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Journal of Linguistics and Language Teaching (JLLT)

JLLT Volume 5 (2014) Issue 1

Journal of Linguistics and Language Teaching

Volume 5 (2014) Issue 1 (PDF)

DOI - JLLT 5 (2014) 1 https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.14827141

Foreword to the Issue

I. Articles

Shing-lung Chen (Kaohsiung, Taiwan):

Modell zur Entwicklung von Rettungsmechanismen für Sprachlernprogramme — am Beispiel von Systemfehlschlägen bei der Spracherkennung

Journal of Linguistics and Language Teaching 5 (2014) 1, 11-29 (PDF)

Abstract (English)

Since communication in conventional language teaching usually only takes place between the classroom interlocutors (learners and instructors), learners usually have little opportunity and time to practice communication in the foreign language. Therefore, language learning programmes that help learners practice and improve foreign language communication outside of class are urgently needed. Modern language learning programmes are typically based on the development of speech recognition techniques for the correct decoding of users' utterances. They are usually based on a linear rather than a circular model, and therefore proceed according to this particular linear structure, which is not able to take potential system failures into account. As a consequence, the programmes can, in the event of a communication failure, not proceed with the communication, and thus, the communication process is interrupted. Learners may soon lose interest in the use of that particular programme. Based on the description of these facts, it can be shown that a language learning programme solely based on speech recognition techniques, does not fulfill learners' needs. The present article examines which inherent potential failures language learning programmes have and how these failures can be reduced or eliminated so that the programmes will run smoothly.

Abstract (Deutsch)

Da die Kommunikation im konventionellen Sprachunterricht meist nur zwischen den Teilnehmern (Lernern und Dozenten) erfolgt, bleibt Lernern in der Regel kaum Gelegenheit und auch wenig Zeit zur Einübung fremdsprachlicher Kommunikation. Daher werden dringend Sprachlernprogramme benötigt, mit deren Hilfe die Lerner die fremdsprachliche Kommunikation fern des Unterrichts am Computer praktizieren und verbessern können. Moderne Sprachlernprogramme orientieren sich in der Regel an der Entwicklung von Spracherkennungstechniken zur korrekten Dekodierung der Äußerungen der Anwender. Da Sprachlernprogramme statt auf einem zirkulären meist auf einem linearen Modells basieren, verlaufen sie gemäß einer bestimmten linearen Struktur, die nicht in der Lage ist, potentielle Systemfehlschläge zu berücksichtigen. So können die Programme im Falle eines kommunikativen Misserfolgs nicht weiter kommunizieren, und folglich wird der Kommunikationsablauf unterbrochen. Entsprechend verlieren die Lerner das Interesse an derartigen Programmen. Aus der Beschreibung dieser Konstellation wird ersichtlich, dass ein Sprachlernprogramm, das einzig und allein auf Spracherkennungstechniken basiert, nicht den Bedürfnissen der Lerner gerecht wird. In dem vorliegenden Artikel wird untersucht, welches Misserfolgspotential Sprachlernprogrammen inhärent ist und wie dieses verringert bzw. behoben werden kann, damit die Programme reibungslos funktionieren.

Chris Merkelbach (Taipeh, Taiwan):

Die Vermittlung von Lesefertigkeiten im Chinesischunterricht - ein Diskussionsbeitrag

Journal of Linguistics and Language Teaching 5 (2014) 1, 31-56 (PDF)

Abstract (English)

Based on the observation that foreign students in Chinese-speaking countries encounter major problems reading extensive academic texts within an allotted time frame, this article puts forward the idea of teaching reading strategies in Chinese as a Second Language (CSL) classes. Following the introduction of the special features of written Chinese, the mental process for reading in a foreign language is discussed. The article takes into special account that CSL-learners have, prior to learning Chinese, usually learned other foreign languages and can be regarded as experienced tertiary language learners. Furthermore, the different reading styles for various foreign languages are described in detail and finally, the article delineates how these strategies may be trained in CSL classes on the sentence and the text level.

Abstract (Deutsch)

Basierend auf der Beobachtung, dass ausländische Studierende in chinesischsprachigen Ländern erhebliche Probleme beim Lesen umfangreicher wissenschaftlicher Texte innerhalb eines vorgegebenen Zeitraums haben, beschäftigt sich dieser Artikel mit der Vermittlung von Lesestrategien im Unterricht Chinesisch als Fremdsprache (ChaF). Zunächst werden die besonderen Merkmale der chinesischen Schriftsprache dargestellt, danach der mentale Prozess, der beim Lesen in einer fremden Sprache zu beobachten ist. Der Artikel berücksichtigt, dass Chinesischlerner in der Regel bereits andere Fremdsprachen gelernt haben und als erfahrene L3-Lernende gelten. Außerdem werden die verschiedenen Lesestile für Fremdsprachen im Detail beschrieben. Abschließend geht der Artikel darauf ein, wie Lesestrategien ChaF-Unterricht auf Satz- und Textebene geschult werden können.

Nina Daskalovska (Stip, Republic of Macedonia):

Incidental Vocabulary Learning through Reading

Journal of Linguistics and Language Teaching 5 (2014) 1, 57-65 (PDF)

Abstract

A lot of studies on vocabulary learning have demonstrated that one of the ways of acquiring vocabulary is through reading. The purpose of this study was to replicate the study conducted by Zahar, Cob and Spada (2001) and compare the results with the original study and another replication study using the same design. The study was conducted with university students who were in their first year of studying English language and literature. In order to establish the participants’ vocabulary size, Nation’s Vocabulary Levels Test (1990) was used. The effect of the reading treatment was determined by using a pretest-posttest design. The results of the posttest showed that the participants learned one in three previously unknown words. There was a positive relationship between the participants’ vocabulary size and the relative gains as well as between the frequency of the words in the text and the relative gain scores. The findings suggest that learners’ general knowledge and cognitive abilities may be significant factors that affect the rate of vocabulary acquisition through reading.

Andrew Schenck & Wonkyung Choi (Daejeon, South Korea):

Determining the Best Pedagogical Practices for Diverse Grammatical Features

Journal of Linguistics and Language Teaching 5 (2014) 1 67-86 (PDF)

Abstract

Past research has emphasized the universality of grammar acquisition over key differences, resulting in the development of a number of one-size-fits-all approaches to grammar instruction. Because such approaches fail to consider disparities of grammatical features, they are often ineffective. Just as a doctor needs to diagnose an illness and prescribe a suitable treatment, the teacher must evaluate a grammatical feature and choose an appropriate instruction. To better understand how this may be accomplished, highly disparate grammatical features (the definite article and plural noun) were taught to adult second language learners, using three different pedagogical techniques: Explicit focus on meaning, explicit focus on form, and implicit focus on form. Results suggest that the effectiveness of these treatments depends upon characteristics of the grammatical feature, the type of instruction utilized (implicit or explicit), and the learner’s language proficiency. According to the results, an empirical method to guide the content of grammar instruction is proposed.

Anna Krulatz (Trondheim, Norway):

Electronic Requests in Native and Non-Native Russian: Insights into Foreign Language Learners’ Sociolinguistic Competence

Journal of Linguistics and Language Teaching 5 (2014) 1, 87-97 (PDF)

Abstract

This study compares electronic requests written by native and non-native speakers of Russian. 184 responses were elicited via a discourse completion task with four scenarios. Using a framework adapted from the cross-cultural speech acts realization project (CCSRAP) (Blum-Kulka et al. 1989), the analysis focused on the strategies used to construct the head act of request (i.e. direct, conventionally indirect, and non-conventionally indirect) and internal and external modifications (i.e. alerters, upgraders, downgraders and supportive moves), and it revealed that while the use of some of the non-native speaker strategies approximates that of the native speakers, the requests produced by the two groups differ on several dimensions. The findings of the study confirm the hypothesis that even advanced foreign language learners often do not fully develop certain aspects of sociolinguistic competence.

Аннотация

Это исследование сравнивает электронные запросы, написанные родными и неродными носителями русского языка. Было собрано 184 ответа на задачу завершения дискурса по четырем сценариям. Применяя методику, адаптированную из проекта осуществления кросс-культурных речевых актов (CCSRAP) (Блюм-Кулка соавт., 1989), мы сосредоточили анализ на стратегиях, используемых для построения главного акта запроса (то есть прямых, условнокосвенных и неусловнокосвенных), а также на внутренних и внешних мотиваторах (таких, как сигнализаторы, обогатители, принижающие и вспомогательные ходы). Анализ показал, что хотя некоторые из неносителей применяют стратегии на приближенном к носителям языка уровне, запросы, произведенные двумя группами, отличаются по нескольким параметрам. Результаты исследования подтверждают гипотезу, что даже изучившие иностранный язык на продвинутом уровне часто не полностью развивают определенные аспекты социолингвистической компетенции.

Patrycja Golebiewska & Christian Jones (Preston, UK):

The Teaching and Learning of Lexical Chunks: A Comparison of Observe Hypothesise Experiment and Presentation Practice Production

Journal of Linguistics and Language Teaching 5 (2014) 1, 99-115 (PDF)

Abstract

The focus of this study is the comparison of two teaching frameworks: Presentation Practice Production (PPP) and Observe Hypothesise Experiment (OHE) in the context of teaching twelve lexical chunks to two groups of twenty-one EAP students. An analysis of pre- and post-test scores demonstrated that both frameworks were successful in aiding students’ productive and receptive knowledge of the target language. The question as to whether one framework was more effective than the other in the context studied was answered negatively, since no statistically significant difference between the treatment types was found. The results suggest that both input and output oriented activities can aid the acquisition of chunks to the same extent and thus, perhaps, the choice between these frameworks may be more dependent on teaching and learning styles than upon their impact on the acquisition of formulaic language.