Foreign Language

This study aimed to explore the relationships between foreign language learners’ self-identity changes, motivation types, and Foreign Language proficiency associated with learning English in private language schools in Iranian context. Based on a stratified sampling, 204 English as a foreign language learners from three language schools in Tehran were selected to participate in the study. The instruments were a 30-item Likert-scale questionnaire on motivation types in seven categories: intrinsic interest, immediate achievement, learning situation, going aboard, social responsibility, individual development, and information medium; a 24-item Likert-scale questionnaire on self-identity changes in six categories: self-confidence change, additive change, subtractive change, productive change, split change, and zero change. Results revealed that self-confidence change was the prominent change common among foreign language learners. Canonical correlation analysis revealed that motivation types and self-identity changes were related through three pairs of canonical variables: intrinsic orientations related with personal identity changes, instrumental orientations related with cultural changes, and instrumental orientations related learners’ self-confidence change. Theoretical and pedagogical implications for foreign language learning and teaching are also discussed.

The purpose of the present research is to investigate the perceptual learning style preferences of 131 learners who studied Persian as a second language (from 17 nationalities) in Iran and 97 learners of Persian as a foreign Language in 28 other countries, taking into account predominant perceptual learning style preferences and demographic variables including age, gender, etc. for the first time. The Perceptual Learning Style Preference Questionnaire (PLSPQ) was administered. The descriptive statistics of the learning styles preferences showed that tactile, kinesthetic and auditory are respectively the first three learning style preferences among the learners of Persian as a second language, while the other learners of Persian as a foreign language preferred kinesthetic, tactile and auditory learning styles. The data analysis showed that there were no significant differences between the style scores of the two groups. Also, the findings revealed a significant difference in preference between foreign and second language learners of Persian using group styles. Foreign Persian language learners exhibited a high preference for the group learning style. In addition, the correlation was significant between geographic region (to be or not to be Asian) and different learning styles.

Teaching and learning of French as a foreign language in any Anglophone country such as Ghana is an extremely difficult task to undertake both on the part of the teacher and the student. This is evidenced in the general low performance of students in the subject at the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) level in both public and private schools over the years. This case study paper follows, examines, and documents evidence (in a day) of an exemplary French teacher, Pangloss who, by dint of hard work, has brought tremendous success to his students. This article critically analyzes the difference and excellence he brings unto the teaching and learning of French even as a part-time teacher in a public Junior High School (JHS) in the Muzumba community within the Cape Zone Metropolis. The paper’s preoccupation is to typically observe the characteristics of this individual foreign language teacher with a view to probing deeply and analyzing intensively the multifarious phenomena that constitute his professional demeanor, the processes he employs in teaching, and the opportunities he creates for student learning purposely to establish some insights on how teaching and learning of French could be made better to the wider French teacher population in Ghana.

AbstractThe interference of the native language in acquiring a foreign language is unavoidable. In an attempt to explore the phenomenon why this occurs, the study was conducted in English as a foreign language writing. The study also investigated how the native language interference occurred in the writing process. In fact, this qualitative study explored the reasons and the process of native language interference in writing performances of EFL learners. The data were collected from Thai undergraduate students through semi-structured interviews. Results obtained from the analysis of this study suggested that the reasons of native language interference in EFL writing were found in three main themes: learning strategies of language learners, inadequate knowledge of the target language, and attitude towards English. Furthermore, the interference of the native language appeared in the initial stage and repeatedly occurred throughout the entire writing process. Finally, the suggestions related to the teachers’ awareness of the problematic area, the use of English as the classroom language, and the use of monolingual dictionary are offered to the EFL writing instructors in order to help their EFL students to minimize the errors caused by the native language interference.

The situation generated by the pandemic has caused irreversible changes in society and the educational world, manifesting a necessary change in methodology in the teaching and learning process. The purpose of this study, which is part of a doctoral thesis investigation, was to analyze the use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) and the digital competences of teachers in the Foreign Language classroom, before and during the state of alarm provoked by the pandemic Covid-19, based on sociodemographic factors. A non-experimental, ex post facto, descriptive study was carried out using a single measuring instrument. The final sample consisted of 117 foreign language teachers from bilingual schools of Primary and Secondary Education in Andalusia (Spain), both public and semi-private. The results indicate that teachers improved their digital skills as a result of the increased frequency of ICT use during the pandemic, and men under 30 years of age felt more motivated to use and incorporate new technologies in their classes. Even so, teachers continue to express the need for greater training opportunities in the use of ICTs for both educators and students, which will pose new challenges in the acquisition and development of digital competencies and from which new needs will emerge.

IntroductionIn the context of collaborative online foreign language practice, we look at how metacognition and revealing of the self combine when the full potential of the digital tools are put to use. We present a qualitative study of a corpus of written contributions by English as a foreign language distance French learners and look into a model for teaching and learning in which emotions are integrated. We study how expression of emotion and commenting on learning are combined in the learners’ discourse. We thus give insight into the meeting point of technology on the one hand and learning and teaching strategies on the other hand, and detail diverse appropriation regimes within a community of trust (Privas-Bréauté & Rémon, 2018).

Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) have significantly transformed the education system in recent decades, providing new opportunities for both teachers and students and improving the quality of education. The purpose of this study is to analyze the opinions of foreign language teachers regarding the impact of ICTs in the classroom, the training acquired and the challenges faced during the teaching-learning experience. A study with a quantitative, non-experimental, cross-sectional, and descriptive approach was carried out using a questionnaire as a data collection instrument. The final sample consisted of 117 foreign language teachers from bilingual schools of Primary and Secondary Education in Andalusia (Spain), both public and subsidized/semi-public. Specifically, 66.6% are female and 33.4% male. The results indicate that teachers believe in the positive impact that ICTs may have on the teaching-learning process, and feel highly motivated in carrying out their work through ICTs. However, teachers continue to express the need for further and continuous training and highlight the importance of technical support and how the lack of resources can undermine the quality of foreign language teaching. 

This study aims to analyze the factors associated with motivation and attitude towards English learning through the application of structural equation modeling (SEM). A quantitative, ex post fact, cross-sectional and explanatory study was carried out on 1202 university students. Eight motivational factors were examined, namely: Motivational Intensity (MI), Attitude towards Learning English (ATLL), Integrative Orientation (IntO), Instrumental Orientation (InsO), Interest Towards Foreign Languages (ITFL), Evaluation of English Teaching (EET), Desire to Learn English (DLE), Evaluation of the English Course (EEC). The multiple regressions showed that EET, DLE, InsO, and EEC are predictors of the MI. It was found that DLE, InsO, and EEC are predictors of ATLL. The SEM showed a weak positive influence of InsO on DLE, ITFL, EET, EEC, MI and ATLL. IntO had a weak positive impact on DLE, EET, EEC, and ITFL. There was a weak positive impact of DLE on ITFL, ATLL and MI, and it had a strong effect on EEC. Finally, EET had a weak positive effect on MI, whereas EEC had a weak positive impact on ATTL and MI. This research provided information that serves to understand the factors affecting the intensity of motivation and attitude in L2 learning