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Review of Andrea Bogner et al. (eds.) Jahrbuch Deutsch als Fremdsprache – Intercultural German Studies vol. 33, München 2007: iudicium, 438 S.
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The article considers whether the L2-learners use the analogical mechanisms for transforming the syntax as the native users of the language in question. In the questionnaire survey the stability of the preference to interpret the first nominal phrase observed in transforming L1 to be the subject of a sentence, and its influence on non-structural factors, such as animacy have been analysed. It has been shown that L2-lelarners, similar to the native users of the language in question, prefer the subject-object word order, and that the general preference should not be covered by the semantic information.
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The aim of this paper is to discuss the changing role and status of writing skills in the methodology of German language teaching, as well as to sketch the most recent trends which point to this issue. Allowing for the idea of autonomy of language teaching, which has been thoroughly discussed during debates concerning foreign language teaching in recent years, an attempt to select and highlight particular competence which should distinguish a student being able to develop writing skills in a foreign language in an autonomous way, has been undertaken in the article. Moreover, the most novel trends in methodology, which can be taken into account in the problem raised in the article, have been briefly presented.
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The essence of the presented article is the analysis of four textbooks for teaching the German language which looks into typical elements of German culture as well as cultural universals. The analysis of the following textbooks: Stufen 3, Moment Mal 2, Mittelpunkt B2 and Mittelpunkt C1 has indicated that older ones (more than 10 years older) devoted more attention to typical German culture phenomena and culturally conditioned Polish-German differences than the most recent textbooks where universal areas of reality have been accepted, e.g. travelling, professional life, means of payment, environmental protection. Moreover, new phenomena such as globalization, internationalization, cloning and genetically modified food were mentioned in the textbooks published in 2008.
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Review of Czaplikowska, Renata / Kubacki, Artur Dariusz (2010): Grundlagen der Fremdsprachendidaktik. Unterrichtsbuch. Kraków: Wydawnictwo Krakowskie, 120 S.
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Together with the criticism of Comprehension Approach, there appeared a tendency to look at listening comprehension from the point of view of the underlying processes, rather than its product (Field 2008). It has been considered one of the fundamental flaws of the approach to focus only on the final outcome of the listening process in the form of answers to comprehension questions or task responses. The article provides an overview of the processes that listening comprehension entails, categorizing them into two distinctive groups. Also, different types of processing are investigated and the primacy of bottom-up processes is underlined.
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Pedagogical dictionaries are considered as a primary source of valuable lexical and grammatical information. Unfortunately, as empirical research reveals, they are not exploited effectively enough by L2 learners mostly due to the lack of appropriate skills and teachers’ frequent ignorance about the necessity for strategy training. This article aims at presenting findings from selected studies on the difficulties encountered by L2 learners during dictionary use as well as on the complexity of their look-up behaviour. In its second part the innovative concept of dictionary consultation during L2 writing examinations is discussed.
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Review of Martina Penke (2006): Flexion im mentalen Lexikon. Tübingen. Niemeyer.
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School classes are not any longer considered to be homogeneous systems. Diversity in different aspects has become obvious and appreciated as a benefit. In order to profit from this benefit in the case of the individual development of pupils didactical approaches have to focus on differentiation and individualization. English language teaching is very often based on wide-spread, common schoolbooks which integrate different methods. Dealing with the diversity of a class means to select work and exercises carefully according to the needs of the children. In order to this fact the article presents selected lesson plans designed by students at KPH Wien/Krems as learning outcomes in a workshop especially focused on differentiation and individualization in ELT. “Content and Language Integrated Learning” (CLIL) and “Task-Based Learning” (TBL) were described and considered as appropriate didactical approaches to deal with this diversity. Therefore the selected examples include the most important aspects of each way based on the paradigms of differentiation and individualization. As a feedback to the lesson plans teacher-trainers pointed out advantages concerning the motivation and self-conducted work of the children but complained about the time-consuming preparation work and a lack of knowledge of the teachers about TBL and CLIL
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Alongside with many societal changes, technology has also started to change the teaching and learning of EFL especially since the turn of the millennium. Multimedia-based and audiovisual materials are now easily accessible and available for both teachers and learners of EFL. Recent research demonstrates that EFL learner ownership and preferences about dictionaries seem to have taken its share from these technological innovations and influences. The increasing number of research on learners’ dictionary ownership and preferences has tried to explore this rather recent situation and has mainly resulted in the main finding that paper dictionaries are losing their long-lasting popularity and that multimedia-based dictionaries are becoming popular among EFL learners. This new situation that has pedagogical and curricular applications necessitates research on ELT student teachers’ dictionary ownership and preferences in Turkey, especially considering that studies into this area are almost non-existent in Turkish ELT departments. Therefore, the primary aim of this study is to explore ELT student teachers’ dictionary ownership and preferences. With this aim this paper reports on a descriptive study about dictionary ownership and preferences of 186 ELT student teachers at Mehmet Akif Ersoy University. The results demonstrate that student teachers strongly believe that a language learner needs a dictionary; that paper dictionaries are mostly owned but multimedia based dictionaries are mostly preferred; that paper dictionaries are difficult to carry, expensive and time consuming; that they use their dictionaries mostly at home and secondly in class; and that their main reason for using the dictionary is to learn the meaning of vocabulary but not spelling or pronunciation.
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Changes in education and the opening of international work markets result in the continuous growth of the group of people who want to study language for specific purposes. Potential learners fall into two categories. The first comprises of non-professionals, i.e. present and future students and future professionals; the second one includes present professionals. The priorities of the two groups are not the same, therefore, programs of teaching language for specific purposes must be offered in two variants: academic and occupational. Both groups, however, have to master a great number of terms (lucid and apparent) and their typical collocations, which is why in both cases a well thought out approach to teaching lexis should be implemented. W wyniku zmian w edukacji i otwarcia się międzynarodowych rynków pracy rośnie liczba uczących się, którzy oczekują wyraźnego ukierunkowania procesu kształcenia językowego na określony profesjolekt. Zainteresowanych nauką języka specjalistycznego można podzielić na dwie kategorie. W pierwszej znajdują się ci, którzy zamierzają studiować lub uczyć się danego zawodu; w drugiej – już funkcjonujący na rynku pracy profesjonaliści, którzy chcą zdobyć kompetencje w nowym języku. Ze względu na odmienną specyfikę obu grup odbiorców programy kursów języka specjalistycznego powinny być oferowane w dwu zdecydowanie różnych wariantach: akademickim i zawodowym. W obu jednakże konieczne jest systemowe podejście do nauczania leksyki, umożliwiające uczącym się efektywne opanowanie dużej liczby terminów (jawnych i ukrytych) oraz charakterystycznych dla nich połączeń.
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Thanks to relatively good economic situation in the past years, Poland has become an attractive place for international investments. Companies with foreign capital also bring expatriates who often start learning Polish language. The profile of these students is significantly different from those who learn the language in academic or school context. Businessmen want to combine every day language learning with work related elements, thus their needs, motivations and problems are different than other language learners. Often, specific profile of those students is not taken into account by their teachers or textbook authors. Due to the nature of teaching / learning process in business context, it is necessary to redefine the relation between teacher and learner and to indicate new roles for both of them. Ze względu na stosunkowo dobrą sytuację ekonomiczną w ostatnich latach, Polska stała się atrakcyjnym miejscem międzynarodowych inwestycji. Zagraniczne firmy razem z kapitałem przywożą do naszego kraju także pracowników, którzy często rozpoczynają w naszym kraju naukę języka polskiego. Profil tych studentów różni się znacznie od profilu innych uczących się, np. szkolnych lub akademickich. Biznesmeni chcą łączyć naukę języka ogólnego z elementami zawodowymi, dlatego mają odmienne motywacje, potrzeby czy problemy niż uczący się języka ogólnego. Często odmienny profil tych osób nie jest uwzględniany ani przez prowadzących kursy języka polskiego jako obcego (jpjo), ani autorów podręczników. Ze względu na specyfikę procesu nauczania/uczenia się języka w kontekście biznesowym konieczne jest zredefiniowanie relacji nauczyciel/uczący się, a także wskazanie nowych ról, w które wchodzą.
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The role and importance of grammar teaching in foreign language classrooms has been much discussed in second language acquisition (SLA) theories and research. While SLA researchers have been debating in which form grammar teaching − nowadays often referred to as form-focused instruction (FFI) − can contribute most to language acquisition, explicit grammar teaching and learning seem never to have completely disappeared from language classrooms. The present study sets out to investigate the way in which grammar is acquired in public and private elementary and high schools in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Although English as a foreign language (EFL) is widely present in the classroom context in Bosnia and Herzegovina, it has not been largely investigated, especially in terms of teachers’ and students’ perceptions. Hence, the present study brings interesting findings through the analysis of teachers’ and students’ perceptions about grammar instruction in Bosnian EFL classrooms.
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The purpose of this research is to investigate English teachers’ perception and challenges of the implementation of ICT in ELT classrooms. This study used mixed methods, qualitative and quantitative in nature. A purposive sampling technique was used to select the study subjects, who are 26 English teachers from 16 public senior high schools in Banda Aceh. Questionnaires and interviews were used to collect data. The data were analysed and interpreted through qualitative and quantitative procedures. The results showed that the English teachers found ICT very helpful in teaching. However, the limited time and tools, coupled with a poor Internet connection as well as a lack of knowledge and experience of ICT training were obstacles for the teachers using ICT. The results of this study give meaningful insights for policy makers in relation to the implementation of ICT for teaching and learning in the classroom.
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This study examines the effect of storytelling through the use of Telegram on oral language of English foreign language (EFL) students. To this end, thirty English students aged 18 to 21 took part in the research. Before the treatment, they were interviewed by two instructors and were graded as low-proficient speakers of English. The selected participants were assigned randomly into two homogeneous groups of control (n=15) and experimental (n=15). The instructor taught four stories to both groups through the online class. The participants of the experimental group were supposed to summarize the retold stories while the participants of the control group answered the comprehension questions of the stories. All the participants were to record their voices and share them in their groups and their peers were supposed to listen to the speaker and post their comments. After the treatment, two instructors interviewed all the participants. The results of the comparison of the first and the second interview confirmed the positive effect of storytelling and answering the questions on the Telegram. The findings of this study may help the learners to enhance their English speaking skills.
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The quality and content of English language courses offered in secondary schools require special attention as they affect many students who learn English as one of their school subjects. Despite curricular provisions prescribing balanced development of language competence and a number of so-called “key competences”, class work in Polish upper-secondary schools heavily focuses on developing students’ selected language skills and language systems, i.e. the areas that are tested during school-exit exams, neglecting civic competences (i.e. group work) and digital skills. It is suggested that technology-assisted project-based language learning can help remedy this situation. Accordingly, the aim of this article is to outline a class project that illustrates the integration of project-based learning approach in language (English) and content (Polish language and culture) learning, the execution of which necessitates collaboration in groups, as well as the use of technology. It is hoped that the presented project will provide inspiration and guidance on how to engage upper-secondary school students in meaningful project work so that the development of target competences can be facilitated.
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This study examined the use of Pixton for enhancing grammar and vocabulary teaching in a public high school in the South region of Ecuador. In this intervention, 163 junior high school learners and 14 pre-service English teachers participated during a period of 4 months. The data for this study was obtained by gathering information from pre and post-questionnaires, pre and post-tests, and observation sheets. Students were divided into control and experimental groups. The control group (78 students) received English lessons without using Pixton, while the experimental group (85 students) used Pixton. After analyzing the data quantitatively and qualitatively, the results indicate that Pixton is an effective teaching tool that motivates students to learn grammar and vocabulary in an enjoyable way; this was evident through an improvement in students’ post-test scores in the experimental group.
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The study was conducted to find out what impact a digital game had on students’ learning performance and motivation. A quasi-experimental study was performed with two groups of students. The experimental group was taught using the digital game Kahoot whereas the control group was taught with the conventional method. Pre-tests, post-tests, and questionnaires on the students’ motivation and attitudes toward gamification in language learning were the instruments used in this study. The data were analyzed using Independent t-tests and One-way Analysis of Covariance. The results revealed statistically significant differences with regard to learning performance and motivation at 0.05. The experimental group obtained higher scores than the control group, and the motivation of students in the experimental group was much higher than that of the control group. In addition, the results of a survey indicated that students had positive attitudes towards application of digital games in language learning.
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