Contents

Vol. 8, No. 2, December 2011

Editorial

Articles

• Sayuki Machida
  Reading Foreign Language Text – What Separates Skilled and Unskilled FL Readers?
  
  The research investigates how English speaking advanced learners of Japanese read an expository text in Japanese. Volunteer learners read the expository text in Japanese and recalled it in English. The study explored the differences between skilled and unskilled readers in their comprehension of this text. It examined how the readers retrieved the ideas (propositional) from the FL text and integrated them to form rhetorical units, and then linked these units into hierarchical relationships to build their comprehension of the text. It found that the rate of retrieval of the rhetorical units was a better indicator of overall comprehension than idea retrieval. Skilled learners’ recalled a larger amount of not only the ideas but also rhetorical units in the text, and they comprehended the text better using priming and activating long term-working memory. The systematicities displayed by the skilled learners suggested that their reading comprehension processes may approximate those commonly observed among native speakers.
• Ya-Fen Lo
  An Analysis of Effective and Less Effective EFL Writers’ Processes and Products for a Reading-to-Write Task
  
  
  The study investigates the reading-to-write process of both effective and less effective EFL writers and their written products. The participants were three effective and three less effective EFL college writers from Taiwan. The data included think-aloud protocols, retrospective interviews, and the participants’ written texts for a reading-to-write task. The data from verbal protocols were analyzed to investigate the strategy use during the reading-to-write process, while the written texts were examined for text features and critical thinking. A total 24 strategies were identified. The results revealed that the effective writers engaged in more strategic activities in terms of varieties and frequencies throughout the reading-to-write process. The analyses of text features of the written products showed clear differences in the mean length and scores of grammatical accu-racy between the two groups of writers. Although the analyses of critical thinking showed low critical think-ing scores for all the writers, the effective writers were found to be better at identifying problems and pre-senting clear perspectives. An analysis of the writing process and the written products revealed some interesting patterns between the strategy use and the quality of the products, which may indicate possible impacts of strategy use on writing performance and directions for future studies.
• Michael D. Hubert
  The Speaking-Writing Connection: Integrating Dialogue into a Foreign Language Writing Course
  
  
  Second language writing researchers have demonstrated that the integration of dialogue into ESL writing classrooms can have positive effects on certain aspects of composition instruction, namely in the planning and revision stages. However, the relationship between a highly social classroom and the eventual written product produced by L2 learners is not yet clear. This study attempts to measure the effects of such a classroom on the writing produced by 43 U.S. university foreign language students enrolled in a multi-section intermediate Spanish grammar and writing course. Pre- and post-treatment writing samples were collected from experimental and control groups and samples were analyzed in terms of overall communicative effectiveness and writing structure, and well as overall comprehensibility. Results indicate no statisti-cally-significant difference between experimental and control groups; talking about writing and talking while writing did not appear to have measurable effects on these students’ writing quality.
• Shanthi Nadarajan
  The Challenges of Getting L2 Learners to Use Academic Words in their Writings
  
  
  To understand how instruction influences L2 learners to attend to academic words during writing, it is useful to look at evaluation practices, instructional approach and learner ability over time. This paper explores the relationship between academic word use and holistic scores of L2 learners’ essays, investigates L2 learners’ ability to use vocabulary following instruction, and also compares lexical richness of L1 and L2 academic writings. The multilevel data collection techniques – teacher evaluation of L1 and L2 writings, classroom interactions, excerpts from actual L1 and L2 writings and teacher reflections – provide a holistic view of L2 learners’ ability to learn words following instruction and use them like their L1 peers. Using a sample of 387 essays from 129 students, the analysis revealed that while there was no relationship between academic word use and holistic scores, not only teachers award higher grades to essays with a higher percentage of academic words, but L2 learners can also be taught to use academic vocabulary in their writings over time.
• Chih-hui Chang
  Language Learning Strategy Profile of University Foreign Language Majors in Taiwan
  
  
  This preliminary comparative study profiles foreign language learning strategy use (LLSU) among 360 undergraduate foreign language majors in Taiwan. Four variables of gender, academic foreign language major subject, fondness of the target language (TL), and previous experience in a TL country were employed to analyze their relationships with participants’ LLSU. A high frequency of LLSU among these foreign language learners was discovered. The variable of fondness of the TL showed the most significant associations with participants’ LLSU. Significant effects and interactions were detected among the four variables and the use of individual strategies and strategy categories. Implications for educational practice in Taiwan and for further research are discussed.
• Colin M. Sage
  Learner Beliefs in South Korea: Enriching the Description
  
  
  Understanding learner beliefs facilitates pedagogic planning; however, to date research in the Korean context has been limited to studies using Horwitz’s (1988) Beliefs about Language Learning Inventory (BALLI), a questionnaire with deficiencies both in terms of its validity and its coverage. This small exploratory study works towards compensating for these shortcomings by seeking beliefs that appear salient for learners yet may be outside the BALLI’s coverage, and by working towards more valid procedures for data collection. The investigation consisted of two main stages. Firstly, 36 university students wrote to a fictional language learner advising how he could learn English more successfully. This data was used to develop a questionnaire which was administered to 35 university students. As the Cronbach’s alpha of questionnaire scales was lower than is considered acceptable, these quantitative results were treated as somewhat provisional. Nevertheless, the triangulated findings of the two data collection stages indicated potentially important beliefs not covered by previous studies that impact on areas such as classroom interaction, input and interlanguage. Finally, by comparing results to Second Language Acquisition (SLA) theory potential pedagogic implications were also identified.
• Souba Rethinasamy & Kee Man Chuah
  The Malaysian University English Test (MUET) and its Use for Placement Purposes: A Predictive Validity Study
  
  
  The use of standardised English proficiency tests like IELTS and TOEFL for admission and placement purposes is widely practised in academic institutions throughout the world. Similarly in Malaysia, many tertiary institutions utilise the results of a localised version of such tests called the Malaysian University English Test (MUET) as a measure of students’ proficiency level, prerequisite for admission, as well as placement in various academic programmes. This paper reports on the predictive validity of MUET as a measure of undergraduates’ English language proficiency and the appropriacy of the MUET cut-off bands for placement pur-poses. The MUET bands of 2884 undergraduates from various faculties and the grade they obtained in an English language enhancement course were analysed to answer the research questions. The findings indicate a significant positive relationship between the undergraduates’ MUET bands and their grades in the English language course. Chi square results also indicate that the difference between MUET band 3 undergraduates’ ability to obtain good grades is significantly different compared to undergraduates with MUET bands 1 and 2. Besides providing evidence for MUET’s validity as a measure of students’ English language ability, the findings also recommend a need to review the cut-off MUET band for placement purposes.
• Linda Kwok
  College Students’ Participation in E-Portfolio Learning in Relation to Academic Ability and Motivations
  
  
  E-portfolio has been implemented for students to take responsibility for their studies and to chart student pro-gress but little research has been done on the effectiveness of e-portfolio learning of college students in Hong Kong in relation to their academic ability and motivation. For a group of 84 university students, an elec-tronic-learning portfolio system (e-portfolio) was developed to consolidate learning and guide students to develop specific language skills as they only had two hours of classroom teaching once every two weeks in a professional English language course. To encourage participation, bonus marks were given to students for e- portfolio tasks completed, formative feedback was also given and self-evaluation was fostered by the system. The research aims to find out the impact of e-portfolio on students’ academic performance, their learning styles and motivation. It is found that the e-portfolio tasks have no correlation with students’ academic performance, the students show rather homogeneous learning styles, and self-determination for improvement can drive the students to do a few e-portfolio tasks voluntarily.

Reviews

• Review of “Exploring Learner Language”
  reviewed by Priscillia Li Eng Pui

Contributors to this Issue

Vol. 8, Suppl. 1, December 2011

Editorial

Articles

• Shunichi Ishihara, Chiharu Tsurutani & Kimiko Tsukada
  What Constitutes ‘Good Pronunciation’ from L2 Japanese Learners’ and Native Speakers’ Perspectives? A Perception Study
  
  Native speakers of a language can tell whether a speaker is native or non-native just by hearing one word or phrase in the language. It is expected that L2 learners will develop the ability to detect ‘good pronunciation’ as they establish the prototypes of the L2 sound system. However, it is not known what contributes to their judgement of good pronunciation. Therefore, this pilot study aims to clarify the mechanism of L2 listeners’ judgement of good pronunciation. In this study, we focus on the prosodic variations of timing and pitch accent in Japanese. Four groups of informants participated in a perception experiment where they were asked to assess stimuli extracted from the recordings of L2 Japanese learners. These four groups are L2 Japanese learners at two levels of proficiency (beginner and advanced), and native Japanese speakers with and without formal teaching experience of L2 Japanese. All learner participants are native speakers of Australian English. We will report that the learners’ assessment of good pronunciation is not straightforward, being different from the logical expectation that learners will behave more like native speakers as their L2 Japanese proficiency develops. We will also discuss possible explanations for the results and implications for L2 Japa-nese education.
• Carol Hayes
  “Nihon to Watashi: Japan and Myself” – Digital Stories to Enhance Student-Centred Japanese Language Learning
  
  
  The primary aim of this paper is to introduce the day-to-day workings of the Digital Story module that has been running as part of the ANU second year intermediate Japanese language course for the past three years, and secondly to present the findings of a pilot research project that aims to generate questions and parameters for a more extensive research survey. The paper also aims to discuss something of the appeal of these stories to teachers and students and examine their value in foreign language teaching as an alternative to the individual oral/aural presentations or tests. The Digital Story module has, overall, proved successful as a teaching and learning strategy for second language learners with a medium through which they can better express their opinions and emotional responses to Japan and its role in their lives. Although not without problems, particularly the balance between technological expertise and content, this mode of teaching and learning encouraged student motivation and enhanced learning outcomes, by challenging the students to incorporate their own interests, opinions and emotions.
• Peter Friedlander
  Learning Languages as Expressions of Cultures
  
  
  This paper considers how ideas about language and culture influence language learning. The methodology for the study is a comparison of the tasks involved in learning introductory Hindi and Japanese. The paper was written after 132 hours of study of Japanese. Through comparing how Japanese and Hindi are taught I demonstrate that integral to the learning of these languages is the need to understand linguistic forms as expressions of distinctive cultural practices. This is prefaced by a discussion of standards being advocated for language teaching in the Common European Framework (CEFR) and in the American Council for the Teaching of foreign languages (ACTFL). I argue that further work needs to be done examining how Asian cultures influence language usage and how standards might be set for understanding the relationship between languages and cultures. The conclusion which I draw from this is that the adoption of neither CEFR nor ACFTL standards will not have beneficial impact on learners without further studies of the relationship between socio-cultural and communicative approaches to language teaching.
• Wai Meng Chan, Seo Won Chi, Kwee Nyet Chin & Chiung Yao Lin
  Students’ Perceptions of and Attitudes towards Podcast-Based Learning – A Comparison of Two Language Podcast Projects
  
  
  Podcasting is increasingly being exploited by language teachers as a tool for delivering educational content and to encourage learning outside of the traditional classroom. While some studies have explored the application of podcasting in language learning as well as students’ response to podcast-based learning, there is still comparatively little research into effective podcast design and students’ perceptions of and attitudes towards this medium. This paper looks at two podcast projects conducted at a university in Singapore, which were created to supplement classroom instruction for Chinese and Korean as a foreign language. It first describes the projects’ background and target groups, and podcasts’ design and content. It reports subsequently on a study conducted on these two projects to address the current lack of empirical research and to seek insights for the further development of language podcasting. Data were collected from questionnaires administered to 120 Chinese and 61 Korean language students as well as semi-structured interviews to ascertain their perceptions of the podcasts’ quality and usefulness, and their attitudes towards podcast-based learning. It was found that there were statistically significant differences in the perceptions and attitudes of the two groups of students. The analysis of the data further uncovered that there are four possible reasons for these differences: 1) the podcasts’ objectives and students’ learning motivation; 2) a mismatch between podcast design and students’ expectations, needs and preferences; 3) teacher encouragement and student preparation; and 4) the experience of mobile learning. The implications of the study for future practice and further research are also discussed.
• Izumi Walker
  Learners’ Noticing of Japanese Speech Styles: Pedagogical Issues and Possibilities
  
  
  The role of consciousness in the learning of a second or foreign language has received increased emphasis over the last decade. Particularly, the ‘noticing’ of relevant features in the speech of authentic native speakers can promote learning. However, little has been studied about the learning of Japanese speech styles, which are recognized as one of the most difficult linguistic features to acquire because there is no neutral style in Japanese. The most appropriate style must be selected according to the interlocutor’s age, social status, intimacy, formality of situation, etc. and the style selected can constantly change depending on various contextual and psychological factors. Prompted by these issues, the author has conducted a study to investigate if elementary level learners of Japanese noticed anything about speech styles and, if they did, what they noticed when they communicated with Japanese native speakers. The present paper reports on the initial part of the 9 month-longitudinal study that explores what learners noticed during their first Japanese native contact situation. The data was collected from 65 student journal reports and was analyzed by the Modified Grounded Theory Approach. Results indicate that the learners’ noticing varied greatly and that the variations are not only due to individual differences between the learners but also due to differences between the individual native speakers they encountered. Based on such findings, this paper discusses potential learning difficulties, related pedagogical issues and the possibilities for teaching speech styles from an elementary level.
• George Quinn
  Teaching Javanese Respect Usage to Foreign Learners
  
  
  With around 80 million speakers, Javanese is the biggest of Indonesia’s regional languages. It has a written tradition stretching back 1,000 years and today exerts a powerful influence on Indonesia’s national language, Bahasa Indonesia. Javanese has one of the most elaborate systems of respect usage of any recorded language. The compulsory tuvous distinction of French is multiplied many hundreds of times over in all word classes of Javanese – even in affixes. In addition to the two basic respect levels (called ngoko or “low Javanese” and krama or “high Javanese”), there is an an augmented respect level with two aspects, called krama inggil and krama andhap. The respect levels of Javanese present special difficulties for teachers and learners of Javanese as a foreign language. Two difficulties stand out: how should teaching of respect levels be ordered, and how can teaching of respect levels be managed in the classroom when classroom practice may violate powerful conventions of linguistic interaction that apply in Javanese society at large? This paper sketches the dimensions of the two issues and suggests that a drama-based approach may best address these special problems.
• Johanna Wulansari Istanto & Indrianti
  Pelangi Bahasa Indonesia Podcast: What, Why and How?
  
  
  The rapid evolution of information and communication technologies (ICT) has created many pedagogical possibilities for the use of these technologies to support second and foreign language learning. ICT applica-tions have been employed by the Bahasa Indonesia Programme at the Centre for Language Studies, National University of Singapore (CLS-NUS), since 2001 as supplementary tools to enhance students’ proficiency beyond classroom instruction. The most recent development is the integration of podcasting into the Bahasa Indonesia Level 1 curriculum. This paper describes how podcast units are used to optimize students’ learning experiences. Five podcast units were designed as supplementary materials to develop students’ listening skills and grammar knowledge in the beginners’ level course. A qualitative survey administered to 20 undergradu-ate students learning Indonesian as a foreign language was the main means of data collection. The result indicates that the application of podcasting enhanced students’ listening skills, grammar knowledge, and knowledge of the culture of the target community. It facilitated self-paced learning and provided a means of reviewing in preparation for tests. It was also a useful platform for remediation, especially for slower learners.
• Gia Anh Le Ho
  Understanding Good Language Learners of Vietnamese as a Foreign Language
  
  
  The study of good language learners has received considerable attention in the field of second language acquisition. Previous studies have identified certain kinds of behaviours associated with successful language learning. This paper investigates a much under-researched topic: high-achieving learners of Vietnamese as a foreign language. Focusing on four case studies, using interviews and questionnaires as the main data collection instruments supplemented by learners’ self-report journals, this exploratory study aims to shed light on the learners’ common characteristics, motivation and learning strategies. Findings suggest that these learners share six common distinguishing characteristics, some of which are concurrent with the literature. Several implications for foreign language teaching research are also discussed.

Contributors to this Issue