syllabus of our B2 level French for health sciences courses.

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A GENRE-FOCUSED ANALYSIS OF SCIENTIFIC ABSTRACTS IN THE FIELD OF VETERINARY MEDICINE

Author(s): Simona-Catrinel Avarvarei / Language(s): English Issue: 4/2024

A Genre-Focused Analysis of Scientific Abstracts in the Field of Veterinary Medicine. This paper explores genre analysis and its reflection on the discourse surrounding ESP texts while identifying prevalent rhetorical structures in scientific abstracts. Objectivity, formality, and precision remain the key features of academic writing, accounting for it being a reliable source for learning and understanding. In the world of research and scientific communication, paper abstracts represent the quintessential excerpts that guide readers through the debated topic, its relevance, and main findings, arousing (or not) professional interest and curiosity. Hence, researchers must understand the structure of the rhetorical moves and organisation regarding this first text frontier. The present study explored the move-step framework in a corpus comprising 90 scientific paper abstracts from six prestigious journals indexed by Clarivate Analytics in the field of veterinary medicine, focusing on the most common patterns employed. The results revealed that the most commonly used rhetoric pattern, almost canonical for the texture of scientific writing, follows Hyland’s five-move pattern - Introduction [I]-Purpose [P]-Method [M]-Results [R], followed by Conclusions/Discussions [C], which complements some of the abstracts. Although the study identified nuances, most research article abstracts pay tribute to the I-P-M-R move-step structure, scientific rigor, and a constant search for highlighting the most relevant data. Furthermore, an enduring, almost predictable concern for the importance of Results [R] detaches itself as one of this paper’s findings. Limitations and possible avenues for future research are highlighted to ensure that the selected abstract structure effectively enhances the study's visibility.

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TEACHING AND LEARNING LEGAL ENGLISH WITH AI: A CASE STUDY ON STUDENT ENGAGEMENT IN AN ESAP COURSE

Author(s): Bianca Doris Bretan / Language(s): English Issue: 4/2024

Teaching and Learning Legal English with AI: A Case Study on Student Engagement in an ESAP Course. Educators recognize that 2020 was a pivotal year for the advancement of digital teaching methods. A significant aspect of this development is the emergence of generative artificial intelligence (AI) platforms grounded in large language models (LLMs), which are viewed by many as potentially transformative for education. Concerns have arisen regarding how these tools could affect academic integrity and the originality of student writing. Many people question the assumption that such technologies could support student learning. This study aims to explore this topic further by investigating the following question: How can the incorporation of AI improve student engagement in English for Specific Academic Purposes (ESAP) classes? The answer is provided through small-scale research conducted on a group of first-year Law students who took part in a Legal English ESAP course. Quantitative and qualitative data provided by two questionnaires, an interview and a class observation protocol are analyzed to show students’ learning engagement with AI tools. The research highlights the benefits offered by AI to Legal English instruction.

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DESIGNING A PHRASE BANK FOR ACADEMIC LEARNING AND TEACHING: A EUROPEAN PORTUGUESE CASE STUDY

Author(s): Micaela Aguiar,Sílvia Araújo / Language(s): English Issue: 4/2024

Designing a Phrase Bank for Academic Learning and Teaching: A European Portuguese Case Study. This work focuses on the development and application of an academic phrase bank for European Portuguese. Our goal is to present an overview of this resource, discuss its potential replication in other languages, and explore its application in the classroom for teaching academic language. As the first of its kind resulting from corpora-based research, our phrase bank represents a contribution to the emerging field study of academic discourse in Portugal and a useful resource for students, teachers, and researchers. The paper begins by outlining the process of constructing the phrase bank, providing insights into the selection and categorization of formulaic academic phrases. We explore its accessibility options, including a web version and integration with a search engine powered by a Large Language Model. The paper then focuses on the findings and presents practical implementations of the phrase bank in educational settings. Outlined are two classroom activities incorporating the phrase bank, undertaken by master’s students. The first activity entailed the revision of a group portfolio’s introduction, employing the phrase bank to heighten awareness of communicative functions and expressions within introductions. The second activity involved peer assessment, where students evaluated their peers’ literature reviews. This involved identifying communicative functions, analyzing, and rephrasing expressions related to authors and studies using the phrase bank. To facilitate the assessment, students utilized a choice board to offer constructive and considerate feedback to their classmates.

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RESPONDING TO REVIEWERS – THE CASE OF A GENRE-BASED ACADEMIC WRITING TASK FOR DOCTORAL STUDENTS

Author(s): Ileana Oana Macari / Language(s): English Issue: 4/2024

Responding to Reviewers – The Case of a Genre-Based Academic Writing Task for Doctoral Students. This paper explores the application of genre pedagogy in teaching academic writing to doctoral students, specifically focusing on the genre of responding to reviewers' comments. Drawing on Yasuda’s (2011) and Hyland's (2020) perspectives on genre analysis, as well as on insights from Shaw (2020) and Kindenberg (2021), the study aims to address two research questions: (1) Based on the task students were set, what can count as indicators of genre-awareness? and (2) Should L1 novice writers be expected to be context-aware naturally and consequently do well when they engage in this particular genre-based task? The research involved three cohorts of PhD students over three academic years, with data collected from students' written responses to reviewers' comments. The analysis focused on students' ability to recognize and utilize genre conventions, linguistic choices, and organizational strategies appropriate to the task. Results indicate that while some students demonstrated a good understanding of genre conventions and effectively addressed reviewers' comments, others struggled to adopt the appropriate tone and format, often resorting to familiar models that did not align with academic writing norms. Findings suggest that explicit instruction in genre awareness and linguistic features, coupled with practice tasks, can enhance students' proficiency in academic writing genres. The study underscores the importance of integrating genre pedagogy into writing instruction for advanced learners, offering insights for designing effective in-class activities and resources. Overall, the research contributes to our understanding of genre-based approaches in teaching academic writing and provides valuable implications for L1 academic writing instruction at the university level.

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SCIENCE FICTION AND MILITARY ENGLISH: A CASE STUDY IN ITALY AND ROMANIA

Author(s): Adela Catană / Language(s): English Issue: 4/2024

Science Fiction and Military English: A Case Study in Italy and Romania. Starting from the premise that science fiction arouses the interest of both young adult readers and members of the armed forces, the current paper aims to evaluate the possibility of using this genre as a means of teaching Military English to first-year cadets. Additionally, this is an attempt to fill a gap left by specialized literature at national and international levels. The paper combines an eclectic theoretical framework, a synthesized lesson plan used to design and deliver experimental seminars involving forty cadets from two countries (Italy and Romania) and a survey accompanied by charts and explanations. The lesson plan is largely based on “Rome, Sweet Rome,” a 2011 SF short story by military historian James Erwin, and demonstrates that science fiction – particularly military science fiction—can be an alternative solution to traditional textbooks. The collected data prove that SF sources can help teachers conceive instructive and entertaining language classes, while also providing students with a formal, but comfortable environment, meant to facilitate their acquisition of military terminology and specific knowledge according to the STANAG 6001 requirements. The conclusion emphasises the great potential of the proposed method, but also signals that its successful implementation is heavily dependent on the teacher’s training, commitment and creativity as well as on the students’ receptivity.

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PEDAGOGICAL REFLECTIONS ON AN ENGLISH-TAUGHT COURSE IN COMMUNICATION ADDRESSED TO NON-PHILOLOGIST MA STUDENTS

Author(s): Vlad-Georgian Mezei / Language(s): English Issue: 4/2024

Pedagogical Reflections on an English-Taught Course in Communication Addressed to Non-philologist MA Students. Supporting cross-border didactic and research cooperation, increasing visibility in international rankings, promoting multicultural academic environments, facilitating student exchange, attracting international students, encouraging staff mobility and improving graduate employability are some of the driving forces behind the efforts of most universities towards internationalisation. Babeş-Bolyai University of Cluj-Napoca, Romania, as a multicultural international higher education institution, actively supports academic training and communication in international languages. According to one of the stipulations included in the language policy of the University, each master’s programme must comprise at least two courses taught in an international language in compliance with CLIL (Content and Language Integrated Learning) methodological principles. The present paper draws on the author’s experience as a tutor of such an English-taught course in techniques and methods of negotiation and communication addressed to students enrolled in a master’s programme called Management of Sports Organizations and Activities at the Faculty of Physical Education and Sport of Babeş-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca. The article discusses the development of a coherent pedagogical strategy for this particular course focusing mainly on aspects such as designing the course syllabus, selecting compulsory bibliography, preparing teaching scenarios, creating instructional materials, delivering in-class instruction, conducting assessment and collecting feedback from students.

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INVESTIGATING THE NECESSITY OF ENHANCED INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION SKILLS FOR TOURISM STUDENTS. LEARNERS’ PERSPECTIVE AND NEEDS

Author(s): Roxana Mihele,Ibolya Török / Language(s): English Issue: 4/2024

Investigating the Necessity of Enhanced Intercultural Communication Skills for Tourism Students. Learners’ Perspective and Needs. The hospitality industry today is, by many accounts, the site of the most cosmopolitan interaction university graduates can possibly find themselves immersed in when it comes to their professional milieu. Preparing future tourism specialists to effectively communicate and mediate with industry stakeholders that come from various corners of the world, having a multitude of cultural, social and economic backgrounds, seems to be one of the most important tasks ESP (English for Specialized Purposes) tutors need to tackle. Encouraged by guidelines promoted by international institutions, language teachers are aware that they need to pay an undivided attention to the development of intercultural communication (ICC) and mediation skills, to fostering the awareness that the business world today is a pluricultural one. What has been less investigated is the perception students themselves have over their need to acquire such competencies and the best way teachers could help them achieve this. The purpose of this article is to investigate the students’ perspective by processing data collected from a quantitative survey using K means clustering. The results of the analysis support our assumption that for an optimal future professional development tourism students (are aware of the) need to have good ICC competences, although their specific types and the means to achieve this sometimes differs from what teachers usually consider emphasizing in the classroom.

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ICT-ENHANCED MARITIME ENGLISH TEACHING AND LEARNING AT TERTIARY LEVEL. A CONTRASTIVE ANALYSIS

Author(s): Mariana Boeru / Language(s): English Issue: 4/2024

ICT-Enhanced Maritime English Teaching and Learning at Tertiary Level. A Contrastive Analysis. This article aims to investigate the academic impact of employing ICT means and approaches in the context of teaching ESP to Marine Electrical Engineering students at “Mircea cel Batran” Naval Academy, Romania. The research question to be answered is whether a switch from a face-to-face, paper-based learning setting to a face-to-face, digital, interactive one would influence the overall academic performance of our students, with a focus on elements such as student interest, motivation, and autonomy. The article reports on and discusses the findings of quantitative and qualitative research conducted by the author on two separate groups of second-year Naval Academy students. First, a control group was selected and offered the traditional, paper-based, face-to-face course in English for Marine Electrical Engineering for the second year of study, while the experiment group was exposed to the digital, interactive version of the same course, which had been uploaded on the Academy Moodle LMS platform. Both groups underwent identical mid-semester and final semester assessments, and their results were recorded and compared. A keen interest was taken in the exposed levels of specialized lexical content retention and its subsequent, successful communicative contextualization. Moreover, the research cohorts were administered an end-of-semester questionnaire that sought to identify how students related to the course materials in terms of their level of interest and motivation and the perceived relevance and efficiency of the course content and format, etc. In addition to the contrastive evaluation of the course methodology employed in both cases under investigation, the research study also looked at the students’ perceptions of the added value of several other factors, such as access to course materials and the possibility and ease of self-study, which correlate with the development of students’ learning autonomy and the acquisition of transversal skills for life-long learning. Ultimately, this article seeks to bring into discussion some key aspects of integrating ICT means into the teaching of ESP at the tertiary level, as technology-informed ESP has become an indisputable and inevitable evolution within 21st century language teaching practices.

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Illusory Perceptions in Academic Writing in English

Author(s): Edward Donaghue / Language(s): English Issue: 24/2024

Academic writing is a key component of learning in institutions of higher education, and plays a vital role in assessment. However, many students have illusory perceptions about the nature of academic writing. The purpose and process of writing, and the processes involved in knowledge-construction, meaning-making, and argumentation in academic writing in English are not always transparent, and students often fail to make effective use of feedback. In addition, many teachers also have perceptual illusions about writing and, as a result of a lack of adequate training in providing instruction and appropriate feedback on writing, fail to dispel their students’ perceptual illusions and effectively develop their academic writing skills. In an attempt to outline the nature of such illusions, this paper provides a review and analysis of key research on teaching and providing feedback on academic writing. It considers writing at university as product, process, discourse, and genre, and finds that questions of what constitutes effective feedback, and how feedback can improve student writing, are inextricably linked with approaches to the teaching of writing. The findings suggest that approaches to teaching writing and approaches to feedback on writing can both be seen as part of a developmental and interactive process of scaffolding student writing skills in which process and socio-constructive models of teaching and learning are most effective. Raising the awareness of both teachers and students about the nature of writing, and the purpose of feedback, could play a crucial role in dispelling students’ illusory perceptions, and improving their academic writing skills.

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Inspiring Imagination: Digital Projects As a Post-Reading Activity in Foreign Language Lessons

Author(s): Lina Yanbastieva-Petrova / Language(s): English Issue: 24/2024

This paper explores the role of education in equipping students with the diverse skills needed for success in the 21st century, with a focus on mastering reading skills and digital literacy. It highlights the advantages of sparking students’ imagination and curiosity and the benefits of implementing project-based learning principles in foreign language classrooms, where learners enhance language proficiency while developing critical thinking, creativity, collaboration, and other “21st-century skills”. The paper also examines some key principles of teaching reading, focusing on the use of post-reading activities to inspire imagination and creative expression through working on digital projects. Some practical ideas for utilizing educational platforms in these tasks are discussed, with examples drawn from projects created by students from an innovative class at Yoan Ekzarh Balgarski Secondary School, Shumen. The results indicate that working on post-reading digital projects not only improved students' reading comprehension and language skills but also enhanced their confidence and motivation in using various educational platforms for creating digital content, such as mozaBook and Buncee. Students demonstrated improved teamwork skills and problem-solving abilities when engaged in designing digital projects, which facilitated deeper learning and greater retention of information. The study concludes that integrating digital project-based learning principles into reading instruction can significantly enrich students’ educational experience by supporting skill development relevant to the challenges of the modern world. The findings underscore the importance of incorporating creative and interactive methods in foreign language teaching to better prepare students for future academic and career success.

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Илюзорният свят на филма в чуждоезиковото обучение по немски език

Author(s): Aylya Ilyazova / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 24/2024

The role of the film in German foreign language learning is examined in this study from three different perspectives: language learning (sprachbezozenes Lernen), (inter)cultural learning (kulturbezozenes Lernen), and media learning (medienbezozenes Lernen). The three layers, in turn, are stratified through the following specifics of the film and the expected results in learning German as a foreign language: 1. The film contributes to the formation and development of the fifth skill, das Hör-Seh-Verstehen 2. It provokes personal reactions, emotions, and positions. 3. The film is an authentic cultural product. 4. It offers authentic language examples (dialects, language variants, etc.). 5. It offers communicative situations (from professional fields, everyday communication, different layers of society, etc.). 6. It develops media competence. 7. It contributes to the process of intercultural learning by stimulating the formation of intercultural competence and the skill of "change of perspective". 8. The film shows reality through the focus of country information (landeskundliche Realität). 9. Moreover, the film presents examples of “body language” in culturally specific communicative situations (compensatory competence). Several main conclusions can be drawn: a large number of exercises contribute to the development of both strategic and compensatory competence. The specific strategy of “Knowing” is also embedded in the concepts of the authors of the reviewed teaching systems, aimed at developing the skill of looking and listening comprehension. When working on the films, four thematic areas were identified in the German as a foreign language teaching systems: Sprache (Language), Beruf/ Arbeit (Occupation/Work), Umwelt (Environment) and Musik (Music). Films in all three learning systems provoke a personal position.

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Language ‘depth’: Deep first language acquisition versus shallow second/foreign language learning, and the presence of the ‘embammic seal’ in the embammic language-non- embammic language dichotomy

Author(s): Stanisław Puppel / Language(s): English Issue: 1/2024

First language acquisition differs radically from second/foreign language learn-ing in that it not only consists in the acquisition of formal aspects of language (structure andfunctions), which is mandatorily the case with any second/foreign language, but that it isalso immersed in what is termed here the (elusive) ‘embammic dimension’. Together, theformal and the automatic embammic elements, constitute the core of any native (first) lan-guage command. Subsequently, a native (first) language which always occurs in its ‘deepstate’ must be fully distinguished from a second/foreign language which always occurs invarious degrees of its ‘shallow state’.

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