Journal of Linguistics and Language Teaching - Volume 6 (2015) Issue 2

JLLT Volume 6 (2015) Issue 2 I. Articles Istvan Jerry Thekes (Szeged, Hungary):An Integrated Diagnostic Vocabulary Test for Young EFL LearnersJournal of Linguistics and Language Teaching 6 (2015) 2, 189-207 Abstract The goal of this study was to validate an integrated diagnostic vocabulary test for young learners of English as a foreign language. The research questions were: 1) How difficult was each task type? 2) Which items were inappropriate in the test battery? 3) Which word class proved to be the easiest and the most difficult? 4) How did the different task types correlate? The vocabulary test battery was administered to 103 students in Hungary in November 2013. The reliability of the test battery was found to be acceptable (Cronbach's alpha = 0.763). Students scored highest in the recognition of nouns. The two listening tasks exhibited the strongest correlations. ________________________________________________________________________________________ Asmaa Shehata (Calgary, Canada):Talker Variability and Second Language Word Recognition: A New Training StudyJournal of Linguistics and Language Teaching 6 (2015) 2, 209-230 Abstract The purpose of this study was to investigate how training with varying talkers could affect native English speakers' acquisition of the Arabic pharyngeal-glottal consonant contrast, which is not contrastive in English. Learners' performance on two discrimination tasks, following a word-learning phase, was analyzed in terms of training type (multiple talkers vs. single talker) and task type (non-lexical vs. lexical). The findings from the two experiments revealed a significant effect of training type. Specifically, the multiple-talker groups in both experiments performed more accurately on the two AXB tasks than the single-talker groups. This suggests that variability in talkers may be a significant factor influencing learners' ability to distinguish words based on L2 consonant contrasts. Additionally, differences in the scores of subjects on the two discrimination tasks across the different groups were found to be insignificant, indicating that the distinct demands of the two tasks did not have a significant beneficial effect on learning the nonnative contrastive sounds. ________________________________________________________________________________________ Matthew Michaud (Kobe, Japan):Oral Communication in the Japanese Senior High School: Communicative Competence and Comparisons of Textbooks Used for EFL InstructionJournal of Linguistics and Language Teaching 6 (2015) 2, 231-257 Abstract Numerous researchers have explored verbal communication within English as a Foreign Language (EFL). However, research on oral communication in high schools in Japan, along with the analysis of EFL textbooks used, requires further attention. This study aims to investigate communicative language teaching and communicative competence. It focuses on problems in Japanese students' learning methods and their application of oral communication, emphasizing communicative competence and the textbooks used in Japanese high schools. ________________________________________________________________________________________ Andrew Szanajda (Taichung, Taiwan, ROC) & Wei-Yu Chang (Durham, United Kingdom):Encouraging Student Engagement in ESL Writing Classes in Asian Classrooms: Recommendations for Actions to Be TakenJournal of Linguistics and Language Teaching 6 (2015) 2, 259-274 Abstract This paper examines ways to improve EFL/ESL students' learning engagement, particularly in writing classes. Many other studies have addressed related issues but failed to provide a comprehensive series of recommendations to address this common problem. Asian students, in particular, often lack learning motivation and engagement. To help students overcome barriers that block their confidence and motivation, several methods are proposed, including offering a menu of options, encouraging students to write about their experiences, providing context with writing samples, incorporating critiques into the process, making connections to the real world, and celebrating writing successes. Firstly, offering a menu of options allows students to choose preferred genres, making writing more engaging. Secondly, having students write about their experiences connects their lives to learning, making it more meaningful and purposeful. Thirdly, providing context with sample pieces helps students understand what and how to write, particularly for less competent writers, who can model their work after the examples. Fourthly, students learn a great deal by providing feedback to others, which helps them identify differences between well-written and poorly written texts. It is also important to link students' writing to the real world (e.g., business life), so they can understand how to address problems outside the classroom. Finally, adequate praise is crucial for motivating students to engage in future writing tasks. The primary aim of this work is to present effective teaching and learning methods for both instructors and learners in EFL/ESL writing classrooms, helping students discover new perspectives and enhance their writing competence. ________________________________________________________________________________________ Inez De Florio-Hansen (Kassel, Germany):Standards und fremdsprachliche Bildung – ein Widerspruch?Journal of Linguistics and Language Teaching 6 (2015) 2, 275-308 Abstract (English) After a decade of standards-based teaching and learning of foreign languages in German schools, it is both legitimate and useful to assess the balance between the goals of education policies and the needs and interests of teachers and students. The following questions are fundamental in this context: What role do PISA and other international and national student assessments play in the introduction of performance standards in the foreign language classroom? To what extent can the outcomes of foreign language teaching and learning be measured based on well-designed and research-proven standards? Why are concepts that focus exclusively on performance, without corresponding content and opportunity-to-learn standards, considered insufficient? What about value-oriented goals of foreign language education, such as language awareness, intercultural and transcultural attitudes, and literary aesthetics, in the context of standards-based approaches?Focusing on practice in German classrooms, this article aims to encourage and empower foreign language teachers to implement standards in such a way that the basic objectives of foreign language learning can be achieved by as many students as possible who are willing to benefit from their teachers' lessons. While rejecting a standards-based approach that limits both teachers and students and often leads to teaching to the test, the article advocates for a standards-informed, value-based approach to foreign language teaching and learning that aligns with the broader goals of German education. Despite the homogenization of teaching goals and instructional design, the unique personalities of teachers and students must be respected and strengthened to ensure that language learning is both enjoyable and effective. Abstract (Deutsch) Nachdem die KMK-Bildungsstandards in Verbindung mit der Kompetenzorientierung vor über zehn Jahren Einzug in den Fremdsprachenunterricht gehalten haben, wird in dem vorliegenden Beitrag eine Zwischenbilanz gezogen. Bei diesem „Rückblick nach vorn“ geht es um grundlegende Fragen wie beispielsweise die folgenden: Welche Rolle spielen PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment) und DESI (Deutsch Englisch Schülerleistungen International) bei der Entwicklung der Bildungsstandards für die erste Fremdsprache Englisch bzw. Französisch? Was können durchdachte und wissenschaftlich überprüfte Standards beim Lehren und Lernen von Fremdsprachen überhaupt leisten? Warum ist die Konzeption der KMK-„Output“-Standards unzureichend? Warum greift die ausschließliche Fokussierung auf Wissen und Können zu kurz? Wie kann fremdsprachliche Bildung - vornehmlich Sprachbewusstheit, Inter- / Transkulturalität sowie ästhetisch-literarische Bildung - im Unterricht trotz Beachtung der KMK -Standards angebahnt und weiterentwickelt werden?Im Rahmen dieses praxisbezogenen Überblicks soll Fremdsprachenlehrerinnen und -lehrern geholfen werden, die Orientierung an Standards und Kompetenzen so umzusetzen, dass grundlegende Ziele des Fremdsprachenunterrichts gut erreicht werden können, und zwar von möglichst vielen Schülerinnen und Schülern. In Überwindung eines standardbasierten Ansatzes, der den bildungspolitischen Vorgaben eng folgt und nicht über die Anforderungen der offiziellen Testungen hinausgeht, wird für einen standardorientierten und vor allem wertebasierten Ansatz unseres Bildungssystems plädiert. Trotz aller Vereinheitlichung geht es in jedem Unterricht auch um die Stärkung der Persönlichkeiten von Lehrenden und Lernenden, wenn das Lernen von Fremdsprachen wirksam sein und den Beteiligten Freude machen soll. ________________________________________________________________________________________ Frank Kostrzewa (Karlsruhe, Germany):Die Kategorie ‚Aspekt‘ im kontrastiven Sprachvergleich Koreanisch - DeutschJournal of Linguistics and Language Teaching 6 (2015) 2, 309-322 Abstract (English) Aspect is a grammatical category that allows a speaker to refer individually to an action or event that is either in progress or completed. While Slavic languages have developed a morphologically structured system to denote aspect, Germanic and Romance languages possess only rudimentary forms of aspect differentiation. In Korean, an agglutinative language, aspect is expressed by adding suffixes to the verb or by forming a complex verb that contains an aspect verb. In some cases, temporal adverbs are needed to disambiguate sentences with temporal aspectuality. Bhatt & Schmid

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