An Investigation Into the Effectiveness of and Attitudes Towards the Keyword Method and the Context Method in L2 Vocabulary Acquisition Bycantonese-Speaking Chinese Learners in an English as the Medium Ofinstruction (EMI) Secondary School in Hong Kong

An Investigation Into the Effectiveness of and Attitudes Towards the Keyword Method and the Context Method in L2 Vocabulary Acquisition Bycantonese-Speaking Chinese Learners in an English as the Medium Ofinstruction (EMI) Secondary School in Hong Kong PDF Author: Wing-Wa Yip
Publisher: Open Dissertation Press
ISBN: 9781361303832
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :

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Book Description
This dissertation, "An Investigation Into the Effectiveness of and Attitudes Towards the Keyword Method and the Context Method in L2 Vocabulary Acquisition ByCantonese-speaking Chinese Learners in an English as the Medium Ofinstruction (EMI) Secondary School in Hong Kong" by Wing-wa, Yip, 葉頴華, was obtained from The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong) and is being sold pursuant to Creative Commons: Attribution 3.0 Hong Kong License. The content of this dissertation has not been altered in any way. We have altered the formatting in order to facilitate the ease of printing and reading of the dissertation. All rights not granted by the above license are retained by the author. Abstract: Vocabulary learning plays an important role in second language acquisition. As successful language learners are found to make good use of vocabulary learning strategies to facilitate the learning process, researchers are interested in investigating whether less competent language learners can also benefit from strategy instruction. The present study aimed to examine the relative effectiveness of and attitudes towards the two vocabulary strategies, namely the keyword method and the context method in L2 vocabulary acquisition among 61 Cantonese-speaking Chinese students in Hong Kong. The study involved two classes of Secondary one students studying in a band one English-medium co-educational secondary school. In the first round of the study, Class A and Class B learnt a list of 10 target vocabulary items. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected through vocabulary pre-tests, post-tests, questionnaires and interviews. In the second round, Class A and Class B swapped the learning conditions to learn another list of 10 target vocabulary items. The same procedures as for the first round were followed. Findings of this study indicated, first, the superiority of the keyword method over the context method in vocabulary retention. Second, the majority of the participants thought the context method was more useful than the keyword method and preferred the former one in the future. To conclude, this study may be of importance in investigating the effectiveness of the two strategies by Chinese learners in the Hong Kong school context, as well as in providing a better understanding of their attitudes towards the two strategies. DOI: 10.5353/th_b4854434 Subjects: Vocabulary - Study and teaching (Secondary) - China - Hong Kong Vocabulary - Study and teaching (Secondary) - Chinese speakers Second language acquisition - China - Hong Kong

An Investigation Into the Effectiveness of and Attitudes Towards the Keyword Method and the Context Method in L2 Vocabulary Acquisition Bycantonese-Speaking Chinese Learners in an English as the Medium Ofinstruction (EMI) Secondary School in Hong Kong

An Investigation Into the Effectiveness of and Attitudes Towards the Keyword Method and the Context Method in L2 Vocabulary Acquisition Bycantonese-Speaking Chinese Learners in an English as the Medium Ofinstruction (EMI) Secondary School in Hong Kong PDF Author: Wing-Wa Yip
Publisher: Open Dissertation Press
ISBN: 9781361303832
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :

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Book Description
This dissertation, "An Investigation Into the Effectiveness of and Attitudes Towards the Keyword Method and the Context Method in L2 Vocabulary Acquisition ByCantonese-speaking Chinese Learners in an English as the Medium Ofinstruction (EMI) Secondary School in Hong Kong" by Wing-wa, Yip, 葉頴華, was obtained from The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong) and is being sold pursuant to Creative Commons: Attribution 3.0 Hong Kong License. The content of this dissertation has not been altered in any way. We have altered the formatting in order to facilitate the ease of printing and reading of the dissertation. All rights not granted by the above license are retained by the author. Abstract: Vocabulary learning plays an important role in second language acquisition. As successful language learners are found to make good use of vocabulary learning strategies to facilitate the learning process, researchers are interested in investigating whether less competent language learners can also benefit from strategy instruction. The present study aimed to examine the relative effectiveness of and attitudes towards the two vocabulary strategies, namely the keyword method and the context method in L2 vocabulary acquisition among 61 Cantonese-speaking Chinese students in Hong Kong. The study involved two classes of Secondary one students studying in a band one English-medium co-educational secondary school. In the first round of the study, Class A and Class B learnt a list of 10 target vocabulary items. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected through vocabulary pre-tests, post-tests, questionnaires and interviews. In the second round, Class A and Class B swapped the learning conditions to learn another list of 10 target vocabulary items. The same procedures as for the first round were followed. Findings of this study indicated, first, the superiority of the keyword method over the context method in vocabulary retention. Second, the majority of the participants thought the context method was more useful than the keyword method and preferred the former one in the future. To conclude, this study may be of importance in investigating the effectiveness of the two strategies by Chinese learners in the Hong Kong school context, as well as in providing a better understanding of their attitudes towards the two strategies. DOI: 10.5353/th_b4854434 Subjects: Vocabulary - Study and teaching (Secondary) - China - Hong Kong Vocabulary - Study and teaching (Secondary) - Chinese speakers Second language acquisition - China - Hong Kong

EFFECTIVENESS OF VOCABULARY LE

EFFECTIVENESS OF VOCABULARY LE PDF Author: Chok-Yee Cheung
Publisher: Open Dissertation Press
ISBN: 9781374711594
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 96

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Book Description
This dissertation, "The Effectiveness of Vocabulary Learning Strategies of Chinese Low Achievers" by Chok-yee, Cheung, 張作儀, was obtained from The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong) and is being sold pursuant to Creative Commons: Attribution 3.0 Hong Kong License. The content of this dissertation has not been altered in any way. We have altered the formatting in order to facilitate the ease of printing and reading of the dissertation. All rights not granted by the above license are retained by the author. Abstract: Abstract of thesis entitled The effectiveness of vocabulary learning strategies of Chinese low achievers submitted by Cheung Chok Yee for the degree of Master of Applied Linguistics at the University of Hong Kong September, 2004 The study explores the effect of the Keyword method and the Combined Context method on learning English vocabulary by Chinese low achieving students within a classroom situation. The two methods were compared by using a between-subject approach and a within-subject approach. Eighty F.1 remedial class students participated in the present study and they were divided into 2 groups. Group A students went through all the processes of this study while Group B tried out the Combined Context method only. The present study also aims to explore more about the different practices of the Keyword method. Previous research on second language (L2) vocabulary learned by the Keyword method has primarily involved the use of first language (L1) keywords to learn vocabulary of other languages. The present study employed both L1 and L2 keywords to learn a group of new words. Students learning the Keyword method (Group A) were instructed to learn 20 English words by using 10 L1 keywords and 10 L2 keywords. The results were compared with the results of the Combined Context group (Group B) in which students were taught the same 20 words. Students in Group A were then required to learn another 20 English words with self generated keywords and another 20 words by using the Combined Context method. Questionnaires were distributed to all the subjects to investigate their usual vocabulary learning strategies and their perceived usefulness. Students' feedback on the different learning approaches was reviewed after the experiments. The overall results reveal that students using the Keyword method outperformed the ones using the Combined Context method. Concerning the differences between using L1 and L2 keywords, they did not differ significantly in the immediate and conditions while the use of L2 keywords has shown to be more beneficial to written form recall conditions. No significance difference was found in the results between teacher-supplied keyword and student-generated keyword conditions. The implications of these findings, the limitations and suggestions for further research are discussed. DOI: 10.5353/th_b2964974 Subjects: Vocabulary - Study and teaching (Secondary) - China - Hong Kong Underachievers - China - Hong Kong Junior high school students - China - Hong Kong - Language Secondary students - Language

An Investigative Study of English Vocabulary Acquisition Patterns in Adult L2 Tertiary Learners with Chinese/Malay L1

An Investigative Study of English Vocabulary Acquisition Patterns in Adult L2 Tertiary Learners with Chinese/Malay L1 PDF Author: Beena Giridharan
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 654

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Book Description
The study employed a mixed-method research approach and the findings suggest that both content and context play significant roles in the extent to which L2 learners interact efficiently with reading texts. The findings from the study may have pedagogical and theoretical implications for curriculum developers, instructors and policy makers in second language tertiary English learning contexts.

Chinese as a Second Language Learners' Speech Competence and Speech Performance in Classroom Contexts

Chinese as a Second Language Learners' Speech Competence and Speech Performance in Classroom Contexts PDF Author: Paul Sun
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Chinese students
Languages : en
Pages : 656

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Book Description
People learn another language to be able to communicate. Nevertheless, most people are rarely able to speak an L2 with the same degree of, or even close to, the same skill of their L1s (Segalowitz, 2010). An underlying reason could be the existence of an L2 speech discrepancy/gap between speech competence and speech performance in all learners. Such a discrepancy/gap often leads to the breakdown of L2 speech performance no matter how good speech competence is. Although many researchers have explored L2 speech/speaking from cognitive (e.g., Segalowitz, 2010), affective (e.g., Chakrabarti & Sengupta, 2012), or sociocultural (e.g., Hernández, 2010) perspectives in an attempt to reveal the underlying reasons that may cause the discrepancy between speech competence and speech performance, little research, to date, has been conducted to investigate, comprehensively and systematically, the same cohort of L2 learners, particularly L2 Chinese learners, on the understandings of how these various aspects may contribute to a discrepant/unbalanced development of L2 learners' speech competence and speech performance. To fill this research gap, 152 Chinese as a second language (CSL) learners were recruited for this mixed methods study, with 118 for a quantitative investigation and 34 for an in-depth qualitative enquiry, informed by major theoretical and conceptual frameworks relating to L2 speech. These theoretical and conceptual frameworks include Krashen's (1982) affective filter hypothesis, MacIntyre and associates' (1998) L2 willingness to communicate (WTC) model, Dörnyei's (2009) L2 motivational self system, and Levelt's (1989) and Segalowitz's (2010) L2 speech production models, in order to examine CSL learners' speech competence and speech performance from cognitive, affective, and socio-cultural perspectives concurrently. The quantitative results of the study, on the one hand, revealed that age, anxiety, WTC, and L2 cultural interest were the predictors for CSL learners' speech competence, while kinaesthetic/tactile learning style, processing speed, anxiety, and attitudes towards L2 classes were the predictors for CSL learners' speech performance. Moreover, it was suggested that speech competence and speech performance were not in a simple positive linear relationship. The qualitative results, on the other hand, implied that group learning style, practice strategy, extrinsic motivation, communication apprehension, speaking self-efficacy, and WTC might account for the CSL learners' speech competence/performance development. In brief, the present study adds to our understanding of the complex nature of speech competence and speech performance from an integrated lens, namely, cognitively, affectively, and socio-culturally. The implications of the study in terms of what support could be provided to minimise the discrepancy/gap between CSL learners' speech competence and speech performance are discussed, and limitations and suggestions for future research explored.

Methods and Effects of Shadowing Using Online Authentic Videos on L2 Acquisition of Mandarin Chinese Tones

Methods and Effects of Shadowing Using Online Authentic Videos on L2 Acquisition of Mandarin Chinese Tones PDF Author: Ai-Ling Lu
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 198

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Book Description
Mandarin Chinese tones are notoriously difficult for second language (L2) learners. Previous research focuses on tone training methods that can help learners produce monosyllabic lexical tones, and studies about the production of multisyllabic lexical tones at the sentence level in spontaneous speech are limited. This study applies shadowing-a method where the learners repeat what they heard with as little delay as possible-to tone training and compares the effects of using authentic videos and textbook audios as shadowing materials for beginner L2 Mandarin learners' tone improvement at the sentence level. Fourteen students in elementary Chinese classes at an American university participated in the tone training activity for four weeks. The participants in the "authentic video" group received authentic videos as their training materials, while the "textbook audio" group was trained with textbook audios. The participants shadowed the materials twice a week, six times per session, at home in their free time. Tone accuracy was rated by Mandarin native speakers according to the pre-test and the post-test consisting of a read-aloud task and a one-on-one conversation. Qualitative and quantitative surveys were conducted to analyze learners' attitudes toward the shadowing activity and the materials. The results indicate that learners in both groups showed significant improvements in their accuracy in spontaneous speech with no significant differences between the two groups. As for learners' attitudes, although the participants reported overall positive feedback on the shadowing activity regardless of the materials, authentic materials generated great interest from the participants and were more appealing to the learners. A strong correlation between learners' confidence in speaking and flexibility of the activity was also found. Based on the finding, pedagogical implications are discussed, including how to select suitable materials and shadowing instructions. For example, educators could introduce textbook audios first and gradually add authentic materials. The findings provide Mandarin Chinese instructors an effective and engaging way to improve learners' tone production in spontaneous speaking. Incorporating shadowing activities into class has great potential to encourage learners' autonomy without occupying precious class time. The findings not only contribute to research on teaching Chinese as a second language and the related pedagogy but also shed light on the use of authentic materials in second language teaching and learning.

Effect of Social Interaction on L2 Writing Performance of American and Chinese Secondary School Tudents

Effect of Social Interaction on L2 Writing Performance of American and Chinese Secondary School Tudents PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :

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Book Description
The main goal of this study was to investigate the effect of social interactive writing (SIW) with native speakers (NS) pals of the target language on second language (L2) writing performance for secondary school beginning L2 learners. Other goals included investigating the strategy use, cultural learning and affective states of secondary school L2 learners during the SIW. The SIW in this study was via electronically scanned hand-written exchange letters attached to e-mail between American and Chinese pen-pals. A total of 79 participants were involved in this study for over a four-month period, where the 37 American participants (grades 7 to 11) were divided into two comparable groups (SIW and worksheet-writing) and tested for two-month writing improvement. The ANCOVA results indicated that the SIW group writing mean scores were marginally significantly greater (F = 3.52, p=.07) than those of the worksheet-writing group and the effect size of the writing improvement of the SIW group was medium to large (c̦ 2 = .105). Other findings of this study derived from participants' surveys, interviews, exchange letters and teachers' notes triangulated the statistical results and further revealed that participants used their first language (L1), memory tools, and dictionaries as common strategies to help L2 writing; that L2 learners somewhat benefited in cultural learning and social skills development through SIW; and that SIW improved participants' level of interest, motivation in learning an L2. Thus, the proposed two-way SIW model supports the notion of sociolinguistics that L2 educators consider facilitating L2 acquisition in real social contexts as they construct classroom environments. The technique of using e-mail with a scanned hand-written letter attachment is also recommended for L2 classrooms, especially for beginning learners.

Multilingual Hong Kong: Languages, Literacies and Identities

Multilingual Hong Kong: Languages, Literacies and Identities PDF Author: David C.S. Li
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 3319441957
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 314

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Book Description
This volume gives an up-to-date account of the language situation and social context in multilingual Hong Kong. After an in-depth, interpretive analysis of various language contact phenomena, it shows why it is such a tall order for Hongkongers to live up to the Special Administrative Region government’s language policy goalpost, ‘biliteracy and trilingualism’. A detailed contrastive analysis between Cantonese and (a) English, (b) Modern Written Chinese, and (c) Putonghua helps explain the nature of the linguistic and acquisitional challenges involved. Economic forces and sociopolitical realities helped shape the ‘mother tongue education’ or ‘dual MoI streaming’ policy since September 1998. The book provides a critical review of the significant milestones and key policy documents from the early 1990s, and outlines the concerns of stakeholders at the receiving end. Another MoI debate concerns the feasibility and desirability of teaching Chinese in Putonghua (TCP). Based on a critical review of the TCP literature and recent psycholinguistic and neuroscience research, the language-in-education policy implications are discussed, followed by a few recommendations. Hongkongers of South Asian descent saw their life chances curtailed as a result of the post-1997 changes in the language requirements for gaining access to civil service positions and higher education. Based on a study of 15 South Asian undergraduate students’ prior language learning experiences, recommendations are made to help redress that social inequity problem.

Aspects of the Syntax, the Pragmatics, and the Production of Code-switching

Aspects of the Syntax, the Pragmatics, and the Production of Code-switching PDF Author: Brian Hok-Shing Chan
Publisher: Peter Lang Incorporated, International Academic Publishers
ISBN: 9780820455112
Category : Bilingualism
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
For decades, linguists have treated code-switching as a «special» language of its own, and devised many constraints accounting for code-switching patterns in various language pairs. This book argues that code-switching is governed by the same constraints as those governing native «pure» languages, and hence code-switching data provide a «window» to our language faculty. Although some other works have already suggested that code-switching and «pure» languages are governed by the same syntactic rules, this book goes a step further and explores the possibility that both are constrained by the same system in terms of syntax, production, and pragmatics.

Language Use in English-Medium Instruction at University

Language Use in English-Medium Instruction at University PDF Author: David Lasagabaster
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1000377865
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 197

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Book Description
This collection brings together insights from research and scholars’ practical experience on the role of language and language use in teacher practices at the university level in EMI contexts, offering global perspectives across diverse educational settings. The volume considers the language-related practices, processes and ways of thinking implemented in EMI contexts as teachers and students co-construct meaning through interaction while also situating these observations within the wider educational policies of institutions, societal norms and contextual pedagogies. The book highlights both the diversity and commonalities of the challenges and opportunities in enhancing student experience in different EMI contexts, drawing on international perspectives spanning South America, Europe and Asia. In so doing, the volume offers a comprehensive portrait of the current realities of the EMI experience at the university level, empowering stakeholders to critically reflect upon and adapt their classroom strategies to their own realities and chart new directions for research in the field. The book will be of particular interest to scholars interested in issues in English-medium instruction, applied linguistics, language policy and language education, as well as those currently teaching in EMI contexts.

Flipping the blend through MOOCs, MALL and OIL – new directions in CALL

Flipping the blend through MOOCs, MALL and OIL – new directions in CALL PDF Author: Marina Orsini-Jones
Publisher: Research-publishing.net
ISBN: 2490057154
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 99

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Book Description
This book presents a snapshot of innovative blended learning practices that either stem from the affordances of web 2.0 technologies or illustrate the re-purposing of ‘older’ ones, like the creation of tailor-made virtual learning environments, to set up telecollaborative projects. It is based on the papers presented at the B-MELTT: Flipping the Blend through MALL, MOOCs, and (Blended) OIL – New Directions in CALL symposium held at Coventry University in June 2017. It is hoped that the work presented here can provide some ideas on pedagogically sound ways of blending technology into higher education curriculums to enhance both the digital literacy and the intercultural awareness of all stakeholders involved.