Grammatical complexity constitutes an indispensable subconstruct of L2 writing ability. Nonetheless, rating scale descriptors for grammatical complexity have heavily relied on degree modifiers or adjectives. Thus, this study attempts to explore the potential for the use of nominal modifiers as discriminators for adjacent levels of L2 writers in the context of an English Placement Test. This study analyzed 374 argumentative essays written by international undergraduates. Seven nominal modifiers in the developmental stages of grammatical complexity were examined and a cumulative ordinal logistic regression model with proportional odds was fitted to explore the relative effects of those grammar features on placement decisions. Four nominal modifiers were found to be positively associated with placement decisions, after adjusting for the effects of other variables. One educational implication is for the use of nominal modifiers to be incorporated into rating scale descriptors as discriminators for L2 writers who are not advanced enough to be exempted from an English Placement Test.
The purpose of this study was to analyze six English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners’ trajectories of discriminating near-synonyms in a data-driven learning task. Since the learners find it considerably difficult to learn subtle meaning differences of near-synonyms, corpuscorpuscorpuscorpuscorpuscorpus-based data-driven learning may provide an opportunity for them to tackle their difficulties. The study materials guided the learners to identify the differences between the four pairs of near-synonyms, categorize the concordance lines based on their findings, and generalize the findings. The six participants had notably different trajectories of discriminating near-synonyms. The qualitative analysis of the trajectories showed a tendency that the intermediate learners focused on the meanings and found the correct answer without knowing the core meaning, and the advanced learners moved further to attend to structural differences and sometimes tested their previous knowledge on the concordance data. This study implies the need for careful guidance, collaborative group works, and strategy teaching in data-driven learning tasks.
The present study examines the effects of schema activation and reading strategy use on L2 learners’ reading comprehension, strategy use, motivation, and learner beliefs. The participants consisted of 89 Korean college students, and they were assigned to one of two reading activity groups―schema building or reading strategy instruction―or to a control group. The study employed a background questionnaire, pre-, post-, and delayed English reading comprehension tests, and also pre- and post-reading strategy use, reading motivation, and general learner belief questionnaires. The results indicate that both the schema building and reading strategy task groups showed significant improvements in terms of immediate learning effects, but the reading strategy group showed an added degree of improvement over the schema building and control groups in terms of long-term reading comprehension. Additionally, the two task groups reported positive responses to their own use of reading strategies, motivation, and positive beliefs. Based on the findings, this study suggests pedagogical implications for L2 reading classrooms.
Second language (L2) peer response literature is defined in part by discourse research, yet there is scant research on text-specific comments, or comments that make explicit text references, thus resisting generic qualities. The purpose of this case study was to examine such peer response activities in an English writing course at a South Korean university. The data comprises two essay assignments with peer response conducted between two drafts – as accomplished during class time on the class learning management system (LMS) – as well as the subsequent revisions in second drafts. This paper expands on previous coding schemes accounting for area, nature and type commentary to account for a specificity dimension, and also links these categories to revision practices. While students entertained diverse commenting and revising options, popular practices included generic evaluating or revising local or surface-level concerns. This paper offers implications for modelling response activities as well as for how to better define specific and complex idea construction exhibited during response.
The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of the Flipped Classroom (FC) approach on Tourism English learning. For the study, 93 students in a Tourism English (TE) course were encouraged to participate in the FC activities, designed by the PARTNER (Preparation, Assessment, Relevance, Team activity, Nub lecture, Evaluation and Reflection) model. A quasi-experiment was conducted for 15-weeks of a semester, and the effectiveness of the FC activities on the TE learning was analyzed in accordance with the course satisfaction, problem-solving skill, and collective efficacy. The problem-solving skill survey was designed to measure the cause analysis, alternative development, practice, and assessment, while the collective efficacy survey comprised items related to fostering leadership, exchanging ideas, evaluating ideas, and integrating ideas. In the findings, the FC activities showed the positive effect on the development of the problem-solving skills, collective efficacy, and course satisfaction. The pedagogical implications are discussed in terms of the FC activities on Tourism English learning in this study.
The purpose of this study was to explore the perceived benefits of telecollaboration for Korean pre-service teachers of English. This study connected Korean pre-service teachers to American pre-service teachers. In a one-to-one relationship, each pair exchanged their weekly writings about the assigned topics over six weeks and shared their ideas. To explore the perceived benefits that the Korean pre-service teachers of English perceived and provide a rich description, this study focused on the five Korean pre-service teachers’ thoughts reflected in their reflective papers, their writings in the Google Sites, and the final reflection paper. Data were analyzed based on a qualitative approach using the content analysis. The results showed that the Korean pre-service teachers perceived that the online interactions with the target language speakers promoted their intercultural and linguistic competences as well as some affective domains such as confidence and motivation levels. Building upon the findings, this study provides significant pedagogical implications for instructional practices for the educators and researchers.
Digital media play an undeniably influential role in contemporary communication, facilitating new kinds of multimodal forms of representation. However, ELT pedagogy does not always take these multimodal aspects of communication into account in a systematic way. One pedagogical approach that has been developed for this purpose is ‘multimodal composing’ or ‘digital multimodal composing’. This approach caters to the needs of English language learners in the digital age by engaging with multimodal forms of communication in digital media which are ‘embedded’ alongside the reading and writing tasks that make up the core of traditional approaches to ELT. In this article, I provide an overview of scholarly work that has been done in developing this approach. Drawing on a case study of English language learners in Hong Kong, I demonstrate what the approach looks like in practice and suggest how it might be implemented in other contexts, balancing multimodal forms of communication with the traditional demands of the English language curriculum.