Language in Focus : Exploring the challenges and opportunities in Linguistics and English Language Teaching (ELT) [1 ed.] 9781443858519, 9781443897051

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Language in Focus

Language in Focus: Exploring the challenges and opportunities in Linguistics and English Language Teaching (ELT) Edited by

Katarzyna Papaja and Cem Can

Language in Focus: Exploring the challenges and opportunities in Linguistics and English Language Teaching (ELT) Edited by Katarzyna Papaja and Cem Can This book first published 2016 Cambridge Scholars Publishing Lady Stephenson Library, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE6 2PA, UK British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Copyright © 2016 by Katarzyna Papaja, Cem Can and contributors All rights for this book reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the copyright owner. ISBN (10): 1-4438-9705-1 ISBN (13): 978-1-4438-9705-1

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Foreword .................................................................................................... ix Chapter One ................................................................................................. 1 Identity Construction through Narrative Analysis in Language Learning Situations Nazl Baykal Chapter Two .............................................................................................. 22 A Study on the Receptive Vocabulary Knowledge of Turkish Young Learners Ka÷an Büyükkarci and Gülin Zeybek Chapter Three ............................................................................................ 34 To Exist or Not Exist: the Existential There in PICLE and TICLE Cem Can and Katarzyna Papaja Chapter Four .............................................................................................. 47 Project-based Learning as an Effective Instrument in Developing Learners' Intercultural Awareness Marek Derenowski Chapter Five .............................................................................................. 66 An Investigation of the Use of a Specialised Corpus by Engineering Students with Low English Proficiency to Develop Journal Abstract Writing Skills Suparada Eak-in Chapter Six ................................................................................................ 83 Metaphoric “Myopia” in Non-constructivist Construal: A Didactic Account Souâd Hamerlain

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Chapter Seven............................................................................................ 97 A Contrastive Study of Cultural Values and Politeness in Japan and the United States Yuka Iwata Chapter Eight ........................................................................................... 111 A Needs Analysis of the ESP Course: The Case of Telecommunications Students at SUP’COM Tunis Rym Jamly Chapter Nine............................................................................................ 129 Comparison of Argumentative Writing by American, Chinese, and Turkish University Students Hatipoglu Ísmigül, Erkan Karabacak and Jingjing Qin Chapter Ten ............................................................................................. 145 Group Dynamics and the Learner’s Personality as Factors Influencing Foreign Language Learning Success Anna Kozioá Chapter Eleven ........................................................................................ 162 Selected Aspects of Future Teachers’ Identities and Attributions Anna MichoĔska-Stadnik Chapter Twelve ....................................................................................... 178 Speech Competence of Pre-service EFL Teachers: The Sources of Problems Oksana Nazarova and Çise Çavuúo÷lu Chapter Thirteen ...................................................................................... 197 Testing in English for Medical Purposes in Higher Education in Turkey: A Longitudinal Inquiry Neslihan Önder Özdemir Chapter Fourteen ..................................................................................... 215 The Use of Support Verb Constructions (SVC) in the Argumentative Essays of the Turkish EFL Learners: Ktucle vs Locness Ali ùükrü Özbay and Mustafa Naci Kayaoƣlu

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Chapter Fifteen ........................................................................................ 238 The Role of Receptive and Productive Vocabulary in Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) from the Perspective of University Students Katarzyna Papaja Chapter Sixteen ....................................................................................... 255 Importance of teh Situational Context and Response in Memory Retention and Recall: Reader Performance in an English as a Foreign Language Learning Context Debopriyo Roy, Stephen Crabbe and Ihor Lubashevsky Chapter Seventeen ................................................................................... 275 Devices and Techniques for Memory Retention in a Foreign Language Learning Context Debopriyo Roy and Stephen Crabbe Chapter Eighteen ..................................................................................... 290 Acquiring Locality Condition on English Reflexives by Persian Learners Ali Safari Chapter Nineteen ..................................................................................... 307 Is English still a False Friend?: a Study on Language Interference and the Importance of Learning (English) in the Twenty-first Century Isabel Fernandes Silva, Célia Quintas and Ana Luísa Teixeira Chapter Twenty ....................................................................................... 337 The Effect of Music on the Task Performance of Monolinguals and Bilinguals Anja Šariü Chapter Twenty-One ............................................................................... 354 The Use of English Articles by Polish Students Based on Corpus Studies Artur ĝwiątek Chapter Twenty-Two............................................................................... 371 Economic Translation: Challenges and Hindrances Sofiene Tergui

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Chapter Twenty-Three............................................................................. 388 Aspects of Business Vocabulary Acquisition in a Tertiary Russian ESP context Natalia Troufanova Chapter Twenty-Four .............................................................................. 408 The Effects of Teachers’ Caring Behaviour on Students’ Learning in an EFL Class in Higher Education Seden Tuyan Chapter Twenty-Five ............................................................................... 423 From ESP to CLIL: Designing Materials for the University Classroom Marina Tzoannopoulou Chapter Twenty-Six................................................................................. 443 The Effect of Vocabulary Knowledge in L2 Reading Serkan Uygun and Enisa Mede Chapter Twenty-Seven ............................................................................ 461 Englishes and ELF: Implications for Classroom Practices and Teacher Education Paola Vettorel List of Contributors ................................................................................. 483

FOREWORD

Applied linguistics is a field of academic enquiry that deals with the theoretical and empirical investigation of real issues in which LANGUAGE IS IN FOCUS. These issues range from aspects of linguistics, such as first or second language acquisition, literacy, language disorders, foreign language learning/teaching, bilingual education/CLIL, multilingualism, and interactional issues of interpersonal and intercultural communication, to language variation, linguistic discrimination, and language policy. New approaches, theoretical concepts, and methods are prerequisites for dealing with particular educational issues, therefore CHALLENGE and OPPORTUNITIES are the main themes of this book. This publication results from selected presentations given at the LIF2014 conference, which took place in Antalya, Turkey. The main focus of this event was to reflect the internationality of the English language by bringing academicians, researchers, teachers, and educational authorities from all over the world together and providing them with the opportunity to exchange an interdisciplinary dialogue on the theoretical as well as purely practical implications of applied linguistics and ELT. This collection embraces original contributions in different areas of applied linguistics, namely: x ELT methodology and classroom applications x Content and language integrated learning (CLIL) x SLA/ELT focused theories and research (productive and receptive skills, linguistic and communicative competences, code-switching, classroom interaction analysis, assessment and evaluation) x Psychological and psycholinguistic perspectives in SLA/ELT (attitudinal patterns, motivation, individual learner differences, learning strategies, learner autonomy) x Corpus linguistics and learner corpora x Syntax and interfaces with morphology and semantics x Lexical processing x Phonological processing x Cross-linguistic influences

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x Discourse analysis x Sociolinguistic theories and research (quantitative and qualitative approaches to the study of language, ethnographic and anthropological approaches to the study of language; language contact) x Socio-cultural considerations (intercultural competence development, multiculturalism in theory and practice, ethnic/language minority classrooms) x Multilingualism/bilingualism x Educational language policies x Translation and interpreting The article “Identity Construction through Narrative Analysis in Language Learning Situations” by Nazl Baykal discusses why narrative inquiry appears suitable to explore one’s identity construction in the field of applied linguistics and language learning research. Specifically, it investigates the English (as a foreign language) learning situation of Turkish university students and their newly formed identities through a narrative analysis of their learning experiences. The next article, “A Study of the Receptive Vocabulary Knowledge of Young Turkish Learners” by Ka÷an Büyükkarci and Gülin Zeybek, focuses on second language receptive vocabulary knowledge of young Turkish learners. Data were collected from the students (N=67) studying at seventh and eighth grades in primary schools in Isparta (Turkey). Two tests at Level 1 (Meara 1992) were used to collect data in order to find the level of receptive vocabulary knowledge. The differences between the receptive vocabulary levels according to grade and gender are analysed, and the results show that there is no significant difference between students’ receptive vocabulary levels in these respects. “To Exist or Not Exist: the Existential There in Picle and Ticle” by Cem Can and Katarzyna Papaja is an investigation of the use of there constructions taken from the written corpora the International Corpus of Learner English (the Polish and Turkish component of ICLE), and the Louvain Corpus of Native English Essays (LOCNESS). The focus of this article is to analyse there constructions from the perspective of second-language learning and to compare the use of these structures by native and non-native speakers of English-Polish and English-Turkish learners. This investigation is valuable, as any findings in this area can lead to the improvement of teaching techniques. Therefore, the study reveals some important differences in the use of there constructions as regards their frequency, structural complexity, polarity, and pragmatic value, which have crucial implications for the pedagogical treatment of

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there constructions in Polish and Turkish foreign language teaching methodology. The fourth article, “Project-based Learning as an Effective Instrument in Developing Learners' Intercultural Awareness” by Marek Derenowski, is an attempt to present the usefulness of culture-based project work in developing intercultural awareness among foreign-language learners. In modern education there is a very strong imperative to learn to communicate with people whose cultural heritage and background are different from ours. One way to effectively cater for the increase of the learners’ intercultural awareness is to make them directly involved in Project Based Learning (PjBL), which serves as a motivator, stimulus, and challenge. While working on their culture-based projects, learners have the genuine opportunity to connect the outside world with the classroom reality, as well as to work on their personal interests and hobbies. Furthermore, culture-oriented projects allow learners to encounter these aspects of culture which are not usually present in the foreign-language curriculum. The next article, “An Investigation of the Use of a Specialised Corpus by Engineering Students with Low English Proficiency to Develop Abstract Journal-Writing Skills” by Suparada Eak-in, presents a study that was conducted to investigate low-proficiency students’ strategies in learning significant lexico-grammar features in each component of a journal abstract using the corpus-based method. These components are known as moves and steps and are based on an examination of a specialised corpus of journal article abstracts in engineering. The data of this corpus were utilised by students to write a well-organised abstract using lexical items and grammatical patterns that are typical in each move and step. This paper reports and discusses the qualitative parts of the main study that look into the process, practice, and problems arising from students’ encounters with DDL tasks. The findings are used to develop a pedagogical model for the use of specialised corpora to develop lowproficiency students’ English for specific academic purposes (ESAP) writing. It is a common truism that fostering the vitality of metaphor in sundry mundane words has been possible thanks to the ongoing processes of conceptualisation, association, and recasting. These, in turn, find fertile ground in English language teaching (ELT) settings. The article “Metaphorical ‘Myopia’ in Non-Constructivist Construal: A Didactic Account” by Souâd Hamerlain encloses the mentioned trope within a didactic sphere to observe its behaviour both as a purely linguistic adornment and, more sensibly, as a “cognitive instrument,” to use Black’s

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(1993) terminology. It also identifies English language learners’ metaphoric “myopia” as a predictable upshot of purely semantic readings (Davidson, in Sacks, 1978). Interestingly enough, a pragmatic account of metaphor may well explicate the shift from the purely linguistic to the contextually charged deciphering of figurative language at large. Connectedly, the dogmatic belief that heralds the precedence of the literal learning/interpretation over the figurative is questioned, and followed by relating the pragmatic fabric to students’ inventiveness and valid interpretations of highly culture-sensitive metaphors. “A Contrastive Study of Cultural Values and Politeness in Japan and the United States” by Yuka Iwata examines the similarities and differences of definitions of politeness and politeness strategies employed when serving customers between English and Japanese speakers. Free-listing and prototype analyses highlight the differences in the conceptualisations of politeness. It is revealed that the Japanese definitions of politeness are more concrete, specific, and detailed in describing manners and behaviours compared to the English counterparts, which are conceptual and general. The two cultural groups are divided as to being respectful. In providing definitions of politeness, none of the Japanese samples referred to “respectful” as “polite.” Regarding politeness strategies in the tourism context, none of the English samples point out the use of respectful language, unlike the Japanese. The article “A Needs Analysis of the ESP Course: the Case of Telecommunications Students at SUP’COM Tunis” by Rym Jamly describes the educational situation of the English for specific purposes (ESP) course at the Higher School of Communication of Tunis (SUP’COM). More specifically, it conducts a needs analysis investigating both the learning and the professional students’ needs to gain insights into the design of a learner-based curriculum. With these ends in view, both a structured interview and a questionnaire are adopted. The analysis of the data collected yields important findings, which suggest that students were aware of both their learning and target situation needs, but the fact remains that the course content does not match them. Thus, both ESP teacher training and an elaboration of the students’ productive skills (speaking and writing) are recommended. The following article, “A Comparison of Argumentative Writing by American, Chinese, and Turkish University Students” by Erkan Karabacak, Jingjing Qin, and øsmigül Hatipo÷lu, presents a comparison of the argumentative papers written in English by Turkish, Chinese, and American (US) university students regarding the Toulmin model (1958; 2003), the use of outside sources, and their behaviour in referencing

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sources. The findings suggest that, although three groups were able to take a position and support their claims with data, the percentages differed in several categories. For example, essays written by American students included more counter-claims and rebuttal-claims than the Turkish and Chinese students’ essays. In addition, American students’ essays had the highest percentage of outside-source use. Lastly, an analysis of citation behaviour revealed that Chinese students provided minimal references to the sources when compared to the other two groups. Other findings are also shared and implications for teaching academic writing to EFL students are discussed. The article “Group Dynamics and Learner Personality as Factors Influencing Foreign Language Learning Success” by Anna Kozioá presents an investigation of students’ self-perceptions and their peers’ evaluations of their character traits, and also focuses on how personality affects popularity in the classroom hierarchy and foreign-language success. The study was conducted with a group of 48 lower secondary school students aged 16. Its components were students’ self-evaluation, their classmates’ personality assessments, and learners’ popularity in the classroom. As the study demonstrates, these factors are closely connected. The aim of the next article, “Selected Aspects of Future Teachers’ Identities and Attributions” by Anna MichoĔska-Stadnik, is to present a set of selected identity features, opinions, and attributions of a group of student teachers of English (N=73) in two teacher-training institutions in Poland, comprising 28 from Wrocáaw, which is a large city, and 45 from a smaller town which hosts a teacher-training program in a local state school of higher professional education. The results of distributed surveys reveal the existence of some contextual and gender differences in the researched group. For example, young women traditionally attribute their success in learning to effort, whereas men attribute it to their abilities. Still, contrary to some earlier findings, there were no statistically significant differences between men and women in their general attribution styles. When it comes to analysing student teachers’ opinions and identities, some interesting findings were revealed. For instance, women seem to be more determined to search for new experiences than men. It can be assumed that, regardless of their place of study and gender, student teachers of English are openminded, positive about their future profession, and reveal mostly internal attributions. The following article, “Speech Competence of Pre-service EFL Teachers: The Sources of its Problems” by Oksana Nazarova and Çise Çavuúo÷lu, aims at presenting a research study focusing on the speech competence of 17 ELT students from a private university in the Turkish

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Republic of Northern Cyprus. The data presented here comes from the qualitative phase of the study where the specific factors that could cause problems in developing public speaking competence were identified by a thematic analysis of interviews, observations, reflective essays, and artifacts. This analysis yielded seven factors that could cause students’ minimal public speaking competence: (1) low English-language proficiency, (2) self-reported public speaking anxiety (PSA), (3) low level of self-efficacy, (4) foreign language anxiety (FLA), (5) general communication apprehension, (6) age, and (7) lack of motivation. The paper discusses how low levels of English proficiency appeared to influence the mastery of such basic performance standards as clear language, effective non-verbal behaviour, and effective use of vocal expression and paralanguage. Being a prospective teacher of English also seems to create an additional demand for students’ language competence, which in turn can lead to PSA, FLA, and low self-efficacy in speech situations. “Testing in English for Medical Purposes in Higher Education in Turkey: A Longitudinal Inquiry” by Neslihan Önder Özdemir aims at discussing longitudinal study reports on the design of an appropriate test for medical English courses in the Faculty of Medicine, Uluda÷ University, Turkey. The examination questions were detailed using real sample examination questions that were prepared considering the longitudinal critical needs analysis (n=525) results. The questions focused on areas such as technical and sub-technical medical vocabulary, current medical research articles and connectives, along with medical students’ feedback (n=47). The test attempted to assess students’ medical English knowledge in five primary domains: assessment of academic vocabulary knowledge, assessment of connectives, assessment of medical research article comprehension, assessment of academic reading skills, and assessment of academic writing skills. The main purpose of the article “The Use of Support Verb Constructions (SVC) in the Argumentative Essays of the Turkish EFL Learners: KTUCLE vs. LOCNESS” by Ali ùükrü Özbay and Mustafa Naci Kayaoƣlu is to analyse the overall frequency and use of support verb constructions (SVC) by learners of English in a tertiary level EFL setting in Turkey. For this purpose, the argumentative essays written by university students of English in their first and second years were taken as samples for the study. A lexical investigation of the KTUCLE corpus, solely compiled to serve the objectives of this study, entailed the presence of another similar-sized argumentative corpus and, as a result, the Louvain Corpus of Native English Essays (LOCNESS) was selected to compare the

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findings. The purposive sampling methodology was used and the analysis was done by comparing the language use of the learners who were categorised into two distinct levels with respect to their present language proficiency levels through the Oxford Online Placement Test, and their levels (n:105) were determined based on the scores of the test. The data for the study are both qualitative and quantitative in nature. A quantitative corpus-based frequency analysis of the two learner corpora findings were followed by the analysis of the learners’ diaries. The main findings of this contrastive learner corpus analysis reveal that, compared to LOCNESS, there is a lower use of support verb constructions by the language students in KTUCLE. The article “The Role of Receptive and Productive Vocabulary in Content and Language Integrated Learning from the Perspective of University Students” by Katarzyna Papaja provides an outline of the research on the importance of receptive and productive vocabulary in CLIL, starting with a brief insight into the phenomenon of CLIL and a general overview of the study, which was conducted among university students who study scientific subjects in a foreign language. The data presented and discussed were collected through questionnaires. Additionally, special attention was paid to the role of incidental vocabulary learning, which is supposed to give the learner a richer sense of word use and meaning. The subsequent article, “The Importance of Situational Context and Response in Memory Retention and Recall: Reader Performance in an English as a Foreign Language Learning Context” by Debopriyo Roy, Stephen Crabbe, and Ihor Lubashevsky, discusses the importance of situational context and response in memory retention and recall. Limited data from a website analysis study carried out for six weeks as in-class assignments in an EFL course at a Japanese technical university suggest that, for analytical assignments, readers use different systems, such as online/paper dictionaries or translation software, alongside different strategies, such as reading headings/topic sentences or skimming and scanning body text for main ideas, to obtain information in a given learning context. The use of such systems and strategies seems to reduce dependence on information retention and recall based on memory. However, it does not necessarily lead to performance improvement, even with massed practice. For this, the elimination of redundancy in assignments and the inclusion of instructor feedback might be also necessary. “Devices and Techniques for Memory Retention in a Foreign Language Learning Context” by Debopriyo Roy and Stephen Crabbe

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brings together information about devices and techniques that aid with memory retention, particularly working memory capacity, and are, or have the potential to be, pertinent in foreign language learning. The purpose of this is to serve as a reference and repository for educators and students in a foreign language learning context. Memory retention is vital for foreign language learning to be effective. Cognitive psychology and neuroscience research has developed devices and techniques that aid with memory retention, particularly in support of individuals with memory problems (loss or impairment). However, many of these devices and techniques are, or have the potential to be, useful and relevant to the study of a foreign language. The next article “Acquiring the Locality Condition on English Reflexives by Persian Learners” by Ali Safari examines the nature of Persian adult learners’ interlanguage when they acquire the locality condition on English reflexives. The question to be answered is whether UG assists Persian adult learners in acquiring binding patterns of English. Using grammatical judgment and story-based truth value judgment tasks, given to 60 elementary and advanced Persian-speaking learners of English, it was found that subjects can demonstrate knowledge of abstract and complex properties of language which could neither have been learned from L2 input nor derived from L1 grammar or direct instruction. The next article is “Is English still a False Friend?: a Study of Language Interference and the Importance of Learning (English) in the Twenty-first century” by Isabel Fernandes Silva, Célia Quintas, and Ana Luísa Teixeira, and describes the interference and importance of learning English. Internationalisation, communication, and networking are buzzwords in contemporary society. However, educational models seem to lack consensus in terms of social cognitive learning processes: some focus on the individual, others on context, and others on information (Santana 2001). Yet, education should be viewed from a systemic perspective and linked to educational institutions (Senge 1990). This is particularly relevant in English language learning (ESL), considering that English skills are increasingly an element of professional and social segmentation. The Portuguese educational policy on foreign languages, and in particular on English as a foreign language, has undergone several changes in recent decades. Whereas in the mid-1970s English was the second foreign language students learned at secondary school, today it is taught to primary school children. The authors’ contention is that, despite the Portuguese educational and audiovisual policy (where only children’s films and programs are dubbed) and the investment in the use of ICT for

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learning, university students and skilled professionals still reveal some difficulties in avoiding language interference. The article “The Effect of Music on Task Performance of Monolinguals and Bilinguals” by Anja Šariü explores the way in which background music affects task performance in children. More specifically, it aims to investigate whether monolingual and bilingual children exhibit different behaviour for distinct types of music. In line with previous research, the predication is that relaxing music will enhance children's performance, and that disturbing music will decrease the level of success. Due to their better-developed executive function, bilinguals are predicted to show less discrepancy in different trials. Thus, it is expected that music will have a smaller effect on the task performance of bilinguals when compared to the age-matched monolinguals. The task used to measure the potential changes in the performance is a mathematical test. The objective of the article entitled “The Use of English Articles by Polish Students Based on Corpus Studies” by Artur ĝwiątek is to demonstrate the use of the system of English articles by non-native Polish users of English, representing B1 and B2 levels. This element of English grammar is a long-term interest of the author. The prior research conducted by the author concentrated on the acquisition of the English article system in different proficiency groups by Polish subjects, namely pre-intermediate, intermediate, and advanced (ĝwiątek 2013). For the needs of this article, these studies focused on the available corpus studies only, where two levels of English were investigated, namely B1 and B2. The selected levels and instances of use of English articles by Polish subjects constitute the core idea of this article. It is believed that the demonstrated examples will provide a thorough image of the challenges the article system evokes for L2 Polish study participants. “Economic Translation: Challenges and Hindrances” by Sofiene Tergui explores the realm of Translation Equivalence. The notion of Translation Equivalence is undoubtedly one of the most problematic and controversial areas in the field of translation theory. The term has caused, and will probably continue to cause, heated debates within the field of translation studies. Equivalence is indeed a constitutive feature and the guiding principle of translation. As Catford points out, "the central problem of translation-practice is that of finding Target Language equivalents. A central task of translation theory is that of defining the nature and conditions of translation equivalence" (1965, 21). In order to explore the realm of Translation Equivalence, different methods used to achieve equivalence when translating an economic report, entitled “Extralegality in Tunisia and the connection to the Arab Spring (2013),”

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from English (L3) into Arabic (L1) and French (L2) are presented. However, addressing non-equivalence in some cases will pave the way to introducing several methods and procedures to overcome this problem. The following article by Natalia Troufanova, “Aspects of Business Vocabulary Acquisition in a Tertiary Russian ESP Context,” is an attempt to clarify the major problems confronting language advisers who teach business vocabulary to Russian ESP economics students. A wide range of issues contributes to these problems, including the structural, semantic, and systemic characteristics of economic term systems, the basic methods of word-formation, as well as disciplinary and stylistic variation in Business English. Furthermore, the emergence of English as a world language has promoted regular economic contacts, and hundreds of English loanwords are now becoming an integral part of Russian business language. “The Effects of Teachers’ Caring Behaviour on Students’ Learning in an EFL Class in Higher Education” by Seden Tuyan explores the possible positive impacts of a caring teacher-student relationship on language learning in an EFL class at YADYO, School of Foreign Languages at Çukurova University, Turkey. A two-part questionnaire with Likert scale and open-ended questions was used to evaluate students’ perceptions of the caring behaviours of the teacher and her use of language that indicate the presence of caring to the students. The data also consist of semistructured student interviews and her own reflections on her teaching experience related to a caring teacher-student relationship and its effects on language learning. “From ESP to CLIL: Designing Materials for the University Classroom” by MarinaTzoannopoulou focuses on the similarities and differences between content and language integrated learning (CLIL) and English for specific purposes (ESP), highlights the main features of CLIL pedagogy, and shows how they were implemented in the design of an ESP Journalism course in a Greek institution. The 4 Cs Framework (communication, content, cognition, and culture) was implemented as the theoretical basis for the design of the course. Emphasis was placed on content and language learning through a multiple focus on language, content learning, and cognition, the construction of a safe and enriching classroom environment, and the promotion of active and cooperative learning. Moreover, the use of authentic materials through scaffolding, and the use of interaction as a technique to accompany learning and make students increasingly autonomous, have also been used in the materials design of the course.

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The article entitled “The Effect of Vocabulary Knowledge in L2 Reading” by Serkan Uygun and Enisa Mede presents a replication of a study conducted by Qian and Schedl (2004). The main aim of the study is to discover the correlation between the in-depth vocabulary knowledge of second-language learners in their academic reading performances. There are two main instruments that measure the vocabulary knowledge of the learners. The vocabulary breadth/size tests measure the amount of words that the language learners know. In contrast, the vocabulary depth tests measure how well the language learners know a word. While the breadth/size tests focus on the quantity, the depth tests focus on the quality of the knowledge. The last article, entitled “Englishes and ELF: Implications for Classroom Practices and Teacher Education,” by Paola Vettorel, discusses Italian EFL primary and lower-secondary school trainee teachers’ opinions and stances on the implications that Englishes and ELF can have in ELT pedagogic practices. By means of a questionnaire survey, trainees’ awareness of their and their students’ contact with Englishes and ELF, their opinion regarding the inclusion of different varieties of English in classroom activities, and their awareness of ELF-related concepts are investigated. These issues are then further discussed during the course, since one module is dedicated to the spread and development in English and to ELF. We hope that the variety of topics presented in this volume will satisfy the readers’ academic and professional interests and stimulate them further in their own research. Cem Can and Katarzyna Papaja

References Biber, D. 2006. University Language: A Corpus-based Study of Spoken and Written Registers. Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing. Black, M. 1993. “More about Metaphor.” In Metaphor and Thought, edited by A. Ortony, 19–43. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Catford, J. C. 1965. A Linguistic Theory of Translation: An Essay in Applied Linguistics. London: Oxford University Press. Davidson, D. 1978. “What Metaphors Mean.” In On Metaphor, edited by S. Sacks, 29–46. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Derewianka, B. 2009. “Using Appraisal Theory to Track Interpersonal Development in Adolescent Academic Writing.” In Advances in language and education, edited by A. McCabe, M. O’Donnell, and R.

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Whittaker, 142–65. New York and London: Continuum. Hunston, S., and G. Francis. 2000. Pattern Grammar— A Corpusdriven Approach to the Lexical Grammar of English. Amsterdam/ Philadelphia: John Benjamins. Martin, J. R. and P. R. White. 2005. Language of Evaluation: Appraisal in English. London: Palgrave Macmillan. Meara, P. 1992. EFL Vocabulary Tests, 2nd ed. Swansea University: Centre for Applied Linguistics. Qian, D. D., and M. Schedl. 2004. “Evaluation of an In-depth Vocabulary Knowledge Measure for Assessing Reading Performance.” Language Testing 21 (1): 28–52. Rysiewicz, J. 2012. Foreign Language Aptitude Test FLAT. Overall Description, Analysis, Statistics and Test Procedures. http://www.academia.edu/1743794/ Test_Uzdolnien_do_Nauki_Jezykow_Obcych_TUNJO_Charakterysty ka_ogolna_opis_analiza_statystyki_i_procedury_testowe. Santana, S. 2005. “Modelo integrado para o estudo da aprendizagem organizacional.” Análise Social XI (175): 367–91. Senge, P. 1990. The Fifth Discipline: the Art and Practice of the Learning Organisation. New York: Currency Doubleday. Swain, E. 2009. “Constructive an Effective ‘Voice’ in Academic Discussion Writing.” In Advances in Language and Education, edited by A. McCabe, A. M. O’Donnell, and R. Whittaker, 166–184. New York, London: Continuum. ĝwiątek, A. 2013. “The Acquisition of the English Article System by Polish Learners in Different Proficiency Groups Juxtaposed with a Case Study.” In Language in Cognition and Affect, edited by E. Piechurska-Kuciel and J. SzymaĔska-Czaplak, 151–71. Heidelberg: Springer. Toulmin, S. 1958. The Uses of Argument. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. —. 2003. The Uses of Argument, updated edition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.



CHAPTER ONE IDENTITY CONSTRUCTION THROUGH NARRATIVE ANALYSIS IN LANGUAGE LEARNING SITUATIONS NAZLI BAYKAL

1. Introduction The main aim of this study is to discuss why narrative inquiry appears to be suitable for exploring one’s identity construction in the field of applied linguistics and language learning research. Specifically, it investigates the English (as a foreign language) learning situation of Turkish university students and their newly formed identities through a narrative analysis of their learning experiences.

2. Identity in the Social Sciences Today In order to understand the relationship between language and identity, it is important to understand the poststructuralist theory of language. Poststructuralist theories of language are associated with the work of Bakhtin (1981), Bourdieu (1977; 1991), Hall (1997), and Weedon (1997). These theories are distinct from structuralist theories of language, which cannot account for struggles over the social meanings that can be attributed to signs in a given language (Norton 2010, 349). Poststructuralists take the position that the signifying practices of a society are sites of struggle, and that linguistic communities are heterogeneous arenas (Ibid., 350). If we take the position that linguistic communities are not homogeneous, we need to see that this is directly relevant to our understanding of the relationship between language and identity. Weedon, often cited as a foundational theorist in poststructuralist discussions of identity, uses the term “subjectivities” to refer to, “the conscious and unconscious thoughts and emotions of the individual, her

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sense of herself and her ways of understanding her relation in the world” (1997, 32). Identities are viewed as social, discursive, and narrative options offered by a particular society in a specific time and place to which individuals and groups of individuals appeal in an attempt to selfname, self-characterise, and claim social prerogatives. In this paper, identity is understood as “how a person understands his or her relationship to the world, how that relationship is constructed across time and space, and how the person understands possibilities for the future” (Norton 2000, 5). This conception of identity puts the individual, such as a language learner, into multiple possible social groups or roles that may be realised at any given time, and considers how language itself works to construct those identities.

3. Identity in Language Learning Issues connected with identity in relation to second/foreign language learning and use have been theorised and researched in various ways over several decades. By the late 1970s, “learner centeredness” emerged as a key concept in second/foreign language teaching, based on a now largely unquestioned understanding that learners’ varied responses to teaching are as important as the teaching itself. This view emphasised the social and contextual dimensions of language learning research, together with an epistemological and methodological broadening (Firth and Wagner 2007, 91). Framing language learning as a social process takes on board sociocultural factors such as subjectivity, agency, (multiple) identities, participation in an imagined community, and investing for our possible (future) selves, depicting learners as dynamic, temporally transforming and (re) positioning, and multifaceted social beings. Furthermore, new avenues of inquiry have opened up with the rise of learner-focused research, where learners’ perceptions of their educational experiences (which are biographically continuous, i.e. accounting for experiences of the past, present, and future) provide valuable insights into their learning process (Benson and Nunan 2005). Much of the emerging research on identity, especially from a poststructuralist perspective, focuses on the dynamics of identity construction with performance and “agency,” portraying learners as individuals with wants, needs, and multifaceted identities, making deliberate choices with respect to language learning (Pavlenko 2007). Agency refers to people’s ability to make choices, take control, selfregulate, and pursue their goals as individuals leading to personal or social

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transformation (Duff 2012). A sense of agency enables learners to imagine, take up, and perform new roles or identities. An additional notion introduced by Norton (2000), connecting agency to language learning and identity issues, is “investment,” which captures the degree to which learners actively put symbolic, material, and other resources into their language learning based on a kind of cost-benefit selfevaluation, and in light of their desires and hopes for the future (Duff 2012). The notion of investment conceives of the language learner as having a complex social history and multiple desires. It presupposes that when language learners speak, they are not only exchanging information with target language speakers, but they are also constantly organising and reorganising a sense of who they are and how they relate to the social world. Thus, an investment in the target language is also an investment in a learner’s own identity; an identity which is constantly changing across time and space (Norton 2000, 11). Recent approaches to identity, in general, examine it in terms of a learner’s unique past, present, and future experiences, desires, trajectories, and opportunities (Ibid.; Pavlenko and Norton 2007). One of the common methods for the design, collection, and analysis of data related to identity construction in language learning research is narrative inquiry (analysis).

4. The History of Identity Research in Second/Foreign Language Learning One reason for the rise of identity issues relates to human rights advances in the advanced industrialised nations of the world in the twentieth century (Block 2007, 3). In the work of many social scientists, there has been a movement away from a preoccupation with stability, function, and structure to a priming of individual agency, and a shift from fixed essentialised versions of demographic categories, such as race, ethnicity, gender, and age, to a generally constructivist perspective which sees these categories as more fluid and unstable (Ibid., 3). The poststructuralist view of identity has become broadly popular among many social scientists, and this has been the general view of identity taken up by a growing number of SLL/FLL researchers. A survey of recent publications focusing on topics such as language learning, language socialisation, and multilingual language practices reveals how this poststructuralist view of identity has gained popularity. The publications include Norton’s (2000) study of immigrant women in Canada; Pavlenko, Blackledge, Piller and Teutsch-

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Dwyer’s (2001) edited collection on language learning and gender; Schechter and Bayley’s (2002) study on language practices and language affiliations of Mexican American families in the United States; J. K. Hall’s (2002) textbook on culture and research; Bayley and Schechter’s (2003) collection of papers on language socialisation and multilingualism; Kanno’s (2003) study of the life stories of Japanese returnees; Miller’s (2003) account of the language and socialisation processes of immigrant children in Australia; Pavlenko and Blackledge’s (2004) collection of papers on the negotiation of identities in different language, cultural, and political contexts; Omoniyi’s (2004) study of the relationship between sociolinguistic variables such as language choice, language mixing, and attitudes towards language and the ongoing construction of identities on the Nigerian/Benin border; Benson and Nunan’s (2005) collection of papers on second language learners’ accounts of their experiences; and Block’s (2006) research on multilingual identities in London. The publications that methodologically draw first-person narratives of language learners with reference to personal investment in language learning are: Oxford and Green (1996); Murphey (1997; 1998); Norton (2000); Pavlenko and Lantolf (2000); Benson and Nunan (2002); and Kinginger and Pavlenko (2002), among others. This study draws on the biographical narrative accounts of English language learning experiences of Turkish EFL students majoring in ELT and analyses their identity construction along their learning process.

5. Narrative Inquiry and Language Learning Research Although narrative inquiry has a long intellectual history both in and out of education, it is increasingly used in studies of educational experience. The research of narrative is the study of the ways humans experience the world (Connelly and Clandinin 1990, 1). This perspective is condensed into the view that education and educational research is the construction of personal and social stories; stories are in the form of experiences and instances of sense-making. This focus on experience situates narrative in a matrix of qualitative research. For Dewey, education, experience, and life are intertwined. Experience is both personal and social. Another criterion for experience is “continuity”: the notion that experiences grow out of other experiences, and lead to further experiences; just like a continuum of past, now, and future. We learn to move back and forth between the personal and the social, simultaneously thinking about the past, present, and future (Clandinin and Connelly 2000, 2).

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A number of researchers working on the second/foreign language learning tradition have emphasised qualitative research directed at the holistic description of second/foreign language learning experiences and greater influence on the social, affective, and cognitive dimensions of the learning process. Within this trend, the biographical recollection of language learning experiences has a significant place. Identity, likewise, is approached by means of qualitative methods, such as narrative inquiry, and theory that ranges from interpretive to poststructural to critical (Duff 2008). Interpretive research tends to focus on how language learners and others make sense of their experiences, and also how researchers in turn make sense of (interpret) data obtained from interviews, observations, narratives, and other sources. This paper attempts to reinforce the significance of taking a narrative approach in identity studies in the field of language learning; in line with the scope of the paper, it is foreign language learning in a non-native language learning circumstances. The paper examines language learners’ identity construction through written biographical accounts of learning experiences in learning English in the Turkish context. Biographical accounts of language learning are the prominent means of data collection within the framework of this study, as these accounts are based upon firstperson narratives of relatively long-term processes of language learning and focus on learners and their experiences. Many of these are accounts of the sense that is made of learning experiences as learners participate in a variety of activities and situations over relatively long periods. Taking a narrative-oriented perspective as the methodology, the study agrees that narrative informs the concept of self and identity. By following a poststructuralist understanding of identity and utilising narratives as “experience,” the study constructs self, and thus identity, through narratives. Framing language learning as a social process implies that learning a second or foreign language requires a learner-focused research where the learners’ perception of their educational experiences is recognised as a valuable source of data (Benson and Nunan 2005). Many leading narrative researchers claim that narrative inquiry offers alternative ways to examine issues that are inaccessible using more experimental methodologies (Bruner 1986; 1990; Clandinin and Connelly 2000). Following a social-constructionist and poststructuralist understanding, identity is constructed as we engage in different activities. Thus, we are concerned with the language-learning activity and how the participants of this study constructed their identities through narrating their languagelearning experiences. Which aspect of our identities becomes salient is very often contingent upon place and time (Block 2007). Additionally, as

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Roberts (2002, 1) states, biographical research “seeks to understand the changing experiences and outlooks of individuals in their daily lives, what they see as important, and how to provide interpretations of the accounts they give of their past, present and future.” Hence, taking a narrative approach and collecting data through the biographical accounts of language learning to reach the identity formations of the learners (the participants of this study) are very much in line with the purposes of this study.

6. Method The data for this study is compiled from 24 language learning experiences/stories written in narrative form by fourth-year students of the English Language Teaching Department of Suleyman Demirel University, Isparta, Turkey. The participants had an average of 14 years of EFL education. The participants were given a set of guiding questions related to their English-language education, starting from the primary level, at the beginning of the first semester of their final (fourth) year. They were instructed to write two pages (double spaced, about five-hundred words) about their English-learning experience, which would be a self-evaluation of the whole process. The deadline for turning in the assignments was the middle of the second semester. After a thorough analysis of the written narratives, the researcher, along with a colleague from the same department, agreed on the identity categories that were identifiable in the language-learning narratives of the subjects of this study which fit the multi-layering proposed by Clandinin and Connelly’s “three dimensional inquiry space” model. In this model, “temporality” refers to the notion of continuity in the sense that experience can move backwards and forwards: it has a past, a present, and a future. The second dimension, “sociality,” overlaps with the idea that individuals interact with their surroundings. “Personal” refers to the desires, hopes, and feelings of an individual, while “social” points towards the surrounding factors and forces. Finally, “situation/place” emphasises the place and context where inquiry takes place.

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Table 1.1. Three-dimensional inquiry space model Sociality Personal Look inward to internal conditions such as desires, feelings, and hopes. Social Look outward to existential conditions in the environment with other people and their intentions, purposes, assumptions, and points of view.

Temporality Past Look backward to remembered experiences, feelings, and stories from earlier times. Present Look at current experiences, feelings, and stories. Future Look forward to implied possible experiences.

Situation/Place Look at context, time, and place situated in a physical landscape or setting with characters’ intentions, purposes, and different points of view.

Some of the guiding questions directed to participants to become the background of narratives are as follows: How did you learn English before you came to university? What positive and negative experiences did you have and what did you learn from them? How have you changed your ways of English language learning since coming to university? What are the areas that you still want to/feel the need to improve in? What are the areas in which you find yourself proficient enough? What are your language-learning plans and goals after graduation? How do you think your next couple of years will be, professionally, socially, and personally? This method examines identity in terms of a learner’s past, present, and future experiences; agencies; and the personal and social dimensions of their lives involving desires, trajectories, and investments in relation to language learning. Within this perspective, the analysis of biographical narratives of language learning goes beyond the solely linguistic (Norton 2000; Norton Peirce 1995). Critical incidents mentioned by narrators for how they form learners’ identities are:

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(1) Investment patterns for how learners made decisions about their past, present, and future (2) Agency patterns examining sites of professional, social, and personal identities (3) Language items that denote characteristics of the particular language-learning identity are the items of analysis throughout the data. The above-mentioned items provided the identity categories to be set in line with the narratives of the participants.

7. Data Analysis 7.1. Identity Categories In this section, excerpts from participants’ narratives will be given and information related to items of analysis will be put forward. The actual names of participants are written before each excerpt with their consent. 7.1.1. Identity 1: Educational Authority/Critic Elvan: My English teacher in high school minimised my love for English because his way of teaching, attitude, and the way he spoke influenced me negatively. I, then, decided to become an English teacher and promised myself that I won’t be like him. I tried very hard for this to happen. Taha: I don’t think I learned English at school. That’s not how English is learned anyway; it is learned by living, by doing, and by speaking. Mehmet: In high school … my English teacher was very good at teaching; she had different methods and techniques to teach English. She preferred using short stories for translation, vocabulary activities, and also for other skills.

This identity category is the most popular one among the participants of this study. In the first excerpt, along the temporal dimension, Elvan shares her past experience with her English teacher to project into the future of her teaching. Throughout her English-language learning experience, she observes what not to do to become a good language teacher. The method used, the attitude towards students, and the speaking styles are the selective criteria chosen to become an English language teacher. By means of the noun phrases (“his way of teaching,” “the way he spoke”), she tries to emphasise and summarise what she regards as the recollection of the

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instances of her language-learning experience worth mentioning. She shares an individualistic view concerning the practice of ELT. This is her “investment” for her career as an English teacher by making sense of who she is as a teacher and how she relates this sense making to the social world in particular ELT practice, as Norton (2000) suggests. The critical incident during the language-learning experience is when she decided she would not resemble her English teacher. The strength of this decision is made obvious with the phrase “I promised myself.” Her determination to not resemble her English teacher is reinforced with her self-determining attempts to achieve whatever it takes to become a good (English) language teacher, as indicated in the sentence “I tried very hard for this to happen.” Elvan’s recollection of her language-learning experience puts her into a new identity position: being a critic of her language teacher’s performance in class. The second excerpt displays a social dimension to the languagelearning experience. Along the temporal dimension, Taha chooses to concentrate on the present, as opposed to Elvan who concentrated on the past and future. He has some reformative ideas about ELT (English is not learned at school). With most of his experience with English being work oriented during his teenage years, he confidently emphasises the practical issues in language learning, as can clearly be seen in the sentence, “English is learned by living, by doing and by speaking.” In other words, he does not acknowledge the theoretical foundations and classroom practices of ELT. He sounds very self-confident about his ideas, which coincide with the self-image observed throughout his university education. Taha’s displayed identity as the educational critic/authority in the above excerpt comes as a total criticism of long-held views about language teaching methodologies. This new identity gives him the necessary support and courage to position himself as an “authority,” in spite of the fact that he had recently finished his studies. In the last excerpt for this identity category, the participant Mehmet shares his “good language teacher” experience in the past. He gives details of what makes a language teacher a good one; this is a teacher who “uses different methods and techniques in the classroom to teach English.” For the sake of reinforcing his “educational authority” identity, he provides details for the statement “different methods and techniques,” that is, using short stories for translation, vocabulary activities and activities that cater for different language skills, etc. He believes that variety, as far as teaching methodology is concerned, is what makes a language teacher a good one. The critical incident in his language learning experience is his

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encounter with this English teacher he categorised as “good” in his highschool years. 7.1.2. Identity 2: A Respectable /Popular Person Saliha: Learning English has given me self-confidence … my experience taught me that I was a unique person, nowhere near being ordinary. On top of all this, I had a very prestigious status both because I knew English and I was the English teacher among friends. In the future, I see myself as a respected academician, an expert on her field, not an ordinary primary school teacher. Hülya: When I realised that my knowledge of English was better than many people around me because I was reading books and listening to music, I soon found myself in a situation that more people needed my help for their problems with English. This was a source of pride for me.

The identity outlined in this category emphasises the social dimension of the language-learning experience. The participant Hülya gains a new social status among her friends due to her knowledge of English. She gains a new identity just because she is a little bit more proficient in English than the people around her, although this new identity does not have any academic foundations that could be related to language teaching experience. The critical point of her experience with learning English is the time she realised that she had a better aptitude for English compared to her classmates. She also acknowledges the reason why: she reads books and listens to English-language songs. In this way, she invested for this better performance and flair. The social dimension of this languagelearning experience is reinforced with the repetitive use of phrases including the pronoun “people” (“people around me,” “more people needing help,” “people’s problems”). Here is an image of a language learner who takes over the mission of helping people with their languagelearning problems; a person who is positioned as a teacher by other language learners. In line with this social mission, this new identity becomes a source of pride, as she indicates in the last line of the excerpt. The participant Saliha equates her identity transformation—from a person who suffered from a lack of self-confidence and has a lessprestigious social status to one whose self-confidence has boosted and who has a respectable social position—to her English-language learning experience. Learning English provided her with a very respectable social status among other language learners compared to the period before she started. This identity transformation had positive effects on her selfesteem, since she positions herself as a “unique,” “nowhere near …

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ordinary” person. Her positioning as an “English teacher” by her friends, who are also part of the language learning experience, is the critical incident in her experience and reinforces her present “prestigious” position. As for the future, there is to be another identity transformation which will be more academically oriented. Saliha’s imagined identity in the future is becoming a “respectable academician.” This is an indication of another positioning taking place; she places herself among other “ordinary” language teachers to a more reputable position by hopefully becoming a respected academic. Her investments during this languagelearning experience are geared towards the ultimate aim of becoming a respectable scholar. The image of a language learner characterised by the choice of positive qualitative adjectives like “unique,” “respectable,” “prestigious,” and “not ordinary” creates a picture of a determined language learner who has made and will make the most of her language learning experience. This is a very individualistic sense making of a learning experience. 7.1.3. Identity 3: Investor for the Future Hülya: In my third year in university, I started working in a language school … I realized that I wasn’t good at speaking and I said to myself “I should do something about it” and joined the Erasmus programme in my university. Tuğba: I would like to travel abroad to conduct research projects with my students and join seminars to develop my teaching skills.

Excerpts from this identity category provide two investment patterns that are temporally diverse: one referring to past investments and the other to future investments. Hülya decided to invest for her possible future teaching career by working in a private language school. The decision was due to her realisation that she could not speak fluent English. Within the framework of the evaluation of her own language-learning experience, acquiring good speaking skills is a means to being a good language teacher. Thus, by investing in her possible teaching career (i.e. starting to work in a private language school), she actually invested in her identity as a language learner. For further investment to her good teacher identity, positioning herself as the sole agent for decisions on what to invest, she joined the Erasmus programme by means of which her speaking skills would flourish. The number of the personal pronoun “I”s used in the excerpt reinforces the agentive position Hülya displays in this “investor” identity. The verbs in the excerpt are all active verbs (“started,” “realised,”

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“do something,” “joined”), maintaining the investor identity characteristics and displaying a language learner who is actively working for a better position. Tuğba, the writer of the second excerpt, gives references as to what she will do in the future. She invests by planning to be part of more academically oriented activities (conducting research projects, joining seminars), as presumably she would like to be present in such circles rather than an ordinary language classroom. Both participants have an individualistic orientation to their investments, engaging in activities to better their own future careers related to language teaching. 7.1.4. Identity 4: Fighter for Success Serap: At last, I am at the doorstep of my dreams; to be an English teacher although nobody gave the slightest chance to … to keep my existing knowledge alive and ready to use, I made a lot of repetitions. Besides, my health was deteriorating; it was now more difficult to use my hands for writing. But I found a solution, I did my written assignments on computer and I used my voice recorder to record lectures. My classmates and teachers were helping me a lot. I am at the very last turn on the road that leads to being an English teacher.

This excerpt presents an extraordinary story of a language learner who struggled throughout her life to stay healthy (she was suffering from a congenital disease) in order to achieve her ambitions. Her identity has been shaped in line with her plans to become an English language teacher. The language-learning activities she is involved in inform us about how she interpreted her relationship to the world by which she formed her identity as fighting for the ultimate aim of becoming a language teacher. This is how she makes sense of who she is. Her language-learning experience is composed of self-made decisions; in other words, investments on how to keep up to the required proficiency in Englishlanguage skills despite her physical and sometimes mental drawbacks from a retrospective perspective (doing a lot of language practice and repetitions, recording lectures to not forget language structures and items that are learned previously, etc.). Her investment pattern is a reiteration of what was learned previously. She is the active agent in the formation of her language-learning experience; all the sentences in her narrative are active, beginning with the pronoun “I.” In spite of her deteriorating health, nothing has stopped her ability to add, layer by layer, to her language-learning experience, starting from her

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first encounter with English until her educational life in university. She is very resourceful in finding alternative solutions to continue her studies, thus adding to her “fighter for success” identity, unconcerned by her deteriorating health conditions (“I did my writing on computer as it was more difficult to use my hands”). The vocabulary items she uses in her narrative, like “computer” and “voice recorder,” are items that aided her in her learning experience. These items seem to be chosen by this participant to help readers visualise her struggle throughout the language-learning experience. This account of language learning has an individualistic interpretation to it, as this learner is struggling to go beyond her existing capacities; that is, she is struggling within herself to learn a language. 7.1.5. Identity 5: Already a Teacher Ferdane: I had many ups and downs during my English learning adventure. This is my last year, I know I need to develop myself on certain things but for the first time I have the power and will to develop those skills I lack. You realize this when you find yourself in a teaching position, while teaching other people.

The identity presented in this excerpt displays a retrospective account of a language learning experience. This fourth-year student shares her sincere feelings concerning the unpleasant periods of her English language learning experience (having ups and downs while learning English before university education). The critical incident in her learning experience occurs when she started teaching voluntarily in a private language course. She realises that if a language learner finds themselves in a teaching position, then the real dynamics of the language-learning process becomes apparent. As a result of this personal evaluation of the situation, she has a better idea on how to continue her learning experience; i.e. she can now pinpoint the areas she is weak in as far as her language skills are concerned. Her investment for her language learning experience is to teach English to other people voluntarily. By means of this experience, she builds up for her future (imagined) identity as a fully competent Englishlanguage teacher. By defining her learning experience as an “adventure,” she gives the message that she enjoyed the experience thoroughly, including all its undesirable parts. She acknowledged the fact that she had to develop herself linguistically, yet she did not give up on having a fully-fledged knowledge of the language. Her insistence is supported by the vocabulary

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items like “power” and “will,” and the phrase “I know I need to.” In all the phases of her language-learning experience, she narrates herself as the only agent making decisions about her future and learning adventure. 7.1.6. Identity 6: An Adventurer Nursemin: I decided to go abroad … to develop my speaking … I found a job as an au-pair … This experience contributed a lot in all aspects … to develop my speaking I was chatting with native speakers, attending free language courses and courses run by local churches, working in charity organizations on a voluntary basis. After one and a half years England adventure, I returned to Turkey.

This excerpt displays a language learner who makes use of her language skills to exist in several social spaces and identities (as an au pair, a voluntary worker, and a flight attendant in a private airline company—this information is taken from another section of her narrative). This languagelearning experience presents an identity that treats language learning as a way to socialise, and emphasizes the interactive aspect of language learning. She performs both in and outside Turkey with her language skills stock, drawing an international language-learner identity (finding a job as an au pair, working in churches as a teacher). As an active and adventurous language learner, she positions herself side-by-side with several people from different positions in society. This is how she perceives the world and her relationship with it, which is the essence of her identity. Her investment for her language-learning experience is her social engagement with people for the development of her speaking skills. Nursemin is an adventurous language learner because of her ongoing activities in practicing her English. She took the necessary steps and did whatever was required both in and outside her country to actualise her ambition to perfect her English speaking skills. In all sentences, active verbs (decide, find, chat, attend, work, etc.) are used in their past tense forms, giving a retrospective dimension to the narrative account. Noun phrases are used in most sentences, giving a sense of activeness during the whole language-learning experience. 7.1.7. Identity 7 : A Multilingual Nurullah: In those years, I could fluently speak three languages. I was talking Arabic with my father, Kurdish with my mother, Turkish with my friends, and sometimes I could speak all three of them in the same interaction … It felt so ordinary at the beginning, but later, together with

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the desire to learn English, I understood that this was very advantageous. To learn a global language and to feel its importance in your life is a nice feeling … I would like to work abroad as an English teacher … and when I am abroad I want to learn another language.

This excerpt demonstrates a lifelong language-learning experience. The participant treats each language he speaks as his native language. Each language is his way of sense making of the world around him and his relation to it. In other words, he embodies three different identities (as he speaks three languages) by which he gets the chance to express himself. By means of each language, he positions himself to accord with the social and communicative practices of the community he is in contact with through a representative (for Arabic his father, for Kurdish his mother, etc.) The sociality dimension of language learning is very intensely emphasised by means of this identity category. His proficiency in Arabic, Kurdish, and Turkish enables him to get in touch with the speakers of these languages interchangeably during interactions. The modal verb “could” informs us that he, as the speaker of three languages, was aware of his unusual ability of being able to interact with socially diverse groups of people. The critical incident in his language learning experience is the time when he realized that learning English put him into a more prestigious position besides his proficiency in other languages. English has an advantageous status compared to the other languages, as it is a gate opening to the possibility of working abroad. For Nurullah, learning English is an investment for his future career as both a language learner and a teacher of English. With the phrase “I want to,” he expresses his determination to keep learning other languages, which is his way of unravelling his identity. The tentative outlook of his language-learning experience during his childhood (the modal verbs “could” and “would” are used in the excerpt) gains a permanent outlook at the end of his university education, as his identity, a multilingual language learner, becomes more stabilised. 7.1.8. Identity 8: Idealist Emine: Once English was an ambition for me, later it became something to be proud of. This profession is of extreme importance to me as even when I choose what to wear, I think about whether this piece of clothing is suitable for an English teacher or not.

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The sociality dimension of language learning is again active in this identity. As opposed to the previous language-learning experience which leads the way to come into contact with many people by means of speaking diverse languages, this experience helps the language learner to move in the upper social levels of society. Of all professions, Emine is “proud of” becoming an English teacher in the very near future. She feels this pride deep inside as she states that “I think … whether this piece of clothing is suitable for an English teacher or not,” paying special attention to the minute details of the presentable appearance of a teacher. Her investment for this profession is to fulfil the necessary requirements, i.e. looking like an English teacher. Her agency is clearly observed in the decision to be an English language teacher from the very beginning of her language-learning experience. By defining this experience as “an ambition” and “something to be proud of,” she displays a clear determination about what she wants to be and where she wants to see herself in the future. This is an expression of her identity as well.

8. Results and Discussion A closer analysis of what participants of the study shared concerning language-learning experiences reveals a prominent result that there is a tendency to demonstrate more than one type of identity within each narrative written by participants. Another distinctive result that could be gathered from a thorough analysis of narratives is that participants shared more instances of their past and future language-learning experiences rather than reflecting on the present. Emphasising the sociality dimension of the narrated experiences, some of the participants indicated that learning/knowing English gained them a more prestigious and highly valued social, as well as a personal, status (identities 2, 7, and 8). Besides gaining an esteemed status, participants also mentioned adding positive characteristics like open-mindedness, objectivity, being community sensitive, and conscientiousness, which further strengthened their newly acquired social position in society. Moreover, the participants stated that these positive gains were the result of the language-learning experience they lived through. This experience added a new social dimension and provided them with a means to exist in diverse social positions that would serve for their possible (future) selves (identities 2, 6, and 7). Along the personal dimension which looks inward to internal conditions of lived (storied) experiences, an inclination towards discovering individual weaknesses and strengths for specific language

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skills is observed among the participants of this study. With this internal evaluation of their language-learning process, the participants reached decisions on what to invest to be successful language learners and how to carry on their studies to become “good” language teachers in the future (identity 3: “I realised that … I wasn’t good at speaking and joined the Erasmus programme in my university”; identity 6: “I decided to go abroad to develop my speaking”). Another outcome of this internal evaluation is that of all the skills, speaking gains the utmost importance to the degree that speaking fluent English equals being a good English language teacher. The frequent use of the personal pronoun “I” in the narrative accounts gives us the impression that participants emphasise the personal dimension of their learning experiences; that is, they are more interested in the perceptive and sense-making aspects of this experience. The frequent use of the pronoun “I” might also be regarded as the participants’ desire to be actively involved in this process or to be active agents during their language-learning adventures. Thus, they make personal choices as to how to go about re-learning, practising, and developing certain structures/skills for the foreign language they are learning (identity 2: “I realised that my knowledge of English was better than people … around me because I was reading books …”; identity 3: “I realized that I wasn’t good at speaking and I said to myself I should do something about it; identity 4: “to keep my existing knowledge alive and ready to use, I made a lot of repetitions”). It could also be observed that this desire for active involvement in the process is a conscious and deliberate one, considering the use of the verb “realise” in the opening phrases of the sentences in sample excerpts. Critical incidents in participants’ language learning narratives are twofold: those that are recounted while evaluating previous English teachers, and those that involve situations where participants found themselves not being able to use enough of their knowledge of English. In the first scenario, participants share incidents of classroom activities performed by their previous English teachers by which they evaluated the performance of the teachers and as a result took their teachers as role models or criticised them very harshly. In the second case, participants write about moments when they could not start a conversation although they had the necessary theoretical background to do so. They write about the moments when they discovered their weaknesses regarding specific usages. Almost all the participants invested in their careers during their university education. These investments varied from self-scheduled specific language practices (identity 1: speaking with foreigners due to job

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requirements; identity 2: reading books and listening to English pop songs; identity 4: daily practice on previously learned language items) to joining institutionally based language practices and programmes (identity 3: joining the Erasmus programme; identity 3: attending seminars and conducting research abroad; identity 6: working as an au pair). It is observed that some of the participants opted for these investments to secure a better professional future in the fear that they might end up like those English teachers of theirs whom they criticised harshly. Yet, others invested in resembling those teachers whom they idolised for their professional skills. This narrative oriented qualitative method of inquiry allowed us to understand the social processes underlying language learning, and not solely the linguistic ones. This “social turn” (Block 2003; Thorne 2005) repositions the learner from a recipient of input to a participating social agent. The analyses of autobiographical narratives of language learning experiences are in the form of learners’ own retrospective accounts of their learning stories. These accounts bring the learners’ social and affective dimensions to the fore. Thus, narrative accounts become “representations of experientiality,” capturing human reactions and emotions in the face of life events (Fludernik 1996, 20). “Learning English is learning a new culture” is a statement frequently written in participants’ narrative accounts. This statement seems to be serving participants as the opening of a door to a socially and personally novel, more grown up, more professionally rewarding and exciting future life. It is contended that writing narrative accounts of language learning invited deliberate self-regulatory efforts involving goal setting and selfevaluation for the participants.

9. Conclusions Studies of identity and agency in the language acquisition field have very clear relevance for both language learners and educators. It is important for teachers and learners to understand their own stances and positioning, and how these affect their engagement with or participation in language education. This perspective also gives way to the opportunity for language learners to keep track of their own linguistic, cultural, and social development through mechanisms of “agency” and “investment,” and become aware of the learning opportunities and resources available to them. It is also crucial for language teachers to realise how language learners respond to and create opportunities to use the target language and

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how teachers’ actions intersect with learners’ investment in the target language and learners’ changing identities. In their classrooms, teachers need to acknowledge that they cannot seek coherent, consistent, and generalisable solutions to language learning/teaching problems. The research dictates the diversity performed by language learners. Therefore, it is important for teachers to know learners’ cultural and linguistic backgrounds, abilities, aspirations, and aspects of their identities better. This knowledge will enable teachers to provide encouragement and support for students and to find suitable topics/projects/materials through which they might wish to communicate in the target language. Eventually, teachers can play a crucial role by inspiring students to persist with their L2 development and use and their ongoing L2 identity construction by means of engaging and pedagogically sound instruction.

References Bakhtin, M. M. 1981.The Dialogic Imagination. Edited by M. Holquist. Translated by C. Emerson and M. Holquist. Austin: University of Texas Press. Bayley, R., and S. R. Schechter (eds.). 2003. Language Socialization in Bilingual and Multilingual Societies. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters. Benson, P., and D. Nunan. (eds.). 2002. “The Experience of Language Learning.” Special Issue of the Hong Kong Journal of Applied Linguistics 72. —. 2005. Learners’ Stories: Difference and Diversity in Language Learning. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Block, D. 2003. The Social Turn in Second Language Acquisition. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. —. 2006. Multilingual Identities in a Global City: London Stories. London: Palgrave. —. 2007. Second Language Identities. London: Continuum. Bourdieu, P. 1977. “The Economics of Linguistic Exchanges.” Social Science Information 166: 645–68. —. 1991. Language and Symbolic Power. Edited by J. B. Thompson. Translated by G. Raymond and M. Adamson. Cambridge: Polity Press. Bruner, J. 1986. Actual Minds, Possible Worlds. Cambridge MA: Harvard University Press. —. 1990. Acts of Meaning. Cambridge MA: Harvard University Press. Clandinin, D. J., and F. M. Connelly. 2000. Narrative Inquiry: Experience and Story in Qualitative Research. San Francisco LA: Jossey Bass.

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Connelly, F. M., and D. J. Clandinin. 1990. “Stories of Experience and Narrative Inquiry.” Educational Research 195, 2–14. Duff, P. 2008. Case Study Research in Applied Linguistics. New York: Lawrence Erlbaum/Taylor and Francis. —. 2012. “Identity, Agency, and Second Language Acquisition.” In Handbook of Second Language Acquisition, edited by A. Mackey and S. Gass, 410–26. London: Routledge. Firth, A., and J. Wagner. 2007. “Second/foreign Language Learning as a Social Accomplishment: Elaborations on a Reconceptualized SLA.” The Modern Language Journal 91: 801–19. Fludernik, M. 1996. Towards a “Natural” Narratology. New York: Routledge. Hall, S. (ed.).1997. Representation: Cultural Representations and Signifying Practices. London: Sage Publications. Hall, J. K. 2002. Teaching and Researching Language and Culture. London: Longman. Kanno, Y. 2003. Negotiating Bilingual and Bicultural Identities: Japanese Returnees Betwixt Two Worlds. Mahwah NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Kinginger, C. and A. Pavlenko. 2002. Autobiographies of Language Learners: A Course at the Summer Institute of Applied Linguistics. July 15–26, Penn State. Miller, J. 2003. Audible Differences: ESL and Social Identity in Schools. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters. Murphey, T. (ed.). 1997. Language Learning Histories. Nagoya: South Mountain Press. —. 1998. Language Learning Histories II. Nagoya: South Mountain Press. Norton, B. 2000. Identity and Language Learning: Gender, Ethnicity and Language Change. London: Longman. —. 2010. “Language and Identity.” In Sociolinguistics and Language Education, edited by N. Hornberger and S. Mackay, 349–70. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters. Norton Peirce, B. 1995. “Social Identity, Investment, and Language Learning.” TESOL Quarterly 291: 9–31. Omoniyi,T. 2004. The Sociolinguistics of Borderlands: Two Nations, One Community. Trenton NJ: Africa World Press. Omoniyi,T., and G. White. 2006. Sociolinguistics of Identity. London: Continuum. Oxford, R. L., and J. Green. 1996. “Language Learning Histories: Learners and teachers helping each other understand learning styles and strategies.” TESOL Journal 51: 20–3.

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Pavlenko, A., and J. P. Lantolf. 2000.”Second Language Learning as Participation and the Reconstruction of Selves.” In Sociocultural theory and second language learning, edited by J. P. Lantolf, 155–78. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Pavlenko, A., A. Blackledge, I. Piller, and M. Teutsch-Dwyer (eds.). 2001. Multilingualism, Second Language Learning and Gender. New York: Mouton de Gruyter. Pavlenko, A., and A. Blackledge (eds.). 2004. Negotiation of Identities in Multilingual Settings. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters. Pavlenko, A. 2007. “Autobiographic Narratives as Data in Applied Linguistics.” Applied Linguistics 282: 163–88. Pavlenko, A., and B. Norton. 2007. “Imagined Communities, Identity and English Language Teaching.” In International Handbook of English Language Teaching, edited by J. Cummins and C. Davidson, 669–80. New York: Springer. Roberts, B. 2002. Biographical Research. Buckingham: Open University Press. Schechter, S. R., and R. Bayley. 2002. Language as Cultural Practice: Mexicanos en el Norte. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters. Thorne, S. L. 2005. “Epistemology, Politics, and Ethics in Sociocultural Theory.” Modern Language Journal 89: 393– 409. Weedon, C. 1997. Feminist Practice and Poststructuralist Theory, 2nd. Edition. Oxford: Blackwell.

CHAPTER TWO A STUDY ON THE RECEPTIVE VOCABULARY KNOWLEDGE OF YOUNG TURKISH LEARNERS KAĞAN BÜYÜKKARCI AND GÜLIN ZEYBEK

1. Introduction The main units of a language are words (Read, 2000). Therefore, it is necessary for a language learner to learn the target vocabulary, and, as Zimmerman (1994) states, this should occur at the first step of the learning process. Vocabulary is defined as a single unit or lexical phrase that conveys a single meaning (Read 2000), so if one knows a word it means the learner comprehends the meaning and the pronunciation of it. Similarly, Waring (2002) defines word knowledge as the ability to recognise and produce it. However, he also asserts that one’s ability to recognise a word in a text or conversation does not mean that this person can use it properly. According to Hulstijn (1997), the words used by a language learner while speaking and writing can be different from the ones used during listening and reading. This evokes the aspect of the receptive and productive vocabulary knowledge of a language.

1.1. Receptive vs Productive Vocabulary Receptive vocabulary is defined as being able to recognise and comprehend vocabulary; however, productive vocabulary means not just recognising and comprehending the vocabulary, but also producing it in speaking and writing (Oxford and Crookall 1990). While some researchers highlight the importance of the distinction between receptive and productive vocabulary (Crow and Quigley 1985), Melka (1982) claims that this distinction is groundless. According to her, these terms are related to testing items and degrees of word knowledge; they represent a continuum of knowledge and cannot be clearly separated.

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Apart from discussions on the distinction between two, some researchers (Laufer 1998; Meara 1990; Waring 2002) indicate that productive knowledge follows much simpler receptive knowledge. They state that foreign language vocabulary development moves from receptive to productive. In McEven’s study (2006), it is concluded that learners succeeded more in recognition tasks that production tasks. Therefore, it can be understood that producing second-language vocabulary is more difficult than recognising it. Although the difficulty levels differ in ascertaining and producing the target vocabulary, researchers have estimated the size of vocabulary that language learners should have.

1.2. Necessary Word Knowledge for Language Learners An average university graduate native English speaker is estimated to know twenty-thousand word families, and is expected to add one thousand to their vocabulary knowledge a year (Nation and Waring 1997). Also, the same researchers assert that a five-year-old schoolchild has approximately four to five thousand word families. A word family, according to Nation (2001), includes inflected, base, and derived forms. Having estimated the necessary vocabulary knowledge of native speakers, he suggested that non-native speakers should also have quite a large number of words, though as a long-term goal. It is obvious that since the exposure to language for native and non-native speakers is different, it cannot be expected that second-language learners learn a large amount of vocabulary in the short term in the classroom environment. When it comes to estimating the necessary vocabulary size for non-native speakers there are differing views among researchers. In 1997, Nation and Waring stated that second/foreign language learners should know three-thousand words at the first stage in the learning process. However, Nation (2001) suggested that the receptive knowledge of two-thousand most-frequent word families will be enough for a second/foreign language learner in order to understand 90% of the words in the spoken discourse. Also, Laufer (1998) states that threethousand word families, namely five-thousand lexical items, are necessary for understanding the language. When it comes to reading and comprehending, some researchers think that a learner should know at least five-thousand word families (Hirsh and Nation 1992). However, Thornbury (2002) finds the two-thousand most-frequent words of English enough for reading and pleasure. According to Laufer (1992), the threethousand most-frequent word families as receptive knowledge are necessary for understanding authentic texts. As a result, there has not yet

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been a consensus on the right vocabulary size that a non-native speaker should possess. However, despite the disagreements on how big the size of vocabulary should be, researchers have discussed the development of second-language vocabulary from various angles.

1.3. Foreign Language Vocabulary Acquisition In the developmental process of second-language vocabulary acquisition research, several different views have been identified (Coady 1997a). These are: x Content Alone: Incidental L2 learning occurs through a large quantity of comprehensible and compelling input (Krashen 1989) x Strategy Instruction: Context is important for learning, but also vocabulary-learning strategies should be taught to students (Oxford 1989a; Kojic-Sabo and Lightbown 1999) x Development + Explicit Instruction: High-frequency words are taught directly at the early stages of learning and within a context at the later stages (Paribakht and Wesche 1993). Children’s second language vocabulary acquisition is, especially, seen as a long process (Reed and Railsback 2003). For this long haul, a multimethod approach is suggested during vocabulary instruction (National Reading Panel 2000). While second language vocabulary can be taught explicitly through which definitions and explanations of L2 vocabulary are given, it can also be done implicitly through whether vocabulary input is given orally or in reading activities (NRP 2000). As Beck, McKeown, and Kucan (2002) suggest, it is quite easy and quick for young learners to acquire the target vocabulary incidentally, since they can label a known concept rapidly. Even though this is the situation for young second-language learners, unfortunately the results of the studies show that second-language teachers do not give much importance to vocabulary teaching in their lessons. In a study conducted on L2 teachers it is indicated that teachers spend less than 1% of their time on L2 vocabulary in class (Dickinson, McCabe and Clark-Chiarelli 2004). Another longitudinal study found out that fourthand fifth-grade English-language learners depend on L2 vocabulary knowledge when reading, while native speakers at the same age rely on their background knowledge and inferential skills (McLaughlin, August, and Snow, 2000). Thus, although the necessary importance is not given to

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vocabulary teaching by second-language teachers, vocabulary knowledge is quite important for L2 learners to be successful.

1.4. Foreign Language Teaching Program in Turkey English as a foreign language is being taught in Turkish schools, starting from the second grade in primary schools, as a required course for all students until they graduate from high school. Also, The Council of Higher Education requires university students to take English lessons throughout a whole academic year. Therefore, a Turkish student is exposed to English at all levels of their educational life. The curriculum for English language education is prepared by a committee working for the Ministry of Education. This committee consists of specialists from the English-language education field and English-language teachers. In the seventh grade program, students are expected to reach A2 Level in the Common European Framework. Next to other language skills, “writing” is introduced to students. At the end of this grade, the students will be able to listen and understand, communicate, express themselves orally, read and understand, and write in English (Ministry of Education 2013). The eighth grade program expects students to reach A2 Level in the Common European Framework. According to the Common European Framework, A2 Level Students can: understand sentences and frequently used expressions related to areas of most immediate relevance (e.g. very basic personal and family information, shopping, local geography, employment), communicate in simple and routine tasks requiring a simple and direct exchange of information on familiar and routine matters, and describe, in simple terms, aspects of their background, immediate environment, and matters in areas of immediate need (Council of Europe 2011). Therefore, at the end of this grade the students will be able to perform the same objectives stated for the seventh grade. However, other than those activities to meet the objectives, some differing writing activities are performed aside from sentence writing exercises only. Moreover, communicative functions and words/word units are introduced to students within a context (Ministry of Education 2013). In the light of this literature review, this study will try to find the answers to the following research questions: (1) What level are Turkish seventh- and eighth-grade students’ vocabularies in a thousand-word test? (2) Is there a significant difference between male and female students’ thousand-word test results?

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(3) Is there a significant difference between seventh- and eighth-grade students’ thousand-word test results?

2. Methodology This part includes information about participants, data collection and analysis, and assumptions.

2.1. Participants This study was conducted on 35 seventh-grade students and 32 eighthgrade students studying at two secondary schools in Isparta (Turkey) in spring 2013. While one of these secondary schools is in a rural area, the other is in a city centre. In total, 67 students participated in the study, 44 female and 23 male. Table 2.1 below shows the student distribution in the study in terms of genders and grades. Table 2.1. Gender grade cross tabulation

Gender Total

Male Female

Grade Seventh grade 8 27 35

Total Eighth grade 15 17 32

23 44 67

2.2. Data Collection and Analysis As a data collection tool for the Receptive Vocabulary levels of the students, two Level 1 tests (103–104) from EFL Vocabulary Tests developed by Meara (1992) were used. In EFL Vocabulary Tests, there are sets of tests including the most frequent English words used in daily life. These tests are graded into six levels of difficulty, and there are twenty tests in each level. Each level corresponds to a basic vocabulary of about one-thousand words. The basic tests are Levels 1 and 2. These evaluations cover the core vocabulary of two-thousand words in English that every speaker needs to know if they want to understand what they hear or read, and if they want themselves to be understood (Ibid.). Meara revised these tests according to the changes and improved scoring by keeping the original format released in 1992. In this study, the very basic level of the first thousand words tests was chosen. In addition, as Meara (1992)

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Receptive Vocabulary Knowledge of Young Turkish Learners

suggests, in order to enhance reliability two tests from level 1 were included. In these tests, students are given a list of English words along with some made-up words and asked to mark the words they know in English. The correct English words that students mark are counted as hits, and the concocted ones that students mark are counted as false alarms. In order to increase reliability, the tests of the students who had less than 10 hits and more than 10 false alarms were not included. Also, students were asked to write one-paragraph essays on either their favourite cartoon character or their families. The aim of asking students to write paragraphs is to look at their Productive Vocabulary levels, which will be analysed in another study by comparing the results with those in the current study. The data collection processes were carried out by the English teachers of the students in one of their lesson hours. Data collected through Level 1 tests were analysed through the statistics program SPSS. An independent samples T-test is used to look at the difference between seventh and eighth graders and gender.

2.3. Assumptions Students are assumed to have the same schooling background in terms of English-language education starting at fourth grade with the curriculum offered by the Turkish Ministry of Education. Moreover, it is also assumed that all the participants gave sincere answers to the tests and took the study seriously.

3. Results This section includes core study results under the subtitles determined according to the research questions.

3.1. Receptive vocabulary between seventh and eighth grades The independent sample’s t-test results for the difference between seventh and eighth students’ receptive vocabulary size are presented in Table 2.2 below. Table 2.2. Receptive Vocabulary between seventh and eighth grades Grade Seven Eight

N 35 32

X 35.02 42.03

S 18.24 21.62

sd 65

t 1.43

p .156

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Table 2.2 displays the means and standard deviations for the thousandword test of the seventh- and eighth-grade students. As it is clear, the seventh-grade students’ (n= 35) mean is 35.02, whereas the eighth-grade student’s (n= 32) mean is 40.03. There is no statistically significant difference between these two grades (p=.156). These results also show that students do not have the necessary vocabulary size from beginning and their vocabulary level is quite low.

3.2. Receptive Vocabulary between Genders The independent samples t-test results for the difference between male and female students’ receptive vocabulary sizes are presented in Table 2.3 below. Table 2.3. Receptive Vocabulary between Genders Gender Male Female

N 23 44

X 34.65 40.31

S 18.64 20.74

sd 65

t 1.09

p .276

In Table 2.3 the differences between the genders in terms of the thousandword test are presented. The males (n=23) seem to have a lower mean in this test (x= 34.65) than the female (n= 44) students (X= 40.31). Similarly, there is no statistically significant difference between the genders’ means.

4. Discussion and Conclusions The results of this study show that no matter their level or gender, students’ receptive vocabulary for the first thousand-word level is quite low. Although seventh- and eighth-grade curriculums are designed to both teach and practice L2 vocabulary with various tasks and activities, including all four skills and vocabulary (Ministry of Education 2013), students at these grades cannot identify the necessary vocabulary. It is surprising that, even though the mean of test scores increases in the eighth grade, having additional vocabulary activities proved to be useless since these students could not reach a satisfactory level in the tests. Moreover, this study shows that gender does not play a distinctive role in vocabulary development. This study reveals concrete evidence for curriculum designers and teachers that the activities designed to teach and develop vocabulary are not completely useful for students when their test results are compared

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with the necessary vocabulary size for a basic second/foreign language learner: three-thousand words (Nation and Waring 1997; Laufer 1992), and two-thousand words (Nation 2001; Thornbury 2002). Therefore, the results suggest that the content of the courses, how the language is taught, and how students are assessed should be revised. When compared with students having smaller vocabularies, students who have a larger vocabulary size are more proficient in language skills (Meara 1996, 37). Relying on this information, it can be said that Turkish English-language learners cannot be seen as proficient language learners. This may be an indicator of a significant problem that will not be overcome for many years in Turkey: no matter what the curriculum suggests for each grade, students want to start learning English from the beginning, claiming that they do not know anything in English, and teachers tend to favour this wish of the students for the sake of the recent trend to “not leave anyone behind.” Furthermore, as Schmitt (2010) suggests that these vocabulary tests help both teachers and students to learn foreign lexicons more efficiently. Without having a judgement of how much students know in a foreign language, it might be quite useless to try and build new information. Also, a language-learning curriculum can be designed based on these frequency tests, since it is stated that, “the more frequently used words will be the more easily learnt” (Palmer 1917, 123). To make things easier for Turkish students, they can initially be introduced to the most-frequent thousand words and be engaged with activities including this vocabulary. The participants of this study were also asked to write paragraphs. Researchers (Santos 1988; Bacha 2001; Weigle 2002, 69) suggest that the size of vocabulary is an indicator of writing quality. Therefore, it is expected that learners with a bigger vocabulary can write more adeptly in English. The sample student writings also show that the participants lack the necessary vocabulary knowledge: Female (12 years old) My family is five. My mother name is Havva housewife. My father name is Bekir job farmer. My sister name is Duygu student. My grandmother Hanife. My grandmother Dudu. My grandfather Kemal job farmer. My love animals sheep, dog, cat, goat. My love cousin Gulsum. My best friend Rumeysa. Male (14 years old) I am a batman. I years old 14. My choose bet. My very strong. I have a luks cars. I have a. I have strong arms. It`s wonderful to have a friend like you. My father special strong. My mother special strong let me help you in this problem. Why do you feel you are unsociable and nervous? One day in

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Chapter Two the summer, she had breakfast with her family. Help me. I like pessimistic. I don`t like optimistic.

As can be seen from the sample writings of two participants, they could not express themselves fully due to a lack of the necessary vocabulary. The female participant most probably wanted to say in the first sentence that there are five members in her family, or that her family consists of five members. Also, instead of forming full sentences with all the elements, she added the words she knows one after another. On the other hand, the male student, in his first sentence, most likely wanted to say that he likes Batman. However, since he does not know the word “like” he replaced it with the one he does, damaging the sentence quality of his writing. Furthermore, it is quite clear that in the rest of his writing he preferred to take some unrelated sentences and add them to each other to create a paragraph. This is also an indicator of his low vocabulary knowledge. In addition to writing, vocabulary extent is also an important factor in reading skill. A study conducted with Hebrew and Arabic students reveals that there is a significant correlation between vocabulary size and reading comprehension (Laufer 1992). Moreover, the same study was later conducted on Israeli students and also showed that there is a significant correlation between receptive vocabulary size and reading comprehension. Therefore, according to these study results, the participants’ reading achievement is expected to be low, primarily since they could not achieve the necessary vocabulary range. All of these discussions indicate that even though vocabulary size is significantly important for foreign language achievement, young Turkish learners of English may not be successful in language skills and may not improve their foreign language due to their limited vocabulary scope. If it is assumed as the initial step of the second language learning process (Zimmerman 1994), then more emphasis should be given to vocabulary learning by curriculum developers, teachers, and students.

5. Limitations and Further Research This study is limited, with only 67 participants from grades seven and eight. Having larger samples can enhance the generalisability of the results. Also, this study was only conducted by students studying in Isparta (Turkey). Including other cities from Turkey or other countries may also make it easier to generalise the findings. This study is a preliminary one that only measures students’ receptive vocabulary size in one-thousand most-frequent words, and only includes a

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comparison between grade and gender. Including the measurement of productive vocabulary size and four skills, and investigating the correlation between these variables, can reveal more detailed results showing a more concrete picture of the students’ situation.

References Bacha, Nahla N. 2001. “Writing Evaluation: What can Analytic versus Holistic Scoring Tell Us?” System 29 (3): 371–83. Beck, I., M. McKeown, L. and Kucan. 2002. Bringing Words to Life: Robust Vocabulary Instruction. New York: The Guilford Press. Coady, J. 1997. “L2 Acquisition Through Extensive Reading.” In Secondary Language Vocabulary Acquisition, edited by J. Coady and T. Huckin, 225–37. New York: Cambridge University Press. Crow,T. J., and R. J. Quigley. 1985. “A Semantic Field Approach to Passive Vocabulary Acquisition for Reading Comprehension.” Tesol Quarterly 19 (3): 497–513. Dickinson, D. K., A. McCabe, and N. Clark-Chiarelli. 2004. “Preschoolbased Prevention of Reading Disability: Realities vs. Possibilities.” In Handbook of Language and Literacy, edited by C. A. Stone, E. R. Silliman, B. J. Ehren, and K. Apel, 209–27. New York: The Guilford Press. Hirsh, D., and I. S. P. Nation. 1992. “What Vocabulary Size is Needed to Read Unsimplified Texts for Pleasure?” Reading in a Foreign Language 8: 689–96. Hulstijn, J.1997.”Mnemonic Methods in Foreign Language Vocabulary Learning: Theoretical Considerations and Pedagogical Implications.” In Second Language Vocabulary Acquisitions, edited by J. Coady and T. Huckin, 203–24.Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Kojic-Sabo, I., and P. Lightbown. 1999. “Students’ Approaches to Vocabulary Learning and their Relationship to Success.” The Modem Language Journal 83: 176–92. Krashen, S. 1989. “We Acquire Vocabulary and Spelling by Reading: Additional Evidence for the Input Hypothesis.” The Modern Language Journal 73: 440–63. Laufer, B. 1992. “How Much Lexis is Necessary for Reading Comprehension?” In Vocabulary and Applied Linguistics, edited by P. Arnaud, and H. Bejoint, 126–32. Basingstoke: Macmillan. —. 1998. “The Development of Passive and Active Vocabulary: Same or Different?” Applied Linguistics 19: 255–71.

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McEven, P. 2006. “Vocabulary Acquisition in CFL Chinese as a Foreign Language Contexts: A Correlation of Performance and Strategy Use.” Unpublished Master’s Thesis. Brigham Young University. McLaughlin, B., D. August, and C. Snow. 2000. “Vocabulary Knowledge and Reading Comprehension in English Language Learners: Final Performance Report.” Washington DC: Office of Educational Research and Improvement. Meara, P. 1990. A note on passive vocabulary. Second Language Research 6 7, 151 – 154. —. 1992. EFL Vocabulary Tests. 2nd ed. Swansea University. —. 1996. “The Lexical Threshold of Second Language Reading Comprehension.” In Approaches to Second Language Acquisition, edited by K. Sajavaara and C. Fairweather, 55–62. Jyväskylä: University Printing House. Melka, F. 1982. “Receptive Versus Productive Vocabulary: A Survey.” Interlanguage Studies Bulletin 6: 25–33. Nation, P., and R. Waring. 1997. “Vocabulary Size, Text Coverage and Word Lists.” In Vocabulary: Description, Acquisition and Pedagogy, edited by N. Schmitt and M. McCarthy, 6–19. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Nation, I. S. P. 2001. Learning Vocabulary in Another Language. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. National Reading Panel. 2000. “National Reading Panel: Teaching Children to Read: An Evidence-based Assessment of the Scientific Research Literature on Reading and its Implications for Reading Instruction NIH Publication No. 00-4754.” Washington, DC: National Institute of Health and National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. Oxford, R. L. 1989a. “Research on Language Learning Strategies: Methods, Findings, and Instructional Issues.” Modem Language Journal 73: 404–19. Oxford, R., and D. Crookall. 1990. “Vocabulary Learning: A Critical Analysis of Techniques.” TESL Canada Journal 7 (2): 9–30. Palmer, H. E. 1917. The Scientific Study and Teaching of Languages. London: Harrap. Paribakht, T. S., and M. B. Wesche. 1993. “Reading Comprehension and Second Language Development in a Comprehension-based ESL Program.” TESL Canada Journal 11(1): 9–29. Read, J. 2000. Assessing Vocabulary. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

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Reed, B., and J. Railsback. 2003. Strategies and Resources for Mainstream Teachers of English Language Learners. Portland, OR: Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory. Santos, T. 1988. “Professor’s Reactions to the Academic Writing of NonNative-Speaking Students.” TESOL Quarterly 22: 69–90. Schmitt, N. 2010. Researching Vocabulary. A Vocabulary Research Manual. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. Thornbury, S. 2002. How to Teach Vocabulary. Essex: Pearson Education Limited. Waring, R. 2002. “Scales of Vocabulary Knowledge in Second Language Vocabulary Assessment. The Occasional Papers of Notre Dame Seishin University.” http://www.robwaring.org/papers/various/scales.htm. Weigle, S. C. 2002. Assessing Writing. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Zimmerman, C. 1994. “Self-selected reading and interactive vocabulary instruction: Knowledge and perceptions of word learning among L2 learners.” Unpublished PhD thesis. Los Angeles: University of South California.

CHAPTER THREE TO EXIST OR NOT EXIST: THE EXISTENTIAL THERE IN PICLE AND TICLE CEM CAN AND KATARZYNA PAPAJA

1. Introduction The “existential there” is a formal device used, together with an intransitive verb, to state the existence or occurrence of something (including the non-existence or non-occurrence of something) (Biber et al. 1999, 943). A typical existential there construction would be as follows: there + be+ (usually indefinite) NP (+place or time adverbial). The primary discourse function of an existential clause is to provide new information. Existential there is a function word which has developed from the locative adverb there. It differs from the locative there in the following respects: x phonologically, it is normally reduced to /ðə(r)/ x the original locative meaning is lost x syntactically, it functions as a grammatical subject rather than as an adverbial. According to Jespersen (1924, 155) existential sentences or existential constructions (ECs) refer to sentences that assert or deny the existence of something. According to Kuno (1971), existential sentences are those that state the existence of certain indefinite objects in some place. English ECs contain the unstressed, non-deictic existential there (Milsark 1979). Deictic there contrasts with deictic here, while existential there does not (Lakoff 1987). Existential there constructions have been the object of a wide number of studies (Milsark 1979; Hannay 1985; Breivik 1990; Aniya 1992; Johansson 1997; Perez-Guerra 1999). While analysing existential there,

To Exist or Not Exist

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various features are concentrated on: syntactic, semantic, or pragmatic. Most of the semantic accounts prove that existential there originates from the locative form, and furthermore there constructions are commonly viewed as the product of derivations or movements of elements from their canonical positions (Huddleston 1988, 184). In addition, there constructions are often used to introduce new information into the discourse (Quirk et al. 1985) in order to focus on the existence or occurrence of something. They are very often used in formal or informal conversations (Biber et al. 1999) because they make it possible to prepare the interlocutor for new information, which is given in small chunks. In the case of acquisition of there constructions, Johnson (2001) concentrated on the connections between English deictic expressions with there (e.g. “There sits my mum”) and existential there constructions (e.g. “There is my mum in the kitchen”) in the child’s first language acquisition. According to Johnson (2001), children go through three main stages in the acquisition of there sentences: x there is used as a deictic locative both in initial and final position (e.g. “There dog,” “cat there,” etc.) x deictics overlap with indefinite NPs and final phrases (e.g. “There’s a toy over there”) x there constructions are clearly distinguished from deicitc ones (e.g. “Are there more than there?”). Bearing in mind Johnson’s findings, one can observe similarities in acquiring existential there constructions by L2 elementary students who seem to learn them in the same way. In the case of adult second-language acquisition, Hinkel’s (2002) large-scale corpus-based analysis of L2 English texts of Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese, Indonesian, and Arabic EFL learners reveals that no instances of overuse or underuse phenomenon could be observed for existential there, except for native speakers of Arabic who underused this feature. In the study by Palacios-Martinez and Martinez-Insua (2006), these two researchers examined existential there constructions in Spanish EFL learners using the Spanish component of ICLE and the Santiago University Learner of English Corpus, compared to NS data from LOCNESS and a sub-corpus of the BNC. Their findings show that there constructions are over-represented in the written production of Spanish students due to three interacting reasons: these structures are introduced early in language teaching, they are learnt as prefabricated patterns or

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formulaic expressions, and their communicative functions are similar in the two languages, thus enabling positive transfer. Not surprisingly, NS have a wider repertoire of verbs that appear in there-sentences than NNs. Moreover, learners occasionally confused it and there as dummy subjects.

2. Existential there in Turkish and in Polish There are two existential particles var and yok in Turkish. These particles display a close resemblance to verbs in having their own argument structure and assigning specific thematic roles. Sezer (2001) argues that there are two sets of existential particles in Turkish that should hence be recognised as two different lexical entries. Of these, one set has the meaning present/absent or is/is not part of, which assigns the semantic role on their subject, and on their locative NP (roughly, scene means “a place where there are already other objects”). The other set simply asserts the existence of some objects in some location, assigning the thematic role on its subject, and on its locative NP. Apart from this somewhat subtle distinction among the existential sentences in Turkish, it is still possible to determine classification into semantic categories based on the syntactic properties of words comprising existential sentences. Bare existentials in Turkish constitute the simplest category of existentials. There is no significant information other than the overt subject. Note that there is no explicit information regarding location. The speaker inherently assumes that the hearer knows about the context. As for the Case existentials, they include the sentences in which there is case information in the noun phrase, such as locative, ablative, dative, and instrumental, as illustrated in the examples. There are other types of existential sentences, such as possession existentials, picture existentials, and compound tense existentials, but they are not mentioned here as they do not involve existential there constructions. Comparing the Polish and English existential there sentences, we find an important similarity between them in that both languages use the same verb (to be: być) as an indicator of existence and in the function of copula. Existential there has the following meaning in Polish: (a) Jest/są/ znajdować się (imperfective) + nominative (“There is/there are”) e.g. W mieście jest kino (“There is a cinema in the city”) “W parku są / znajdują się drzewa” (“There are trees (to be found) in the park”).

To Exist or Not Exist

37

It is worth mentioning that in the past/future tense, the perfective verb znaleźć się also means “was lost and will be found”: (b) Nie ma + 37enitive (“there is/are no”) Used only in the present tense e.g. W mieście nie ma kina (“There is no cinema in the city”) W parku nie ma drzew (“There are no trees in the park”). c) Nie było/będzie + genetive (“there was/were or will be no”) Used in the past/future tenses e.g. Nie było tu Marysi (“There was no Mary here”) or (“Mary was not here”) Nie będzie śniegu (“There will not be any snow”). Apart from that, in Polish in the present tense the copula być (to be) changes into mieć (to have), especially when the noun is negated: e.g. W parku nie ma dzieci (“There are no children in the park”) Nie ma kogo winić (“There is nobody to be blamed”). The linguists still cannot explain why być alternates with have in negated existential sentences. It has been pointed out by Bielec (1999) that have in this type of sentence has no verbal meaning, i.e. it is a copula, like be.

3. The Description of the Study The purpose of this particular study is to analyse the existential there constructions in the argumentative essays of Turkish and Polish University students. We also aim to compare the use of these constructions by native and non-native speakers of English, namely American, Turkish, and Polish university students. We hypothesise that significant differences will be revealed between the native speaker group and the EFL learner groups in terms of the frequency of use, the accompanying verb, and the complexity, polarity, concord, and pragmatic value of the existential there sentences. Being a widely discussed topic in morphology, syntax, and semantics, existential there constructions are also very interesting to investigate from the interlanguage perspective, because the interlanguage differences to be examined can lead to the improvement of teaching techniques. For the purpose of the study, the data were extracted from two comparable corpora: ICLE Version 2 and LOCNESS. The learner data

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come from the Turkish (TICLE) and Polish (PICLE) sub-corpora of ICLE. The features of TICLE and PICLE are presented in Table 3.1 below. Table 3.1. The features of PICLE and TICLE subcorpora Task variables Medium: written Genre: argumentative Topic: education/society Technicality: academic essay Task setting: untimed essay

Learner variables Mother tongue: Average Age:

PICLE

TICLE

Polish 23.39

Turkish 22.08

B2–C2

B2–C2

EFL classroom

EFL classroom

Gender: Language proficiency: Learning context:

The Turkish learner data come from the Turkish sub-corpus of ICLE, which contains 199,532 words in academic writing from 280 essays produced by upper-intermediate to advanced EFL learners. The essays have an average length of 712 words. This sub-corpus will be referred as TICLE (the Turkish International Corpus of Learner English). From this sub-corpus, a sample of 208 essays totalling about 149,784 word tokens was selected (see Table 3.2 below). As for the Polish learner data, it consists of 365 texts and 233,920 words written by Polish university students. The average length of the essays is 641 words. The Polish International Corpus of Learner English will be referred to as PICLE. From this sub-corpus, a sample of 229 essays totalling about 149,364 word tokens was selected for the purpose of the study (Table 3.2). As a native English parallel corpus, a sub-corpus of LOCNESS, considered as being the “least unsuitable” for comparisons with the ICLE corpus by Ringbom (1998, 191), was extracted. This control corpus contained 149,574 word tokens and 175 argumentative essays written by American university students on the topics similar to the ones available in ICLE (see Table 3.2 below).

To Exist or Not Exist

39

Table 3.2. Corpora sizes and selected number of texts and words Corpus

Number of Texts

Total number of words

Selected number of essays

Number of words in the selected essays

TICLE

280

199,532

208

149,784

PICLE

365

233,920

229

149,364

LOCNESS 175

149,574

175

149,574

4. Data Analysis The results presented in Tables 3.3 and 3.4 below demonstrate that existential there constructions are more common in both Polish and Turkish learners’ argumentative essays than those of native-speaker university students. As we could infer from the frequencies and the Chisquare results, although there are significant differences across TICLE, PICLE, and LOCNESS corpora in the use of these constructions, TICLE has more instances when compared to PICLE and LOCNESS. Table 3.3. Frequency of there constructions across corpora Corpus

Text Token

Type

There const.

Ratio per 10,000 words

TICLE

208

149,784 7336

702

46.86

PICLE

229

149,364 10,346 610

40.83

LOCNESS 175

149,574 10,380 434

29.01

Table 3.4. Chi-square results Corpus

TICLE

TICLE LOCNESS

.011

PICLE

.000

LOCNESS

PICLE

.011

.000 .000

.000

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It seems that the higher frequency of there constructions both in Turkish and Polish is connected with the early stages of introducing there constructions into the process of EFL instruction in Turkey and Poland. In most textbooks, there constructions are introduced at the very beginning of the book. What is more, in Turkish and Polish there constructions are often learnt as fixed expressions and therefore occur more frequently. Finally, the Polish learners tend to associate the verb to be (być) with the construction “there is/there are,” as in the following examples: “There are children in the garden” Dzieci są w ogrodzie W ogrodzie są dzieci In Table 3.5 below, the most commonly used verbs in the existential there constructions are presented. Table 3.5. Verbs in existential there constructions VERB

TICLE

PICLE

LOCNESS

f

%

f

%

f

%

BE

699

99.57

597

97.86

428

98.1

appear

-

-

1

.16

become

1

.14

-

-

cease

-

-

-

-

1

.23

come

-

-

1

.16

develop

-

-

1

.16

emerge

-

-

1

.16

exist

-

-

4

.65

1

.23

find

-

-

1

.16

live

-

-

1

.16

need

-

-

1

.16

1

.23

occur

2

.28

1

.16

To Exist or Not Exist

41

originate

-

-

1

.16

rise

-

-

-

-

stand

-

-

-

-

1

.23

seem to be -

-

-

-

1

.23

tend to be

-

-

-

1

.23

-

As it can be seem in Table 3.5 above, the most commonly used verb in the existential there constructions is be across the three corpora. It is not surprising that the verb be has the highest rank as it is usually the first verb to be introduced (also with the existential there) to EFL learners. As for the variety of verbs, such as appear, come, develop, emerge, find, live, need, and originate, found in PICLE but not in the other two, although they are low in frequency (four times for exist and only once for the others) and not statistically significant, they display the richness in written production of Polish learners and might imply the use of their L1 Polish counterparts in such constructions, to a certain extent. The frequent occurrence of these verbs could be due to the argumentative genre: the learners had to use such verbs due to the topic of the essay. Apart from that, the above-mentioned verbs are often used in Polish with various prefixes, e.g. przyjść, przyjechać, podjechać, and dojechać, and translated into English as one verb: come. The low frequency of these verbs in LOCNESS could imply the rare usage of them in L1 English in this type of genre. As far as the usage of verbs in existential constructions is concerned, we can infer from the data analysis that there is a similarity between Turkish and Polish interlanguage and L1 English. Our finding on the use of the verb exist by Polish learners is similar to that revealed by Palacios-Martinez and Martinez-Insua (2006) with Spanish learners. Spanish learners use the verb exist four times as much as native speakers. This might stem from the fact that this use of exist is relevant to the argumentative genre more than with any other specific factor (219). Table 3.6 below displays the variety of structures utilised by Polish and Turkish learners and native speakers in existential there constructions in their argumentative essays.

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42

Table 3.6. Structure in existential there constructions

CORPUS

f

%

Relative Clause

Prepositional NonAdjective That Total Phrase Finite Phrase Clause Phrase

f

f

%

%

f

%

f

%

f

%

TICLE

220 31. 147 33

20. 203 94

28. 91

72 1. 25

30 4. 27

30 4. 27

702

PICLE

139 22. 177 78

29. 138 01

22. 62

46 7. 54

72 11. 80

38 6. 22

610

19. 111 12

25. 57

41 9. 41

44 10. 13

23 5. 29

434

LOCNESS 132 30. 83 41

Regarding the complexity of there constructions, we expected learners to make use of more basic constructions. In fact, both the native and nonnative data reveal that the patterns are similar. In the case of relative clauses, the Polish tend to use there constructions more often (29.01) than the Turkish (20.94) and the native speakers of English (19.12). Conversely, the Turkish tend to use there constructions in prepositional phrases more often (28.91) than the Polish (22.62) and the native speakers (25.57). In the meantime, the native speakers tend to use there constructions more often in non-finite clauses (9.41), and the Turkish learners used these structures less than Polish learners and Native speakers. As for the adjective phrases which require a reduction operation and a relatively advanced level of proficiency to conduct, while Polish learners and native speakers displayed similar results, the Turkish learners used them with existential constructions only 4.27% of the time in their essays. When it comes to that clauses, we have similar results across the corpora. Existential clauses often contain a time or place adverbial (see Table 3.7 below) because things exist or happen in the context of time and place. The adverbial is usually at the end of the clause. However, clause initial placement is also possible. We may also find the adverbial in mid position, chiefly in fiction and with verbs other than be. Mid-position, like initial position, allows the main focus to fall on the indefinite notional subject, in agreement with the information principle. Finally, it is possible for an adverbial in final position to have part of a complex notional subject postponed after it, so that it splits the notional subject and is no longer in

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final position. This is called initial-end position by Biber et al. (1999, 948). The examples for these adverbial distributions are presented below. Table 3.7. Distribution of adverbials used in existential there constructions CORPUS

Initial Position

Midposition

Initial-end Position

Final Position

TICLE

45.13%

14.02%

3,24%

37.61%

PICLE

43.08%

12.48%

1.28%

43.16%

LOCNESS

40.82%

10.04%

1.98%

47.16%

Analysing the distribution of the adverbial expressions in there constructions in different corpora, it can be noticed that both the Turkish (approximately 45) and the Polish (approximately 43) tend to place adverbials in clause initial position rather than in final position. When looking at the data concerning the native speakers (approximately), they also tend to place adverbials in clause initial position. All the figures for the two non-native-speakers and native-speakers corpora are very similar; however, there are some cases in which the Turkish place adverbials in the mid (approximately 14) or initial-end position (approximately 3) more often than the Polish or the native speakers. The concord inconsistency between the verb and notional subject of existential there constructions is a widely discussed topic in specialised literature on there constructions. Related studies revealed that there is an increasing tendency for a lack of concord contemporary English among native speakers (Givón 1993; Meechan and Foley 1994; Biber et al. 1999; Martínez-Insua 2004; Martínez-Insua and Palacios-Martínez 2003; Crawford 2005). Although this has been stated as being common in spoken English, we have observed that American university students’ texts in LOCNESS displayed 3.00% lack of concord. Our study revealed that the figures obtained for Turkish and Polish learners do not differ greatly from native speakers in this regard. As Palacios-Martinez and MartinezInsua (2006) state, this cannot be explained by the lack of linguistic competence or incomplete knowledge of the native speakers, and could be due to the simplification of the linguistic code as represented in communication in social media.

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Table 3.8. Concord vs. non-concord in existential there constructions Corpus

Concord f

Non-concord %

f

%

TICLE

683

97.30

19

2.70

PICLE

600

98.37

10

1.63

LOCNESS

421

97.00

13

3.00

The performance of Turkish and Polish EFL learners seems to be successful in providing concord between the verb and notional subject of there constructions. However, the errors, some of which are exemplified here, could be explained with an interlanguage property of incomplete knowledge of the subject–verb agreement. This might even stem from inadequate practice with such structures, especially when they are embedded, although these grammatical rules are introduced in the early stages of the EFL instruction.

5. Conclusions As regards the frequency of existential there constructions, the data shows that they are more frequent in the written English of Turkish and Polish students than in the native English written discourse. The verb to be was the most common in terms of frequency of existential there constructions. From this data it can be also concluded that both the Turkish and Polish students tend to use existential there constructions in a variety of structures, e.g. relative clauses, prepositional phrases, non-finite clauses, and adjective phrases. Additionally, both the Turkish and Polish students tend to place adverbials in clause initial position, but there are still cases in which the Turkish students place adverbials in clause mid position more often than the Polish or native speakers do. Finally, it was noticed that there is also a tendency for a lack of concord in both Turkish and Polish corpora. Bearing in mind all the findings, it is important to think about teaching implications, which could be taken into consideration in both Turkish and Polish classrooms. Firstly, teachers should introduce a wider variety of existential verbs apart from be, especially at the intermediate level. Along with that, they should refer to the various meanings conveyed by existential verbs by providing students with many examples. Likewise,

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teachers should make their students aware of the different discourse functions of there constructions as well as the pragmatic use of there constructions by referring to the registers and styles in which these constructions would be more suitable.

References Aniya, S. 1992. “The Semantics and the Syntax of the Existential ThereConstruction.” Linguistic Analysis 22 (3/4): 154–84. Biber, D. 2000. “Investigating Language use through Corpus-based Analyses of Association Patterns.” In Usage Based Models of Language, edited by M. Barlow and S. Kemmer, 287–314. Stanford: CSLI Publications. Biber, D., S. Johanson, G. Leech, S. Conrad, and E. Fininan. 1999. The Longman Grammar of Spoken and Written English. Essex: Longman. Bielec, D. 1999. Polish: An Essential Grammar. London, New York: Routledge. Breivik, L. E. 1990. Existential There. A Synchronic and Diachronic Study. Bergen University: Department of English. Crawford, W. J. 2005. “Verb Agreement and Disagreement. A Corpus Investigation of Concord Variation in Existential There + Be Costructions.” Journal of English Linguistics 33 (1) 35–61. Givón, T. 1993. English Grammar. A Function-based Introduction. Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins. Granger, S. 1998. “The Computerized Learner Corpus: a Versatile New Source of Data for SLA Research.” In Learner English on Computer, edited by S. Granger, 3–18. London, New York: Addison Wesley Longman. Hannay, M. 1985. English Existential in Functional Grammar. DordrechtHolland: Foris. Hinkel, E., and S. Fotos. 2002. New Perspectives on Grammar Teaching in Second Language Classrooms. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Huddleston, R. 1988. English Grammar: An Outline. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Jespersen, O. 1924. The Philosophy of Grammar. London: George Allen & Unwin Ltd. Johansson, S. 1997. “A Corpus Study of English Existential Clauses: Register Variation and Discourse Function.” In To Explain the Present. Studies in the Changing English Language in Honour of Matti Rissanen, edited by T. Nevalainen and L. Kahlas-Tarkka, 303–18. Helsinki: Société Néophilologique.

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Johnson, C. 2001. “Constructional Grounding: on the Relation between Deictic and Existential There-constructions in Acquistion.” In Conceptual and Discourse Factors in Linguistic Structure, edited by A. Cienki, B. Luka, and M. B. Smith, 123–36. Stanford: CSL Publications. Kuno, S. 1971. “The Position of Locatives in Existential Sentences.” Linguistic Inquiry 2: 333–78. Lakoff, G. 1987. Women, Fire and Dangerous Things. What Categories Reveal about the Mind. Chicago. University of Chicago Press. Martínez-Insua, A. 2004. Existential There-constructions in Contemporary British English. Muenchen: Lincom Europa. Meechan, M., and M. Foley. 1994. “On Resolving Disagreement: Linguistic Theory and Variation—There’s Bridges.” Language Variation and Change 6: 63–85. Milsark, G. L. 1979. Existential Sentences in English. New York: Garland. Palacios-Martinez, I., and A. Martinez-Insua. 2006. “Connecting Linguistic Description and Language Teaching: Native and Learner use of Existential There.” International Journal of Applied Linguistics 16 (2): 214–32. Perez-Guerra, J. 1999. Historical English Syntax. A Statistical Corpusbased Study on the Organisation of Early Modern English Sentences. Muenchen: Lincom Europa. Quirk, R., G. Leech, S. Greenbaum, and J. Svartvik. 1985. A Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language. London, New York: Longman. Ringbom, H. 1998. “Vocabulary Frequencies in Advanced Learner English: A Cross-linguistic Approach.” In Learner English on Computer, edited by S. Granger, 41–52. London, New York: Addison Wesley Longman. Sezer, E. 2001. “Finite Inflection in Turkish.” In The Verb in Turkish, edited by Eser Erguvanli Taylan, 1–46. Amsterdam, Philadelphia: John Benjamins Publishing Company. * Assoc. Prof. Dr. Cem Can’s contribution to this publication has been supported by the Research and Support Unit of Çukurova University, Turkey under the project number SBA-2016-6047

CHAPTER FOUR PROJECT-BASED LEARNING AS AN EFFECTIVE INSTRUMENT IN DEVELOPING LEARNERS’ INTERCULTURAL AWARENESS MAREK DERENOWSKI

1. Introduction At the beginning of the twenty-first century, the world around us is becoming immensely diverse from how it was nearly a century ago. Technological innovations in communication, transportation, economy, and most importantly information technology have resulted in the establishment of one of the greatest integrations of cultures that our world has ever witnessed. Due to these fast-occurring changes, more than ever before, competence in intercultural communication is required for people to function effectively in public and private intercultural contexts. Therefore, in modern education there is an imperative to learn to communicate with people whose cultural heritage and background are different from our own. One way to effectively cater for the increase of the learners’ intercultural awareness is to make them directly involved in the Project Based Learning (PjBL), which serves as a motivator, a stimulus, and a challenge. While working on their culture-based projects, learners have the genuine opportunity to connect the outside world with classroom reality as well as work on their personal interests and hobbies. Furthermore, cultureoriented projects allow learners to encounter these aspects of culture which are not usually present in the foreign-language curriculum. Finally, apart from other undeniable advantages, projects may also result in an increase of intercultural awareness among foreign language teachers. Taking all the above into account, the aim of this article is to take a closer look at the usefulness of culture-based project work in developing intercultural awareness among foreign language learners.

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Chapter Four

2. Projects in Education For the majority of people, “project” is a term creating more natural associations with business, rather than education. Nevertheless, projects are becoming frequently adopted by foreign language educators who recognise the potential benefits resulting from incorporating them into their daily teaching. A project may be defined as being temporary in nature, and as having a definite beginning and end. Furthermore, its goals and objectives need to be clearly defined and described. Projects can also be seen as means by which one can introduce changes and which usually involve a team/group of people/learners with different skills and capacities working together. A typical project fulfils two criteria: firstly, learners have to perceive their assignment as personally meaningful, as a task that matters and that they want to do as best as they can; secondly, a meaningful project fulfils an educational purpose. As already mentioned, projects have been gaining popularity in various educational settings. However, defining Project Based Learning (PjBL) and describing the criteria that need to be taken into consideration while working on a particular project may be a challenging enterprise, since, as Wolski (2012, 140) claims, PjBL, "may be approached from many different angles, ranging from simple one-sentence definitions to more elaborate lists of educational criteria, some of which are more theoretical whereas other may focus more on the didactic issues." Project-based learning (PBL) may be defined as a model that organises learning around projects. According to the definitions found in PBL handbooks for teachers, projects are complex tasks, based on challenging questions or problems that involve students in design, problem-solving, decisionmaking, or investigative activities, giving them the opportunity to work relatively autonomously over extended periods towards realistic products or presentations (Jones, Rasmussen, and Moffitt 1997; Thomas, Mergendoller, and Michaelson 1999). Thomas (2000, 2) continues by saying that, "other PjBL features include authentic content, authentic assessment, teacher facilitation though not direction, explicit educational goals, cooperative learning, reflection, and incorporation of adult skills as well as some unique features such as: features relating to the use of an authentic question, a community of inquiry, and the use of cognitive (technology-based) tools" (Krajcik, Blumenfeld, Marx, and Soloway 1994; Marx, Blumenfeld, Krajcik, Blunk, Crawford, Kelly, and Meyer 1994). Due to the connection between language learning and learners' interests, a project may be a powerful tool used for teaching and learning languages. Teachers may provide learners with a certain type of incentive

Developing Learners’ Intercultural Awareness

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in the form of a short involving passage and arouse their interest in the topic so that the learners feel encouraged to search for more information on the internet or in books. Such activities may be performed in groups or individually. Learners researching the topic decide themselves what they are going to focus on and become experts in the area. Later, they can present what they have managed to learn. This activity may lead to poster sessions, longer projects, or even long-term interest in culture and language (Cullen 2000). Barron et al. (1998, in Wolski 2012, 142) focus on the design stage of PjBL instruction and conclude that there are four crucial design principles whose major role is to add a metacogitive perspective to designing PjBL (and Problem-based Learning, for that matter) instruction. According to these authors, the four principles allow for creating a learning situation in which learners not only acquire content and skills, but also learn to have a deeper understanding of their own learning process, and realise the need for revising and support from the instructor and their peers. The four design principles include: (1) Defining learning-appropriate goals that lead to deep understanding (2) Providing scaffolds such as "embedded teaching," "teaching tools," sets of "contrasting cases," and beginning with problem-based learning activities before initiating projects (3) Ensuring multiple opportunities for formative self-assessment and revision (4) Developing social structures that promote participation and a sense of agency (Barron et al. 1998, in Wolski 2012, 142). According to Scrivener (2005, 365), projects usually follow a “flow plan.”

Chapter Four

Perform something

Decide project

Speak to people

Visit something

Make something

Prepare something

Decide project task

Design something

Write something

Research something

Fig. 4.1. A plan of project work (Scrivener 2005, 365)

50

Perform results

Present results

Display results

Publish results

Developing Learners’ Intercultural Awareness

51

A similar plan for project work was proposed by Stoller (2005, 112), who suggested ten consecutive steps for developing a successful project in a foreign language classroom (see Fig. 4.2 below). At the initial stage of the project learners need to identify a problem for consideration as well as select the area they will work on from a number of options. They also need to establish a starting point for further steps. During step two, the teacher and their learners set the objectives of their project and decide what the final result will be. The final outcome may have the form of a written report, letter, poster, brochure, oral presentation, etc. As learners become aware of what they need to come up with, they move on to step three, during which they work on the structure of the project. Learners again need to consider what information might be essential for their project and how they can collect it. The aim of steps four, six and eight is to develop learners' awareness concerning the possible help they may need from the teacher or a certain set of skills that will enable them to perform the task, since the type of project determines the use of technology indispensable to obtain the necessary data, writing short reviews, brief passages, or posters. The authors of the particular project may also need consultation on how to deliver a short oral presentation of the final outcome. At step five, learners gather information and organise it for later analysis. Step seven involves choosing the relevant data from the collection of materials the learners managed to obtain. As the learners reach stage nine, they are ready to present the final product of their work. They may deliver a speech, present and discuss a poster, read a review, etc. After the presentation is completed, learners are asked to reflect on the whole project. The participants evaluate their own performance and consider what they could have done differently (Stoller 2005, 113–17).

Chapter Four

Step 9 and 10 Present the final product Evaluate the project

Step 7 and 8 Compile and analyse information Prepare learners for the language demands of step 9

Step 5 and 6 Gather information Prepare learners for the language demands of step 7

Step 3 and 4 Structure the project Prepare learners for the language demands of step 5

Step 1 and 2 Agree on the theme of the project Determine the final outcome

Fig. 24.2. Developing a project in a language classroom (after Stoller 2005, 112)

52

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While working with their learners on projects, foreign language teachers realise that these task-oriented activities may be highly beneficial since they provide a great opportunity to work on something practical and learn the language indirectly, because the learning opportunities arise when learners collect the data, prepare and present the final product, or when they take part in communication. Introducing projects into the classroom might serve as an effective tool for encouraging individual language development, mainly because it facilitates the consolidation of the language that learners have learnt accompanied by the acquisition of new vocabulary. Additionally, projects offer an opportunity to introduce crosscurricular content as the task may concern topics from different fields, such as drama, art, history, or science. Furthermore, such an assignment may add variety to the typical language course. Lastly, the fact that projects may be prepared by groups may enhance the team spirit and encourage creativity in learners. However, despite learners' autonomy, teachers have a number of responsibilities and roles to perform. They have to decide how and on what occasions to incorporate the project into the course and what the task will concern. Likewise, the teacher functions as a motivator whose responsibility is to encourage learners to do the project and aid them in doing the task if it is necessary. Finally, the teacher has to organise the presentation stage and provide the learners with feedback (Hardy-Gould 2003, 3–8). Similarly, Stroller (2005, 110) describes project work for educational purposes. According to the author, the focus of the project work is on the content rather than language. Furthermore, the list describes a teacher whose main role is that of a guide. However, one should not forget that project work is predominantly learner-centred. The emphasis in project work is on cooperation rather than competition among learners who work in groups or individually, but finally they share the project and their ideas with the class. In order to fulfil project demands, learners have to interact with others by paying attention to every kind of input. The cooperation usually takes place in small groups or pairs; hence, such a way of learning may be profitable, especially for those less-confident learners because they are less afraid of being mocked when confronting the whole class. Since learners work on many solo activities throughout the day, giving them time to collaborate will likely be a welcome change of pace. The additional benefit resulting from collaboration among learners is helping each other whenever obstacles and frustrations occur. On the other hand, collaboration may have some negative outcomes, such as the domination of one learner, the unequal share of work on the project, or the lack of willingness to cooperate due to personal dislike among learners.

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Another characteristic of the project work is that it enables the genuine integration of language skills. Stoller (2005) calls it the “authenticity of the foreign language experience,” which means that project work may support a more reliable use of a foreign language than is given in the context of a regular class. When doing a project, learners concentrate on the content but develop their language skills at the same time. This might be the reason as to why learners seem to find projects interesting. They decide what to include in the project and how to do it, which makes them forget that they are learning the language (Cullen 2000). The end product of the project work provides learners with a real purpose. Not only do learners learn important lessons about the discussed topics, but they can also work on the subject and produce output which they can relate to and learn from. As they complete the project, there is an oral presentation, a poster session, a stage performance, and a report, among other things. The learners have a goal to achieve but another great benefit of project work is the very process of creating the final product, regardless of its final form. While working on a project, learners need to become more autonomous, and their language skills improve as well as their knowledge of the world increases. Projects may also lead to the increase of foreign language learners’ motivation to learn the language that is presented and used in a more meaningful context. Finally, project work serves as a motivator, a stimulus, and a challenge.

3. Using Projects for Developing Intercultural Awareness In the contemporary world, mobility has become a part of every learner’s reality. Most now have the opportunity to visit other countries not only for tourism, but also for educational purposes and to learn more about other cultures. Therefore, foreign language learning has become the norm in the globalised world. It seems inevitable that learners need a certain level of intercultural knowledge and competence to survive in new cultures and educational contexts. In this respect, one’s understanding of the new cultures, as well as their native culture, has a crucial role in becoming a globalised citizen. Learning a language without culture is a recipe for becoming what Bennett (1993) calls a “fluent fool”: a person who speaks a foreign language well, but does not understand the social and philosophical content of that language. "Hence, the role of foreign language teachers has gained importance since they serve as a medium to teach both the language and the culture of the foreign language" (Gonen and Saglam 2012, 26).

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Intercultural Communicative Competence is, indisputably, an integral part of the contemporary foreign language teaching process, and foreign language teachers should consider it as one of their primary educational goals. They should incorporate the teaching of foreign language culture into the foreign language curriculum. As Straub (1999, 2) claims, "the concept of communicative competence may not be enough to satisfactorily equip learners with the necessary cognitive skills they will need in a second-culture environment." Unfortunately, some foreign language teachers seem to forget or not realise that the knowledge of any language has to be complemented by understanding of what Thanasoulas (2001) calls “culture-specific meanings.” The same author claims that in order to avoid misunderstandings and cross-cultural miscommunication, teachers and their learners should take into consideration the occurrence of dynamic, social changes. Kramsch (1993) states that identifying the meaning of the term “culture” and how it is later incorporated into foreign language learning is still considered a challenge. In her opinion, the teaching of culture in a foreign language classroom is not the same as the transition of information concerning members of the target language community. Culture should not be perceived as only a depository of selected facts and experiences to which a person can resort whenever necessary. Culture isn't just a list of holidays or shared recipes, religious traditions, or languages; it is a lived experience unique to each individual. Foreign language teachers should stimulate the intellectual development of their learners, and remember that it is simply not enough to operate on the axis of colour-blindness Culture has been influenced by many academic disciplines. One is linguistics, which has provided the concept of language analysis, which is the basis of inter-cultural communication. Another is psychology, which has provided many of the concepts we use in understanding people’s motivation and behaviour. Two other disciplines, sociology and anthropology, have both influenced the study of behaviour and the influences that form social values in different communities (Tomalin 2008). Furthermore, the process of foreign language learning should not be perceived as simply learning how to communicate, because it embraces the discovery of how language reflects upon the target language culture. At the same time, learners have the unique opportunity to see how the same reflections are manifested in their native culture (Kramsch 1993). Despite another misconception related to the foreign language learners' assumed lack of interest concerning the world around them, in the contemporary foreign language classroom the learners often express the need and interest to be familiarised with the elements of the target

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language culture. These expectations are often connected with the commonly held belief that it is important to know how the representatives of other cultures function and how to behave if one has to coexist with them. Teachers who decide to respond to such culture-oriented learners' expectations need to comprehend that the process of foreign language teaching/learning has to be situated in a meaningful, intercultural context. If the language is taught without culture it may be considered as nothing more than a set of meaningless symbols, or symbols with wrong meanings attached to them by the learners (Politzer 1969; Kramsch 1996; Thanasoulas 2001). In recent years, foreign language culture has been moved from the “cultural background” to the “cultural foreground”: "There has been a shift in emphasis in course design from pre-occupation with form to an interest in content" (Prodromou 1992, 39). For this reason, teaching elements of foreign language culture has also become the subject of research. Scholars have made attempts to discover what elements of cultural content interest learners (Prodromou 1992), whether foreign language teachers deliberately use elements of the target language culture, the ways in which educators incorporate these components in the foreign language classroom (Derenowski 2008), and what teachers' and teacher educators' beliefs and practices concerning culture as an integral part of the foreign language teaching process are (Byrd et al. 2011). "The most often investigated aspect of culture learning and teaching is the correlation between the understanding of foreign culture and learners' motivation and achievement in language learning" (Byram and Feng 2006, 920). One of the most important results of these studies is the opinion that if target language culture is to be treated with the expected importance and have its rightful place in the foreign language classroom, foreign language learners need to become actively involved in the process of “discovering cultures.” To truly engage learners in this discovery process, educators need to reach out to them in ways that are culturally and linguistically responsive and appropriate, and examine the cultural assumptions and stereotypes that are brought into the classroom that may get in the way of interconnectedness. Foreign language learners need to become inquisitive and engaged in interpretations of the world around them, and need to know how to make comparisons between the target and their native cultures. Furthermore, learners need to have an open access to routine and conscious knowledge held by the representatives of other cultures, so that they can gain better understanding and efficiently adjust to typical behaviours and forms of communication (Byram and Morgan 1994, 50).

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Rivers (1981, in Gonen and Saglam 2012, 27) claims that culture instruction should have at least seven goals. These include making students aware of the way people act; the effects of social variables such as age, sex, and social class on the way they speak; how people in the target culture conventionally act under different circumstances; culture in the most commonly used words and phrases; being critical about the target language culture; developing the skills necessary for locating and organising materials about the target culture; and developing intellectual curiosity about the target culture and empathy towards its people. Nostrand (1966), on the other hand, proposes the following list of ten goals for culture teaching: (1) Knowledge of the cultural connotations of words and phrases (2) Knowledge of how to behave in common situations (3) The development of interest and understanding toward the second culture (4) Understanding cross-cultural differences (5) Understanding intracultural institutions and differences (6) Research-like projects (7) Development of an integrated view of the second culture (8) Ability to evaluate statements about the second culture (9) Development of empathy toward a second culture and its people (10) Academic research on second cultures If projects are listed as one of the main culture teaching goals they must constitute a valuable asset during the development of intercultural awareness. Apart from the benefits presented in the previous section, projects are a perfect tool for developing learners’ intercultural awareness for a number of reasons. First of all, discovering new cultures may be an enjoyable and enriching experience, both for learners and their teachers. When travelling, one can get “first hand” experience concerning lifestyle, cuisine, customs, traditions, and other spheres of life. However, even despite higher mobility, not everyone can travel abroad and obtain genuine intercultural experience. During project work, teachers can encourage their learners to explore other cultures and be exposed to the diversity of intercultural situations, which force them to use the linguistic knowledge they already possess as well as develop their culture-related vocabulary, which will make them more aware of the link between language and culture. Furthermore, learners' self-confidence may increase due to collaboration and cooperation on the project. Learners who are interested

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in culture-related topics may become more autonomous and start to investigate them on their own. While working on the project, learners have a natural opportunity to exchange opinions and ideas, which may help them in developing positive attitudes towards “otherness.” Project work may help learners to acknowledge the fact that cultures are diversified and may not resemble their native culture. During the project work, the participants may develop new cultural perspectives, higher ambiguity tolerance, increased empathy, and increased tolerance. However, what needs to be explicitly mentioned is that the process of developing a new intercultural perspective may lead to such emotions and states as ambiguity, uncertainty, surprise, dissatisfaction, or even frustration. Therefore, if learners encounter cultural differences which are beyond their understanding, some teacher guidance may be necessary. At the same time, cultural uncertainty may trigger the process of rethinking learners' own experiences, which may be an invaluable asset in future contact with other cultures (Tseng 2002). While working on the project, learners have the opportunity to discover new spheres of personal interest, some of which may be culture related (e.g. movies, music, traditions and customs, travelling, etc.). Learners also have the opportunity to discover unknown and never-before discussed culture-related issues, and since they work without the teacher’s direct guidance they have to develop higher cultural sensitivity and awareness while selecting materials and organising the final outcome of their work. What is more, while working on their projects learners need to compare and contrast between cultures. Finding similarities and differences between the target and native cultures may lead to the development of patriotism and appreciation of the native culture. Projects are often based on problem solving and expect learners to provide advice on how to deal with the problem or how to avoid intercultural misunderstanding. This may lead to the development of learners' intellectual reasoning abilities and engage them in searching for the solution, and approximate real-life situations. Projects allow learners to incorporate a variety of tools and instruments to present their final outcome. Learners may use the internet, books, magazines, newspapers, pictures, photographs, posters, leaflets, songs and their lyrics, movies, poems, etc. This multitude of cultural sources not only broadens the learners’ knowledge of the outside world, but also increases their intercultural awareness. Finally, it has to be explicitly stated that successful project work provides the learners with a sense of achievement, which can result in the development of learners' positive attitudes towards other cultures.

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4. Study 4.1. Description of the Study According to Wolski (2012, 143), "it is beyond question that a great deal of research has already been done on the effectiveness of PjBL and with this in mind it is tempting enough for instructors to try and implement PjBL tasks in their classrooms." With the above statement in mind, the researcher conducted a small-scale study investigating the influence of project work on learners' intercultural awareness, positive attitudes towards other cultures, and learners’ perception of PjBL. The study described below was a replication of a similar study conducted by the author in 2012. The study included a group of 86 senior high-school learners from three classes who were divided into 15 groups of 5–6 learners. There were 58 female and 28 male participants, all of them between 17 and 18 years of age. All the participants had three hours of English per week, and their English language learning experience amounted to nine years. They all used the same coursebook and had the same teacher of English. Their contact with English outside the classroom included the internet, travel, watching movies in English, listening to songs, and having friends abroad. During the study, learners were supposed to select one culture related topic and prepare a project reflecting on the selected issue. The learners had full autonomy as to what aspect of the target language culture they wanted to explore as the topic for their projects, being the focal part of the study. The fact that the topics were entirely learner-generated was supposed to serve as a motivational force for learners who needed to spend a significant amount of their free time on the project. The learners also had full autonomy during group formation, which was supposed to result in the creation of an atmosphere encouraging comfortable work on the projects. After the groups were chosen, learners had a week to decide on the specific topic of their culture-related projects. The list of selected topics included: Group 1: London; Group 2: American cuisine; Group 3: Thanksgiving; Group 4: Rock music; Group 5: Route 66; Group 6: Spike Lee; Group 7: New York; Group 8: Australia; Group 9: American traditions and customs; Group 10: Country music; Group 11: Royal family; Group 12: British cuisine; Group 13: Sydney; Group 14: American presidents; Group 15: American football. Due to the previous project-based research experience, the final outcome of the project was supposed to be either a PowerPoint presentation, a poster to present and discuss, or a display, the latter replacing the previously

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available but not very popular 250–300 word essay. The work on projects lasted for three weeks, during which time the learners, in their selected groups, had to decide on the form of the final outcome, divide responsibilities among the group members, and organise resources and materials to be used for the project’s final outcome. Throughout the project work, the teacher was available for help; however, learners were expected to mainly work on their own. The teacher also monitored the progress and made sure that learners select the appropriate materials for their topics. After three weeks, eight lessons were devoted to the presentation of all the learners' final project outcomes. Over every lesson, two projects were presented to the remaining groups, who were later asked to provide verbal feedback on the final outcome. Altogether, there were ten multimedia presentations (Rock music, Route 66, Spike Lee, New York, Australia, American traditions and customs, Country music, Royal family, Sydney, American presidents), two displays (American cuisine, British cuisine) and three posters (American football, London, Thanksgiving). After the presentations, all the participants were asked to fill in a questionnaire assessing their opinions concerning culture-based project work and its effectiveness in the development of intercultural awareness. The survey included ten, 5-point Likert scale statements designed to investigate the influence of culture-based projects on learners' interest in the English language and culture, their intercultural awareness, and how the projects influenced students' autonomy in learning English. In every statement, “1” meant “do not agree at all” and “5” meant “agree to a large extent.” Table 4.1 below presents the percentage of learners' responses to the survey statements. In order to facilitate the analysis of the obtained results, answers 1 and 2 as well as 4 and 5 were added together.

4.2. Results of the Study The table below presents the results obtained during the study. Table 4.1. Learners' answers to the statements Questions (1) Project work increased my interest in the English language (2) Project work increased my interest in culture of English-speaking countries (3) Project work increased my awareness of intercultural otherness

1 or 2 11%

3 20%

4 or 5 69%

7%

22%

71%

3%

23%

74%

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(4) Project work increased my knowledge of other cultures (5) Project work made me appreciate my own culture more (6) I developed more positive attitudes towards other cultures (7) I liked working in a group while doing the project (8) I liked the idea of doing the project (9) Project work gave me the feeling of achievement (10) I would like to participate in another group project

1%

5%

94%

9%

24%

67%

5%

30%

65%

3%

10%

87%

7% 5%

13% 3%

80% 92%

4%

10%

86%

As can be seen from the obtained results, culture-based project work received very positive response from the learners taking part in the study. As much as 69% of the respondents appreciated the fact that the project not only increased their knowledge of culture, but also resulted in the increase of the learners' interest in the language. For over 70% of learners, project work turned out to be an effective tool for increasing their Englishlanguage culture interests. What seems to be one of the most significant outcomes of the project work is the increase of the learners' positive attitudes towards other cultures and otherness. Furthermore, as the results indicate, learners expressed more appreciation towards their own native culture. As Unsworth, Bang and Medin (2010, in Claus-Ehlers 2010, 353) state, “culture as such can have a tremendous impact on learning in the school environment.” It provides learners with the opportunity to expand their system of values and beliefs as well as their background knowledge, and evolve later on. While experiencing culture, learners may become more aware of intercultural differences and increase their openness to other cultures. Moreover, there seems to be a need for multicultural education and the development of culturally-based curricula. These alternatives to regular curricula are said to engage language learners through familiar ways of thinking and knowing, since different learners encounter the classroom environment with different styles and strategies for learning. Apart from affective results related to the cultural component of the project, the participants expressed positive responses concerning the idea of the project itself. Over 80% of the learners liked working on the project and appreciated the idea of PjBL. Equally important is the fact that for over 90% of the respondents, project work was a source of personal

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achievement. These results unmistakably show that there is a clear agreement among the respondents that the effort put in for the preparation of the final artifact brings a feeling of satisfaction. Additionally, what seems to be equally or even more important, in the view of the teachers' future work, is the fact that 86% of learners are willing to take part in further project work.

5. Conclusions The results of this small-scale study provide sufficient evidence for the positive influence of project-based learning on learners' intercultural awareness and their general, positive attitudes towards project work. Even though there might have been some technical and organisational difficulties, learners expressed an overtly positive approach towards projects. The feeling of achievement and satisfaction from the final product not only increases learner motivation, but is also a good indicator for future project-based work. The projects designed and carried out by the learners obviously had some minor flaws; however, they did not thwart the learners' sense of achievement. Project-based learning not only builds up the learners' self-confidence in their own educational enterprises, but also results in the increased attractiveness of foreign language lessons. Furthermore, projects may have a positive effect on learners’ selfconfidence in their own skills improvement in terms of language use (writing and speaking skills), as well as information selection and analysis of the learnt linguistic material. Another conclusion that can be drawn from the project work is the feeling of positive experience resulting from collaboration among learners. Working in teams undoubtedly builds up interpersonal relations among learners and teaches them cooperation. However, the question remains as to whether the positive attitudes towards collaboration are the result of the efficiency of such a work mode or the feeling of safety for less-motivated learners. Besides which, the obtained results should be of significance to any foreign language teachers involved in project work, since they require from them the effort to take a closer look into the way the learners perceive its effectiveness or merit, as incommensurable as they may be. When it comes to the main hypothesis of the study, it seems that the results provide confirmation of the positive influence of projects on the development of learners' intercultural awareness. Foreign language learners working on their culture-based projects are presented with a unique opportunity to broaden their intercultural horizons and develop positive attitudes towards the representatives of other cultures. Increased

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intercultural awareness seems to be a sine qua non in efficient intercultural communication outside the classroom. Equipped with intercultural knowledge, learners will be able to discover other cultures and efficiently coexist in the contemporary multicultural reality. What is more, while working on their culture-based projects, learners develop or discover their own passions and interests. Furthermore, projects allow learners to find out more about other cultures in a more involving and unconventional manner. During their project work, they can move away from typical classroom activities and become more culturally conscious while working on their projects at their own pace, incorporating a multitude of materials and resources. The development of intercultural awareness through projects helps learners in noticing the existing similarities and differences between cultures. This in turn makes them more tolerant, open, emphatic, and flexible towards encountered cultural “otherness.” Culture-based project work undoubtedly makes learners more aware of their own native language culture, which is an unprecedented advantage since learners start to appreciate their national culture as well as heritage and become more patriotic. Project work may lead to the creation of a learner who is, on the one hand, patriotic and conscious of their national legacy, and on the other open and friendly towards other cultures. Such an amalgam of culturerelated features and increased intercultural awareness is the most distinctive characteristic of a person who is fully prepared for meaningful intercultural experience.

References Barron, B., D. Schwartz, N. Vye, A. Moore, A. Petrosino, L. Zech, and J. Bransford. 1998. “Doing With Understanding: Lessons From Research on Problem-and Project-Based Learning.” Journal of the Learning Sciences 7 (3–4): 271–311. Bennett, J. M. 1993. “Cultural Marginality: Identity Issues in Intercultural Training.” In Education for the Intercultural Experience, edited by R. M. Paige, 109–35. Yarmouth, ME: Intercultural Press. Byrd, D., A. Cummings, H. Watzke, and M. Montes Valencia. 2011. “An Examination of Culture Knowledge: a Study of L2 Teachers' and Teacher Educators' Beliefs and Practices.” Foreign Language Annals 441: 4–39. Byram, M., and C. Morgan. 1994. Teaching-and-Learning Language-andCulture. Clevedon, England: Multilingual Matters. Byram, M., and A. Feng. 2006. Living and Studying Abroad Research and Practice. Buffalo: Multilingual Matters.

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Claus–Ehlers, C. S. 2010. Encyclopaedia of Cross-Cultural School Psychology. New Jersey: Springer. Cullen, B. 2000. “Practical Techniques for Teaching Culture in the EFL Classroom.” The Internet TESL Journal 126, http://iteslj.org/Techniques/Cullen–Culture.html. Derenowski, M. 2008. “The Place of the Target Language Culture in the Language Classroom: a Few Modest Proposals.” In Investigating English Language Learning and Teaching, edited by M. Pawlak, 347– 56. Poznań-Kalisz: Faculty of Pedagogy and Fine Arts in Kalisz Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań. Gonen, S., and S. Saglam. 2012. “Teaching Culture in the FL Classroom: Teachers’ Perspectives.” IJGE: International Journal of Global Education 13: 26–46. Hardy–Gould, J. 2003. Project Work Elementary—Intermediate Timesaver. Mary Glasgow Magazines. Jones, B., C. Rasmussen, and M. Moffitt. 1997. Real-life Problem Solving: A Collaborative Approach toInterdisciplinary Learning. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. Krajcik, J., P. Blumenfeld, R. Marx, E. and Soloway. 1994. “A Collaborative Model for Helping Middle-grade Science Teachers Learn Project-based Instruction.” The Elementary School Journal 94: 483–97. Kramsch, C. 1993. Context and culture in language teaching. Oxford: Oxford University Press. —. 1996. The Cultural Component of Language Teaching. www.spz.tudarmstadt.de. Marx, R., P. Blumenfeld, J. Krajcik, M. Blunk, B. Crawford, B. Kelley, and K. Meyer. 1994. “Enacting Project-based Science: Experiences of Four Middle Grade Teachers.” Elementary School Journal 94: 517–38. Nostrand, H. 1966. “Describing and Teaching the Sociocultural Context of a Foreign Language and Literature.” In Trends in Language Teaching, edited by A. Valdman, 1–25. New York: McGraw–Hill. Paige, R. M., H. Jorstal, L. Siaya, F. Klein, J. and Colby. 2000. Culture Learning in Language Education: A Review of the Literature. St. Paul, MN: Center for Advanced Research on Language Acquisition, the University of Minnesota. Politzer, R. 1969. Report of the Fifth Annual Round Table Meeting on Linguistics and Teaching. Washington, D.C.: Georgetown University Press. Prodromou, L. 1992. “What Culture? Which Culture? Cross-cultural Factors in Language Learning.” ELT Journal 461: 39–50.

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Richards, J. C., and W. Renandya. 2005 Methodology in Language Teaching. New York: Cambridge University Press, Rivers, W. M. 1981. Teaching Foreign Language Skills. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press. Scrivener, J. 2005. Learning Teaching, Oxford: Macmillan Publishers Limited. Stoller, F. 2005. “Project Work: a Means to Promote Language and Content.” In Methodology in Language Teaching, edited by J. C. Richards and W. A. Renandya, 107–18. New York: Cambridge University Press. Straub, H. 1999. “Designing a Cross-cultural Course.” English Forum 37 (3): 2–8. Thanasoulas, D. 2001. The Importance of Teaching Culture in the Foreign Language Classroom. Radical Pedagogy, http://radicalpedagogy.icaap.org/content/issue3_3/7–thanasoulas.html. Thomas, J., J. Mergendoller, and A. Michaelson. 1999. Project-based Learning: A Handbook for Middle and High School Teachers. Novato, CA: The Buck Institute for Education. Thomas, J.W. 2000. “A Review of Research on Project Based Learning.” http://www.bobpearlman.org/BestPractices/PBL_Research.pdf. Tomalin, B. 2008. Make Culture Happen in the Language Classroom. www.teachingenglish.org.uk/article/making–culture–happen–english– language–classroom. Tseng, Y. 2002. “A Lesson in Culture.” ELT Journal 56 (1): 11–21. Unsworth, S., M. Bang, D. Medin. 2010. “Culture.” In Encyclopaedia of Cross–Cultural School Psychology, edited by C.S. Claus–Ehlers, 353– 63. New Jersey: Springer. Valdman, A. 1966. Trends in Language Teaching. New York: McGraw– Hill. Wolski B. 2012. “The Feeling of Personal Achievement in Autonomy Oriented and Technology Driven Project Based Learning Instruction Among EFL College Level Students of English.” In Collection of Articles Based on the Conference: Learning and Teaching Languages in a Multi-Cultural Spacetime, edited by M. Pawlak and B. Wolski, 139–58. Konin: Wydawnictwo PWSZ.

CHAPTER FIVE AN INVESTIGATION OF THE USE OF A SPECIALISED CORPUS BY ENGINEERING STUDENTS WITH LOW ENGLISH PROFICIENCY TO DEVELOP ABSTRACT JOURNAL-WRITING SKILLS SUPARADA EAK-IN

1. Introduction A corpus is a large collection of authentic texts in a computer-readable format, which is created according to specific criteria (Sinclair 1991; McEnery and Wilson 2001; Bowker and Pearson 2002; Hunston 2002). The data compiled in the corpus can be either written or spoken language, native or non-native, and monolingual or multilingual. A corpus is distinguished from other sources of data collection since it contains much more information. In terms of language analysis, it provides both qualitative and quantitative results. Moreover, it stores the data in a format that can be studied non-linearly, which provides language observers with different views or awareness of language (Hunston 2002). A corpus is normally designed to serve a particular purpose. Types of corpora thus depend on their purposes (Ibid.). A specialised corpus is a compilation of a particular text type, designed according to specific criteria for specific purposes and needs. It can be either written or spoken. Its size can be large or small depending on its purposes. It is used to investigate the behaviour of the language used in a particular type of text. Well-known specific corpora are, for example, the Cambridge and Nottingham Corpus of Discourse in English (CANCODE) and the Michigan Corpus of Academic Spoken English (MICASE). In contrast, a general corpus is compiled by gathering data from various types of texts. It is designed to serve general purposes, not the specific needs of a particular group. A general corpus

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can include either spoken or written data. Its size is normally larger than a specialised corpus. It is used generally as a reference corpus. The British National Corpus (BNC), the Bank of English, and the Corpus of Contemporary American English (COCA) are examples of well-known general corpora that contain one-hundred million words, four-hundred million words, and four-hundred and fifty million words, respectively. However, the corpus itself cannot reveal to users any new perspectives. Accordingly, a corpus analysis tool or software is needed in order to reveal them (Anthony 2005). Such available tools are WordSmith Tools, Monoconc Pro, Word sketch Engine, and Antconc. Corpus analysis tools can reveal various aspects of language, such as word frequency lists, keyword lists, concordance lines, and words in context. Currently, some of these functions, notably the concordance generator and collocation information, have also been applied to the embedded online corpora, such as the BNC and COCA. Thus, the users can consult the corpus and the same linguistic results will be presented as in the corpus software, but they may be different in presentation. Corpus analysis has had a strong link with English language teaching, either directly or indirectly, for decades. The student’s indirect consultation of corpora was recognised as a corpusbased approach, while the direct consultation was known as the Datadriven Learning or DDL approach. In the beginning, the corpus-based approach was widely used by teachers to design a syllabus and course (Flowerdew 1993), create a test (Coniam 1994; Shillaw 1994), improve reference materials such as dictionaries, grammar books, thesauri, and textbooks to make them more authentic (Leech 1997), and adjust teaching content and materials (Coxhead 2000; 2002; Wang, Liang, and Ge 2008). In the meantime, the corpus was used as a teaching instrument to present a large amount of authentic data and be a model of writing and speaking for students to increase their language proficiency (Flowerdew 1993; Leech 1997; O’Keeffe, McCarthy, and Carter 2007). Although the corpus-based approach has provided positive outcomes on language learning, it was a failure in drawing out the full potential of a corpus as well as students’ learning skills (Johns 1991a; Bernardini 2002). To give learners a chance to explore a corpus by themselves, the Data-Driven Learning (DDL) approach was introduced by Johns (1986) with the notion that the students can learn best when they recognise their own strategies to discover the language or learn how to learn. Through this approach, the students actively investigate the corpus to test their language hypotheses as well as their own queries about language. “Language learner as researcher” and “every student a Sherlock Holmes” are two well-known phrases conceived by Johns (1986; 1997). Since then, a number of teacher researchers have

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implemented the DDL approach to their language classrooms and reported its positive effects on students’ ability to learn vocabulary and grammar (Cobb and Horst 2001) as well as reading and writing (Steven 1991; Cobb 1997; Tian and Liu 2004; Yoon and Hirvela 2004). More inductively, Bernardini (2002) defined students utilising the DDL approach as travellers who could make a decision about their own journey without any teacher control. The students were expected to investigate language to serve their own interests. To evaluate the efficacy of the approach, some empirical studies have been conducted in different pedagogical contexts. In one of the studies, Cheng, Warren, and Xun-feng (2003) asked their students to conduct a mini research project to study language points which they were interested in from at least two corpora and then discuss and report their findings. The topics ranged from a single term to a discourse. Similarly, Johns, Lee, and Wang (2008) and Lee (2011) asked their students to access a small corpus of literature directly to observe and identify lexical items in the stories that they were interested in. In a more advanced learning context, the students in Charles’ (2012) class were assigned to compile their own corpus of 10–15 research articles in their own discipline for learning to write an EAP work. These students were encouraged to raise questions and use the corpus software to answer their own questions and develop their own writing. Likewise, Yoon and Hirvela (2004) encouraged their students to use corpora to identify their linguistic problems in writing, and learn and revise or correct them. It was revealed that DDL provided positive effects in the students’ language learning, and students also had positive attitudes towards the method (Cheng, Warren, and Xun-feng 2003; Tian and Liu 2004; Yoon and Hirvela 2004; Chambers 2005; Charles 2012; Xiong and Chen 2012; Saxena and Lind 2013). Although many studies have reported the positive effects of the corpus-based method and DDL approach on various aspects of language learning—e.g. grammar, vocabulary, reading, and writing—most of the studies were conducted with high-proficiency students, and very few were conducted with low-proficiency ones. In addition, of the studies on lowproficiency students, very few explored their learning process. Accordingly, this present study was conducted to investigate lowproficiency students’ strategies in dealing with the corpus-based method. It explores how the low-proficiency students developed their DDL skills, which played active roles in class, raising questions and queries about the language, designing and managing their own search, discovering the language by themselves, hypothesising, analysing, summarising and verifying the data, and learning by themselves both inside and outside of

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the classroom (Johns 1991a; 1991b; 1997; Bernardini 2000; Hunston 2002).

2. Method The research methodology detailed below presents and discusses (2.1) the research context, (2.2) the participants, (2.3) the research design and procedures, and (2.4) data analysis.

2.1. Research Context The present study was conducted with a group of undergraduate Electrical Engineering students at a university in Bangkok, Thailand. These students studied in a Thai program, which means they used Thai as a means of communication in all classes. During their study, they took one English course a year. It was recognised from their study plans that they had limited time to develop their English language skills at the university. Consequently, many could not develop their English language proficiency appropriately. This included their ability to write an abstract for their senior engineering project in their last year of study. An interview with three teachers of English at the university revealed that most seniors in engineering encountered difficulties in writing the precis for their senior engineering projects. Even though an abstract is concise and uncomplicated, the students could not write it properly. They did not know the organisation, terms, and linguistic features used. Two factors that limited their digest writing abilities were their lack of experience in abstract writing and their limitations due to their lack of English language skills. Moreover, most regular ESP courses at the university normally emphasised grammar lessons and general vocabulary. It was revealed by the lecturers of the courses that the contents were mainly selected from the commercial books and designed by the lecturers according to their experiences. According to the course reviews by the lecturers of the courses and former students’ learning outcomes, the course contents were later recognised as being too broad to develop the students’ specific English skills. Besides, the coursebooks, exercises, and activities, which were rather traditional, were reportedly not attractive for the students. Similarly, the traditional deductive approach, which was teacher-centred, was implemented in all classes. The teachers in these classes played the role of the knower who made all of the decisions regarding learning, preparing all materials and lectures for the students. The students reported that they then became passive learners, who always followed the

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instruction strictly and did not recognise their own learning process, and were unable to learn by themselves outside of class efficiently. In this study, the students learned the significant linguistic features to develop their abstract-writing ability using the corpus-based method for a fifteenweek semester. Through this approach, they had to directly consult the corpus of electrical engineering compendiums to complete the corpusbased exercises as well as write abstracts in electrical engineering themselves with assistance from the teacher when requested. The corpus-based instructional method for low-proficiency students in this study was divided into three phases: introduction, practice, and production. In the introduction phase, which was between week one and two, the students were introduced to the principles of move analysis and corpus linguistics. The instruction of each lesson started with teacherinitiation followed by collaborative learning and student-centred activities. The second phase was the practice phase, in which the students had to consult the corpus to investigate the significant linguistic features in each step of each move by themselves to complete the corpus-based exercises. This phase was between weeks three to eleven. The lessons to be practiced were divided into three units according to the three moves of Swales’ CARS model. The instruction in each unit started with teacher-initiation, with collaborative learning and student-centred activities incorporated respectively. In the last phase, production, the students participated in a workshop and had to directly consult the corpus to compose electrical engineering abstracts themselves. The student-centred approach was thus implemented in this phase. An overview of the instruction is shown in Fig. 5.1 below. Fig. 5.1 An overview of the corpus-based instructional method for low-proficiency students

2.2. Participants The participants were 125 undergraduate electrical engineering students who enrolled in a fifteen-week Technical English course in 2013. These students normally studied in the Thai programme in which Thai was used as the means of communication in all courses. At the beginning of this

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course, they took a proficiency test to assess their level of English proficiency according to their knowledge of vocabulary, grammar, and usage. Their average score was 17.73 out of 60: 59 students who got scores of 9 to 17 were categorised as beginners; 65 students who got scores of 18 to 29 were categorised as elementary; one student who got the highest score of 30 was categorised as lower-intermediate. In this study, they represented low-proficiency students. They were selected as participants because they were students who had to write an academic abstract in English for their senior project in their final year of study to complete their degree. Lately, most engineering students at the university have complained to their advisors about having inadequate skills to write their academic abstracts in English for their senior engineering project. They were in need of the language used to compose an engineering abstract, and therefore needed to practise abstract writing.

2.3. Research Design and Procedure The present study used the mixed method approach: an integration of quantitative and qualitative approaches. Four instruments—questionnaires, interviews, student learning journals, and teacher observations—were used in triangulation to collect the data. The questionnaires were used to collect data from all 125 students after each lesson was completed. During the semester four questionnaires were used to collect the data. Each questionnaire consisted of six main questions regarding DDL skills. The students were asked to evaluate themselves and give comments and suggestions. The semi-structured interviews were conducted to collect the data from 13 students after each main lesson was completed. The students were purposively selected based on the development of the three DDL skills that could be clearly observed during class time. Those skills were playing an active role, raising questions and queries, and designing and managing their own searches. Five of the student interviewees could fully develop those skills, another five could partially develop them, while the remaining three could not develop them properly. During the semester there were four interviews conducted. The questions were raised in accordance with the questionnaires. The students were asked to give indepth information regarding their learning process. The student learning journals were conducted to collect the data from all 125 students after each lesson was completed. Through the semester, the students wrote four journals. The journals consisted of topics regarding the DDL skills for the students to discuss. The guideline questions led them to describe their learning process and discuss their difficulties and problems. Besides

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which, the students were allowed to write their opinions and suggestions. The teacher observations were conducted every week to observe the students’ learning behaviour and DDL skills during the class activities. The teacher’s field notes were used to record the general data of the overall classroom as well as specific data of the students’ DDL skills. The observation field notes consisted of three main parts: a checklist for the overall picture of the class, a checklist for specific DDL skills, and space for the teacher to note both the points related to the skills and other interesting points.

2.4. Data Analysis To explore the strategies of the low-proficiency students in dealing with the corpus, the data were analysed and discussed according to the six characteristics of the DDL drawn from the literature: playing an active role in class, raising questions and queries about the language, designing and managing their own search, discovering the language by themselves, hypothesising, analysing, summarising and verifying the data, and learning by themselves both inside and outside the classroom (Johns 1991a; 1991b; 1997; Bernardini 2000; Hunston 2002). To analyse the data, the questionnaire data were first calculated and summarised in percentages according to the students’ evaluations of their performance in developing each DDL skill. After that, the descriptive data from the open-ended sections were interpreted and categorised into groups. Third, the students’ journals were read, interpreted, and categorised according to each characteristic of the DDL skills. Fourth, the interview data were transcribed, interpreted, and categorised into groups. Fifth, the observation field notes were read and summarised. Finally, the results from each instrument were triangulated and discussed under the six strategies mentioned above. The data from the interviews, student learning journals, and teacher observation were used to support or block against the statistic data from the questionnaires.

3. Findings and Results The findings and results were presented according to the six characteristics of DDL: playing an active role in class, raising questions and queries about the language, designing and managing their own search, discovering the language by themselves, hypothesising, analysing, summarising and verifying the data, and learning by themselves both inside and outside the classroom (Johns 1991a; 1991b; 1997; Bernardini 2000; Hunston 2002).

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3.1. Students’ Active Role The results from the present study revealed that the low proficiency level could develop their ability to play an active role in class since the corpusbased method provoked their thinking process and supported their language investigation and discovery well. The results from the 5-point Likert scale questionnaires revealed that the students agreed at an above moderate level (3.96 points) that the corpus-based method encouraged them to play an active role in class. They revealed their active role through the corpus-based method as that they considered the instruction, tried to think of the answers, and investigated or checked them from the corpus. Moreover, the students revealed that the corpus-based method encouraged them to become active learners because it provided a specific resource for them to search. Student L06 revealed in a phase 2.1 interview that, “I was active because the corpus-based method had objectives, provided resources … and I knew that the answers were right there in the corpus.” Besides which, they revealed in the interviews that they were active because they had opportunities to work and discuss it with their friends. Student E84 stated, “I normally worked with my friends who sat next to me. I also helped some friends in my group. When I understood the lessons, I explained them to my friends” (phase 2.1 interview). These results agreed with the observation results, which revealed that the students actively joined the classroom activities and consulted the corpus to investigate the answers by themselves. It was observable that the majority of the students put a lot of effort into their work and talked with their classmates and teacher when they had difficulties or were curious. It could be summarised from the interviews and observation results that the low-proficiency students played an active role in class by investigating and discovering the language by themselves through discussion with their classmates and teachers.

3.2. Students’ Capability to Raise Questions and Queries The results revealed that the low-proficiency students could raise questions and queries about the language; however, they often raised simple questions regarding the meaning of terms and basic grammar. The results from the 5-point Likert scale questionnaires revealed that the students agreed (4.05 points) that, through the corpus-based method, they raised questions or queries about the language points that they had learned in class. However, they agreed moderately (3.81 points) that they raised the questions beyond the points they studied in class. This was supported

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by the observation results, which revealed that while most of the students often asked questions regarding the lessons, only a few of them asked questions about points that were not related to the lesson. The results from the interviews, journals, and monitoring revealed that the students always asked simple questions regarding basic grammar, patterns and definitions, and uses of terms. They asked questions regarding tenses, irregular verbs, meanings of words or sentences, uses of words, conjunctions, and sentence structures. For example, student E18 wrote in his journal, “I was curious about patterns and tense that should be used in a sentence, and the meaning of each word.” Additionally, during the observation, student B16 discussed, “I don’t think ‘attractive’ and ‘good’ can be used in this step because attractive means good looking, especially in a way that makes you sexually interested in somebody, but it can. Why?” (phase 2.1 observation). It was recognised that the questions the low-proficiency students raised were different from those asked by high-proficiency students since they were simple and not analytical or critical, such as questions about the meanings of words, Basic English grammar, and the form of tenses. Moreover, most of the questions that the low-proficiency students asked were about the language points they had learned in class, but high-proficiency students asked surprising questions that went beyond the lessons to serve their own interests.

3.3. Students’ Capability to Design and Manage their own Search The results from the questionnaires revealed that 58.7% of the students reported that they could design and manage their own search while learning through the corpus-based method. In addition, the results from the journals, interviews, and observations revealed that the majority of the students could make a decision about how to deal with the corpus, select functions to be used, select the right words to be searched, and investigate the uses of language from the corpus. The process of designing and managing the students’ own search was as follows. First, the students read the instructions. Second, they thought of the word that should be searched for and/or found the definition of that word using a dictionary or translation programme. Third, they made a decision regarding which corpus functions they would use to get the answers. Fourth, they searched for the terms from the corpus and observed the presented data to get the answers. During this step, the majority of the students used a summary lesson of tenses and voices as supplementary resources of the corpus. However, 19.6% of the students reported that they were not sure whether they could design and manage their own search, and 21.7% reported that

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they could not do this activity. These students reported that they did not understand corpus function and thought it was complicated, and so could not do it. Moreover, because of their limited background knowledge of English, sometimes they did not find the searched terms in the corpus or found only a small amount of data because they forgot to delete the -ed ending, -s ending or –ing ending, as well as forgetting to add an asterisk “*” at the end of the searched terms. It was recognised that some lowproficiency students encountered some difficulties in designing and managing their own searches because of the limitation of their background knowledge of English. Additionally, they needed the teacher to be their guide and assistant when they did this activity. Unlike low-proficiency students, the high-proficiency students did not report that they had encountered these difficulties, and they did not request assistance from the teacher for this activity.

3.4. Students’ Ability to Discover about Language by Themselves The general results from the questionnaires revealed that 67.89% of the students reported that they could read about the language by themselves. They reported that they could consult the corpus to find significant terms and collocations for significant terms, identify tenses, voices, and patterns that were normally used, and check the correct uses of terms and correct forms of tenses and voices at each step of each move. The observations and interviews showed that to find significant terms at each step of each move, the majority of the students consulted the Word List function with a request for supplementary resources such as dictionaries and translation programmes. With their limited background knowledge of English, the students needed to find a definition of a word from a dictionary or translation programme before giving the answers or writing a sentence. Only one student, who had a higher proficiency than others, could consult the corpus directly to observe the significant terms without using any supplementary resources. However, he only did this with the terms that he was familiar with. To find collocations for a significant term, the students consulted the Concordance function together with the use of the Sort left and right function. The students put the term they wanted to observe in the Concordance. Then, the searched term was presented in its context as concordance lines. However, the words that came before or after the searched terms were not in alphabetical order, and it was therefore difficult for students to recognise the frequency of the collocations. In this case, students used the Sort function to present those words in alphabetical order. After that, the

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students could investigate the collocations clearly. To identify tenses and voices, the students searched the terms that they wanted to observe from the Concordance function with the use of the Sort function. Next, they identified tenses and voices that were frequently used with the searched terms by checking the forms with the summary lessons of tenses and voices. They needed summary lessons of tenses and voices as supplementary resources because of the limitation of their background knowledge of these topics. Nonetheless, they requested the supplementary resources in the earlier phases more often than in the later phases. Similarly, to identify patterns, the students searched the terms that they wanted to observe from the Concordance function with the use of the Sort function. Then, they identified the patterns using a dictionary to check the parts of speech of the language elements of the pattern. After that, they summarised patterns that could be used with significant terms. With their limited background knowledge of English, the students sometimes did not know exactly where the patterns began or ended. Most of the students checked the correct uses of terms, correct forms of tenses, and voices before writing a sentence or composing an abstract rather than after. When the students saw the instructions, they thought of the terms they wanted to include in the abstract. After that, they consulted the corpus to check how those terms were used and in which tenses and voices. Lastly, they composed a sentence with the forms that they explored from the corpus and did not check the correctness of their language uses again after they finished their writing.

3.5. Students’ Ability to Hypothesise, Analyse, Summarise, and Verify Data The results from the questionnaires revealed that 34.8% of the students reported that they could hypothesise about language. They hypothesised the significant terms most often. However, they revealed in the interviews that they did not surmise much on other points of language because of their limited background knowledge of English. Hypothesising about language was the activity that the smallest group of students could do. Those who did not hypothesise revealed that they did not theorise about the language before consulting the corpus because they did not know much vocabulary and lacked adequate background knowledge of English grammar. However, the majority of the groups reported in the questionnaires that they could analyse, summarise, and verify the data, and 54.3% of them reported that they could analyse the language. The students analysed the language by comparing the corpus data that they were

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observing with the grammar rules. Most used the corpus with other supplementary resources, such as a dictionary and summary lessons of grammar rules. The students reported that they needed to use the corpus with a dictionary when analysing the language because they felt that it was inconvenient when they did not know the meaning of the terms or sentences that they observed. They also used the dictionary to check the parts of speech of the words they observed. Moreover, with their limited knowledge of English, they requested the summary lessons that provided the correct form of each tense and voice. Similarly, 58.7% of the students reported that they could outline their findings. After finishing the language analysis, the students summarised their findings by comparing the data to see the similarities and differences of the data they observed as well as discussing what they had found in relation to the grammar lessons. Since the questions were open-ended, many of the students were not sure whether their answers were correct because they were not familiar with the open-ended questions in which there was no request for specific answers. They were more familiar with the type of question that had only one correct answer, such as multiple choice or gap filling. Furthermore, 63% of the students reported that they could verify their answers as well as check the correctness of their writing. As discussed earlier, the students consulted the corpus to check the correct uses of terms, tenses, and voices before providing the answers on their exercise sheets. Before writing a sentence, the students found the terms that they wanted to include in the abstract from the Wordlist. Then, they consulted the Concordance to observe how those terms were used along with their collocations, tenses, voices, and patterns. Finally, they wrote their sentences following the rules they found. None rechecked the answers or their writing again after they completed them. They were confident that their answers or writing were correct since they applied the rules that were summarised from the corpus.

3.6. Students’ Ability to Learn by Themselves both Inside and Outside Classroom The results from the 5-point Likert scale questionnaires revealed that the students agreed at an above moderate level (3.91 points) that the corpusbased method encouraged them to learn more by themselves, but they agreed at a higher level (4.11 points) that the corpus could be an instrument that they could use when they write in the future. In all, 50% of the students reported that they could use the corpus moderately, and 32.6% could use it well, while just 8.7% reported that they could use it very well. Regarding their behaviour in using the corpus, the majority of the students

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used the corpus more frequently for their learning purposes than their own purposes. The questionnaire results revealed that the majority (61.9%) of students used the corpus 1–3 days a week for their learning purposes, while the majority (34.8%) used the corpus less than once a week for their own purposes. Similarly, 56.5% and 52.2% of the students reported that they used the corpus to do activities in class and complete their homework, respectively. Only 17.4% used the corpus for their own purposes beyond the classroom contents.

4. Conclusions Overall, the results from the questionnaires, student learning, interviews, and teacher’s observations suggested that most students could overcome the tasks that require DDL skills since they were capable of playing an active role in class, raising questions and queries about the language, designing and managing their own search, discovering the language by themselves, hypothesising, analysing, summarising, and verifying the data, and learning by themselves both inside and outside of the classroom. However, the limitations of their background knowledge led them into some difficulties in learning through the corpus-based method, especially at the stages of hypothesising and analysing the language. One implication from the results is that low-proficiency students tend to employ different strategies or have different learning behaviours from high-proficiency students. For example, the low-proficiency students often asked simple questions regarding basic grammar. Moreover, they had more difficulties in searching the corpus because of their limited background knowledge of English. Besides which, some of them did not seriously hypothesise about the language and just searched for the answers from the corpus. Regarding the learning process, they always requested supplementary resources such as a dictionary, translation programme, or summary of grammar rules, as well as assistance from the teacher. The students were divided into three groups according to their learning behaviour. First, the students directly consulted the corpus with a request for full supplementary resources and assistance from the teacher. Second, they directly consulted the corpus with a request for partial supplementary resources and assistance from the teacher. Third, only a few of them directly consulted the corpus without any supplementary resources, but with assistance from the teacher. To implement the discussions above in practice, a model of DDL should be adopted to cater to low-proficiency students, in particular in the ESP/EAP contexts. Some elements may need to be inserted into the model according to the specific needs of the students. For example, some groups

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of low-proficiency students may need to review basic grammar lessons or use additional supplementary resources. Alterations can also be made in the structure of the syllabus, lesson plan, and materials themselves to provide more scaffolding for the low-proficiency students. For example, the low-proficiency students may need to spend much more time on a lesson; thus, the syllabus may need to be extended. The sequence of the lessons may need to start from less-complicated lessons to morecomplicated ones. The exercises may need to start with more closed items, such as multiple choice or gap-filling, before moving to more open items such as analytical questions for the students to discuss. Additionally, the teacher’s role may need to start with being a guide before moving to an assistant. This study was conducted with a group of engineering students in an EAP context to investigate their strategies in dealing with the corpus to learn the significant linguistic features for developing their abstract writing skills. Accordingly, there are further studies that can possibly be carried out. For example, qualitative research can be conducted to study the strategies of other groups of students, for example of business or information technology, implement in dealing with the corpus to learn the significant linguistic features to develop their writing skills. Furthermore, additional qualitative research can be carried out to investigate the strategies that low-proficiency students implement in dealing with the corpus to develop their writing skills alone.

References Anthony, L. 2005. “AntConc: Design and Development of a Freeware Corpus Analysis Toolkit for the Technical Writing Classroom.” Professional Communication Conference. IPCC 2005. Proceedings, July 2005 10–13, 72–37. Bernardini, S. 2000. “Systematising Serendipity: Proposals for Concordancing Large Corpora with Language Learners.” In Rethinking Language Pedagogy from a Corpus Perspective, edited by L. Burnard and T. McEnery, 225–34. Frankfurt: Peter Lang. —. 2001. “Spoilt for Choice: A Learner Explorers General Language Corpora.” In Learning with Corpora, edited by G. Aston, 220–49. Houston: Athelstan. —. 2002. “Exploring New Directions for Discovery Learning.” In Teaching and Learning by Doing Corpus Analysis, edited by B. Kettemann and G. Marko, 165–182. Amsterdam: Rodopi.

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Bialystok, E. 1985. “The Compatibility of Teaching and Learning Strategies.” Applied Lingusitics 6: 255–62. Bowker, L., and J. Pearson. 2002. Working with Specialized Language: A Practical Guide to Using Corpora. London: Routledge. Chambers, A. 2005. “Integrating Corpus Consultation in Language Studies.” Language Learning and Technology 9 (2): 111–125. Charles, M. 2012. “‘Proper Vocabulary and Juicy Collocations’: EAP Students Evaluate Do–It–Yourself Corpus–Building.” English for Specific Purposes 31: 93–102. Cheng, W., M. Warren, and X. Xun–feng. 2003. “The Language Learner as Language Researcher: Putting Corpus Linguistics on the Timetable.” System 31 (2): 173–86. Cobb, T. 1997. “Is There any Measurable Learning from Hands–on Concordancing?” System 25 (3): 301–15. Cobb, T., and M. Horst. 2001. “Reading Academic English: Carrying Learners across the Lexical Threshold.” In The English for academic purposes curriculum, edited by J. Flowerdew and M. Peacock, 315–29. London: Cambridge University Press. Coniam, D. 1994. “Using Corpus Word Frequency Data in the Automatic Generation of English Language Cloze Tests.” In Entering Text, edited by L. Flowerdew and A. K. K. Tong, 29–44. Hong Kong: Language Centre. Coxhead, A. 2000. “A New Academic Word List.” TESOL Quarterly 34 (2): 213–38. —. 2002. “The Academic Word List: A Corpus-Based Word List for Academic Purposes.” Paper presented at the Teaching and Language Corpora TaLC, Cambridge. Crabbe, D. 1993. “Fostering Autonomy from within the Classroom: the Teacher's Responsibility.” System 21: 443–52. Dickinson, L. 1987. Self–instruction in Language Learning. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Flowerdew, J. 1993. “Concordancing as a Tool in Course Design.” System 21: 231–44. Gilquin, G., and S. Granger. 2010. “How Can Data-Driven Learning Be Used in Language Teaching?” In The Routledge Handbook of Corpus Linguistics, edited by A. O'Keeffe and M. McCarthy, 359–70. Oxford: Routledge. Hunston, S. 2002. Corpora in Applied Linguistics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Johns, T. 1986. “Micro-Concord: A Language Learner's Research Tool.” System 14 (2): 156–62.

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—. 1991a. “Should You Be Persuaded: Two Examples of Data-Driven Learning Materials.” English Language Research Journal 4: 27–45. —. 1991b. “From Printout to Handout: Grammar and Vocabulary Teaching in the Context of Data-Driven Learning.” English Language Research Journal 4: 1–16. —. 1997. “Context: The Background, Development and Trialling of a Concordance–Based CALL Program.” In Teaching and Language Corpora, edited by A. Wichmann, S. Fligelstone, T. McEnery, and G. Knowles, 100–15. London: Longman. Johns, T. F., H. Lee, and L. Wang. 2008. “Integrating Corpus-based CALL Programs in Teaching English through Children’s Literature.” Computer–Assisted Language Learning 21 (5): 483–507. Lee, H.-C. 2011. “In Defense of Concordancing: An Application of Data– Driven Learning in Taiwan.” Procedia Social and Behavioral Sciences 12: 399–408. Leech, G. 1997. “Teaching and Language Corpora: A Convergence.” In Teaching and Language Corpora, edited by A. Wichmann, S. Fligelstone, T. McEnery, and G. Knowles, 1–23. London: Longman. McEnery, T., and A. Wilson. 2001. Corpus Linguistics: An Introduction. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. O'Malley, J. M., and A. U. Chamot. 1990. Learning Strategies in Second Language Acquisition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. O'Keeffe, A., M. McCarthy, and R. Carter. 2007. From Corpus to Classroom: Language Use and Language Teaching. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Saxena, A., and M. Lind. 2013. “Corpora in Grammar Learning Evaluation of ITG.” Department of Linguistics and Philosophy, Uppsala University. http://www2.lingfil.uu.se/personal/anjusaxena/ITGAnju Mikaela.pdf. Shillaw, J. 1994. “Using a Corpus to Develop Vocabulary Tests.” In Entering Text, edited by L. Flowerdew & A. K. K. Tong, 166–82. Hong Kong: Language Centre. Sinclair, J. M. 1991. Corpus, Concordance, Collocation. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Steven, V. 1991. “Concordance-Based Vocabulary Exercises: A Viable Alternative to Gap–Fillers.” In Classroom Concordancing: English Language Research Journal Vol. 4, edited by T. Johns, and P. King, 47–63. Birmingham: Centre for English Language Studies, University of Birmingham.

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CHAPTER SIX METAPHORICAL “MYOPIA” IN NON-CONSTRUCTIVIST CONSTRUAL: A DIDACTIC ACCOUNT SOUÂD HAMERLAIN

1. Introduction What has become known as “the trope of tropes” is ubiquitously allied with speech agents who can hardly discourse without “inviting” it. Metaphor, it has been alleged, rids communication of worthless elongated formulations. Some even claim that without it, “our ability to communicate efficiently and effectively would be crippled” (Fromkin, Rodman, and Hyams 2003, 204). In fact, it is but another term to be added to the many Greek linguistic terminologies. Etymologically, the word “metaphor” comes from the Greek meta (beyond) and pherein (to carry). Therefore, much like translation, metaphors carry the idea of reassignment or transference. What is being relocated, as it were, are the intrinsic characteristics of something or someone which are inventively ascribed to something or someone else. By unseating a concept from its habitual “bench” to a setting in which it is not generally found, our trope stands as a dynamic linguistic asset. As a logical corollary, language creativity puffs up thanks to the new figuratively generated meanings. Our experiences are usually voiced through an interactive mode and very often by means of some textual strategies. This, in the Systemic Functional Linguistics creed, means that many language ideational, interpersonal and textual metafunctions are conveyed through metaphor. To instantiate this claim, consider the following excerpts from one of Emily Dickinson's (1998, 39) poems: • •

The Clouds their Backs together laid The North began to push

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• •

The Forests galloped till they fell The Lightning played like mice.

• • • •

The Thunder crumbled like a stuff How good to be in Tombs Where Nature's Temper cannot reach Nor missile ever comes

At first sight, these two quatrains are about the protection that the grave affords against the rage and wildness of the forces of nature, communicated by the double use of similes and metaphors. If we concentrate on the third line of the first quatrain, “The Forests galloped till they fell,” we will notice that the word “gallop,” which is habitually found in the context of horse races, has been “transported” to the context of “forests.” Here, a new vision is presented to the reader, who will allocate other qualities to forests by adding another contextual possibility of using the verb “to gallop” even when talking about inanimate things. Dickinson (1998) also foregrounds the swiftness and strength of the galloping horses in the wild zones. A metaphor is, therefore, a kind of direct analogy that brings two different “ideas” as close together as possible to invite us to see the likeness between them. It ensues from this that metaphor construal is based on a cognitive process of “actualisation” allowing for the recycling of words for a protean use. More than that, it basically goes against the hallmarks of logical positivism, since reason and literalness have little, if any, room in metaphors' texture. Yet, the way they enfold in different languages suggests a highly contextual couching accentuated by culturally charged concepts like those of beliefs and prejudices. Applied to the educational arena where ELT learners are frequently confronted with culturally loaded and “polysemous texts,” students’ fickleness maximizes in front of the latent meaning lying behind metaphors’ embellishing aspect. Besides, the degree of openness in the texture of words in general and that of metaphors in particular is brought to assessment in the cited non/constructivist views below.

2. Metaphoric non/constructivism There is no doubt that metaphors are best construed when linked to their context of use. The co-text may be useful to a certain degree alone, in the sense that one has to transcend the adjacent words to attain a “duality” of reading. The literal meaning which is sometimes designated as the

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“primary” reading of a metaphor precedes the “secondary” interpretive one, the argument would run. This is particularly stereotyped, though. A young girl amazed by a wide open space might exclaim: “This place is a sea!” My own five-year-old boy told me once (excitedly): “My cake is a whale!” (clearly referencing its size). Both utterances are undeniably metaphorical; however, these two infants did not process them literally by looking out for linguistic standards, and the expressions do not spring from a lack of lexis. I know that my little boy knows how to say “big” in Arabic (and even in French), but he instead chose a metaphor without being conscious of this linguistic device or its appellation. This instance falsifies the already postulated statements which stipulate that we resort to metaphoricity when literality is “dormant,” or that it intervenes in instants of linguistic dearth in children’s speech and links to a state of vocabulary “maturity” in adults alone. We could see that children do sometimes urge metaphorical expressions without resorting to any literal working out. In reality, literalness and metaphoricity work in tandem. Some Relevance theorists (Sperber and Wilson 1986) have even argued for a “continuity view,” whereby the disambiguation of the literal and the metaphorical should be balanced; it is even claimed that metaphors are there from the outset. Furthermore, the figurative use spelled out in these examples shows that there is an inner process of juxtaposition undertaken by children from their early “discursive steps.” These take the qualities or, in phonological terms, the “value specification” of different people or objects and then decide about their commonalities and/or variable “incantations” to eventually come out with the metaphors we live by used daily (Johnson and Lakoff 1980). Noticeably, this is quite reminiscent of the Interactionist view, which stipulates that the meaning of a metaphor is but the outcome of an “interaction” between two thoughts of singular things activated thanks to a single word or expression (Richards 1936). Additionally, the traditional view of metaphor encapsulates it within a beautifying “bubble” that goes with the aesthetic literary frame. However, such a standpoint is patently flawed because there are “non-ornamental” circumstances in which metaphor intervenes, essentially, in social interactions where an undeniable profusion of metaphorical words overpower our discourse. As an aside, I should note that even when a metaphor is defined, the terms used to portray it are figurative. In other words, a metaphor is best worded in metaphors. A more recent view broadens metaphor’s stylistic manoeuvres to a more “motivated” one. Two directions can be distilled from this new orientation: the constructivist and the non-constructivist, as detailed in

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Lakoff and Johnson (1980). The former looks at figurative language as the Gordian knot of language ingenuity, where metaphor has a privileged share in both language and thought, whereas the latter sees it as rather nonstandard and “leechlike” upon common usage. Here, we have two divergent outlooks: one summarising a non-orthodox vision assuming metaphoric prevalence, and another (rather conformist in its aspiration) heralding its non-requisite presence. However, even though it seems that putting labels on literal sentences as standard, and unmarked non-literal expressions as consequential, grasped only through the literal ones, is a clear-cut process, this schism remains perplexing. In this vein, Otto (2002, 23) gives an illuminating example in which he explicates the way positivists (who are of the same mind as the non-constructivists) would disambiguate a metaphorical expression: In order to understand the expression truth is the daughter of time, the positivist holds that one must invoke a corresponding literal expression, such as transcendent facts are gleaned from perspectives gained over a period of time. Since in this view the interpretation of metaphor is dependent on a corresponding literal expression, metaphor is believed to be an incidental and relatively unimportant aspect of language. This, of course, conflicts with the constructivist paradigm.

The non-constructivists have a kind of “purist” vision seeking to develop a supposedly “ideal” language—a “genuine” one to their mind. This one should allow only logical lexis and forbid any paucity of information. Taking this option at face value presupposes de-contextualizing the socalled unequivocal literal meaning by sidestepping the parasitic and fabricated facts which threaten language comprehension. Between the above-mentioned polarized positions, common sense would channel our understanding to the “functional” facet of metaphor as a building block in the architecture of language. Indeed, in addition to being linguistic vehicles through which “social reality” is constructed (Krippendorff 1993, 14), metaphors’ functionality is quite transparent in issues related to “thought” and “cognition.” This claim is propounded in Lakoff and Johnson’s (1980, 153) assertion that, “metaphor is primarily a matter of thought and action and only derivatively a matter of language.” The social veracity of metaphors and their ubiquitous multitude underline their creative process (as opposed to a logically flat conception) which seem to touch every single abstract or concrete object, and animate or inanimate entity, and thus lie at the roots of social experiences. The decontextualised manoeuvre advocated by the non-constructivists compels

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us to breach the notion of “negotiation” so dear to pragmatics. Actually, metaphors constrain people within a specific self-constructed framework, considered to be “mouldy” for the non-constructivist. Culture, hegemony, ideology, etc. are all human inventions described figuratively on many occasions. Accordingly, we can have “un humour noir” (“a black humour,” in relation to culture), “a blind power” (hegemony), or “a wave of feminists” (ideology); all of them human-made and open to alterations from one context to another. It is through language that we communicate and empathise. How many men have “popped the question” to their beloved? How many of them have met “an iceberg” and cannot ask for “the hand” of their “rose”? Nonconstructivists do not allow their disciples to preserve metaphor as their legacy. In contradistinction to this view, Daane (1995–6, 6) grounds the use of metaphor in the heart of the learning process per se, believing that: As humans, our nature is to use [metaphors] constructively. As teachers, it is our responsibility to empower our students to use their linguistic and metaphorical birthright to construct and re-construct their intellectual, political, and even their spiritual lives; for by their own metaphors will they be known and will they know.

Correspondingly, I will limit my concern in this paper to the nonconstructivists’ metaphoric “short sidedness” as an alleyway to be avoided in ELT, but would like to outline two further definitions of constructivism en route to it. These, I think, prove necessary for a better appraisal of nonconstructivism through extracting the linguistic “freedom” and brainstorming activity that could be missed if eschewed in this orientation. From a purely cognitive perspective: Constructivism's core idea is that the self is made up and determined by inner structures which the self itself (so to speak) is able to design, build and alter … The architectural metaphor—that the self is constructed, or that the development of the learner is likened to that of a building which becomes recursively the builder—is closely associated with the genetic metaphor, providing a sense of both determinism and free-will. (Stern 1992, 22)

These notions of determinism and free-will buttress individuals’ intervention in the world as they champion individualistic resourcefulness and personal involvement in a kind of self-made human enterprise, now from a mentalist design of one’s inner structures to a didactic knowledge construction in what follows. Hence, constructivism in didactics is:

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The basic tenet of this approach is that of learning for “transfer.” This notion is advantageous as it is metaphor’s cornerstone par excellence, since people usually transfer qualities present in A to allocate them to B. The classroom is indisputably a place for inquest. Learners should be given enough time to expand mental models to practical implications by developing their applicability in different contexts. Note, en passant, that both definitions (despite the remoteness of their scopes of interest) share some commonalities, in the sense that all of them marshal the notions of knowledge, self-involvement, and effort-making. Yet, the question we are tempted to ask here is how can metaphor construals work at the nexus of these elements in the ELT domain under the banner of pragmatics?

3. Metaphor Construal through a Pragmatics-based ELT The cleavage between literality and metaphoricity is often fogged up, causing interpretation “breakdowns.” I believe these may be cushioned by a pragmatic undertaking. Morgan (1993) stressed the computing of metaphor as an issue to be discussed under a theory of acts believing that, “It is not really from the literal meaning that the metaphor is calculated, but from a complete understanding, an enriched sort of meaning with all the pragmatic gaps filled in” (in Ortony 1993, 124–5). Pragmatics is usually juxtaposed with semantics with a highly celebrated point of intersection, namely “meaning.” The latter could be either pigeonholed as denotative (semantic) or connotative (pragmatic). In other words, the semantic meaning reveals the standard, dictionary-defined words, whilst the pragmatic one explores the speaker’s contextualised utterances. By extrapolation, we can say that a panoply of readings can be extracted from the connotative meaning as opposed to the denotative one, which “unfolds” smoothly and offers an easily traceable deciphering. However, Pragmatics is far from being a field that gathers all its scholars under a matched consensus. Parret et al. (1980) portrayed the hybrid image this discipline transmits through a tripartite division reflecting the three degrees of pragmatics. Pragmatics of the first degree devotes itself to the study of indexical expressions (such as the pronouns “I,” “you” or the demonstratives “here,” “now,” etc.) These are

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expressions whose meanings vary systematically with the circumstances of their use or, say, their context of situation. It is in this restricted sense that some linguists used the term pragmatics. For Kalish (in Gochet 1988, 320): La pragmatique … est simplement l'extension de la définition sémantique de la vérité à des langues formelles contenant des termes indexicaux. [Pragmatics … is simply the extention of the semantic definition of truth to formal languages containing indexical terms.] 1

Pragmatics of the second degree, on the other hand, relates the expressed proposition to the uttered sentence where distinctions should sometimes be made between the expressed proposition and the transmitted one. An opposition can be made here between the literal and the metaphorical meanings, the expressed significance and the implied one, and eventually the asserted denotations as opposed to the presupposed connotations. Subsequently, this second level of pragmatics could possibly be viewed as a generalisation of the first one. It is in this particular frame that Gazdar (1976, 17) used the term when he openly avers that, “Pragmatics for a natural language treats implicatures, presuppositions, and context sensitive acceptability.” The third and last classification, referred to as pragmatics of the third degree, relates to Speech Acts Theory as advocated by Strawson (1950; 1971), Austin (1962), Searle (1969), and Holdcroft (1978). In this theory, the relation between words and their world envelops actions with certain goals to accomplish in accordance with definite rules; these should obey the backdrop or setting in which they occur. Furthermore, and as early as the 1950s, Peter F. Strawson (in Eco, 1979, 163) points to the fact that, “Mentioning or referring is not something an expression does; it is something that someone can use an expression to do.” At a different level, Stalnaker (1998) chose to compress the three dimensions into two, where the first level has to deal with the different categories of speech acts, and the second with the specification of the speech context in which a proposition is being denoted by a particular sentence. The recognition of the right illocutionary acts may be an epitome of the first layer, while the analysis of indexical expressions may embody the second. As a matter of fact, Stalnaker judges pragmatics by its ability to solve these two problems. The present paper endorses all the previously mentioned pragmaticians’ classifications but proposes an all-encompassing outlook 1

This quotation has been translated by the author of the paper.

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that would help students ward off any apprehension linked to the working out of metaphor. Indeed, there are many opuses which dealt with the use of metaphors and their working in teaching or “real life” classrooms. We can mention Dils (2004), and McShane’s (2005) research paper, which lists four theories (the transfer theory, the shaping theory, the travelling theory, and the growing theory) in relation to teaching metaphor, to cite but two. The majority stressed linguistic creativity at the expense of passive demeanour. There are teachers who use metaphors in times of inspiration; others prefer to resort to them to back up their claims, etc. In fact, there are many reasons for which a metaphor, or any other trope, could be picked up and employed during lecturing. It would be safe to claim, at this juncture, that adopting the non-constructivist view to metaphor in a classroom will hinder learners from any thought-provoking stimulus. This is, I would say, acceptance of an absolute savoir which cuts learners’ projection into a linguistic savoir faire. Negotiation and contention are activities that hinge on the teacher’s policy and will to involve learners in a dynamic or markedly receptive learning. Metaphors cannot be computed in a non-constructivist setting since learners need a lively mental network of mapping and active processing. Their metacognition is better stimulated by a constructivist outlook that takes the pragmatic tenet of implicatures (among others) into account. This is because metaphorical expressions or metaphors tout court cannot at times lay bare a lucid reading; there are tacit traits that have to be shaken down so as to be associated with what they already know. Teachers may include in their programme aspects linked to the pioneering pragmatic theories like those of Austin and Searle’s Speech Act theory (1962; 1969), Grice’s Cooperative Principles (1975), and Sperber and Wilson’s Relevance Theory (1986). They can also explain the emergence of pragmatics as a “waste basket” containing a train of possibly unexplained phenomena relegated to the contextual sphere after the failure of semanticists to iron them out. Furthermore, social context as a holistic notion is central to constructivist doctrine. This is done through some real-life tasks. In this vein, Levin (1979, 131) quipped that when we come across metaphorical constructions, we do not interpret, “the utterance so that it makes sense of the world, we construe the world so as to make sense of the utterance.” In front of metaphors, learners will conjure up associated meanings from their “mental scripts” to eventually make sense of them. Here are some examples of the lacunas that may occur when words/texts are decoded following the non-constructivist vision; that is semantically. The same examples also highlight the multiplicity of interpretations that might be

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obtained when learners shun the literal penumbra and activate the symbolic “button.” My aim behind it is, once more, to draw attention to the fact that in this enterprise, in addition to the linguistic knowledge, the socio-cultural entourage needs to be “recruited” too.

3.1. Research Data Four metaphors/metaphorical expressions were given to 50 L2 Algerian English language students (University of Mostaganem) to guess their meaning. These were not randomly chosen. Each one represented a specific aforementioned aspect. The first and the third ones, for instance, stand for the pragmatically mobilised metaphor, as they highlight the importance of being alert to culturally driven expressions. The second draws on both the literal and the figurative meanings but tells us that we need a synergy of both to reach adequate interpretations. Finally, the fourth one points to the “unbolted” texture of metaphor and the multiple choices it affords to its users. These are in italics in the following: (1) Tim is the Tiger Woods of his team (2) My memory is a little cloudy about what happened (3) You had better pull your socks up (4) His home was a prison

3.2. Data Analysis The context of use of each was purposefully bypassed to stir students’ imagination and underwrite the significant role played by context in metaphor construal. This is what our learners concluded. As regards the first metaphor, the proper noun Tiger Woods was especially detected by boys (20 out of 50 informants) who could link it with the notorious American golfer. His gifted way of playing pushed them to associate a positive assessment to Tim’s own team game performances. Ignorance about important American sociocultural information hindered the other informants from any appropriate matching. Actually, 30 of them interpreted the metaphor in terms of physical strength by semantically linking the name Tiger to what they already knew: namely, the tiger as a jungle animal. The second metaphor caused less ambiguity for learners since “cloudy” is quite telling. It was successfully interpreted by all informants as having a vague and unclear vision about something, or not being able to remember a past event in relation to meteorology where vision is usually

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fogged on account of clouds. This clearly demonstrates that semantics helps, but it is the juxtapositions and associations operating between the primary reading and the secondary one which take us to the desired sense. Yet, at some other times semantics does not come in handy. Regarding context-charged metaphors, it was impossible for all learners to hit home as regards the metaphorical expression “To pull your socks up.” This, in English, means to deploy more effort. It is usually employed to boost employees, students, and friends to improve their performances. But who could make the link between a pair of socks and hard working? In fact, informants could have been able to interpret the same expression in French: “retrousser ses manches” (to roll up one’s sleeves), since they are generally more acquainted with French (as a second language in Algeria). Expectedly, and failing to contextualise this instance, students resorted to the semantic facet of the expression and interpreted it literally in terms of attire. As regards the last example, no one thought about it literally as a prison per se. Informants rather drew multifarious pictures of the person’s home. The term “prison” was metaphorically associated by 15 of the students to suffocation (with reference to size), whereas 35 linked it to a lack of freedom and autonomy (not the right to do whatever the person pleases). In view of that, the polysemous nature of metaphor and its open texture are reinforced.

3.3. Discussion After this succinct research, some of my students acknowledged their bias for the denotative meaning, which is, to their mind, “safer” and “easily tracked.” The connotative one seems more elusive and intermeshed with a sea of possibilities in which they have to play a “hit and miss” game. In truth, metaphor is a big part in this game, and so is the reluctant reaction of some students towards it. It is for this reason that the necessary tools to “disambiguate” this trope are to be introduced, if not invented, by the teacher. In fact, the presence of metaphors and their inclusion in classes will also help the teacher to: organize their users' perceptions and, when acted upon, can create the realities experienced. "There is no chemistry" is a metaphorical statement, but its very utterance can create or constitute the fact it states, which happens here to be a social phenomenon. In the human interaction thus constructed, the original or source domain of the metaphor, the discipline of chemistry, becomes secondary and recedes into the background of unrecognition. (Krippendorff 1993, 4)

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Hence, more than being adjuncts to drills or activities, metaphors are meant to make sense of reality, or construct it. The “no chemistry” statement here acquires life and “wears” a social fact costume, as it were. Learners should be given carte blanche to map their metaphors on real-life experiences. The pragmatic approach to language stretches the imagination of students by introducing them to a larger world. Neither the word nor the sentence could ever foster learners with a comprehensive understanding of the text. The more we broaden their scope of exploration, the “healthier” their learning will become. For space limitations, only a meagre number of instances were picked to illustrate the need for pragmatically driven courses that would shed light on the importance of metaphor through multicultural readings to hopefully reach adequate decoding. Note that metaphor and pragmatics are interwoven not because both are at the service of linguistics, but because of their ever-existing interdependency. People’s discursive intentions and prolific use of figurative language have always worked in perfect synergy. Besides, the nature of their unbounded potential also adds to this alliance. It would be very constructive, I think, if we could transfer this abundant potential to learners’ philosophy in dealing with texts in general, and metaphors in particular, through buttressing their cognitive autonomy.

4. Conclusions The present paper is rife with metaphors. I did not count their number, but what I know is that they all helped in shaping my thought and voicing it (cognitive instrument). They might have embellished my text, too (linguistic adornment). This shows that they can be multifunctional and that no definite severance can operate between literality and metaphoricity—there is a bit of each in the other. Non-constructivists stress the decoding of literal language and not how people make sense of their words. Pragmatics helps learners find this sense and append it to the encountered metaphors. Regrettably, students are usually introduced to a denotatively-driven vocabulary listing which has to be learnt in a “parrotlike” fashion. This is incomplete if not liaised to a connotative reading of the assimilated words, however. Currently, a more interactive teaching (grounded on the philosophy of constructivism) where culture would occupy pride of place in the curriculum proves necessary. An apple, for instance, does not solely denote a fruit. It also positively connotes something valued (you are the apple of my eye) or a hale and hearty life (an apple a day keeps the doctor away). It can also negatively connote temptation (contemporary beliefs link it to the “forbidden fruit”). Again,

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there is the idea of broadening our disciples’ cultural knowledge through channelling their understanding towards a new way of wording the world, since each culture “cuts” reality differently. Furthermore, literary texts could be extensively exploited by the teacher not only by fostering a rhetorical analysis of the text (in addition to its plot and characters), but also by highlighting the unavoidable use of metaphors (without excluding other tropes) in any creative writing. Oral expression classes are another encouraging environment for coping with a less-literal discourse. Instructors have a certain liberty in crafting a more figurative channel for and in metaphor while interacting with their disciples. It would indeed be didactically more rewarding to teach with the conviction that literality alone cannot fathom the “veiled” ropes of metaphor. Truly, better writing feedback could be expected thanks to the aesthetic aspect offered by this trope, and students’ lack of lexis may well be filled by more linguistic options. The need for these measures is quite explicit in the different out-oftrack interpretations afforded by our informants. Their passive conduct and, at times, unsuccessful feedback (about which many mentors complain) are basically due to this kind of “Student-as-Consumer” metaphor in which no mental processing is stirred. A work of sensitisation vis-à-vis the importance of urging learners’ pragmatic “visibility” and teachers’ expected creativity as regards teaching metaphors has already started thanks to the pro-constructivists’ outlook. The ultimate aim behind it is to “de-routinise” what some may call a “time-honoured” educational life through digging a “fresher” canal across this didactic “isthmus”— metaphorically speaking.

References Austin, J. L. 1962. How to Do Things with Words. Oxford: Clarendon Press. Black, M. 1993 [1979]. “More about Metaphor." In Metaphor and Thought, edited by A. Ortony, 19–43. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Daane, Mary C. 1995–6. “Writing Reality: Constructivism, Metaphor, and Cosmology.” The Journal of the Assembly for Expanded Perspectives on Learning 1 (1). http://trace.tennessee.edu/jaepl/vol1/iss1/3. Davidson, D. 1978. “What Metaphors Mean.” In On Metaphor, edited by S. Sacks. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.

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Dils, A. K. 2004. “The Use of Metaphor and Technology to Enhance the Instructional Planning of Constructivist Lessons.” Contemporary Issues in Technology and Teacher Education. King’s College. http://www.citejournal.org/articles/v4i2general2.pdf . Eco, U. 1979 [1976]. A Theory of Semiotics. Milan: Midland Books. Fromkin, V., R. Rodman, and N. Hyams. 2003. An Introduction to Language. Boston, MA: Thomson Wadsworth. Gazdar, G. 1976. The Form of Language. London: Weindelfeld and Nickolson. Gochet, P. 1986. Ascent to Truth. A Critical Examination of Quine's. Philosophy. Munchen: Philosophia Verlag. Grice, H. P. 1975. “Logic and Conversation.” In Syntax and Semantics, vol. 3, edited by P. Cole and J. Morgan. New York, London: Academic Press. Holdcroft, D. 1978. Words and Deeds: Problems in the Theory of Speech Acts. Oxford: Clarendon Press. Johnson, M., and G. Lakoff. 1980. Metaphors we Live By. Chicago IL: University of Chicago Press. —. 1985. La Métaphore dans la Vie Quotidienne. Paris: Éditions de Minuit. Krippendorff, K. 1993. “Major Metaphors of Communication and some Constructivist Reflections on their Use.” The Annenberg School for Communication University of Pennsylvania, Cybernetics & Human Knowing 2 (1): 3–25. http://repository.upenn.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1083&context =asc_papers. Levin, S. 1979. “Standard Approaches to Metaphor and a Proposal for Literary Metaphor.” In Mary C. Daane “Writing Reality: Constructivism, Metaphor, and Cosmology.” JAEPL l (1995–6): 1–7. Morgan, J. L. 1993. “Observations on the Pragmatics of Metaphor.” In Metaphor and Thought, edited by A. Ortony, 124–135. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. McShane, K. 2005. “Metaphors for University Teaching.” LTiA 4 (1). http://www.celt.mmu.ac.uk/ltia/issue10/mcshane.shtml Ortony, A. (ed.). Metaphor and Thought. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Osberg, K. M. 1997. “Constructivism in Practice: The Case for Meaning– Making in the Virtual World.” Human Interface Technology Laboratory. Dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Education, University of Washington.

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http://www.hitl.washington.edu/publications/r–97–47/two.html Otto, S. A. 2002. Brown Tide Rising: Metaphors of Latinos in Contemporary American Public Discourse. Austin: University of Texas Press. Parret, H., L. Apostel, P. Gochet, M. Van Overbeke, O. Ducrot, L. Tasmowski, N. Dittmar, and W. Wildgen. 1980. Le Langage en Contexte: Etudes philosophiques et linguistiques de pragmatique Vol. 3. Amsterdam: John Benjamins B.V. Richards, I. A. 1936. The Philosophy of Rhetoric. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Searle, J. R. 1969. Speech Acts. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Sperber, D., and D. Wilson. 1986. Relevance: Communication and Cognition. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Stalnaker, R. 1988. “Pragmatics.” In Pragmatics Critical Concepts, vol. 1: Dawn and Delineation, edited by A. Kasher, 58–59. London: Routledge. Stern, N. 1992. “The Metaphors of Constructivism.” Australian Educational Computing 7 (1): 22–5. Strawson, P. F. 1971. Logico–linguistic Papers. London: Methuen, 1971. Zemelman, S., H. Daniels, and A. Hyde. 1998. Best Practice: New Standards for Teaching and Learning in America's Schools, 2nd ed. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann. https://www.heinemann.com/shared/onlineresources/E00744/sample.p df.

CHAPTER SEVEN A CONTRASTIVE STUDY OF CULTURAL VALUES AND POLITENESS IN JAPAN AND THE UNITED STATES YUKA IWATA

1. Introduction In communication, multiple verbal or non-verbal strategies are employed to fulfil shared expectations between interlocutors. Communication strategies are chosen based on various factors, including situations where the conversation takes place and in the relationship between the interlocutors. To employ appropriate communication strategies, possession of knowledge of language, which includes grammatical as well as sociolinguistic and pragmatic knowledge, and the ability to demonstrate such knowledge, are crucial to successful information exchange and the exploration of meaningful dialogues.

1.1 Types of Politeness Politeness is often referred to as a core competence in intercultural communication. In a broad sense, politeness is viewed as maintaining good manners and showing respect to others, behaviours which Kasper (1994) refers to as “politeness as common sense notion” and Janney and Arndt (1992) as “social politeness.” Another approach to politeness is theoretical or linguistic-based, which involves verbal interaction and strategies, called “politeness as pragmatic concept” by Kasper (1994) and “interpersonal politeness” by Janney and Arndt (1992). Van de Walle (1993) regards these pairs of concepts as the social indexing view and the strategic view, stressing the importance of the distinction in approaching different levels of analysis of politeness without confusion, but taking the stance that such dichotomous features are, in fact, linked on a continuum.

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O’Driscoll (1996) holds a similar view that these two types of politeness are not discrete or independent, but are interrelated.

1.2 Politeness Theory Brown and Levinson (1987) are pioneers in having introduced universal theories of politeness. They define “face” as public self-image, and argue that everyone attempts to maintain two types of face. Positive face is “the positive consistent self-image or ‘personality’ … claimed by interactants” (Brown and Levinson 1987, 61). The other is negative face: “the basic claim to territories, personal preserves, rights to non-distraction—i.e., the freedom of action and freedom from imposition” (Brown and Levinson 1987, 61). The above face distinction seems to have no consensus among (especially non-Western) scholars, since some values are not recognised in all cultures. Kawai (2013) argues that politeness theories are formulated based on Western cultures. People try to preserve each other’s face needs and not threaten the other’s face during social interaction. O’Driscoll (1996) contends that while the degree of one’s expected face needs varies across cultures, these needs are universal.

1.3 Cross-cultural Differences in Politeness Strategies Politeness strategies vary across cultures, as people from different cultural backgrounds have different perceptions of politeness. Compared to Americans, who tend to use more positive politeness strategies, the Japanese are said to use more negative politeness strategies due to the use of honorifics (Brown and Levinson 1989). However, a few Japanese scholars disagree with this assessment. Matsumoto (1988) argues that, more often than in Western cultures, in Japan, social variables decide which politeness strategy to apply, rather than the individual’s benefits and face wishes. Social ranks and the relationship between interlocutors become determiners for expressing deference. In asking a favour, for example, one cannot do without acknowledging the other’s social status. In contrast, deference may be given among equals in Western cultures. Thus, motivations and fundamental needs for displaying politeness vary between Japanese and American cultures. A study conducted by Kato (1998) reveals that both Americans and Japanese acknowledge negative politeness strategies as more likely to be polite than positive politeness strategies, based on small empirical evidence. She argues that Brown and Levinson’s claim of

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America being a positive politeness culture and Japan being a negative politeness culture is not, therefore, well-founded. On the contrary, Pizziconi (2003) counterclaims that the evidence presented by Japanese scholars, such as Ide (1989) and Matsumoto (1988), is inadequate. She contends that they, “have struggled to provide an alternative interpretation of the compelling evidence that Japanese simply does not work like English” (Pizziconi 2003, 1479).

1.4 Previous Studies on the Conceptualization of Politeness Scholars agree that politeness is a universal phenomenon existing in any given culture but is perceived differently within cultures. The literature of politeness studies does not support a universality of a definition of politeness across cultures (e.g. Ide 1989; Janney and Arndt 1993; Matsumoto 1989). Ide et al. (1992) examined the conceptualisation of politeness between American and Japanese college students. They found that the terms “respectful,” “considerate,” “pleasant,” “appropriate,” and “casual,” are positively correlated with “polite.” One noticeable finding is that Americans exclusively identified “friendly” as “polite.” Obana and Tomoda (1994) report that Australian adult speakers perceive “friendliness,” “consideration,” “attentiveness,” “approachable,” and “kind” as related to politeness, while Japanese associate politeness with the terms teineina (courteous) and reigitadashii (well-mannered), relating to keigo, which is language that shows respect to someone older and higher in social rank and that contains formal and distanced features.

2. Purpose of the Study This study examines the similarities and differences in the conceptualisation of politeness between Japanese and English speakers and the politeness strategies they employ in serving customers. The servercustomer interaction was selected with the assumption that the social attributes of encounters, social relationships, ages, social ranks, and positions, etc. would least affect the selection and application of politeness strategies to serve customers. Moreover, customer service is a common encounter that does not constrain the individual’s social roles.

3. Methods The participants of this study were freshman and sophomore university students in various disciplines, 45 each from two universities located in

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Guam and Kuushuu, Japan. Guam is a US territory where heterogeneity is dominant. English is one of the official languages and the means of communication in schools, businesses, and government matters. Eliciting conceptualisations of politeness and politeness strategies used in serving customers, the participants were asked to respond to the following two questions in writing during regular academic class. (Q1) What do you mean by “politeness”? Please provide three definitions. (Q2) Please give three examples of how you express politeness when you are dealing with customers/hotel guests. These questions were written in participants’ native languages, English and Japanese. To ensure accuracy of translation, the back-translation technique was used. It took about 10 minutes to complete a response. The data collected from Japanese respondents were translated into English and two bilingual specialists in language teaching (a native speaker of Japanese and a native speaker of English) subsequently reviewed the translation and made adjustments for analysis.

4. Results 4.1. Data Presentation 4.1.1 Definitions of Politeness (Q1) To analyse the similarities and differences in conceptualisations of politeness by Japanese and English speakers, the free-listing method was adopted. The definitions of politeness were tabulated and categorised. Though each participant was asked to provide three definitions of politeness, some provided more than one answer within each definition. In total, 140 samples were obtained from the English group and 135 from the Japanese group. Syntactical changes were made, including changing morphemes to adjective functions. Then, the items with fewer than two instances were eliminated from further analyses. Ultimately, 14 definitions extracted from 122 samples collected from the Japanese and 15 definitions from 118 samples from the English speakers have been used for analysis. Table 7.1 below summarises the results.

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Table 7.1. Definitions of Politeness (Free Listing) English Speaker’s Definitions Respectful

n=122 (%) 28

Japanese Speaker’s Definitions *Shinsetsu (Kind)

21

*Yasashii (Nice)

14

Komakai (Detailed) Kichoumen (Meticulous) *Reigitadashii (Well-mannered) Wakariyasui (Easy to understand) Kirei (Act elegantly)

12

Kichinto (Neat) Shinchou (Discreet) *Teichou (Courteous) Kikubarigadekiru (Attentive/tactful) *Omoiyarinoaru (Considerate) Yukkuri (Unhurried) Jouzu/kiyou (Skillful) Chuuibukai (Careful)

n=118 (%)

(23.0%) *Kind

19

*Well-mannered

14

(17.8%) (11.9%)

(15.6%) (11.5%) *Courteous

13

*Nice

12

(10.7%) (9.8%)

*Considerate

8

(6.6%)

Treating others as you would like to be treated Hospitable Humble

6

(4.9%)

4 3

(3.3%) (2.5%)

Helpful

3

(2.5%)

Friendly

3

(2.5%)

Caring

3

(2.5%)

Patient

3

(2.5%)

Not being rude

3

(2.5%)

11

(10.2%) (9.3%)

10

(8.5%)

7

(5.9%)

7

(5.9%)

7 6

(5.9%) (5.1%)

5

(4.2%)

5

(4.2%)

4

(3.4%)

3

(2.5%)

3

(2.5%)

3

(2.5%)

The definitions of politeness are further grouped into the categories that hold semantic similarities. For instance, “helpful,” “well-mannered,” and “not being rude,” provided by English speakers, are categorised into the prototype named “courteous.” This process allows for the identification of

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five prototypes in English and seven in Japanese samples. Table 7.2 below provides the names of prototypes and the frequency counts. Figure 7.1 shows the distribution. Table 7.2. Prototypes of Politeness English Speakers **Courteous Including “wellmannered,” “helpful,” “hospitable,” and “not being rude”

n=122 (%) 37 (29.8%)

**Kind/nice Including “caring” and “friendly” Respectful Including “humble”

37 (29.8%)

**Considerate Including “treat others as you like to be treated” Patient

14 (11.5%)

31 (25.0%)

3 (2.4%)

Japanese Speakers Chuuibukai (careful) Including shinchou (discreet), komakai (detailed), kichoumen (meticulous), and kikubarigadekiru (attentive/tactful) **Shinsetsu/yasashii (kind/nice) Kichinto (neat) Including jouzu/kiyou (skillful) and kirei (act elegantly) **Tteichou (courteous) Including reigitadashii (well-mannered) Wakariyasui (clear) Including rikaishiyasui (easy to understand) **Omoiyarinoaru (considerate) Yukkuri (unhurried)

n=118 (%) 37 (31.4%)

35 (29.7%) 17 (14.4%)

15 (12.7%)

7 (5.9%) 4 (3.4%) 3 (2.5%)

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Cultural Values and Politeness in Japan and the United States Fig. 7.1. Distribution of definitions of politeness

40

4035 34

31

30 20

15

17

English

7

10 0

21

20 16

0

3

0

0

0

0

0

3 Japanese

4.1.2 Politeness strategies used in serving customers (Q2) The responses to Q2 allow for the identification of similarities and differences in politeness strategies employed in serving customers by the two cultural groups. In total, 140 and 147 samples were collected from the English and Japanese speakers, respectively. Multiple answers were considered if a response contained more than one. Having discarded items with fewer than two instances, 127 collected from the English speakers and 118 from the Japanese remained, consisting of 14 and 15 categories. Table 7.3 below summarises the results. Table 7.3. Politeness strategies used in serving customers Politeness Strategies (English Speakers) *Greet *Smile Use polite formulaic utterances (e.g. “please,” “thank you,” and “you are welcome”) Offer assistance Be helpful Be respectful *Show appropriate manners Be kind/nice

n=127 (%) 37 (29.1%) 15 (11.8%) 12 (9.4%) 11 9 7 6 6

(8.7%) (7.1%) (5.5%) (5.2%) (5.2%)

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Ensure customer's satisfaction Open doors *Make customers feel comfortable Talk nicely Use gestures Show hospitality/courtesy

5 5 4 4 3 3

(3.9%) (3.9%) (3.1%) (3.1%) (2.4%) (2.4%)

Politeness Strategies (Japanese Speakers) *Smile Be attentive/tactful Use appropriate language Maintain eye-contact Use polite speech and honorifics Use plain language and provide clear explanations Speak clearly Listen and respond to customers Hand products over with both hands *Make customers feel comfortable *Show appropriate manners Speak slowly *Greet Confirm and repeat Express sincere appreciation

n=118 (%) 26 (22.0%) 15 (12.7%) 12 (10.2%) 10 (8.5%) 10 (8.5%) 8 (6.8%) 6 (5.1%) 5 (4.2%) 5 (4.2%) 4 (3.4%) 4 (3.4%) 4 (3.4%) 3 (2.5%) 3 (2.5%) 3 (2.5%)

4.2. Data Analysis Regarding the definitions of politeness (Q1), both groups recognize “kind,” “well-mannered,” “courteous,” “nice” and “considerate” (marked * in Table 7.1) as “polite,” which accounts for 54.2% in English speakers’ samples and 45.8% in Japanese samples. The comparison of nonoverlapped definitions of the two groups demonstrates a unique pattern. Japanese provide descriptions of specific manners, including “act elegantly,” “neat,” “discreet,” “unhurried,” and “careful,” whereas the English samples are rather conceptual and abstract, such as “respectful,” “hospitable,” “humble,” and “not being rude.” As for prototype analysis, three prototypes, “courteous,” “kind/nice,” and “considerate” (marked ** in Table 7.2), are identified as “polite” by both cultural groups. In general, these are often regarded as good manners and behaviours, and are usually accepted favourably by any given society. However, the weighting of counts between the both groups is different: 71% (in English samples) and 45.8% (in Japanese samples). This

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observation may suggest that the Japanese language contains a wider variety of words and phrases with the same nuances as “polite.” One notable finding is that only Japanese respondents view “careful,” including shinchou (discreet), komakai (detailed), kichoumen (meticulous), and kikubarigadekiru (attentive/tactful), as “polite,” accounting for 31.4% of their samples. Another clear-cut difference is that none of the Japanese speakers acknowledge “respectful” (including “humble”) as “polite”; however, 25% of definitions provided by English speakers fall within this category. These contradictory results will be elaborated below. The examination of politeness strategies used in serving customers (Q2) reveals that “greet,” “smile,” “show appropriate manners,” and “make customers feel comfortable” (marked by * in Table 7.3) are consistent in both groups. These strategies are normally regarded as manners and behaviours that servers are expected to demonstrate when interacting with customers. However, there is a 17.9% gap in counts between English (49.2%) and Japanese samples (31.3%). Some nonoverlapped strategies provided by the Japanese are more specific and concrete (e.g. “maintain eye-contact,” “speak clearly,” and “hand products over with both hands”), describing “what one should do” to act politely when serving customers. In contrast, the English speakers’ responses are more general and conceptual (e.g. “be helpful,” “be respectful,” and “be kind/nice”), which follows a similar trend observed in the definitions of politeness in (Q1). It is worth noting that, for Japanese, becoming “attentive”/“tactful” as a means of expressing politeness in serving customers, which comprises 12.7% of responses, is the second highest politeness strategy. Considering that 31.4% of their definitions of politeness fall under the prototype “careful” (including “attentive”/“tactful”), this result is rather unsurprising. In comparison, however, English speakers identify neither “careful” as a definition of politeness nor politeness as a strategy in dealing with customers. Further attempts at content analysis are made to identify any distinctive features of politeness strategies that divide the two cultural groups based on the responses collected from (Q2). The following four categories are identified based on “a group of words with similar meaning or connotations” (Weber 1990, 37): “language use,” “nonverbal behaviours and manners,” “general concepts related to customer service,” and “verbal behaviours.” Table 7.4 below summarises the counts and percentage of each category.

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Table 7.4. Results of content analysis Gap % 25.4% 13.1%

English (n=127) N % 0 (0%) 77 (60.5%)

Japanese (n=118) N % 30 (25.4%) 56 (47.4%)

8.1%

34

(26.7%)

22

(18.6%)

4.3%

16

(12.8%)

10

(8.5%)

Category (1) Language use (2) Nonverbal behaviours and manners (3) General concepts related to customer service (4) Verbal behaviours

* Please note that responses including any words such as “say,” “talk,” “answer,” “ask,” etc. are categorised under “4. Verbal behaviors.”

The two cultural groups show conflicting results on “language use.” Although no English speakers relate the use of language as a means to express politeness in assisting customers, 25.4% of Japanese responses do, including “use appropriate language,” “use polite speech and honorifics,” and “use plain language and provide clear explanations.” This difference may emerge due to differences in how respect or humbleness is expressed in respective cultures, as will be discussed in the conclusion. The second highest difference between the two groups is “nonverbal behaviours and manners,” which refers to extra-linguistic behaviours, including “smile,” “show appropriate manners,” and “maintain eyecontact.”

5. Conclusions Both English and Japanese respondents demonstrate similarities and differences in their realisation of politeness and their politeness strategies. This section highlights the differences and offers possible cultural assumptions that led to the results. First, the definitions of politeness provided by English speakers are more general and conceptual, whereas Japanese speakers associate politeness with specific and concrete manners and behaviours. The prototype analyses reveal that 31.4% of the definitions of politeness provided by Japanese speakers fall under the category “careful” (which include “discreet,” “detailed,” “meticulous,” and “attentive”/“tactful”), while it is completely absent from their English counterparts, even in politeness strategies used to deal with customers. This finding may imply that in Japanese culture, being mindful and attentive, and paying attention

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to details (equivalent to kikubari ga dekiru, literally meaning “(the person who) can deliver or pass around his mind and heart,” in Japanese), are considered to be polite. Maintaining a high percentage among definitions of politeness and being the second highest politeness strategy in serving customers, being attentive to others can be widely acknowledged as a common practice to convey politeness in Japan. Secondly, the two groups greatly differ in perceiving “respectful” as politeness. This study reveals that 25% of definitions of politeness provided by the English speakers indicate “respectful,” though no Japanese speakers concur. However, 25.4% of Japanese samples point out the use of polite and respectful language as a means to express politeness in interacting with customers (Q2), despite no Japanese respondents regarding “respectful” as politeness by definition (Q1). The latter observation may suggest that the Japanese view “respectful” as politeness in a certain form of action, i.e. use of language. One attempt to explain this contradictory result is that respecting others and demonstrating humble attitudes are deeply embedded in Japanese culture. Japanese respondents might have been reluctant to or not explicitly felt the need to define “respectful” and “humble” as definitions of politeness, as they are part of their baseline social norms reflected in all behaviours. This may also explain the absence of “respectful” in definitions of politeness among Japanese samples. Subsequently, the paradox that 25.4% of Japanese responses point out the use of respectful and polite language as a means of expressing politeness in tourism contexts (a strategy entirely excluded by English speakers) can be elaborated by Nakane’s theory on social structures. Nakane (1970) characterises Japan as a vertical society, where hierarchy determines social relationships. Servers are expected to display formality and being polite through use of keigo (honorific language) toward their customers. Thus, the use of customary expressions (often derivatives of honorific forms) in serving customers may contribute to 25% of Japanese responses acknowledging the use of language as a means of expressing respect and politeness, even though “respectful” is completely disregarded in definitions of politeness. In contrast, the United States is a horizontal society, where individualism prevails. Equality is emphasised and informal speech is more or less accepted in tourism situations, since friendly and caring attitudes are valued. This explanation makes sense since the use of polite and respectful language is completely missing from the English samples (except for the use of polite formulaic utterances, e.g. “please” and “thank you.”) Furthermore, it is of interest that only English speakers perceived

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“friendly” as “polite” in research conducted by Ide et al. (1992) and Obana and Tomoda (1994), as mentioned earlier (supported by this study as well). The results lead to the conclusion that the fundamental values of being respectful and polite vary between Japanese and English speakers.

5.1. Implications for Future Research Many scholars seem to agree that not all cultures define politeness in the same way. This study found that Japanese speakers did not recognize “respectful” and English speakers did not recognise “careful” (including “attentive”/“tactful,” “discreet,” “meticulous,” and “detailed”) as definitions of polite, and offered possible sources for these differences. These findings are not consistent with the studies conducted by Ide et al. (1992) and Obana and Tomoda (1994). Considering the time of these studies, perceptions of politeness might have changed over a decade in Japan. In order to clarify this, it is suggested that definitions of politeness should be further investigated. Regarding politeness strategies, contrastive studies on specific situations between Japanese and Americans (e.g. requests, apologies, and refusals) have been extensively conducted, but not on the situation of serving customers. Polite behaviours and tips to assist customers have been introduced; however, the information provided is not empirically based. Considering that a server’s lack of politeness adversely affects their performance in assisting customers in L2, it is important that cross-cultural differences in demonstrating politeness in tourism contexts are further investigated.

5.2. Teaching Implications The implications of the findings help L2 instructors be aware of crosscultural differences in the realisation of politeness and the way it is expressed, and thereby help L2 instructors to apply appropriate pedagogical approaches that inspire students to foster communicative competence. Demonstrating politeness suitable for sociocultural contexts and developing pragmatic competence are critical abilities for becoming successful in communication. Hence, I would like to relate the findings of this study and suggest that L2 instructors incorporate the following three points into designing language instructions. First and foremost, conceptualisations and perceptions of politeness are not unified across cultures. For example, as discussed earlier, being friendly is equivalent to being polite in English-speaking cultures, while

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this is not the case in Japanese culture due to the different social structures. This difference deeply affects and can even jeopardise cross-cultural communication, especially in Japan where people value hierarchy. Being attentive or tactful is another example that one culture recognises as “polite” but the other does not. The application of ki o kubaru (“carefully serving others,” derived from kikubari ga dekiru) is standard practice in Japan to demonstrate politeness, as it is ranked highly among both definitions of politeness (Q1), and politeness strategies in serving customers (Q2). Secondly, politeness is expressed differently in other languages. In English, the use of polite phrases (e.g. “please”) and modal expressions (e.g. “would,” “could,” and “may”) appears to be a mainstream approach for expressing politeness. In contrast, whilst politeness is also marked lexically, when it comes to politeness in the Japanese language, keigo (honorifics) cannot be ignored. Keigo may sound complicated for nonJapanese people. L2 Japanese learners may (or most probably would) struggle and find it challenging to master. It has three types and the choice of honorific expressions is determined based on various factors, including the relationship between interlocutors. However, it should be introduced and taught in appropriate social contexts as learners move to an advanced level. Lastly, politeness is also communicated nonverbally. The results of this study reveal that a smile is a common polite behaviour in serving customers supported by both groups. Other non-linguistic behaviours to convey politeness include opening doors for customers, using gestures (identified by English-speaking respondents), maintaining eye-contact, and handing products over with both hands (by Japanese respondents). This information is especially helpful for students learning L2 for tourism purposes. Other cross-cultural differences often observed in interpersonal communication involve postures and physical distance. Keeping hands in the pockets and sitting with legs crossed are often considered impolite behaviours in Japanese culture. As for physical distance, the Japanese keep a greater distance than Americans (Hall 1966). Invading one’s space is perceived as impolite. Non-verbal communication is a powerful tool, and should not be neglected in the L2 classroom.

References Brown, P. and S. Levinson. 1987. Politeness: Some Universals in Language Usage. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

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Hall, E. 1966. The Hidden Dimension. Garden City, New York: Doubleday. Ide, S., B. Hill, Y. Carnes, T. Ogino, and A. Kawasaki. 1992. “The Concept of Politeness: An Empirical Study of American English and Japanese.” In Politeness in language. Studies in its History, Theory and Practice, edited by R. Watts, S. Ide, and K. Ehlich, 281–97. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter. Ide, S. 1989. “Universals of Linguistic Politeness. Quantitative evidence from Japanese and American English.” Journal of Pragmatics 10: 347–471. Janney, R., and H. Arndt. 1992. “Intracultural Tact Versus Intercultural Tact.” In Politeness in Language: Studies in its History, Theory, and Practice, edited by R. J. Watts, S. Ide, and K. Ehlich, 21–42. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter. Kasper, G. 1994. “Politeness.” In The Encyclopedia of Language and Linguistics, edited by R. Asher and J. Simpson, 3206–12. Oxford: Pergamon Press. Kato, A. 1998. “Cross-cultural Analysis of the Concept of Politeness.” Arizona Working Papers in SLAT 5: 59–72. Kawai, M. 2013. “The Application of Politeness Theory into English Education in Japan.” Master’s thesis. Linkoping University, Sweden. Matsumoto, Y. 1988. “Re-examinations of the Universality of Face.” Journal of Pragmatics 12 (4): 403–26. Nakane, C. 1970. Japanese Society. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press. Obana, Y. and T. Tomoda. 1994. “The Sociological Significance of ‘Politeness’ in English and Japanese Languages: Report from a Pilot Study.” Japanese Studies Bulletin 14 (2): 37–49. O’Driscoll, J. 1996. “About Face: A Defense and Elaboration of Universal Dualism.” Journal of Pragmatics 25: 1–32. Pizziconi, B. 2003. “Re-examining Politeness, Face and the Japanese Language.” Journal of Pragmatics 35: 1471– 1506. Weber, R. 1990. Basic Content Analysis. Newbury Park, CA: Sega Publications. Van de Walle, L. 1993. Pragmatics and Classical Sanskrit: A Pilot Study in Linguistic Politeness. Philadelphia: John Benjamins Publishing Company.

CHAPTER EIGHT A NEEDS ANALYSIS OF THE ESP COURSE: THE CASE OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS STUDENTS AT SUP’COM TUNIS RYM JAMLY

1. Introduction This study is about the role of needs analysis in the teaching of ESP, which has been widely acknowledged not only as a critical phase of the ESP life but also as one of the basic pillars of program design and implementation. Since its inception in the 1960s ESP has grown rapidly, and this growth was paralleled with the increasing demands on English as a global medium of communication in a wide range of activities. Until recently, as argued by John and Dudley-Evans (2001, 115), “the demands for English for specific purposes … continues to increase and expand throughout the world.” This expansion took advantage of the local and international job market requirements whereby professional communication in the workplace was given high priority. Accordingly, the design of ESP courses was mainly centred on the learners and the specific needs required by their future professions, hence the importance of needs analysis as a crucial component of ESP. The exploration of learners’ needs and their purposes for learning constitute the theoretical basis of any ESP course content to help them succeed in their learning and meet the employment standards. Local and regional research studies on needs analysis in ESP in the Arab world, where English is taught as either a foreign or a second language, pervaded the scene of English language Teaching (ELT) and continued to prosper in response to the ever-changing demands of national and international businesses. With the advent of English in the realms of science, technology, and economic development around the world, the linguistic situation in Tunisia

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came to be seen as both dynamic and complex (Daoud 2001). In postcolonial Tunisia, as a former French colony and a Francophone country, French was introduced as a foreign language of education and administration (Daoud 2000) and enjoyed the status of a second language next to the country’s first, known as Modern Standard Arabic (MSA). French was specially perceived as the language of privilege (Jrad 2004); however, its status has gradually lost ground to the growing interest in English as a third language and its implementation in the educational system in the early 1960s. It was argued that, in the 1980s, English courses were offered in only 54% of higher education institutions (Hemissi 1985), and that out of 90 higher education institutions in Tunisia, 60% teach English for Specific Purposes (ESP) (Daoud 1998; Seymour 1992). Yet, the future of ESP in Tunisia seemed to follow a misguided path, despite its application in a wide range of academic domains at an advanced level, namely business, economics, science, medicine, and engineering. Notwithstanding the bulk of local research on needs analysis, which is perceived as, “the starting point for devising syllabuses, courses, materials and the kind of teaching and learning that takes place” (Jordan 1997, 22), the fact remains that few ESP courses are designed to meet the specific needs of learners in accordance with the local job requirements in terms of target skills. This limitation can be largely justified by the adoption of ready-made ESP materials and the informal analysis of students’ needs, mainly based on the teacher’s intuitions and personal judgements. Within a comparative analysis of the Brazilian and Tunisian ESP experiences, Labassi (2010) referred to the Tunisian ESP situation as lacking “sustainability,” concluding that an “autonomous reflection on the Tunisian situation is mandatory” (28). He warned against setting “overambitious” ESP course objectives and recommended that both local needs and the different social realities in the Tunisian context should be taken into consideration for a more realistic and reliable needs analysis.

2. The History of ESP in Tunisia The history of ESP in Tunisia as a non-Anglophone country has gone through several stages, the most important of which came with the government’s decision to generalise the teaching of ESP in all tertiarylevel disciplines in the late 1990s. This political decision led to the creation of The Department for the Promotion of the Teaching of Specialized English, which was initially founded as the Tunisian ESP Center by the British Key English Language Teaching (KELT) project. The centre, together with the American Cultural Center, endeavoured to

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upgrade the status of English in Tunisia, and particularly that of ESP, by providing financial help for the organisation of summer schools, training days, and visiting experts. Principally funded by the British Overseas Development Administration (ODA), such projects were meant to reassure local dialogue and encourage research of ESP by means of seminars and conferences (e.g. The Maghreb ESP Conference held every two years) and publications (e.g. the Tunisia ESP Newsletter published twice a year). The learner, as a fundamental stakeholder of the learning and teaching process, has been the focus of many conferences and workshops planned to serve the same ends, particularly within the realm of ESP. By the same token, local studies on needs analysis conducted within the framework of MA and PhD research projects into ESP learning and teaching revealed that ESP students need to acquire specific target skills, most notably the receptive reading skill, and that ESP courses should be geared towards their specific learning needs with respect to both learning and working environments. Unquestionably, the majority, if not the totality, of subject courses at higher education institutions in Tunisia are taught through the medium of French, given its special status as the first foreign language of the country. Foreign language teaching also embraced English as the language of science, technology, business, and other learner specialisms, of which some of the field literature is in English exclusively, thus the need to learn how to read and understand a body of specialised writings in English. It is in this sense that the practice of ESP in the Tunisian and other host contexts necessitates a specific approach in order to achieve specific purposes for a specific target population of learners. In the case of Tunisia, Daoud (1996, 604) concluded that, “the educational system must develop sound ELT/ESP programs that are driven by clear goals and objectives, delivered by competent reflective teachers, and sustained by systematic formative evaluation” if one wishes to be operational in English. The viability of this educational proposition seemed to be hindered by several contributory factors, mainly the lack of proper needs analysis, teacher training, and evaluation (Daoud 1999; Seymour 1992). Despite the government’s commitment to successive educational reforms, English competence remained below the desired level and no formal decisions have been made to revise and enhance the ESP situation. Therefore, it can be argued that the ESP enterprise in Tunisia is still suffering from serious problems and facing big challenges that should be addressed and solved on an ad hoc basis.

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3. Research Problem The teaching of ESP in Tunisia is still considered an immature practice that lacks professional human resources as well as adequate teaching materials and methods. Despite the adoption of the learner-centred approach and Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) methodology, there is an urgent need to customise ESP courses to suit the specific needs of the learners and the potential users. The fundamental research problem upon which the present study hinges pertains to the argument that if learners’ needs are not analysed and assessed, they may miss the goal behind the whole teaching process. Very much in the same vein, they may come to realise their failure to be operational in their field of work. Given the fact that there has been no empirical investigation of the students’ present and target needs, the present research intends to probe the following research questions: (1) What is the current ESP learning situation of future Telecommunications engineers in SUP’COM? (2) What are the students’ ESP learning needs? (3) What are the students’ target needs? (4) Do the students’ needs match the content of the ESP course? (5) What are the implications of analysing the needs of these learners?

4. Rationale The main rationale behind the present research project lies in the established fact that no formal needs analysis study has been conducted on the ESP course of the target population. In fact, what differentiates ESP from other branches of applied linguistics and language teaching is its incontestable affiliation with needs analysis as a central backbone of ESP course design. In this regard, Belcher (2004) noted that, “Unlike other pedagogical approaches, which may be less specific needs-based and more theory-driven, ESP pedagogy places heavy demands on its practitioners to collect empirical needs-assessment data, to create or adapt materials to meet specific needs identified” (166). Thus, it is essential to/for any ESP course to be preceded by an analysis of the learners’ taxonomy of needs, taking into consideration the opinions and critical stances of all the parties involved in the process of curriculum development. In effect, this is why an effective ESP course relates to the academic, occupational, social and ideological realities in which the learner tends to be engaged with the use of English. The power

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of a needs analysis in ESP resides in helping the teacher and course designer pinpoint what to include and what to exclude from the content in terms of skills, activities, forms, texts, and the like. Accordingly, it follows that the target students’ needs are not being met by the current curriculum and materials, yet this remains open to negotiation and validation. The second leading rationale of the present study pertains to the absence of standard booklets or workbooks that would ultimately ensure the relevance of the English course to the perceived needs of learners in terms of content and objectives. Hence, within the framework of needs analysis, this research project is meant to: -

draw learners’ profiles as to their learning and teaching needs. distinguish between the needs identified by teachers and those expressed and experienced by learners. set forth insightful recommendations as to the what, how, and why of the ESP course.

More precisely, it aims to identify and describe second-year engineering students’ needs and attitudes toward the ESP course content in an attempt to set forth insightful recommendations for a more promising ESP course that best meets the students’ academic and professional “expectations.” This goal-oriented study tries to raise the target students’ awareness about their current ESP learning situation, sensitise them to the language flaws, and help them formulate a conclusive conception about what they really need to learn in English with regard to the four language skills. The study is by no means a reinvention of the wheel, for it is a precursor for not only the articulation of students’ needs within and beyond the classroom but also for the ESP teachers’ professional development. It was argued that, “most teachers have no formal training in teaching ESP and tend to work individually” (Daoud 1996, 601). This has a bad influence on their performance, let alone on their competence. It is therefore the role of such research studies on needs analysis in ESP to help teachers and future researchers gain insights into the pedagogical peculiarities and implications of the practice and enhance and reconsider the course accordingly.

5. Methodology 5.1. Methods The choice of data-gathering instruments is fundamentally influenced by Mackay (1978), who stipulated that there are two basic research tools for

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the collection of data, namely the questionnaire and the structured interview. These methods were described by Long (2005) as “deductive” measures whereby the researcher logically arrives at reliable conclusions about learners’ needs. They proved highly beneficial to elicit both qualitative and quantitative information for both the Target Situation Analysis and the Present Situation Analysis. Within the framework of the present study, a questionnaire was administered to all 180 engineering students, their 3 ESP teachers, their 53 subject-matter teachers, and 15 potential employers. A structured interview was also conducted with the 3 ESP teachers and 50 former graduates who are actual employees. Both instruments were piloted to gain comprehensive insights into the initial language situation of those students and substantiate it through concrete questions that are accessible and easily answered thereafter.

5.2. Questionnaire Design Given that a questionnaire, “is not just a list of questions or a form to be filled in” (Oppenheim 1992, 10), special attention should be paid to the general layout as well as the content, i.e. the different types of questions to be included. Deciding the design and the content of the questionnaire rested mainly upon Hutchinson and Waters’ (1987) theoretical framework for analysing both learning and target needs, which highly relates to Munby’s (1978) model together with McDonough and McDonough’s (1977) taxonomy of question types. The formulation of questions fell mainly under six main sets: factual, yes/no, multiple-choice, ranked, scaled, and open-ended. Drawing on the general purposes of the study, each question and sub-question concerned itself with a specific purpose on the basis of the different “variables” under assessment (Oppenheim 1992).

6. Results and Discussion 6.1 . Students’ Lacks Overall, the analysis of the findings related to the perceived level of English supported the view that the second-year telecommunications engineering students at SUP’COM need to develop their general proficiency in English. This conclusion was reached in view of the apparent discrepancy between the actual level of students as perceived by their ESP teachers and themselves, as opposed to the target level as perceived by the graduates. Not only was there a dispute between the

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students, 59% of whom reported that they are “good” at English, and all ESP teachers who indicated that the vast majority of the learners have a “medium” level of English, but also between ESP teachers and 72% of graduates who believed they enjoy a “good” level. What strengthened their belief was their reported TOEIC/TOEFL scores. This would imply that a “good” level of proficiency in English is at least required by the potential employers in the target working situation. Thus, it suggested that students need to improve their current level of English, which would in turn maximise their chances to be appointed to their potential jobs. In this regard, a question was addressed to students, ESP teachers, and subject-matter teachers to discover the different activities the students implement to improve their levels. The students’ responses revealed that they always tended to improve their English levels with recreational activities, namely “watching TV programs in English” and “visiting English websites.” Meanwhile, ESP teachers believed their students need to resort to more serious and studious activities like “doing the assigned homework” and “writing papers and reports in English.” This discrepancy among the perceptions of students and ESP teachers seemed to be logical given the educational knowledge and interests. A point of consideration here pertains to the high priority that ESP teachers gave to “writing papers and reports in English,” which was associated with the writing skill in favour of the other language skills. This would generate two possible hypotheses: (1) In regard to the four language skills, the target students were mostly poor at writing, thus the need to improve the “writing skill” in the first place; (2) ESP Teachers perceived of “writing” as the most important skill in the target situation, thus the need to improve the students’ level by practicing “writing.” Still, these two hypotheses need to be confirmed when dealing with the students’ learning needs and necessities in the following sections.

6.2. Students’ Necessities This section deals with the linguistic, discourse, functional, structural, and lexical features of the target situation that the students need to acquire in order to be operational in their potential workplaces. In general terms, there was a consensus of opinion among all the participants in the present study on the need for a combination of both specific and general English. However, it is interesting to note that 80% of the graduates reported that they learnt “general English,” in addition to one ESP teacher’s comment that her choice about the teaching of both English forms applied only to the first-year English program, and that second-year TOEIC preparation

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sessions could not be described as either general or specific. These two findings would suggest, as it was concluded before, that the ESP course is not specific enough or too general considering the requirements of the target situation English use. This conclusion makes sense since, when asked about whether the ESP course met their needs as future engineers, half of the graduates disagreed. Again, it is worth noting that 34.4% of the students expressed their dissatisfaction with the idea that the course meets their needs as future engineers. It follows that both students and graduates are aware that their classroom learning needs in English differ from their needs at the workplace, and both seem to be crucial to the successful completion of their studies and future professional careers. In response to the question pertaining to the degree of importance of English for their current jobs, this claim was largely illustrated by 78% of the graduates who reported that the language was “very important.” The study also looked at the perceived importance of the English micro- and macro-skills for the effective performance of the students’ potential job tasks. As for the language macro-skills, the findings showed that there was a considerable agreement among the graduates and ESP teachers about the relative importance of proficiency in English “speaking,” in the first place, and secondly “listening.” Regarding the other macro-skills, they did not share the same opinions, in that graduates ranked “writing” as the third most important and “reading” as the least important, while ESP teachers ranked “reading” as the third most important and “writing” as the least important. As for the subject-matter teachers, both “speaking” and “reading” received around 54% and 47%, respectively, as the first most important English skills, followed by “writing” in the second rank and “listening” in the third. From these diverse conclusions, it can be safely argued that the target students need to develop their communication skills, especially “speaking” and “listening,” which seem to play an important role in their professional lives. This argument is better illustrated when considering that almost 66% of graduates reported their use of English with both native and non-native “customers,” and 61% indicated that they mostly used English via the “telephone” channel. Yet, it should be noted here that there was a mismatch between ESP and subject-matter teachers about their perception of the people with whom their students will most use the language with. This divergence in opinion was also observed when students, ESP teachers, and graduates were asked about their attitudes towards the ESP course in terms of its language skills. While students expressed their neutrality towards the fact that the ESP course covers all the language

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skills, ESP teachers were “satisfied” and graduates were “dissatisfied.” Relating this dissatisfaction, which received 66% of the graduates’ perception, to their perceived importance of the English macro-skills at the workplace, would lead to the same conclusion that proficiency in both “speaking” and “listening” skills is vital for students to conduct their future jobs effectively. What best reflected this conclusion was undoubtedly one of the ESP teachers’ standpoints that, “engineers are facing multi-language speakers so they should master those skills.” In regard to the language micro-skills, the findings first revealed that both “pronunciation” and “spelling” were excluded from the second-year telecommunications engineering program due to the implementation of the TOEIC and their perceived triviality to the professional development of the students. This point is better illustrated when the participants were asked about why the learners were taking the ESP course in terms of the language micro-skills; all the respondents tended to strongly disagree with the need to learn how to pronounce and spell specific vocabulary, with the exception of the graduates, who showed their agreement. Thus, this suggests the potential importance of “vocabulary” and “grammar” to adequately communicate with the non-native customers in the target work situation. Statistically speaking, it can be concluded that “vocabulary” received the first ranking response among all the participants except ESP teachers, who rated “grammar” as the most important micro-skill and “vocabulary” as the third most important. Yet, it is worth mentioning here that both ESP teachers and second-year students perceived “vocabulary” as the most difficult micro-skill. In conclusion, the findings revealed that the target engineering students were expected to be engaged in real-world job tasks where both accuracy and fluency are highly required. This conclusion was further emphasised when both students and graduates indicated that they mostly expected more “speaking” primarily, and secondly “specific vocabulary,” in response to their expectations vis-à-vis the ESP course. It follows then that the telecommunications engineering profession instrumentally requires English as an employability skill, and this was obviously illustrated by the subject-matter and ESP teachers’ emphasis on “practice” and “communication” when asked about what students should do in order to be operational in their field of work.

6.3. Learning Needs This section deals with the needs of the learning situation. Particularly, it investigates the manner in which English should be learnt, taking into

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consideration the different learning and teaching factors that ultimately affect the way the learners should acquire the language. In the earlier discussion, the students’ necessities highlighted, among other things, the need to enhance the general proficiency in English. This demand went hand in hand with the perceived reason why students were taking the ESP course. The findings revealed that there was a strong determination on the part of all the participants to take English classes mainly for “coping with the age of technology” and for “finding a job.” Consequently, considering that both students and ESP teachers reported that students attended the English classes on a daily basis, it may be reasonable to assume that second-year students were taking the ESP course not only because it is a compulsory subject, but also because they are aware of the usefulness of English in their future careers. In response to a similar question, the data suggested that there was a considerable agreement among all the participants about the need to perform learning tasks related to all English macro- and micro-skills, except for those pertaining to the pronunciation and spelling of specific vocabulary. This is indeed consistent with the earlier discussion of paying special attention to “speaking and listening” as well as “grammar and vocabulary” in favour of the rest of the macro- and micro-skills. A point of consideration when inquiring about the most- and least-difficult skills to learn, students and ESP teachers perceived “speaking” and “vocabulary” as the most difficult English macro- and micro-skill, respectively. This perception runs parallel to the higher value placed on “interaction,” especially among students who also stressed the importance of communicating their specialist knowledge to their ESP teachers. This would imply that the teaching and learning context in which the target students came to learn English should be mainly founded on interaction. As stated in the analysis of the findings, this was confirmed by the perceived roles of the ESP teachers within the classroom as well as the learning activities they often perform with their students. In addition, the role of the teacher was further highlighted by the tasks and the teaching materials they made use of in order to develop the students’ communicative skills. As concluded earlier in the analysis, the language teaching approach adopted by the ESP teachers in the target English classroom was a task-centred one, which would suggest that the curriculum of the English language course was defined in terms of the target students’ future occupational needs. Put differently, ESP teachers proved their awareness that, after graduation, engineering students will be required to perform real-world tasks that are basically English-related and crucial to their success or failure in the workplace.

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Bearing in mind that the ESP course is classroom-based English language training, the ESP teachers took the responsibility for the implementation of the TOEIC as one of the popular assessment tools to measure the students’ required proficiency in the target situation. In this respect, it seemed odd to find that all the participants in the present study approved the necessity and importance of the test as one the learners’ job requirements, except for 64% of the graduates who indicated that the test did not constitute a necessary step towards the successful achievements in their current jobs. It is thus necessary to confirm the graduates’ opinions through recourse to the future potential employers’ corresponding point of view, which presented one of the considerable limitations that faced the researcher during this study.

7. Implications As became apparent during the course of the present research study, a NA, while not purely unique to ESP, foreshadows a conceptual comprehension of what should be highlighted in an ESP course and its practical implications. Drawing on the main conclusions from the formal analysis of the target students’ needs, a number of implications will be considered, especially in terms of methodology, research, and pedagogy. In contradiction to Hutchinson and Waters’ (1987) claim that the teaching of ESP as a sub-branch of ELT does not presuppose a different methodology from that of ELT, the findings of the present study suggested the opposite. Taking into consideration the findings of similar research studies conducted at the local level, there were strong arguments for employing a specific methodology in the ESP classroom. The teaching of ESP proved to be a matching process, whereby students’ needs should be reflected not only in the content of the ESP curriculum but also in the way a specific group of learners should acquire the language. Because what is specific about ESP is not the language but the purpose of learning, which is largely dictated by the learners’ specialism, the success of the ESP course under focus depends on a specific set of methods and principles that govern what happens in the classroom, i.e. methodology. Among the fundamental issues involved in the latter are theories of learning, teaching/learning techniques, available aids, and materials. As far as the prescribed learning theory in concerned, it seemed that the ESP teachers adopted a communicative language teaching (CLT) approach in an attempt to facilitate the learning of the required language skills and sub-skills. CLT as an approach to language teaching establishes interaction as a priority as both a means and an end to learning. Yet, with

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the absence of a formal needs analysis, the target students were perceived by their ESP teachers as rational learners, neglecting the affective factor which mainly pertains to the students’ preferences and motivation. In this respect, Hutchinson et al. (1987) recommended the use of an eclectic approach and its relevance to the practice of ESP. They suggested that teachers as ESP practitioners should select and customize their approach in accordance with the different language skills. Given that the target ESP course is a classroom-based language training to obtain the TOEIC certificate, active learning was maintained through the use of various learning/teaching techniques and materials. These latter proved to be in favor of reinforcing mutual interaction and nurturing successful communication both in and outside the classroom. This would imply that materials selection and classroom activities in ESP should be mainly founded on the pragmatic as well as professional realities in which the learner is likely to be engaged in. This implication seemed to be fully respected by the target ESP teachers who reported their orientation toward a task-centered classroom reflecting in turn their awareness of the practical applications underlying the teaching and learning of ESP alike. Having investigated the learners’ needs, i.e. their purpose for learning, scrutinizing the different perceptions held by the different ESP stakeholders, it is significant to establish the causal relationship between perceptions and practice. Being aware of the target group identity, their perceived needs, and the various situations where they will use the language enables the ESP teachers as a course designer to define clear course objectives and to design the ESP curriculum accordingly. Hutchinson et al. (1987) considered and stressed the importance of interdependence between the three leading factors influencing the ESP course design, namely; language descriptions and learning theories at the theoretical level, and needs analysis at the practical level. As this research has revealed, the ESP teachers were aware of the elemental role needs analysis plays as to the specification and the sequencing of the course content. Albeit informally, they reported that they conducted a NA as a pre-stage before deciding on what kind of language points, texts types, topics, etc. are required by the target situation of use. Yet, as well as being fundamental to curriculum development in ESP, needs analysis is also a complex process aiming at implementing, evaluating, and improving the ESP language program at an on-going pace. Similar to the centrality of NA is the importance of evaluating learners’ performance and the effectiveness or otherwise of the ESP course. Learners’ assessment and course evaluation are considered to be two sides

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of the same coin. Both were meant to contribute to the process of satisfying students’ needs and meeting the course objectives. As for learners’ assessment, Hutchinson and Waters (1987) distinguished between three different types of learners’ assessment characteristics of ESP: placement, achievement, and proficiency tests. The ESP course offered to the second-year telecommunications students at SUP’COM opens a window of opportunity for them to receive an intensive language training course with the aim of obtaining the TOEIC certificate as a passport to success in their professional lives. This can be classified as both a proficiency and achievement test, since it aims to measure the learner’s progress until they demonstrates their ability to meet the demands of the workplace by obtaining the required score. Yet, what was apparently neglected by ESP teachers was the importance of the placement test as a measurement tool that helps to specify the learners’ initial background knowledge. This negligence could be justified by the ESP teachers’ suggestion of working with homogeneous mini-groups instead of dividing the total number of students by the three teachers available. Yet, course evaluation was by far the most important form that caught the attention of the ESP teachers. As the present study revealed, ESP teachers were aware of their students’ learning and target needs. This awareness generated their collective decision to substitute the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) with the more purpose-oriented TOEIC. In general, specific-purpose language testing has been a subject of considerable debate, particularly in relation to general-purpose language testing. Notwithstanding these misconceptions, the fact remains that ESP tests differ from those of General English (GE) in that they should be language-specific, contentrelated, and, most importantly, purpose-based. The main research implication drawn from this research study concerns the role played by NA within the realm of ESP, and particularly the role of the ESP teacher as opposed to the General English teacher. The earlier literature of ESP made it clear that NA neither characterises ESP nor delineates GE from ESP, given that every language course—be it specific or general—being basically founded on predetermined objectives, should be need-based. It is imperative, then, that a needs analysis precede any attempt to develop a language program or language training under the broader realm of ELT. However, this would require a wider knowledge on the part of the ESP teacher who, in most cases, will find themselves relying on their subjective intuitions to devise the main units of the course. Similarly, as this research revealed, ESP teachers still suffer from the absence of planned teacher training targeting the specific field of their

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students’ specialty. Unlike GE teachers, the ESP teacher profession ultimately reaches beyond the routine functions of a classroom teacher. Swales (1985), for example, preferred to employ the term “practitioner” in view of the diversity of practices the ESP teacher should perform in parallel with teaching. Overall, it should be argued that any ESP activity is necessarily preceded by a solid research foundation reflecting its wide scope, which encompasses needs analysis, course design, and evaluation, inter alia. In view of all the above implications, the following section will set out some interesting recommendations.

8. Recommendations As became apparent during the course of the present research study, a NA, while not purely unique to ESP, foreshadows a conceptual comprehension of what should be highlighted in an ESP course and its practical implications. Drawing on the main conclusions from the formal analysis of the target students’ needs, a number of implications will be considered, especially in terms of methodology, research, and pedagogy. In contradiction to Hutchinson and Waters’ (1987) claim that the teaching of ESP as a sub-branch of ELT does not presuppose a different methodology from that of ELT, the findings of the present study suggested the opposite. Taking into consideration the findings of similar research studies conducted at the local level, there were strong arguments for employing a specific methodology in the ESP classroom. The teaching of ESP proved to be a matching process, whereby students’ needs should be reflected not only in the content of the ESP curriculum but also in the way a specific group of learners should acquire the language. Because what is specific about ESP is not the language but the purpose of learning, which is largely dictated by the learners’ specialism, the success of the ESP course under focus depends on a specific set of methods and principles that govern what happens in the classroom; i.e. methodology. Among the fundamental issues involved in the latter are theories of learning, teaching/learning techniques, available aids and materials. As far as the prescribed learning theory in concerned, it seemed that the ESP teachers adopted a communicative language teaching (CLT) approach in an attempt to facilitate the learning of the required language skills and sub-skills. CLT as an approach to language teaching establishes interaction as a priority both as a means and an end to learning. Yet, with the absence of a formal needs analysis, the target students were perceived by their ESP teachers as rational learners, neglecting the affective factor which mainly pertains to the students’ preferences and motivation. In this

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respect, Hutchinson et al. (1987) recommended the use of an eclectic approach and its relevance to the practice of ESP. They suggested that teachers as ESP practitioners should select and customize their approach in accordance with the different language skills. Given that the target ESP course is a classroom-based language training to obtain the TOEIC certificate, active learning was maintained through the use of various learning/teaching techniques and materials. These latter proved to be in favor of reinforcing mutual interaction and nurturing successful communication both inside and outside the classroom. This would imply that materials selection and classroom activities in ESP should be mainly founded on the pragmatic, as well as professional realities, in which the learner is likely to be engaged in. This implication seemed to be fully respected by the target ESP teachers who reported their orientation toward a task-centered classroom reflecting in turn their awareness of the practical applications underlying the teaching and learning of ESP alike. Having investigated the learners’ needs, i.e. their purpose for learning, scrutinizing the different perceptions held by the different ESP stakeholders, it is significant to establish the causal relationship between perceptions and practice. Being aware of the target group identity, their perceived needs, and the various situations where they will use the language enables the ESP teachers as a course designer to define clear course objectives and to design the ESP curriculum accordingly. Hutchinson et al. (1987) considered and stressed the importance of interdependence between the three leading factors influencing the ESP course design, namely language descriptions and learning theories at the theoretical level, and needs analysis at the practical level. As this research has revealed, the ESP teachers were aware of the elemental role needs analysis plays as to the specification and the sequencing of the course content. Albeit informally, they reported that they conducted a NA as a pre-stage before deciding on what kind of language points, texts types, topics, etc. are required by the target situation of use. Yet, as well as being fundamental to curriculum development in ESP, needs analysis is also a complex process aiming at implementing, evaluating, and improving the ESP language program at an on-going rate. Similar to the centrality of NA is the importance of evaluating learners’ performance and the effectiveness or otherwise of the ESP course. Learners’ assessment and course evaluation are considered to be two sides of the same coin. Both were meant to contribute to the process of satisfying students’ needs and meeting the course objectives. As for learners’ assessment, Hutchinson et al. (1987) distinguished between three

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different types of learners’ assessment characteristics of ESP, viz. placement, achievement, and proficiency tests. The ESP course offered to the 2nd year telecommunications students at SUP’COM opens a window of opportunity for them to receive an intensive language training course with the aim of obtaining the TOEIC certificate as a passport to success in their professional life. This assessment can be classified under both proficiency and achievement tests since it aims to measure the learner’s progress till she/he demonstrates his/her ability to meet the demands of the work place by obtaining the required score. Yet, what seemed to be neglected by ESP teachers was the importance of the placement test as a measurement tool that helps specify the learners’ initial background knowledge. This negligence could be justified by the ESP teachers’ suggestion to work with homogeneous mini-groups instead of dividing the total number of students by the available three teachers. Yet, course evaluation was by far the most important form that caught most of the attention of the ESP teachers. As the present study revealed, ESP teachers were aware of their students’ learning and target needs. This awareness generated their collective decision to substitute the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) with the more purpose-oriented TOEIC. In general, specific purpose language testing has been a subject of considerable debate particularly in relation to general purpose language testing. Notwithstanding these misconceptions, the fact remains that ESP tests differ from those of General English (GE) in that they should be language-specific, content-related, and most importantly, purpose-based. The main research implication drawn from this research study concerns the role played by NA within the realm of ESP, and particularly, the role of the ESP teacher as opposed to the General English teacher. Earlier literature of ESP made it clear that NA neither characterizes ESP nor does it delineate GE from ESP. Given that every language course -be it specific or general- is basically founded on predetermined objectives, should be need-based. It is imperative then that a needs analysis precede any attempt to develop a language program or a language training under the broader area of ELT. However, this would require a wider knowledge on the part of the ESP teacher who in most cases will find him/herself relying on his/her subjective intuitions to devise the main units of the course. Similarly, as this research revealed, ESP teachers were and still suffer from the absence of planned teacher training targeting the specific field of their students’ specialty. Unlike GE teachers, the ESP teacher profession ultimately reaches beyond the routine functions of a classroom teacher. Swales (1985), for example, preferred to employ the term “practitioner” in view of the diversity of practices the ESP teacher should perform in

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parallel with teaching. Overall, it should be argued that any ESP activity is necessarily preceded by a solid research foundation reflecting its wide scope which encompasses needs analysis, course design and evaluation, inter alia. In view of all the above implications, the following section will try to set forth some interesting recommendations.

9. Conclusions The main findings of the present study have also demonstrated that English language is of paramount importance in the target situation of use, and that students need to improve their levels of proficiency especially in respect of the communication skills. This would imply that English is one of the invaluable functional assets necessary for the learners to be operational in their specific field of work. This is obviously attributable to the fact that most of the business companies likely to recruit those learners are international in nature, thus requiring telecommunications engineers with an advanced English oral ability. Meanwhile, the study also revealed the irrelevance of TOEIC to the national, as well as international, job market demands in English. This seems to imply that, despite the implementation of such an innovative technology in the fields of language teaching and learning at the higher education level, the majority of learners’ English proficiency levels are still below the required plane.

References Belcher, D. 2004. “Trends in Teaching English for Specific Purposes.” Annual Review of Applied Linguistics 24: 165– 86. Daoud, M. 1996. “English Language Development in Tunisia.” TESOL Quarterly 2: 598–605. —. 1998. “The Management of Innovation in ELT in Tunisia.” Paper presented at the fourth annual International TSAS Conference: English in North Africa. Tunis: Beit El Hikma, Carthage. —. 2000. “LSP in North Africa: Status, Problems and Challenges.” Annual Review of Applied Linguistics 20: 77–96. —. 2001. “The Language Situation in Tunisia.” Current Issues in Language Planning 2: 1–52. Dudley-Evans, T., and M. J. St John. 1998. Developments in ESP: A Multi-disciplinary Approach. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. —. 2011. Developments in English for Special Purposes: A Multidisciplinary Approach. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

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Hemissi, H. 1985. “Some Aspects of ESP in Tunisian Higher Education.” Unpublished DRA Thesis. Tunis: Faculty of Letters. Hutchinson, T., and A. Waters. 1987. English for Specific Purposes: a Learning-centered Approach. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Jordan, R. R. 1997. English for Academic Purposes: A Guide and Resource Book for Teachers. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Jrad, N. 2004. “La politique linguistique dans la Tunisie postcoloniale.” In Trames de Langues, edited by Ouvrage Collectif, 525–44. Paris: Maison Neuve. Labassi, T. 2010. “Two ESP Projects under the Test of Time: The Case of Brazil and Tunisia.” English for Specific Purposes 29: 19–29. Long, M. H. 2005. “Methodological Issues in Learner Needs Analysis.” In Second language needs Analysis, edited by M. H. Long. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Mackay, R. 1978. “Identifying the Nature of Learners' Needs.” In English for Specific Purposes, edited by R. Mackay and A. Mountford, 21– 42. London: Longman. McDonough J., and S. McDonough. 1997. Research Methods for English Language Teachers. London: Arnold. Munby, J. 1978. Communicative Syllabus Design. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Oppenheim, A. N. 1992. Questionnaire Design, Interviewing and Attitude Measurement. London: Pinter Publishers. Seymour, A. 1994. Tunisia ESP Newsletter. Swales, J. 1985. Episodes in ESP : A Source and Reference Book on the Development of English for Science and Technology. New York: Pergamon Institute of English.

CHAPTER NINE COMPARISON OF ARGUMENTATIVE WRITING BY AMERICAN, CHINESE, AND TURKISH UNIVERSITY STUDENTS HATIPOGLU ÍSMIGÜL ERKAN KARABACAK AND JINGJING QIN

1. Introduction Being able to write argumentative essays is a fundamental skill required by academia. However, even English-speaking students are found to struggle with argumentation skills. It therefore comes as no surprise that meeting the expectations of academia is a greater challenge for students who are the learners of English as a second/foreign language. Furthermore, if these learners become international students by going to Anglophone countries to get tertiary-level education, writing assignments can seriously challenge their achievement. As the numbers of international students increase—from Eastern to Western countries and vice versa—so does the need for understanding all aspects of academic writing. According to the “2013 Open Doors Report on International Educational Exchange,” 40% more international students were studying at US colleges and universities than a decade before (819,644; 4% of the enrolled students). China, India, and South Korea are the top three countries that sent students to the US. It would be reasonable to assume that all ESL/EFL students are potential international students, or are subjected to the writing standards of Anglophone countries through Western teaching materials and standardised tests, such as the TOEFL and IELTS exams. Several factors, such as level of English proficiency, cultural patterns in L1, and argumentation literacy in L1, influence the ESL/EFL students’ argumentative writing in English. Among these factors, the influence of L1 rhetorical patterns has been studied extensively. It is argued that

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Western culture differs from Eastern culture when they are compared in terms of the way arguments are made in each (Suzuki 2010). A number of studies have been conducted on cultural differences in arguments, examining the overall organisation, such as the location of the thesis statement and the elements of the Toulmin model (Toulmin 1958, 2003). Suzuki (2010) compared the argumentative essays written by Japanese and US college students. The findings showed that Japanese students tended to state their claim towards the end after providing detailed supports, whereas American students mostly started the argument by stating their central claim. Godo (2008) compared the L1 argumentative writings of North American and Hungarian first-year college students regarding rhetorical organisation. She observed that American writers tended to provide the background prior to in-depth evaluation, make a number of justifications, and restate the claim in a conclusion; however, Hungarian students provided varied viewpoints but failed to restate a final conclusion. On the contrary, in some other studies no significant differences at all were found in argumentative writing from different cultural backgrounds. For example, Uysal (2008) conducted a study including 28 Turkish students to examine whether their L1 and L2 writings shared common patterns. The results revealed that students tend to state their claims at the beginning of the Turkish argumentative essays, whereas it was stated in the final positions in English argumentative essays written by the same students. In contrast, only five of the essays had the same location of the main idea in both L1 and L2. In addition, students used similar macrolevel patterns, such as providing explanation and evidence for the claim and counter examples; therefore, culture seems to have little effect on the writing patterns since these students stated their claims in different positions in their Turkish and English argumentative essays. However, the study fails to eliminate some factors, such as previous writing instruction, and the proficiency level of the students, since some might have been instructed about writing English argumentative essays, or high proficiency level students were possibly able to follow certain writing patterns while writing such essays. In another study concerning L1 and L2 organisational pattern differences, 15 Japanese EFL students’ argumentative papers written about the same topic in L1 and L2 were compared. Hirose (2003) stated that 40% of the papers were organised in exactly the same way in both L1 and L2 in terms of the location of thesis statement (initial) and providing support for the position taken; furthermore, 33% of the papers were found to be more or less similar.

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As seen, few studies have focused on analysing the argument structures of L2 papers across different cultural groups at university level to examine whether they have a clearly stated position along with satisfactory reasons to support the position, whether the papers include any opposing views (counter claims), which are then rejected by providing rebuttal claims. In addition, the studies conducted so far followed the Toulmin model (1958; 2003), which is widely used to analyse organisational structure in the L1 context, and there has been little research concerning the L2 context (Qin and Karabacak 2010). To this end, this paper is intended to compare the argumentative papers written in English by Turkish, Chinese, and American university students regarding the Toulmin model (1958; 2003). Providing data to support claims means, for the most part, using outside sources; therefore, writers also need to possess a high level of reading comprehension, along with a good command of citation skills. Another aim of the present study is to explore to what extent the students can utilise outside sources in the production of an argumentative essay in order to support their claims. Furthermore, each time data from the source text was used, whether or not the student was crediting the source was checked. This study aims to answer three research questions. The first is whether there is any difference among Turkish, Chinese, and American university students’ essays regarding the percentages of Toulmin elements (1959; 2003): the hypothesis is that there are no differences among the three groups of students’ essays. The second question is whether there is any difference among the three groups’ essays regarding the use of outside sources and personal knowledge to support their arguments: the hypothesis is that there are no differences among the three groups of students’ essays. The third question is whether there is any difference among the three groups’ essays regarding the amount of credited sentences when referring to outside sources: the hypothesis is that there are no differences among the three groups’ essays.

2. Methods This section first describes the profile of the participants, followed by the delineation of the writing task and data collection procedure. The remaining part of the section presents in detail how the data were analysed and coded.

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2.1. Participants All participants were enrolled in an academic writing class where essays were collected and had completed an introductory academic writing class prior to this one—Turkish and Chinese students for two semesters, and American students for one semester. Thus, they had already practiced writing in different types of genres. In general, all three groups were around the same age, at 18–21 years old. Both Turkish and Chinese participants were sophomores majoring in English Language Teaching, whereas the American students majored in different disciplines; all had registered for a year-long freshman composition program that focuses on writing summaries, analyses, or reflections that require students to use their own experience and knowledge, along with source texts.

2.2. Research Instrumentation Students were asked to read two source texts on the issue of whether the future status of English as the global language is assured or not and take notes within 25 minutes (see Appendix A). After reading the two texts, they were asked to write a well-organised argumentative paper of around 350 to 500 words within the remaining 45 minutes and explain their point of view on the issue. Participants were instructed to use supporting information both from the two readings and their personal knowledge and experience. While supporting their views with information from the two texts, they were expected to give references for the texts and paraphrase the ideas in their own words. They were allowed to use two reading texts during the writing task. In all, 54 papers from Chinese, 31 papers from Turkish, and 38 papers from American students were gathered, and the ones that lacked a clear point of view or were incomplete were eliminated. However, since only 12 papers in the Turkish group remained, the number that could be included from the other two groups was also reduced to 12 to make the group populations equal. The 12 papers from Chinese and American groups were selected randomly, excluding the ones that failed to meet the requirements of an argument paper. In total, 36 papers were included in the final pool, which were coded by the first two researchers based on the Toulmin (1958; 2003) scheme.

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2.3. Data Analysis The theoretical and methodological framework applied in the study is the adapted version of the Toulmin model of argument structure employed in Qin and Karabacak (2010). It was used for the analysis of the organisational structure of the argumentative writings. The six elements, along with the two additional categories used as a coding scheme, were: “claim,” “data,” “counterargument claim,” “counterargument data,” “rebuttal claim,” “rebuttal data,” “background information,” and “no category.” The coding of the 36 papers was done through two rounds: the first to verify whether any revision was needed for the existing coding scheme with six Toulmin elements and train the coders (the first two authors); the second to code the whole data based on the revised coding scheme.

2.4. Data Coding After finishing the first coding stage, it appeared that new categories or sub-categories were needed. For example, some papers presented a lot of background information before they stated their point of views. Some of these sentences could be considered as “data”; however, some of them were neither “data” nor “claim” but just general information or explanations on the issue. Therefore, we created a new category: “Background (BG).” For example, “There are roughly 6000 language existing in the world today.” says Stefan Lovgren.; while “BG2” is completely new information that the student used based on their personal experiences and knowledge, e.g. On the world, there are hundreds of nations and languages from different colour, different appearance and different geographical features. On the other hand, we realised that some of the students concluded their writings with a wishful claim and desire or hope for the future status of English; although these types of claims were slightly different in that they were “deontic,” we still included them under the “claim” category (e.g. I’m studying at English Language Teaching Department and I hope English will be a world language in one day). Sometimes, it was found that one sentence contained two categories, such as “background information” and “data,” or “claim” and “data,” as can be seen in the following sentence: “ It is true that Chinese is improving very fast but it is not a threaten for the English.” The student states both a counter claim and a rebuttal claim. The sentences that fell under two of the categories were coded for both. As explained later, the

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word length of a double-coded sentence was divided into two, each half contributing to one of the categories. No sentence consisted of more than two categories. There were also sentences that fell into no category; they were labelled “No category (XX)” during the negotiation process (e.g. To sum up, globalization changes and it needs new rules about social and economic lives). Every single sentence was coded for three major aspects: Toulmin elements (1958; 2003), source of information, and whether citation occurred, if the information was obtained from the two source texts. Each sentence had to fall into at least one Toulmin category; some sentences contained two categories. Each sentence was also coded for the source of the information, either from the two articles or from personal knowledge. Finally, every sentence that contained information from the two articles was coded for whether they gave credit to the source or not. An inter-rater reliability session was conducted between the two coders to ensure that when coders work separately they still make similar decisions. Five papers were chosen randomly and agreement or disagreement for each sentence was calculated. Following the coding stage, Cohen’s Kappa formula (ϰ) was used to check the inter-rater reliability; Cohen’s Kappa (1960) eliminates the agreement occurring by chance, which is more truthful than a simple percentage. The results showed that, in these five papers, on average, the two raters achieved an agreement level of 81% (ϰ=.81). After all 36 papers were coded by the two coders separately, they were revised by both coders to negotiate the disagreements and so each could justify their codes to reach a final decision; Data gathered from the students were typed using the text editor Notepad++ and saved as plain-text documents. Every sentence was separated and coded by the two raters (see an excerpt from a coded paper in Appendix B). To count the codes for each sentence and calculate the percentages for each essay, a program was developed in the Perl programming language by the second author. Considering that the length of sentences varied greatly in students’ papers, instead of counting only the sentences, the number of words in each sentence were also taken into account and summarised under the category, which was then computed to find percentages. Therefore, the results given for each label represent the percentages of the category in overall text-length in terms of number of words (tokens). For some of the sentences that fall into two categories, the program equally divided the total number of words in the sentence and added them to each of the two categories. No sentences fell under more

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than two categories. It should be noted that several papers included a secondary claim, which was an indicator of poor argument skills. For practical reasons, those sentences were included in the same category with central claims (thesis statement).

3. Results and Discussion Essay length was calculated in number of words (tokens). As shown in Table 9.1 below, American students wrote longer essays than Turkish and Chinese students. The mean essay lengths by Turkish, Chinese, and American students were 390.58, 306.50, and 464.17, respectively. This is not surprising, given the fact that American students wrote their essays in their first language, whereas Turkish and Chinese students used their second language. The reason for Turkish students’ longer essays in comparison with Chinese students’ may be that this was a final exam for Turkish students, whereas it was a quiz for Chinese students. As explained in the methodology section above, in order to prevent text length confounding the results, all of the counts were done as percentages (percentage of each category in a text). Table 9.1. Nationality groups and length of papers measured in number of words Nationality Turkish Chinese American

Number of Essays 12 12 12

Mean Length 390.58 306.50 464.17

SD 104.053 44.117 75.612

In order to compare these three groups a one-way ANOVA analysis was not appropriate, as the sample size for each group was 12: lower than the traditional requirement of 30. Therefore, the results were discussed based on the descriptive tables below only.

3.1 Difference in Terms of the Percentages of Toulmin Elements This section presents the results of the use of Toulmin elements by three groups of students, and comparisons are made on the use of these Toulmin elements among the three groups. Table 9.2 below presents the descriptives for the use of Toulmin elements.

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Table 9.2. Mean percentages of the Toulmin elements in essays for each group Categories

Turkish Mean (%) Claim 17.58 Data 37.49 Counterarg. Claim 5.89 Counterarg. Data 8.96 Rebuttal claim 1.66 Rebuttal data 3.63 Background info 19.58 No category 5.22

SD 8.108 1.840 5.583 10.647 2.612 6.664 9.812 10.690

Chinese American Mean SD Mean SD (%) (%) 18.66 9.606 16.09 5.692 45.46 2.194 43.94 2.269 4.66 4.925 7.90 6.962 3.87 5.438 8.94 10.947 2.74 2.660 4.31 7.790 10.09 12.973 4.12 7.570 11.96 8.610 13.08 8.121 2.56 3.770 1.61 3.221

3.1.1. Claim and Data In general, a clear position was stated, and data were provided in papers written by all three groups of students (except for one Turkish student who did not clearly state his position). It seems that American students allocate a minimum amount of space for their claims (16.09% vs. 17.58% in the Turkish, 18.66% in the Chinese group), which is an indication of not repeating their thesis statements or presenting no more than one position, which was a problem in several papers in the other two groups. “Claim” is expected to be supported by “data” (Toulmin 2003, 90). Both American and Chinese participants presented data with similar percentages in support of their claims (45.49 and 43.94%, respectively), and the amount of data supplied in essays by Turkish students was lower (37.49%) compared to the other two groups. 3.1.2. Counterargument Claim and Counterargument Data Among the 36 essays, 26 included an opposing view. Three of the essays by American students and Chinese students, and four of the essays by the Turkish students, did not include any counterclaims. Essays by the American group included the highest amount of counterclaims (7.90%). This is followed by the Turkish and Chinese students (5.89% and 4.66%, respectively). Both American and Turkish students allocated similar amounts of supporting data for counterclaims (8.94% and 8.96%, respectively). However, Chinese participants presented lower amounts of data for the

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counterclaims they used (3.87%). It should be noted that not all of these counterargument claims were supported by counterargument data (20 out of 36 papers), and the number of papers that presented counterargument data for the American, Turkish, and Chinese students were 7, 6, and 7 respectively. Generally speaking, there was no difference in providing counterargument claims and counterargument data among the three groups. Since the main elements of the Toulmin model (1958; 2003) were found to occur in all the groups, it can be concluded that the three groups were able to write well-developed argumentative papers. This finding contradicts Suzuki (2010), who suggests that the Eastern culture differs from the Western in terms of organisation pattern. This is not consistent with Liu’s finding, based on online instructional materials, that, unlike American rhetorical traditions, Chinese argumentative writing considers making counterclaims optional. However, this study receives support from the Kim et al. (2001) study that found no difference between the overall argumentativeness scores of the papers gathered from Korea, Hawaii, and the United States. 3.1.3. Rebuttal Claim and Rebuttal Data More than half of the essays lacked a rebuttal claim (19 papers). Eight of the Turkish, six of the American, and five of the Chinese essays did not contain any rebuttal claim or rebuttal data. This finding is supported by Qin and Karabacak (2010), who also found that Chinese university students failed to provide secondary level elements of the Toulmin model (1958; 2003), such as counterargument claim, counterargument data, rebuttal claim, and rebuttal data. When the amounts of the rebuttal claim and its data are compared, the Chinese students seem to include the highest amount of data for their rebuttal claims; 10.09% of rebuttal data is supplied for 2.74% of rebuttal claim. Turkish students supplied the lowest amount of rebuttal claim (1.66%), but supplied data more than double the amount of the rebuttal claim (3.63%). The American essays had the highest percentage of rebuttal claims (4.31%), but, proportionately speaking, they supplied the lowest amount of rebuttal data (4.12%). Chinese students supplied almost four times more rebuttal data for their rebuttal claims—this may be to do with the culture and requires further investigation.

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3.1.4. Background Information The new category, “background” (BG), that we adopted for the Toulmin model (1958; 2003) occurred in all the essays except for one written by a Chinese student. Turkish writers supplied the highest percentage of background information (19.58%). When compared with the American and Chinese percentages of background information (13.08 and 11.96, respectively), it is notably high. This high percentage may be a result of avoiding directness by the Turkish, and warrants further investigation. 3.1.5. No Category Four of the essays in the Turkish and American groups and five essays in the Chinese group contained irrelevant sentences. The percentage of the sentences that failed to fall into any category was found to be the highest in Turkish students’ papers (5.22%) and the lowest in American students’ papers (1.61%); the percentage of irrelevant sentences was 2.55% in Chinese students’ essays. For example, Moreover, the power of language affects not only economy, but also culture and traditional system. Because people have to be assimilated. The reason why there were some sentences that failed to belong to any category might be that the students had ineffective argument skills or low proficiency levels in English. It also seems that some students had difficulty in expressing their ideas, which results in nonsensical sentences. 3.1.6. Positions However, when the position of the claim and restating the claim in the conclusion section were considered, three culture groups were found to be similar. Only two Chinese students failed to restate their claims in the conclusion. These findings seem to be consistent with the findings of Godo’s study (2008) in terms of position of the claim. Further support comes from the findings of Uysal (2008) and Hirose (2003), who found similar organisational patterns of different cultural groups in the L1 context.

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3.2. Difference in Terms of the Use of Two Articles and Personal Knowledge The integration of the information from the two articles was also analysed, and it was observed that the American students, as shown in Tables 9.3 and 9.4 below, provided more information (56.23%) from reading the source texts than their general personal knowledge and experience (43.77%). This proportion was larger than the other two groups. The Turkish and Chinese students resorted to their personal knowledge more than the two given articles (42.16% vs. 57.84%, and 41.48% vs. 58.52, respectively). This difference can probably be attributed to reading comprehension levels between first language and second language users of English. Alternatively, it can be an indication of Western culture’s greater reliance on facts compared to Eastern culture. Table 9.3. Mean percentages of using the two articles or personal knowledge as a source Source

Personal Knowledg e Two Articles

Turkish Mean SD (%) 57.84 1.348

42.16

1.348

Chinese Mean SD (%) 58.52 1.816

41.48

1.816

American Mean SD (%) 43.77 2.227

56.23

2.227

3.3. Difference in Terms of the Amount of Credited Sentences As reported above, all of the essays without exception utilised the two given articles, to some degree. However, some writers did not credit the source in some of their sentences. Moreover, one Turkish student and three Chinese students who used the information from the readings failed to provide any citation. No students in the American group totally ignored the two articles.

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Table 9.4. Mean percentages of cited information when source texts were used

Cited Information

Turkish Mean SD (%) 49.28 26.245

Chinese Mean SD (%) 20.85 20.954

American Mean SD (%) 57.41 24.900

As can be seen in Table 9.4 above, the Chinese students had the lowest amount of citations when they used information from the two articles. This cannot be explained through them not knowing how to cite sources because they did so 20.85% of the time. The American students seemed to be the most sensitive when citing the source of outside information (57.41%). The Turkish students credited the outside information slightly less than half the time (49.28%). This finding warrants further research into the perception of academic honesty in different cultures.

4. Conclusions The present study was conducted to investigate whether the students from different cultural groups are able to integrate contrasting ideas from sources and their ability to use the elements of the Toulmin model (1958; 2003) for the organisational structures of argumentative papers written by different cultural groups. Therefore, the findings of the study shed some light on the organisational structure of the argumentative writings. The results indicated that students from three cultural groups are able to take a position and support their view providing data. They are also able to integrate opposing views up to 72%. However, the American students were better at writing argumentative papers than either the Turkish or Chinese students since they were able to provide more counterclaims and rebuttal claims, and integrate the information from the sources, while the Chinese and Turkish students were closer to each other in terms of the ability to provide the Toulmin elements (1958; 2003). Based on the findings of the current study, it can be concluded that students are in need of instruction on how to refute opposing views and give support for why their central claim is valid. Based on the previous studies in the literature and considering the findings of the current study, there seems to be a need for the instruction of argumentative writing based on the elements of Toulmin model.

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References Godo, A. 2008. “Cross-cultural Aspects of Academic Writing: A Study of Hungarian and North American College Students’ LI Argumentative Essays.” International Journal of English Studies 8 (2): 65–111. Hirose, K. 2003. “Comparing L1 and L2 Organizational Patterns in the Argumentative Writing of Japanese EFL Students.” Journal of Second Language Writing 12: 181–209. Institute of International Education. 2013. “Open Doors Report on International Educational Exchange.” http://www.iie.org/Research-and-Publications/Open-Doors/Data. Kim, M. S., K. S. Aune, J. E. Hunter, H. J. Kim, and J. S. Kim. 2001. “The Effect of Culture and Self-construals on Predispositions Toward Verbal Communication.” Human Communication Research 27: 382–408. Liu, L. 2005. “Rhetorical Education through Writing Instruction across Cultures: A Comparative Analysis of Select Online Instructional Materials on Argumentative Writing.” Journal of Second Language Writing 14: 1–18. Qin, J. and E. Karabacak. 2010. “The Analysis of Toulmin Elements in Chinese EFL University Argumentative Writing.” System 38: 444–56. Suzuki, S. 2010. “Forms of Written Arguments: A Comparison between Japan and the United States.” International Journal of Intercultural Relations 34: 651–60. Toulmin, S. 1958. The Uses of Argument. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. —. 2003. The Uses of Argument, updated ed. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Uysal, H. 2008. “Tracing the Culture Behind Writing: Rhetorical Patterns and Bidirectional Transfer in L1 and L2 Essays of Turkish Writers in Relation to Educational Context.” Journal of Second Language Writing 17: 183–207.

Appendix A: Directions for In-Class Argumentative Writing x First read the two texts given to you. These two texts deal with the same topic: the future of English. x While reading, please pay attention to each author’s point of view and try to understand the main ideas of each text x Try to read these two texts within 25 minutes.

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x After reading the two texts, you are asked to write an argumentative paper (350 to 500 words in length) explaining your point of view on the issue of whether the future status of English as the global language is assured or not. You have about 45 minutes to write the paper. x Make sure to support your point of view with information from the two texts that you have read. In addition, you can use any other information from your personal knowledge or experience to support your view. x Remember when using information from the two texts, make sure to give references to the texts and paraphrase the ideas with YOUR OWN WORDS. DO NOT copy exact sentences from the reading texts. x Your paper should have a clear point of view and should be wellorganised. x Feel free to take notes on the provided scratch paper. x Return all four materials to your instructor (readings, scratch paper, your essay, directions).

Appendix B: Sample Coded Paper (paper code:5_B_US_C) Jones Decline in the English Language

Learning the English language as a first language has been decreasing over the past years. When I was growing up, English was my first and only language I was taught. I was born into a country which main language is English where other countries have different main languages. The whole “English in Decline as a First Language, Study Says” by Stefan Lovgren explains how and why the English language is at a decline.

English is at a decline for the first language for many years. The main reason for this decline is due to demographics.

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According to Lovgren, “The world’s population rose rapidly during the 20th century but the major increase took place in less developed countries” (Lovgren Para. 2). Since the major increase of population took place in less developed countries, the people living there don’t know the language of English therefore teaching the children a different language. English needs to be taught to all countries so that people worldwide will be able to speak English well. In the article “English in Decline as a First Language, Study Says” Lovgren stated “In the mid-20th century nearly 9 percent of the world’s population grew up speaking English as their first language. In 2050, the number is expected to be 5 percent” (Lovgren, Para. 3). The English language is continuing to decrease and is going to decrease over the next decades.

Stefan Lovgren does give some hope that English is going to be the main language once again. According to Lovgren, “More than 90 percent of journal literature in some scientific fields is printed in English” (Lovgren Page 2). This stat means that people are still using the English language to write their journals. These writers could be at different countries which would mean that people are being taught the English language. The article “The Triumph of English as the World’s Language” by Gwynne Dyer discusses about how the English language is the main language in other countries. According to Dyer, “The choice has fallen on English not because it is more beautiful or more expressive but just because it is already more widespread than any of the other potential candidates” (Dyer Page 1). That statement means that English is one the most widespread languages around the world.

English is declining as being the first language for people over the past decades and is going to continue to decline in the upcoming decades.

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Due to demographics and population growth in less developed countries. English is becoming less common. There is some hope though that English will rise again and become people’s first language.

Works Cited Dyer, Gwynne. “The Triumph of English as the World’s Language” Bangor Daily News. Ed. 27 December 2012. 1–2. Print Lovgren, Stefan. “English in Decline as a First Language, Study Says” National Geographic News. Ed. 28 October 2010. 1–2 Print.

CHAPTER TEN GROUP DYNAMICS AND LEARNER PERSONALITY AS FACTORS INFLUENCING FOREIGN LANGUAGE LEARNING SUCCESS ANNA KOZIOŁ

1. Introduction In recent years, there has been a significant change in the approach to foreign language learning and teaching, especially regarding English, which has become an international language. As a result, new approaches and trends have emerged aimed at teaching more effectively. Effective communication has become a priority for every foreign language learner. However, as Han (2011) claims, in the foreign language classroom, communication discussions and speaking activities (frequently used in order to shorten the teacher’s speaking time) at some levels of language competence appear monotonous and inefficient. The communicative approach, developed as a response to more traditional and time-consuming methods such as grammar translation, has both supporters and opponents. The trend of progressivism in education has influenced foreign-language methodology and the emphasis has been on active student involvement in production. Methodologists have shifted the weight from theoretical form awareness to practical language usage. Successful communication, the ability to pass on information and be understood, has become the aim, even if the output is not always grammatically correct. In consequence, a range of communicative situations has been distinguished, with which certain sets of reactions/language functions are connected. The learner has subsequently been exposed to certain communicative situations that may happen in everyday life, and which they must react to or cope with. Instead of traditional lessons, units that combine communication situations and language skills have appeared (integrating functions and notions) (Wilkins 1976). Passing on information has become the lesson’s core. This

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way, dealing with everyday situations, social nuances, and issues has become common practice in the language classroom. Communication has become an aim and a tool at the same time. Content has become more important than form itself, and communication skills are placed higher in the hierarchy than accuracy (Lech-Piwowarczyk 2008). The opponents of the communicative approach state that it underestimates the importance of traditional linguistic skills which affect language accuracy, such as pronunciation, intonation, language structures, and sophisticated (more advanced) vocabulary (Fiksa 2007). However, communicative competence constitutes not only phrases or structure awareness/knowledge, because it is also connected to situation adjustment, using appropriate style, etc. depending on the speaker and relations with them (Spitzberg and Cupach 1984). Initiated in the 1960s, communicative competence is divided into four components by Canale and Swain (1980). Two components relate to language as a system, while the rest focus on the functional dimension of communication. These components are: x The grammatical component: the ability to use lexical structures and grammar rules x The discourse component: the ability to connect sentences in a meaningful way to create a coherent utterance x The sociolinguistic component: the knowledge of socio-cultural rules adjusted to various social situations x The strategic component: appropriate usage of communication strategies, e.g. to make repairs or cope with imperfect knowledge The model presented above indicates whether a person communicates effectively and appropriately in a particular situation. Communicative competence comprises verbal and non-verbal messages sent and, in consequence, combining those types of communication means effective communication. However, as far as Polish students are concerned, spoken communicative competence is not enough to pass exams. The structure of Polish national exams comprises, firstly, three other language skills together with grammar and vocabulary components. In contrast, an oral examination is a part of the Matura exam (the last exam before pupils go to university when they are 18–19 years old). During earlier exams, the following skills are tested: reading, listening, writing, grammar, and vocabulary. Hence, a compromise between communication and the ability to react in everyday situations (with the emphasis on being understood),

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with accuracy left to one side, and knowledge of grammar must be reached. Books and materials used during lessons comprise authentic materials (frequently adjusted to the level of learners), such as brochures, maps, songs, advertisements, and timetables (Smuk 2013). They refer to various areas of life and science, integrate the elements of linguistic and general knowledge, and train students in the four language skills. Teachers frequently emphasise the importance of the classroom and school environment and their relation to school success. Relationships among students and their individual learning styles require constant changes and adjustments of the activities and tasks in order to make learning profitable and enjoyable. Additionally, every classroom has its individual climate and atmosphere, which affects quality and the manner of teaching and learning. Moreover, Anderson (1970) has also stated that the importance of the social structure of the group, the feeling of belonging to cliques and friendship groups, cannot be underestimated as far as the efficiency of teaching all subjects is concerned. However, this influence is dependent on sex, level of proficiency in certain subjects, and the learner’s personality. When pupils cooperate with peers who they have good relations with, they do not feel stressed. In consequence, corrections or improvements made by them are respected and not perceived as being harsh (Rogoff 1990; MacIntyre, Noels, and Clément 1997). Furthermore, learners who have good relationships with one another and know their strong and weak points feel safer and more secure in their company (Ladd and Emerson 1984). Current studies indicate that popularity in the group and good relationships with classmates/groupmates are closely related to better comprehension and acquisition in general. In contrast, lack of acceptance, rejection, and negative relationships with peers and the group interfere with educational success and negatively influence student motivation and educational expectations, etc. (Anderson and Walberg 1968; Heslin and Dunphy 1964; Cohen 1977; Baumeister, Twenge, and Nuss 2002). In the study conducted by Baumeister, Twenge, and Nuss (2002), social belonging and the feeling that there are friends and people to rely on enhanced the results in written tests. The participants who were informed (at random, after completing a personality inventory) that they were in danger of having a lonely future, without friends, as well as participants who were informed that they were accident- and misfortune-prone, had meaningfully lower scores. Moreover, the differences were most visible in the recall test, which was described as particularly difficult and demanding, where the group predicted a future alone was the weakest.

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Bearing these results in mind, relationships with other people and the feeling that there are people who can be relied on are influential factors in the case of educational success. Research into group dynamics in the language classroom, specific because of the role of the communication, needs to be conducted as there are very few publications concerning this topic in applied linguistics. A review of the literature shows that a number of publications are out of date, as teaching methodology and teaching materials have changed, as have the atmosphere of the classroom and relations between students and teachers (especially in terms of social distance). Current foreign language curricula focus on the language itself and do not consider relations in the group, where communication and conversation are the most basic learning methods (Dörnyei and Murphey 2003). It is also worth remembering that communication, the effectiveness of which is dependent upon relations among learners, in the foreign-language classroom is a tool and an aim at the same time. Following this line of reasoning, it appears that group dynamics is an important aspect that influences educational success; therefore, language teachers should be especially aware of group relations among its members. The following article concentrates on student self-perception and the peer evaluation of character traits, and their effect on language and academic success. Also, the question of the learner’s popularity in the classroom, assumed to be connected with foreign-language success, is discussed.

2. Personality Personality is considered a very important category of individual difference, since the individual is often judged depending on their personality. “Personality refers to those relatively stable and enduring aspects of the individual which distinguish him from other people, and at the same time, form the basis of our predictions concerning his future behaviour” (Wright et al. 1970, 511). Personality is also regarded as referring to stable internal factors or traits that underlie consistent individual differences in behaviour. Personality can be also defined on three levels: educational, psychological, and social. At the level of teaching and learning, researchers are searching for those aspects of personality that affect the learning process. Personality is usually inferred from behaviour, as judgments and opinions about people are based on their behaviour and reactions. Eysenck (1994) has distinguished three main approaches to

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interpreting personality and behaviour situationism, interactionism, and constructivism: situationism emphasises the role of the situation rather than intrinsic personality in determining behaviour; interactionism, which is a social theory, says that, as human beings, people do not exist except within society; constructivism claims that one’s behaviour and personality are modelled to some extent by the views that they have (Al Shalabi and Salmani Nodoushan 2009). According to the constructivist model, as Hampson (1997) states, personality consists of three elements: actor, observer, and self-observer. The actor component is usually associated with the psychological context of the personality. The self-observer component is connected with selfawareness and self-control. The observer component relates to the way the actor is perceived by other people. Such a model may be used to examine the way teachers perceive their students and deal with them. It is also applicable to the way learners perceive their teachers. Al Shalabi and Salmani Nodoushan (2009) have explained that, “a teacher’s capacity to respond to different kinds of behavior and characters in the classroom may, thus, benefit from a wider theoretical knowledge of different types of personality. It is worth mentioning that teachers, learners and peers are all important observers in the educational process” (15). Hampson (1997) claims that, “the actor’s behavior is used by the observer to construct an impression of the actors’ personality, and this is done by adding social significance and meaning to observed behavior” (74). From a psychological point of view, these three components interrelate. Hampson (Ibid.) explains that, “The actor’s behavior is interpreted in a certain way by the observer who then responds accordingly.” In consequence, the actor’s subsequent behaviour is influenced by the observer’s response. The ways in which people manipulate other people’s impressions constitute an important factor in a human’s effective performance as a social being (Al Shalabi and Salmani Nodoushan 2009). Investigation of the learner’s personality, approached from different perspectives, produces various contradictory conclusions. Some scientists claim that successful language learners are perceived as meticulous, mature, responsible, self-confident, independent, shy, and introverted by their teachers. Unsuccessful students are described as shy, timid, introverted, and nervous. As can be observed, some of the character features are associated with both types of learners (Gardner 1985). Due to the discrepancies mentioned, the question arises as to whether specific personality attributes are related to second-language achievement. Komorowska (2002) states that people characterised by features such as

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conscientiousness, persistence, determination, or creativity are successful students, and the probability of mastering a foreign language is high in their case. An important factor related to personality suggested by researchers is self-evaluation, or the way a person perceives themselves. When one’s self-evaluation level is high and a learner is satisfied with themselves, foreign-language acquisition is easier as far as communicative competence is concerned. The next personality feature pointed to by Komorowska (2002) is, as she calls it, the “learner’s readiness to speak,” which relates to the ability to engage in conversation, establish relations, express opinions, and show a speaking-orientation, not to mention a need to communicate. The higher the learner’s readiness to speak in the mother tongue, the higher their communicative competence. This interdependence is also transferred to foreign languages. The better the learner communicates in the matter of form and content in the mother tongue, the easier communication is for them in the foreign language. A similarity was also found at the vocabulary range level, as the wider it is in the first language, the better it is in language two. To sum up, personality as an individual difference is regarded as an important factor when foreign-language learning is considered. Scientists agree that its role is meaningful; however, some inconsistency may be observed concerning findings of personality research in literature.

2.1 The Importance of Group Dynamics Group dynamics has become a sub-discipline within the social sciences that emphasises the importance of studying groups due to the following facts: x groups have been found to be distinct because individuals in groups behave differently from the way they do outside the group x they are a powerful social unit, which is bigger than the sum of its parts x although groups differ on various bases, they also share some common features What is more, groups are an interesting phenomenon as they have greater resources than any single member alone (Dörnyei and Murphey 2003). Group dynamics is also relevant to educational contexts because the class group can have a significant impact on the effectiveness of learning:

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x When the relationships within the group are positive the classroom becomes a pleasant and inspiring environment, and the time spent there is a source of satisfaction and success for teachers and students, who constantly motivate one another x When the relationships in the group happen to be negative, conflicts emerge and there is a lack of cooperation from the students, and teaching such a group frequently fails (Dörnyei and Murphey 2003) Teachers often suggest that classes have a distinctive personality or atmosphere that influences the learning efficiency of their members. This atmosphere is affected by interpersonal relationships among pupils, relationships between pupils and their teacher, relationships between pupils, and both the subject studied and the method of learning, as well as pupils’ perceptions of the structural characteristics of the class (Tudor 2001). Satisfaction with the group would seem to relate positively to individual productivity (Heslin and Dunphy, 1964); classes considered to have more pleasant environments should promote learning, and the extent of disorganisation in the group can be expected to impair gains in subjectmatter knowledge (Anderson and Walberg 1968). Researchers such as Anderson (1970) suggest that the characteristics of class groups have significant effects on learning. They also claim that there are great differences in these effects for students differing in ability, while classroom intimacy is positively related to learning. Stevick (1980) stated that, in the case of foreign language learning, “success depends less on materials, techniques, and linguistic analyses, and more on what goes on inside and between the people in the classroom” (4). When groups are formed the key factors influencing relationships are: first impressions, physical attractiveness, and similar hobbies or interests, which are gradually replaced by acceptance. According to Rogers (1983), acceptance is non-evaluative and simply an unconditional positive regard. This means that a person is liked and accepted the way they are, with no need to change or adjust to the others. Taking into account the participants of this study, this factor must be vital, as they have known one another for many years and reached an acceptance level that binds them together. Looking at this question from a broader perspective, positive group dynamics creates a sense of belonging. Researchers interested in students’ sense of belonging have examined the perception of subjective membership and acceptance in the classroom. At various grade levels,

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students’ sense of belonging has been consistently associated with a variety of positive academic and affective variables (Sanchez, Colon, and Esparza 2005). In addition, belonging is associated with increased positive schoolrelated affect, empathy, self-esteem, and higher levels of general optimism (Anderman 2002; Battistich et al. 1995). In the study presented below, the learners who are perceived as responsible, trustworthy, cooperative, and non-aggressive listeners are the most popular in their groups. Additionally, a relationship between personality and foreign language results is detailed.

3. The Study An empirical study on group dynamics, learner personality, and foreign language achievements is presented in the following section.

3.1. Aim and Hypothesis The empirical study aims to determine whether personality and popularity in the classroom hierarchy influence language achievement in a group of third-grade, lower secondary school students. For this study, the hypothesis states that the student’s personality influences their popularity in the classroom environment, which in consequence has an impact on language achievement. That is, learners who are popular, liked, and respected by the group achieve success as far as foreign languages are concerned.

3.2. Method The following part presents how the study was conducted. It describes in detail the participants, the instruments applied to investigate social relationships, and the learners’ personalities and procedures used to achieve this goal. 3.2.1. Participants The participants were 48 third-grade students (26 males, 22 females) attending two lower secondary schools in two villages (located in the southwest of Poland, about 50 km from the provincial capital). There were 22 students from one village and 26 students from another, all aged 16. As far as their language achievements are concerned, they were a mixed

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ability group. The mean of the final grades in English was 3.62. There were 26 pupils whose grades were higher than the mean. The participants’ language achievements measured by English language grade at final certificate and English Exam basic and extended levels are presented in Table 10.1 below. Table 10.1. Participants’ language achievements, final grade, English exam (basic and extended levels) English grade

English exam basic level

English exam extended level

Mean

3.62

68%

47%

Number of students above the mean

26 (54%)

25 (52%)

23 (47%)

3.2.2. Instruments and Procedures The instruments used to verify the hypothesis were: x a personality questionnaire comprising 15 personality features, which the participants were supposed to rate from 1 (if the adjective did not apply to their personality) to 5 (if the adjective described their personality) for themselves and, later, their classmates x a sociometric tool that investigated social relationships in the classrooms: the learners marked 1, 2, or 3 next to every classmate’s name, depending on their attitude towards them; 1 meant “I do not like (this person),” 2 “I do not mind (this person),” 3 “I like (this person).” Additionally, the learners’ language exam (Egzamin gimnazjalny) results (basic and extended levels) were gathered together with their final marks in English given by the teacher. The exam is a national, written test, the same for all pupils in Poland, and checks three language skills (excluding speaking), grammar and vocabulary knowledge, language reactions, and functions. The basic exam covers A2 level, the extended exam covers B1 level. It is taken by students in lower secondary schools, year 3, in April.

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The foreign language to take at the exam is chosen by learners themselves; however, English is the most popular for the majority of third graders. The study was conducted in June 2012, one week before the summer holiday. It was the participants’ last week at their schools before graduation. They had spent nine years in their schools and been taught by the same teachers during this time.

3.3. Results and Discussion In order to gather some information about the students, the types of personalities they had, and the way they perceived themselves, participants completed a personality questionnaire. They rated themselves on a scale of 1–5 depending on whether the feature described them or did not. Afterwards, the same questionnaire was given to the participants again, and they were asked to rate their classmates on the same scale as far as certain features were concerned in order to compare the results of selfperception and peer evaluation. The list comprised 15 adjectives, which resulted in data on 30 items due to the fact that there were self-evaluation results and peer evaluation results (the median of all the results gathered from peers was used as a value taken into calculations as the peer evaluation value). Afterwards, Principal Component Analysis was done (KMO value of 0.603), and the self-evaluation features were grouped and divided into five factors that did not correlate with one another; however, correlations existed within the components of the factor. The following factors were called by the author: (1) SE Factor 1: the joyful interlocutor (a person described as talkative, cooperative, outgoing, and enterprising) (2) SE Factor 2: the trustworthy listener (a person described as trustworthy, a good listener, and uncritical) (3) SE Factor 3: the curious optimist (a person described as curious, responsible, and cheerful) (4) SE Factor 4: the brave leader (a person described as brave, aggressive, and dominant) (5) SE Factor 5: the self-confident creator (a person described as selfconfident and creative) A similar analysis was done for the peer evaluation data (KMO value of 0.829) and the peer evaluation features were grouped and divided into three factors:

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(1) Factor 1: the friendly dominator (a person described as brave, outgoing, self-confident, dominant, talkative, creative, enterprising, and optimistic) (2) Factor 2: the cautious listener (a person described as a good listener, responsible, unaggressive, trustworthy, and cooperative) (3) Factor 3: the curious criticiser (a person described as curious and critical) Self-esteem factors 2 (trustworthy listener) and 3 (curious optimist) indicate a negative tendency as far as the English language grade on the final certificate is concerned. However, while taking into consideration peer evaluation a positive correlation is observed in the case of the first (friendly dominator) and the second (cautious listener) factors, and both the English language grade on the final certificate as well as the final exam extended level. Those correlations (correlation value given by arrows) are illustrated in Fig. 10.1 below (probability level 0.00, Chi-square 20792.73). Fig. 10.1. Personality and language achievement

-0.20

SE factor 2: trustworthy listener SE factor 3: curious optimist

factor 1: friendly dominator

English grade

-0.31

0.11

0.32

English exam extended level

0.65 factor 2: cautious listener

0.50

0.86

As mentioned, the participants made up a mixed ability group. There were talented and successful students together with learners who struggled at school. The mean score on the basic level exam was 68%, and 25 students obtained this or a higher result, while 23 students scored lower. The

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standard deviation for this part of the exam was 20.94. The extended level mean was 47% and 23 students obtained this or a higher result. The standard deviation for this part of the exam was 27.49, which confirms that group was mixed ability. The descriptive statistics for both exam levels and grades are presented in Table 10.2 below. Table 10.2. Descriptive statistics for English results

Grade on a certificate Exam basic level % Exam extended level %

Minimum

Maximum

Mean

2

6

3.62

Standard deviation 1.14

28

100

67.98

20.94

0

98

46.75

27.49

The subsequent component of the study was socio-metric research investigating social relationships in the classrooms. Pupils were asked to express their attitudes towards peers in numbers: 1 (negative), 2 (neutral), 3 (positive). The participants’ group was a mixture of personalities and characters with different popularity statuses: there were popular and accepted students, neutral students, as well as unaccepted students (these comprised the smallest group, where students who were reserved, antisocial, or had certified mental conditions were found). In the investigated group, pupils did not come into serious conflict; they generally had good relationships and accepted one another. If they were not fond of their classmates they kept contact and relations with them to the minimum, or their relationships turned neutral. Figure 10.2 below (probability level = 0.00, Chi-square = 29595.766) illustrates the influence of social position in the group on language success. The study proved that popularity in the classroom environment has an impact on language success. Students with the largest number of positive choices (who received the most threes, which means that they were the most popular) achieved high final grades on the certificate, as well as on the English language exam extended level. There is also a negative correlation between negative choices (the number of ones that students who are not liked received, which means low popularity) and grades or exam results.

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Fig. 10.2. Popularity and language achievement 0.41

number of positive choices

0.39

English grade

0.17

number of neutral choices

number of negative choices

-0.30

-0.19

English exam extended level

-0.46

Such findings support the findings of psychological studies where social exclusion caused a significant drop in performance. Baumeister, Twenge, and Nuss (2002) studied participants who, having completed the personality test, were given feedback that forecasted a lonely future. Such information led to significant impairments in a difficult recall test. There was no corresponding impairment of performance in an easy test. Social exclusion impaired their ability to retrieve information from memory and use it to answer difficult, thought-provoking questions. In this study, the differences were not visible in the English exam basic level, which is regarded as suitable for students who have learnt English for three years (the participants in the study had learnt English for nine years). The differences appeared in the extended level exam, which is more demanding, involves combining and using already known information and deduction, and is generally more advanced. To sum up, after the detailed analysis of the results some conclusions may be drawn. Overall, it appeared that people described as cautious listeners (characterised by being a good listener, being responsible, unaggressive, trustworthy, and cooperative) are those who are the most popular in the class, and those students achieve the highest results on the final foreign language exams and are the most successful (probability level of the model = 0.00, Chi-square = 30474.646). In other words, people who

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are calm, sensitive, friendly, and ready to help and cooperate are the most popular and accepted. Following this line of reasoning, those features have an impact on the high results in the final language exam extended level. Popularity in the classroom correlated positively with language success as far as the written exam was concerned. This interrelation is depicted in Fig. 10.3 below. Fig. 10.3. Graphical presentation of the research results

responsible good

factor 2: cautious listener

trustworthy

not aggressive

number of positive choices

English exam extended level

cooperative

4. Conclusions and Implications for the FL Classroom This study confirms the hypothesis that the student’s personality influences their popularity in the classroom environment, which positively correlates with language success, especially in demanding and difficult tasks. This was demonstrated in both the basic and extended levels of the English language final exam. There were no significant differences in the case of the basic level exam, which is easy (A2 level) for learners who have studied English for nine years. However, differences appeared in the extended level. This finding is meaningful in respect of the foreign language classroom. Teaching and learning can, and should be, a joyful experience for both teacher and learner. It is very hard to work or learn with people who do not accept one another, are in conflict, or reject cooperation. Moreover, whereas in the days of rote learning and teacher-dominated classrooms the relationship between teacher and group was paramount and the question of

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interrelationships within the group was not vital, in present-day EFL classrooms, where pair work and group work have become the norm, relationships within the group become more important. It is fundamental to the success of these activities to have support and cooperation from the group and a harmonious relationship among its members. Where students act as a pool of resources for each other, refusal to cooperate means that a vital element of the learning process is missing. A group whose members are not on speaking terms will not learn much in a student-centred classroom. A positive group atmosphere can have a beneficial effect on the morale, motivation, and self-image of its members, and thus significantly affect their learning by developing a positive attitude to the language being learned, the learning process, and themselves as learners. What is more, it is important for the teacher to take learners’ individual differences into consideration. The more a teacher knows about these differences, the better they can show understanding to learners with different needs and goals. Various personality types incorporate various learning styles. The teacher can better accommodate learners’ preferred styles which correspond with their characteristics. Bearing in mind that the most popular students are those described as cautious listeners, teachers can adjust and vary their teaching techniques to learners’ characteristics, as well as shape students’ personalities by the positive reinforcement of certain behaviours. Additionally, supporting positive group dynamics and appropriate friendly relationships in the language classroom results in successful learning outcomes. The opposite is also true: students who are rejected and not accepted are prone to fail. Group dynamics and individual learner differences, together with the feeling of belonging, are factors that should be considered in language teaching. In closing, the purpose of this study was achieved. The findings provide information about the importance of good relations among group members and the connection to foreign language success. Ultimately, these findings are worth considering and applying in the foreign language classroom.

References Al Shalabi, M. Fadi., and M. A. Salmani Nodoushan. 2009. “Personality Theory and TESOL.” Journal on Educational Psychology 31: 14–22. Anderman, E. M. 2002. “School Effects on Psychological Outcomes During Adolescence.” Journal of Educational Psychology 94: 795– 809.

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Anderson, G. J., and H. J. Walberg. 1968. “Classroom Climate and Individual Learning.” Journal of Educational Psychology 596: 414–19. Anderson, G. J. 1970. “Effects of Classroom Social Climate on Individual Learning.” American Educational Research Journal 7 (2): 135–52. Battistich, V., D. Solomon, D. Kim, M. Watson, and E. Schaps. 1995. “Schools as Communities, Poverty Levels of Student Populations, and Students' Attitudes, Motives, and Performance: A Multilevel Analysis.” American Educational Research Journal 32: 627–58. Baumeister, R., J. Twenge, and Ch. Nuss. 2002. “Effects of Social Exclusion on Cognitive Processes: Anticipated Aloneness Reduces Intelligent Thought.” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 834: 817–27. Canale, M., and M. Swain. 1980. “Theoretical Bases of Communicative Approaches to Second Language Teaching and Testing.” Applied Linguistics 1: 1–47. Cohen, J. M. 1977. “Sources of Peer Group Homogeneity.” Sociology of Education 50: 227–41. Dörnyei, Z., and T. Murphey. 2003. Group Dynamics in the Language Classroom. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Eysenck, M. W. 1994. Individual Differences: Normal and Abnormal. Hove: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Fiksa, E. 2007. “Komunikacja to nie wszystko.” Języki Obce w Szkole 186–7. Warszawa: CODN. Gardner, R. C. 1985. Social Psychology and Second Language Learning: The Role of Attitudes and Motivation. London: Edward Arnold. Hampson, S. E. 1997. “The Social Psychology of Personality.” In Processes in Individual Differences, edited by C. Cooper, and V. Varma. Essex: Longman. Han, B. 2011. Evolution of Group Dynamics in the Classroom in the Light of Communicative Language Teaching. http://www.upm.ro/facultati_departamente/stiinte_litere/conferinte/situ l_integrare_europeana/Lucrari/Han.pdf. Heslin, R., and D. Dunphy. 1964. “Three Dimensions of Member Satisfaction in Small Groups.” Human Relations 17: 99–112. Komorowska, H. 2002. Metodyka nauczania języków obcych. Warszawa: Fraszka Edukacyjna. Ladd, G. W., and E. S. Emerson. 1984. “Shared Knowledge in Children's Friendships.” Developmental Psychology 20: 932–40.

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Lech–Piwowarczyk, E. 2008. “Co komunikuje matura ustna z języka angielskiego.” In Konteksty Komunikowania, edited by A. Szyguła. Kielce: WSU. MacIntyre, P. D., K. A. Noels, and R. Clément. 1997. “Biases in Selfratings of Second Language Proficiency: The Role of Language Anxiety.” Language Learning 47 (2): 265–87. Rogers , C. 1983. Freedom to Learn for the 80’s. Columbus, OH: Merrill. Rogoff, B. 1990. Apprenticeship in Thinking. New York: Oxford University Press. Sanchez, B., Y. Colon, and P. Esparza. 2005. “The Role of Sense of School Belonging and Gender in the Academic Achievement of Latino Adolescents.” Journal of Youth and Adolescence 34: 619–28. Smuk, M. 2013. “Definicje i redefinicje materiałow autentycznych— perspektywa podmiotowa ucznia.” Języki Obce w Szkole 77–81. Warszawa: CODN. Stevick, E. W. 1980. Teaching Languages: A Way and Ways. Rowley, MA: Newbury House Publishers, Inc. Spitzberg, B. H., and W. R. Cupach. 1984. Interpersonal Communication Competence. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage. Tudor, I. 2001. The Dynamics of the Language Classroom. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Wilkins, D. 1976. Notional Syllasbuses. London: Oxford University Press. Wright, D. S., A. Taylor, D. R. Davies, W. Slukin, S. G. M. Lee, and J. T. Reason. 1970. Introducing Psychology: An Experimental Approach. London: Penguin.

CHAPTER ELEVEN SELECTED ASPECTS OF FUTURE TEACHERS’ IDENTITIES AND ATTRIBUTIONS ANNA MICHOŃSKA-STADNIK

1. Identity To understand the process of developing learner and teacher autonomy we need to consider its close connection to motivation and identity. Motivation is necessary for an individual to accept the independent way of learning (Benson 2007; Gao and Lamb 2011), and it has to be understood as a dynamic process (Dörnyei and Ushioda 2009) which is constantly influenced by individuals who build their personal meaning, intentionality, and ability to reflect (Ushioda 201, 13). On the other hand, developed identity is understood as an aim and a product of autonomous learning. As can be seen, the three constructs of motivation, autonomy, and identity are interconnected. Bonny Norton (2000, 5) proposes the following definition of identity: It establishes in what way individuals understand their relations with the world, in what way these relations are shaped in time and space, and how individuals understand their future possibilities. Keith Richards (2006) distinguishes three types of identity: x Situational, which results from the fact that people remain in socially determined roles, e.g. teacher-student, doctor-patient x Discursive, i.e. which roles people assume in interactions (initiating, responding, listening) x Transportable, when an individual signals that they simultaneously represent several different identities (a teacher informs students that she is also the mother of two children)

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The last group is especially important in human relations because it shows that people possess multiple identities. Recent research assumes the existence of the complex character of identity (e.g. Larsen-Freeman 2010). Identities are the result of the interplay of social situations in which individuals take part and their inner selves (Ciepiela 2013). Awareness of individual identity leads to the development of autonomy. Ushioda (2011, 17) claims that in such contexts autonomy means that people “speak as themselves.” Identity, similarly to motivation, is considered to be a dynamic process. Identities change and develop together with an individual; they depend on age, personality, social status, and the environment (Ciepiela 2013). Additionally, identities are constructed, according to Bamberg and Georgakopoulou (2008), in interactions with other people, in particular when the participants tell each other their life stories. The study, whose results are summarised in this paper, concentrates on four selected elements of future teachers’ identities: their place of living, their attitude to learning English, their attitude to the process of teaching this language, and their life priorities. In this way it may be possible to gain some insight into the young people’s chances of becoming genuine professionals. As mentioned before, identities are dynamic. We may thus presume that in the course of their professional training, students will be able to reflect on their attitudes, beliefs, and opinions. Apart from the mentioned elements, it may well be equally interesting to focus on future teachers’ attribution style, which in itself can also shape their identities.

2. Attributions In psychological research, attribution is closely related to locus of control, which refers to an individual’s feeling of control over life events. The construct was described for the first time by Julian Rotter (1954), and it may have an either internal or external character. People with an internal locus of control believe that they have control over everything that happens to them in their life. Consequently, they feel responsible for all occurring events. Conversely, people with an external locus of control believe that whatever happens to them has been caused by external forces, (e.g. fate, God, luck, other people) and they have no influence over life events. Both internalisers and externalisers appear to possess advantages and disadvantages. Individuals with an internal locus seem to be more selfconfident, realistic, and responsible. They are generally more successful in their learning and at work. On the other hand, they have a tendency to blame themselves for life events which may be beyond their control, for

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instance illnesses and accidents, which arise from external factors. People with an external locus of control seem to be scared of life, always expect the worst to happen, but are also more peaceful and believe that there is hardly any point in trying as everything is pre-determined. Attribution theory and the locus of control theory are closely connected. Attribution style defines an individual’s perception of the reasons for their successes and failures. Contemporary attribution theory was formulated by Fritz Heider (1958), and developed by Bernard Weiner et al. (1971) as the Attributional Theory of Motivation and Emotion, which will be discussed below. The contemporary attribution theory has been recently employed by studies in social psychology (Försterling 2005, 20). It revolves around the notion of naive psychology, referred to as people’s tendency to use their common sense to interpret the world around them (Eiser 1983, 99). People use attributions to simplify explanations of events and the behaviour of other individuals. It seems that without these naive interpretations the world would be too complex to make sense. As mentioned above, in contemporary research it is possible to make a distinction between “attribution” theories and “attributional” theories (Kelly and Michela 1980, in Biedroń 2008, 56). The former concerns people’s search for causes of events, the latter the consequences of assigned attributions for different aspects of human life, e.g. the motivation to act or emotions. Weiner’s attributional theory of motivation and emotion (Weiner 1985) contends that there are three groups of factors that support people’s explanations of the causality of life situations: x Locus of causality (internal–external) x Stability (stable–unstable) x Controllability (controllable–uncontrollable) The first distinction is parallel to the locus of control discussed above; the second is based on the assumption that some factors which influence an individual’s successes or failures are considered to be stable (e.g. ability or aptitude) and some fluctuate (e.g. effort or chance). The last dimension, controllability, makes a distinction between factors which an individual is able to control (e.g. effort, laziness) or unable to control (e.g. mood, fatigue). Consequently, Weiner (1986, 46) proposed a scheme for “the perceived causes of achievement” :

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Table 11.1. Attributional factors as proposed by Weiner (1986)

Stable Unstable

Internal Ability Effort

External Task difficulty Luck

Table 11.1 above represents the distribution of attributional dimensions which has become widely recognised in professional literature (Biedroń 2008, 79). It is natural for people to choose attributions favourable to them when they try to explain their personal successes and failures. In formal classroom environments, failure in tests is usually attributed to external factors, i.e. task difficulty or absence of luck. On the other hand, success occurs due to an individual’s abilities, talents, and hard work, which are all internal factors. Williams and Burden (1997) report on gender differences in attribution style. Women are said to explain their success by means of the expended effort, whereas men by means of their abilities. In other words, women have a tendency to say that they succeeded because they worked hard, men claim that they succeeded due to their talents and intelligence. According to the same researchers, there also appear attributional differences between individuals from rural and urban areas. Students from small towns and villages tend to attribute their success more frequently to hard work or luck, whereas those from big cities to their abilities. The author of this paper strongly believes that attribution style can contribute to an individual’s identity because it defines some aspects of people’s beliefs and attitudes.

3. The Study 3.1. The Participants and Background Information The study was carried out in a fairly big group of students (N=73) who were future teachers of English from two Polish centres of tertiary education: the University of Wrocław, and the Karkonosze State School in Jelenia Góra. Wrocław is a large city in the southwest of Poland in the province of Lower Silesia. Jelenia Góra is a smaller town of about onehundred thousand inhabitants, situated in the same district, but more to the west in the mountainous area. The distance between the two towns is about 120 kilometres, and Jelenia Góra, with its surrounding little towns and villages, is treated as a weekend resort for the inhabitants of Wrocław.

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This information is important from the sociological point of view. For various reasons, most high school graduates from Jelenia Góra decide to study at the University of Wrocław. They may be lured by the atmosphere of a large student community and better employment opportunities after graduation. Still, there are many students who cannot afford to live in a big city and decide to study closer to home, and thus Jelenia Góra becomes their natural choice. Both the university and the state school offer English teacher training programs. However, there are three essential differences between them. First, in the state school the teacher training program is obligatory for the students in the English department. At the university, however, they can choose between teacher training and translation studies. Hence, there are fewer university students in the research group (N=28) because they constitute about half of the total number of students of year three at BA level. There are 45 state-school students in the research group—the whole of year three—as they all follow the obligatory teacher training program. Second, the University department of English studies also offers MA and PhD programs, whereas student education at the state school stops at BA level (three years). It often happens that the stateschool students, after graduation, enrol in MA courses at the university. Three, the BA level programs at both the university and the state school, according to the ministry regulation, prepare teachers for primary education only. However, the university also offers training for secondary and adult teaching while the state school does not. Most students in both schools are women. Year three students were chosen to take part in the research because they all completed some of the teacher preparation courses, i.e.: introduction to psychology, developmental psychology, pedagogy, foreign language teaching methodology, theories of language acquisition, and teaching practice. The aim of the study was to look at some aspects of their identities and attributions, especially those referring to their opinions on language learning and teaching, and their life priorities. It may be assumed that future teachers’ beliefs and attitudes to various aspects of their profession will have an impact on their teaching practice and thus influence their future students, regardless of their age. It may be also interesting to compare the identities and attributions of students from two different educational and social backgrounds, as well as find out whether any gender differences can be observed, to verify Williams and Burden’s (1997) claims mentioned above.

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3.2. Procedures and Questionnaires The study took place in November 2013. Students were asked to complete two questionnaires. The first was concerned with opinions and beliefs about language learning and teaching, and consisted of five statements. Each statement offered a number of possible options and students were asked to choose the one that best expressed their opinion. The questionnaire also gave essential information about students’ gender and residence of living, which was necessary for later comparison. Even though this part of the survey was of a qualitative character, a tentative hypothesis was put forward: there will be gender differences in student attitudes to language learning and teaching, as well as those determined by their domicile of living. The second questionnaire, based on Wong and Sproule (1984) and modified for the purpose of the present study, referred to student attributions. It also consisted of five statements, each containing four options which students were asked to evaluate on the Likert scale—1: “I completely disagree”; 2: “I disagree”; 3 “I don’t know”; 4 “I agree”; 5 “I totally agree.” It was hypothesised again that some gender and social differences in attributions would be observed. Both questionnaires can be found below. Questionnaire 1: Opinions, Beliefs, Identity Please underline your gender and place of residence. In statements from 1 to 5 choose one option you most strongly agree with. Male/female Place of residence: village, small town, medium town, city (1) I understand the process of learning English as: (a) memorising what the teacher tells us (b) learning only the information given by the teacher (c) a boring and frustrating process—I’d rather spend time doing something else (d) looking for information on a given topic on the internet (e) autonomous searching for information in different sources (f) developing the ability to solve language problems on my own (g) a lifelong process because English changes constantly (h) learning how to use English in different situations

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(2) I understand the process of teaching English as: (a) transferring knowledge about the language (b) teaching many new vocabulary items (c) teaching how to communicate in English (d) teaching how to understand and produce written texts in English (e) preparing learners for independent learning about the language (f) preparing learners for the autonomous development of language skills (g) teaching only those language elements which learners really need (3) I would most like about the teaching profession: (a) bigger salary (b) having more homogeneous groups of learners (c) the necessity of constant improvement in language skills and background knowledge (d) when learners do what I ask them to do (e) when learners try to develop their language independently of the coursebook (f) the possibility of speaking English for several hours every day (g) the possibility of transferring information about English and American culture (4) I would most dislike about the teaching profession: (a) learners who know English better than me (b) more experienced teachers who always criticise younger colleagues (c) lots of paper work (d) naughty and unruly children with whom I wouldn’t know what to do (e) speaking English for several hours everyday (f) the necessity of constant improvement in language skills (g) the necessity of constant updating of my background knowledge (h) low salary (i) the necessity of constant professional development (5) In life the most important for me is: (a) to have a lot of money without much effort (b) to have a lot of money even though I know that I would have to work hard (c) to live quietly without any challenges (d) to follow current knowledge and events in the world (e) to find a partner and start a family (f) to find a challenging and satisfying job

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(g) to travel widely, learn languages, and learn about different countries and cultures (h) not having to go to work everyday Questionnaire 2: Attributions Evaluate each statement on a scale from 1 to 5 points, where: 1=I completely disagree 2=I disagree 3=I don’t know 4=I agree 5=I totally agree (1) My good grades at school were the result of: (a) teachers’ leniency (b) my hard work (c) luck (d) my talent (2) My bad grades at school were the result of: (a) my unwillingness to work hard (b) very high teachers’ demands (c) lack of talent (d) bad luck (3) People have difficulties at school because: (a) they have no academic abilities (b) they have bad luck (c) they do not make enough effort (d) the teachers are too demanding (4) In the future I will achieve success due to: (a) my hard work (b) luck (c) my talents (d) the fact that it is easy to be successful (5) The majority of poor people have so little because: (a) they have no luck (b) it is difficult to make money (c) they don’t work hard enough (d) they don’t have financial talent

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4. Results Table 11.2. Percentage of students according to their place of living Village University (N=28) State School (N=45) Total (N=73)

Medium town 9 (32%)

City

3 (11%)

Small town 3 (11%)

9 (20%)

10 (22%)

26 (58%)

-

12 (16.44%)

13 (17.8%)

35 (48%)

13 (17.76%)

13 (46%)

Table 11.3. Number and percentage of male and female students in the group

University State School Total

Female 26 (93%) 34 (75%) 60 (82%)

Male 2 (7%) 11 (25%) 13 (18%)

Detailed results obtained from Questionnaire 1 will be presented, following students’ school, place of residence, and gender. The highest values are in bold. University students, city dwellers, female (N=11): Statement (1) (a) 5%; (b) 7%; (c) 4%; (d) 6%; (e) 8%; (f) 12%; (g) 26%; (h) 32% Statement (2) (a) 7%; (b) 20%; (c) 24%; (d) 11%; (e) 12%; (f) 20%; (g) 6% Statement (3) (a) 22%; (b) 10%; (c) 15%; (d) 15%; (e) 17%; (f) 17%; (g) 4% Statement (4) (a) 10%; (b) 11%; (c) 15%; (d) 24%; (e) 2%; (f) 2%; (g) 2%; (h) 31%; (i) 3% Statement (5) (a) 3%; (b) 13%; (c) 4%; (d) 16%; (e) 12%; (f) 23%, (g) 23%; (h) 6% University students, city dwellers, male (N=2): Because of the small number of male students, only the options which both of them chose as appropriate will be provided Statement (1): g, h

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Statement (2): c Statement (3): e Statement (4): c, h Statement (5): f University students, medium town dwellers, female students only (N=9): Statement (1) (a) 6%; (b) 8%; (c) 3%; (d) 8%; (e) 14%; (f) 13%; (g) 23%; (h) 25% Statement (2) (a) 5%; (b) 6%; (c) 21%; (d) 18%; (e) 22%; (f) 22%; (g) 6% Statement (3) (a) 18%; (b) 10%; (c) 18%; (d) 16%; (e) 18%; (f) 10%; (g) 10% Statement (4) (a) 15%; (b) 16%; (c) 18%; (d) 18%; (e) 3%; (f) 3%; (g) 2%; (h) 18%; (i) 7% Statement (5) (a) 7%; (b) 12%; (c) 4%; (d) 8%; (e) 18%; (f) 21%; (g) 20%; (h) 10% University students, small town and village dwellers (N=6), female students only: Statement (1) (a) 4%; (b) 5%; (c) 3%; (d) 4%; (e) 20%; (f) 18%; (g) 22%; (h) 24% Statement (2) (a) 7%; (b) 12%; (c) 18%; (d) 15%; (e) 20%; (f) 20%; (g) 8% Statement (3) (a) 4%; (b) 5%; (c) 14%; (d) 21%; (e) 22%; (f) 23%; (g) 11% Statement (4) (a) 10%; (b) 10%; (c) 11%; (d) 25%; (e) 5%; (f) 5%/ (g) 5%; (h) 23%; (i) 6% Statement (5) (a) 3%; (b) 10%; (c) 4%; (d) 13%; (e) 21%; (f) 24%; (g) 23%; (h) 2% State school students (no city dwellers), medium town dwellers, female students (N=19): Statement (1) (a) 3%; (b) 11%; (c) 2%; (d) 5%; (e) 16%; (f) 18%; (g) 22%; (h) 23% Statement (2) (a) 14%; (b) 8%; (c) 21%; (d) 16%; (e) 1%; (f) 18%; (g) 22%; Statement (3) (a) 13%; (b) 21%; (c) 11%; (d) 21%; (e) 16%; (f) 9%; (g) 9% Statement (4) (a) 12%; (b) 10%; (c) 23%; (d) 15%; (e) 5%; (f) 6%; (g) 5%; (h) 15%; (i) 9%

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Statement (5) (a) 6%; (b) 10%; (c) 6%; (d) 9%; (e) 22%; (f) 24%; (g) 15%; (h) 8% State School students, medium town dwellers, male students (N=7): Statement (1) (a) 4%; (b) 10%; (c) 6%; (d) 12%; (e) 11%; (f) 15%; (g) 22%; (h) 20% Statement (2) (a) 9%; (b) 17%; (c) 25%; (d) 15%; (e) 10%; (f) 12%; (g) 12% Statement (3) (a) 26%; (b) 12%; (c) 11%; (d) 13%; (e) 15%; (f) 14%; (g) 9% Statement (4) (a) 3%; (b) 8%; (c) 25%; (d) 16%; (e) 2%; (f) 4%; (g) 7%; (h) 27%; (i) 8% Statement (5) (a) 15%; (b) 7%; (c) 10%; (d) 17%; (e) 8%; (f) 17%; (g) 12%; (h) 14% State School students, small town and village dwellers, female (N=15): Statement (1) (a) 3%; (b) 3%; (c) 3%; (d) 3%; (e) 19%; (f) 21%; (g) 24%; (h) 24% Statement (2) (a) 9%; (b) 8%; (c) 8%; (d) 24%; (e) 14%; (f) 24%; (g) 13% Statement (3) (a) 18%; (b) 19%; (c) 4%; (d) 21%; (e) 21%; (f) 12%; (g) 5% Statement (4) (a) 7%; (b) 18%; (c) 18%; (d) 15%/ (e) 4%/ (f) 4%; (g) 7%; (h) 20%; (i) 7% Statement (5) (a) 5%; (b) 8%; (c) 3%; (d) 16%; (e) 21%; (f) 23%; (g) 22%; (h) 2% State School students, male, small town and village dwellers (N=4): Statement (1) (a) 6%; (b) 7%; (c) 8%; (d) 11%; (e) 14%; (f) 12%; (g) 20%; (h) 22% Statement (2) (a) 3%; (b) 15%; (c) 21; (d) 15%; (e) 5%; (f) 21%; (g) 20% Statement (3) (a) 25%;(b) 22%; (c) 11%; (d) 23%; (e) 6%; (f) 7%; (g) 6% Statement (4) (a) 14%; (b) 3%; (c) 18%; (d) 16%; (e) 5%; (f) 8%; (g) 12%; (h) 17%; (i) 7% Statement (5) (a) 10%; (b) 5%; (c) 10%; (d) 10%; (e) 19%; (f) 17%; (g) 15%; (h) 14% Results of Questionnaire 2 (attributional style) are presented in the table below, with respect to gender differences only.

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Table 11.4. Mean values of attributions Statement no. (1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

(5)

Attribution style Ability Effort Task difficulty Luck Ability Effort Task difficulty Luck Ability Effort Task difficulty Luck Ability Effort Task difficulty Luck Ability Effort Task difficulty Luck

Mean total 4.02 3.9 1.84 2.57 3.70 3.13 2.56 2.34 2.65 4.32 2.49 2.01 3.74 4.21 2.17 2.70 2.96 3.25 2.5 2.26

Female 3.9 4.12 1.94 2.82 3.71 3.07 2.87 2.34 2.75 4.26 2.65 2.16 3.72 4.26 2.19 2.84 2.89 2.76 2.54 2.34

Male 4.23 3.48 1.80 2.32 3.69 3.24 2.12 2.35 2.5 4.39 2.34 1.75 3.78 4.09 2.1 2.39 3.12 3.76 2.5 2.07

5. Comments and Discussion When it comes to students’ place of residence, it appears that many live in villages. State schools of higher professional education, usually situated in smaller towns, not necessarily in big cities where the universities are, provide opportunities for gifted young people from poorer families to follow academic education at undergraduate level. They would not have been able to afford to study far from home. Still, even in a larger city like Wrocław, most of the students from the target group come from smaller towns or villages (54%), which is a good tendency as more young people decide to pursue tertiary level education. A dominant tendency, not only in Poland, is that most tertiary foreign language students are women. Consequently, still fewer male students decide to follow a teaching career. In the research group there were 60 women (82%) and only 13 men (18%).

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The questionnaire on selected identity factors did not in fact demonstrate the existence of any striking differences among individual students from different social backgrounds. Significant gender differences were not observed either, but they were, however, more substantial than social differences. In statement (1), the highest percentages could be observed in answers (g) and (h). All students understand learning English as a lifelong process and the ability to use this language in different situations. The controversial option (c) about learning being a boring and frustrating activity did not meet with much approval. Still, it could be inferred from the raw data that this opinion seemed to some extent to be acceptable for male students from professional state schools, medium towns, small towns, and villages (6% and 8% respectively). Women’s acceptance of this option was 2–3%. In statement (2), concerning the process of teaching English, students mostly believed that teaching the language should be associated with developing the ability to communicate (option c) and preparing students for autonomous learning when school education is finished (option f). Options (d), (e), and (g) were the most favoured, each of them appearing once in one or two investigated groups. The fairly high position of option (d) seems to be quite surprising, because it interprets language education as teaching how to understand and produce written texts in English. Statement (3) referred to the positive aspects of the teaching profession and what students like most about it. Here, the highest level of agreement was reached through the ability to teach learners how to work autonomously on their English (option e) and earn a bigger salary (option a). Very low percentages were reached, surprisingly, by statement (g), which interpreted teaching as transferring information about Anglophone culture. It seems that students do not consider transferring cultural knowledge as a particularly essential and positive aspect of the profession. Statement (4) asked about aspects that make students dislike the teaching profession. Three options reached the highest percentages of acceptance, respectively: (h) low salary, (c) lots of paper work, and (d) naughty children. In one of the subgroups, female state professional school students, option (b) was chosen as the most irritating: students dislike more-experienced teachers who always criticise their younger colleagues. Finally, statement (5) referred to the students’ life preferences and expectations. Option (f), to find a challenging and satisfying job, seems to appear the most important for all students from different social backgrounds. Options (g) and (e) gained second and third place (travelling and learning about countries and cultures, finding a partner and starting a

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family). Option (g) was more frequently preferred by female students, whereas option (e) was by male students. The questionnaire devoted to future teachers’ attributional style consisted of five statements, to be evaluated according to the Likert scale. The first question concerned the reasons for getting good grades at school. The highest means appeared in internal attributions, i.e. ability and effort, although, as expected, male students attributed their success to their abilities and talents, and female students to their effort. In the next statement, students were asked about the causes of school failures. The respondents were rather undecided in their opinions but most attributed failures to lack of ability, which seems to be rather disquieting. The next statement was a little provocative because it asked about the same problem as the previous one, but from the general point of view (about the students’ failures in general, not about their personal failures). Here, the students very clearly attributed failure to a lack of effort. The two last statements concerned general success or lack of it in life. Students claim that success comes from hard work, and becoming rich is the result of effort. Poor people have so little because they do not work hard enough.

5. Conclusions The two tentative hypotheses put forward at the beginning of the study were confirmed as far as gender differences are concerned, but not due to differences in students’ social backgrounds. The differences between male and female students, however, did not seem to be striking. Obviously, more statistical measures would need to be employed to compare the means or percentages to confirm or reject the claim about gender differences in opinions and values. Still, female/male differences are especially noticeable in answers to questionnaire 1. In questionnaire 2, the only essential difference between male and female students in their attributions could be noticed in statements one and five. The first concerned personal success, which women attributed to effort, and men to abilities. The last concerned general wealth or lack of it, and here women tended to attribute this situation to shortage of abilities, and men to lack of effort. The attributional differences between groups from different places were so small that the decision was made to omit them as insignificant in the research summary. On the basis of questionnaire analysis, we can comment on future teachers’ identities and attributions. Most future teachers are women (82%), and about one third come from villages and small towns. They are generally willing to learn and are ambitious. The students realise that

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learning a foreign language is a lifelong process and its ultimate aim is to use that language in real-life situations. The groups also understand the necessity of developing autonomous behaviour in their own learning process to be able to transfer this ability to their own learners later. In the teaching profession, they do not appreciate low salaries and the amount of paper work. They believe that, in their future life, the most crucial thing is to find a satisfying job; they would also like to travel, gain new experiences and, finally, start a family. It appears that young women are more interested in travelling and gaining new experiences than young men. On the basis of this part of the research, the picture of the group of future teachers appears to be rather optimistic. Similarly, the part of the research devoted to attributional style also presents an optimistic picture. Future teachers of English in this group are characterised by internal and unstable attributions. They attribute their successes or failures to effort, or lack of it, more frequently than to abilities (or lack of them). Some gender differences in attributional style have been observed, although they are not striking. It is necessary, however, to mention certain limitations of the research. Even though the group was quite large, it was not chosen randomly, and it may be assumed that another group of future teachers from a different part of the country could present different identities and attribution styles.

References Bamberg, M., and A. Georgakopoulou. 2008. “Small Stories as a New Perspective in Narrative and Identity Analysis.” Text & Talk 28 (3): 377–96. Benson, P. 2007. “Autonomy in Language Teaching and Learning.” Language Teaching 40 (1): 21–40. Biedroń, A. 2008. Attribution Related Affects in Second Language Acquisition. Słupsk: Wydawnictwo Akademii Pomorskiej. Ciepiela, K. 2013. EFL Teacher Identity: from Mental Representation to Situated Performance. Łódź: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Łódzkiego. Dörnyei, Z., and E. Ushioda. (eds.). 2009. Motivation, Language Identity and the L2 Self. Bristol: Multilingual Matters. Eiser, J. R. 1983. “Attribution theory and social cognition.” In Attribution Theory and Research. Conceptual, Developmental and Social Dimensions, edited by J. Jaspars, F. D. Fincham, and M. Hewstone, 91–113. London: Academic Press.

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Försterling, F. 2005. Atrybucje. Podstawowe teorie, badania i zastosowanie. Translated by J. Radzicki. Gdańsk: Gdańskie Wydawnictwo Psychologiczne. Gao, X., and T. Lamb. 2011. “Exploring Links between Identity, Motivation and Autonomy.” In Identity, Motivation and Autonomy in Language Learning, edited by G. Murray, X. Gao, and T. Lamb, 1–8. Bristol–Buffalo–Toronto: Multilingual Matters. Heider, F. 1958. The Psychology of Interpersonal Relations. New York: Wiley. Kelly, H. H., and J. L. Michela. 1980. “Attribution Theory and Research.” Annual Review of Psychology 31: 457–501. Larsen–Freeman, D. 2010. “Having and Doing: Learning from a Complexity Theory Perspective.” In Conceptualizing “learning” in Applied Linguistics, edited by P. Seedhouse, S. Walsh, and C. Jenks, 48–72. Palgrave: Macmillan. Norton, B. 2000. Identity and Language Learning: Gender, Ethnicity and Educational Change. London: Longman. Richards, K. 2006. “‘Being the Teacher’: Identity and Classroom Conversation.” Applied Linguistics 27 (1): 51–77. Rotter, J. B. 1954. Social Learning and Clinical Psychology. New York: Prentice Hall. Ushioda, E. 2011. “Motivating Learners to Speak as Themselves.” In Identity, Motivation and Autonomy in Language Learning, edited by G. Murray, X. Gao, and T. Lamb, 11–24. Bristol, Buffalo, Toronto: Multilingual Matters. Weiner, B., I. H. Frieze, A. Kukla, L. Reed, S. Rest, and R. M. Rosenbaum. 1971. Perceiving the Causes of Success and Failure. New York: General Learning Press. Weiner, B. 1985. “An Attributional Theory of Achievement Motivation and Emotion.” Psychological Review 92 (4): 548–73. —. 1986. An Attributional Theory of Motivation and Emotion. New York: Springer-Verlag. Williams, M., and R. L. Burden. 1997. Psychology for Language Teachers: A Social Constructivist Approach. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Wong, P. T. P., and C. F. Sproule. 1984. “An Attribution Analysis of the Locus of Control Construct and the Trent Attribution Profile.” In Research with the Locus of Control Construct: Extension and Limitations. Vol. 3, edited by H. M. Lefcourt, 309–60. New York: Academic Press. .

CHAPTER TWELVE SPEECH COMPETENCE OF PRE-SERVICE EFL TEACHERS: THE SOURCES OF ITS PROBLEMS OKSANA NAZAROVA AND ÇISE ÇAVUŞOĞLU

1. Introduction Rather than taking hybrid, dyadic, or group communication perspectives, for most universities it is usual practice to teach public speaking competence, which satisfies one of the main higher education learning outcomes of “oral communication skills” (Schreiber, Paul, and Shibley 2012). In the domain of teacher education, communication competence in general, and public speaking competence in particular, seem to be core learning outcomes. Hunt, Simonds, and Cooper (2002) argue that there is lack of communication skills training in this field. They analyse the literature regarding teacher education programs and conclude that these programs did not provide sufficient communication skills training and assessment. The researchers also list the sample actions that a teacher should be able to present in order to fulfil the three common functions of the profession (i.e. facilitating learning, managing the classroom, and making professional decisions), and claim that many of these skills are related to the ability to communicate effectively. Moreover, some skills appear to be dependent on public speaking competence. These skills include presenting information, using a variety of instructional strategies such as lecturing and questioning, identifying students’ interests and using them to promote learning, drawing on a variety of techniques, materials, and technology to accommodate different learning styles, and other skills related to classroom management. Hunt et al. (2002) argue that the current configuration for the communication courses offered at the universities in the United States does not seem to meet existing requirements for the teaching profession. In

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an English as a foreign language (EFL) context, training the teachers in communication skills who will use a foreign language in their teaching practice seems to be more challenging. Speaking in front of students in a foreign language can be hard and may require competence to overcome not only public speaking anxiety (PSA) but also foreign language anxiety (FLA), among other difficulties (Horwitz 2001; Horwitz, Horwitz, and Cope 1991). Although this study does not seek to develop a speech course for foreign-language teachers, it is designed to investigate the factors which can influence the development of students’ public speaking competence in a foreign-language classroom. The review of literature showed contradictory results concerning the factors which could affect the students’ public-speaking competence development. For example, Pearson et al. (2010) report that the students’ (N = 709) prior public speaking experience and self-perceived communication apprehension (CA) were not related to the quality of their performances. The authors notice that this is in contradiction to their earlier research, which suggests that prior public speaking experience could predict higher public speaking grades (Pearson and Child 2008). Pearson et al. (2010) also point out that their findings do not support the conclusions of McCroskey and Beatty (1999) and O’Mara et al. (1996) about CA being negatively related to communication competence, the positive affect of a course, and students’ academic attainment. Pearson et al. (2007) mention Tannen’s (1990) study, which shows that women are less talkative than men in the classroom and other mixed sex meetings. However, Tannen’s findings can be more appropriate for the young learners, because “adolescent females communicate more than do males” (MacIntyre et al. 2002, in Pearson et al. 2007, 8). Taking into account such inconsistency in research findings, this study considers a variety of factors that could affect students’ public-speaking competence development.

2. Methodology This paper presents the qualitative phase of the research that was designed as a quasi-experimental study supported by qualitative interviews. Initially, this study aimed to identify students with high PSA and work with them during the treatment period to overcome their anxiety. However, it was found that PSA was not the only factor that led to low achievement through a public speaking course. McCroskey’s (1970) Personal Report of Public Speaking Anxiety (PRPSA) survey revealed that most of the students in the group (N = 17) had low or moderate levels of PSA, and only four students in the group reported high PSA. Mulac and

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Sherman’s (1974) Behavioral Assessment of Speech Anxiety (BASA) instrument was also employed to detect the behavioural manifestations of PSA during their initial presentations, which showed that only one student experienced high levels of PSA. To deal with some students’ poor performance in this public speaking course, the research aims were reorganised to investigate more thoroughly the reasons for students’ low achievement, and during the individual sessions the first author worked not only on the PSA but also on other concerns that students had in relation to public speaking. The scores obtained from the Public Speaking Competence Rubric (PSCR) (Schreiber, Paul, and Shibley 2012), PRPSA (McCroskey 1970), and BASA (Mulac and Sherman 1974) revealed six students with minimal or basic public speaking competence, and among them four students with high PSA. The PSCR scores were used as the main cut-off criterion to assign students to the treatment or non-treatment groups. The students who showed poor attendance right from the beginning of the semester (n = 4) were assigned to the non-attending group. Of these, two were native speakers of English, and another two had native-like oral language proficiency; all of them reported significant prior publicspeaking experience, all had knowledge and skills to perform effectively but lacked the essential component of competence (i.e. motivation), which led to inadequate preparation and practice and thus affected their chances to develop expertise in the public-speaking domain. This paper covers the detail apropos the investigation of the reasons for poor public speaking performance among the treatment group students.

2.1. Context and Participants This study took place at the Department of English Language Teaching (ELT) at a private university with 17 students between the ages of 19 and 26, hailing from the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, Turkey, and the UK, who were taking a course on public speaking. This was a required course for these students, who were in their sophomore year. The course lasted for 12 weeks and was aimed to provide instruction in the preparation and delivery of public speeches, usually perceived as giving presentations in front of their classmates. A year before taking this course, the students attended two other courses that were related to developing speaking skills. One was called Oral Communication Skills and the other Effective Communication. Thus, all students had gone through preliminary training in developing their speaking skills in general and were also briefly informed about how to develop public-speaking competencies.

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2.2. Data Collection and Analysis The interviews, observations, and artefacts were used to explore the factors behind the difficulties that students faced while preparing and delivering a speech. An interview component was used to reveal the problems that treatment group students had. Moreover, short interviews with the non-attending group of students were conducted to understand the reason for their poor attendance. The key themes covered during these interviews included general attitudes towards speaking in public and the course in particular, self-perception of a student’s public-speaking competence, preparation, and practice. The interviews with one of the participants (participant 1) took place with the help of a translator because of her low level of English proficiency. She could follow the course material and participate in class discussions. However, it was difficult for this student to describe her feelings and emotions in the target language. The following transcription conventions were used to represent different linguistic codes and reflect the missing information understandable only in the context of the interviews (Schegloff 1987): Normal: utterances in English Underlined: utterances in Turkish (we): words or phrases used to make the meaning clear are in parentheses [laughing]: transcriber’s comments are in square brackets Moreover, a research journal was kept throughout the course of the study to record the observations of different aspects of the classroom atmosphere as well as students’ attitudes and behaviours (Collis and Hussey 2009). These observations were unstructured as there were no predetermined notions about what to observe (Mulhall 2003). All students were informed beforehand about the purpose of the research and knew that their performances would be video-recorded; in addition, most of the class activities were observed and recorded for research purposes. After the lessons, the video recordings and observation notes were used to write rich descriptions of what was happening in the classroom. Although the attempts to record “everything” helped us to realise certain issues that would otherwise have been missed, these observation notes were not used as primary data to be heavily relied on for analysis and the reporting of findings. Observational data that seemed significant were triangulated with the interview transcripts, instructional artefacts, and statistical data where possible (Johnson, Onwuegbuzie, and Turner 2007). Otherwise, if there

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were no supporting data in other sources, we tried not to make any inferences about that particular situation. Overall, the data from one group (approximately 43 minutes of audio recording) and 14 individual interviews (approximately 160 minutes of audio recordings), in-class participant observations (approximately 23 hours), video recordings of students’ in-class practice and videos of feedback sessions (approximately 94 minutes), reflective essays of 10 students, and various instructional artefacts were used as sources for qualitative inquiry.

3. Findings Thematic analysis of the qualitative data revealed several non-motivational and motivational factors that caused some participants’ minimal (Schreiber, Paul, and Shibley 2012) public speaking proficiency (see Table 12.1 below). Table 12.1. Participants’ minimal public speaking proficiency Factors affecting students’ performance Nonmotivational factors

Participant 1

Participant 2

Participant 3

Low academic language proficiency

Low oral and academic language proficiency

Low oral and academic language proficiency

Insufficient prior experience with giving speeches in English Foreign language anxiety Age

Foreign language anxiety High level of communication apprehendsion

Participant 4

Participant 5

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High selfreported public speaking anxiety Coursespecific motivational factors: The ARCS** model

High selfreported public speaking anxiety

183 High selfreported public speaking anxiety

Insufficient attention Seeing activities irrelevant Lack of Lack of Over confidence confidence confidence Absence of intrinsic reinforcement for effort and no sense of achievement; not clear satisfaction level

Keller’s ARCS model (1987; 2010) identifies four major determinants of motivation: attention, relevance, confidence, and satisfaction ** The factors that appeared to be the primary reasons for students’ low performance are italicised Insufficient attention

3.1. Non-motivational Factors Oral and academic English language proficiency, age, prior experience in public speaking, overall CA, and PSA emerged in 8 of the 15 interviews as non-motivational factors that influenced students’ performances. 3.1.1. Low Oral and Academic Language Proficiency and ForeignLanguage Anxiety Observations during the course of the study revealed three students as having low oral language proficiency levels compared to the other students on the course. While presenting, this was not so apparent as these students

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(participants 1, 2, and 3) used a memorised style of delivery. During the presentations, when they forgot what they wanted to say, these participants kept silent until they remembered the lost part or read it from the notes (even though this was not permitted). It was difficult for them to improvise because of their low language proficiency. In other words, they could not use the most effective mode of presentation, extemporaneous delivery, which requires the spontaneous delivery of prepared material (Brydon and Scott 2008). Considering the public-speaking competencies (Schreiber Paul, and Shibley 2012), students who lack oral language proficiency experienced difficulties in developing such basic performance standards as clear language, effective non-verbal behaviour (eye contact, displaying high levels of poise and confidence), and effective use of vocal expression and paralanguage (along with avoiding fillers). This task seemed to be more demanding since the students reported that they did not have enough opportunities to practice language outside the classroom. For example, participant 3 noted that: When I was in the prep class [in the English preparatory school], I speak English easily, I think, because there was a lot of practice, and Anna [a teacher in the prep school] is English, so we must speak English. When I came to this department, there are a lot of people who want to be an English teacher, but after the lessons we speak Turkish.

This student explains that it is difficult to force yourself to speak in English when you can easily express your ideas in your and your classmates’ native language, which, in this case, is Turkish. She pointed out that in the English preparatory school there were many students from other countries who did not speak Turkish, and their teacher was not from a Turkish-speaking background. Therefore, she was forced to use English even if she could not express her thoughts to the full extent. In addition, students were assigned to a particular group based on an English proficiency test. Therefore, all students in the class had almost the same language proficiency levels and skills. This also contributed to this particular student’s willingness to communicate in English with her classmates in the preparatory school context. Contrary to that, in her current group were some native speakers and students with native-like proficiency in English. It can be assumed that the girl preferred to speak Turkish with them in order not to demonstrate her lack of language skills once again (Tsiplakides and Keramida 2009). Another issue from this excerpt that should be pointed out is that in the English preparatory school, participant 3 was a learner of English, while in the ELT department she is

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a prospective teacher of English. This change in position created an additional demand for language competence, which in turn could lead to FLA and PSA. It was difficult to expect that, over one semester, students who lacked language practice outside the classroom could fully master certain public speaking competencies (i.e. clear, imaginative, and vivid language, free from grammar and syntax errors; confidence revealed in effective nonverbal behaviour and effective use of vocal expression and paralanguage). In addition, low oral proficiency in a public speaking course is at the core of many other problems that students can face (Yaikhong and Usaha 2012). FLA, PSA, and low self-efficacy (that in turn can lead to different motivational problems through self-defeating behaviour) may be revealed and become complicated because of low language proficiency. Thus, Tsiplakides and Keramida (2009) found that students in their case study were not willing to participate in speaking activities, not because they did not see the value of these activities or they were lazy, but because of FLA. Similarly, participant 1 avoided in-class practice because she thought that she did not have enough language skills to be successful: “in Turkish it is not like this: I’m giving lessons, I’m reading books … in front of many people, but in English I can’t do this.” Based on this claim, we can conclude that her main difficulty in this public speaking class seems not to be PSA, as she reported in the questionnaires and mentioned in the interviews, but mainly her lack of language skills and FLA. 3.1.2. Age All students in the group were within the same age category, i.e. 19 to 22, except for participant 1 who was 26. This particular student reported that she did not feel connected to the other students, so she could not be relaxed while presenting: Researcher 1: The content of your presentation was excellent. You only need to work on delivery. Say “wow, I have very interesting ideas to share with you” and then they will listen carefully. Participant 1: Do I really need to say that? Researcher 1: What? Participant 1: “Wow.” I can’t say such things. In this case, being older than the others and at the same time not being able to show the same speaking skills resulted in low self-efficacy and learned helplessness (Myers 2010). Participant 1 regularly refused to participate in

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the in-class exercises. During one lesson, when we worked on fears and public speaking anxiety, students were required to give a short speech in order to identify the physical manifestations of anxiety, if there were any. She refused to participate in this activity. While asked to talk at least about her life experience—“You can just talk about your life: ‘Hello, my name is … I was born in the north of Turkey …”—participant 1 replied that she was not in a position to do this: “I am not in that age to talk about such things” (emphasis added). In the context of this interview it was clear that this student saw herself as a sophomore student who could not talk about simple and unsophisticated topics. Even if she could not be fluent in impromptu speeches, she wanted to be perceived as a knowledgeable student. In terms of the difficulties that many mature students face when they return to the academic world, according to Richardson (1994), lack of recent experience in practicing skills needed for effective studying at university is a paramount problem. In the case mentioned above, however, this could not apply as participant 1 took a two-year secondary vocational education (not related to ELT) just before entering the university. Thus, she did not lack recent experience of formal education. In addition, she did not have any non-academic responsibilities like family and employment, which many mature students do (Ibid.). Being a mature student in her case did not manifest itself in the preference of age-related topics or issues that were not interesting for younger students. The problems were only in the way she presented the information—usually in a serious manner, being focused more on how she was perceived than the audience’s interests, and more importantly in seeing the audience not as a group of friends with whom she can share her experiences. 3.1.3. Communication Apprehension One treatment group student, participant 2, had high CA and demonstrated unease and discomfort, not only while speaking in front of her peers but also during the interviews with the first author. Initially, it was difficult to recognise her CA, so we tried to change the situation through skills training and by working on PSA. As a result, after training, her speech was more interactive and adapted to the audience, but she still could not improve her delivery and continued to look down, avoid eye contact and rely on her notes. Only towards the end of the semester was it clear that the problem that this student had to deal with was general CA, which is not so easy to overcome by learning mental and behavioural skills as with PSA (Brydon and Scott 2008).

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3.1.4. Public-speaking Anxiety Public-speaking anxiety or speech anxiety can appear as a logical consequence of the other above-mentioned problems, i.e. limited English proficiency, not being in the same age category with other students, and insufficient experience with public speaking (Brydon and Scott 2008). Inadequate preparation and practice can also be factors causing PSA. Four of the treatment group students reported that, while performing in public, they experienced feelings of worry or fear accompanied by physical symptoms. One student noticed that it was difficult for him to watch the video recordings of his speeches, as he did not like his hand and body movements that could be manifestations of PSA. However, by public speaking anxiety, students usually meant the physiological arousal necessary to perform successfully (Brydon and Scott 2008). According to Priem and Solomon (2009, 262), the physiological response of the organism to a stressful situation is an indispensable and normal process that gives, “the resources to deal with short-term physical emergencies.” Moderate arousal is necessary, but if it is too high and causes undesirable side effects it results in PSA (Brydon and Scott 2008).

3.2. Motivational Factors Giffin and Gilham (1971) propose the presence of a relationship between PSA and motivation. Therefore, it is logical to assume that students with PSA should also report motivational problems. The theme of motivation emerged in 12 of the 15 interviews. Keller’s ARCS (attention, relevance, confidence, and satisfaction) model of motivation (1987) was used to organise the students’ ideas about the factors that lead to a high publicspeaking competence, or conversely result in a poor performance. Dörnyei (1994) and Crookes and Schmidt (1991), who are amongst the most prominent researchers in the field of motivation, found this framework appropriate to describe the course-specific motives of the students. 3.2.1. Lack of Attention Leads to Inadequate Preparation and Practice The theme of attention or interest emerged in the case of one treatment group student (participant 4) and some other students from the nonattending group. In this section we will focus on participant 4, as the motivational problem she had was primarily related to the attention or interest category.

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At the beginning of the semester, participant 4, a native speaker of English, reported that she usually prepared a speech in 10 minutes on the day of a presentation. The short preparation time resulted in trivial content that was inappropriate for the audience and the irrelevant organisation of the information, which was presented monotonously because of inadequate practice. According to Keller (2010), a lack of diligence can be a result of overconfidence, seeing the task as irrelevant, and not finding the intrinsic reinforcement for effort. Correspondingly, participant 4 explained her unwillingness to prepare ahead by her lack of interest in the course. She mentioned that the tasks given did not meet her expectations about the public-speaking course. In addition, two courses on speaking skills were taken by this group during the first year of university. Therefore, this third course on speaking seemed redundant to her: It does not interest me, because I know how you have to present … Last year with Mehmet it was: You choose your presentation, you choose its date, everyone just come and do it. Now it is writing and having quite other things you need. And they do not know the subject, so no one is coming, to be honest, no one comes. It is not interesting. No one wants to know how to use ELL [sic] in internet [ELL sources]. We know! With Mehmet hoca we were up to choose it (topic). And he gave topics that we used to like. And the writing—no one wants to write. Cause it is public speaking, speech, and you do not need to write. And if you include writing in your topics (lessons), no one comes to class.

Participant 4 emphasised that her expectations were not met. She did not think that writing could be integrated in a public-speaking course programme, even if the writing assignments were related to the selfanalysis and study of model speakers. Moreover, she had some inconsistencies in her claims. First, she claimed that last year students could choose the topics that they preferred. Then, she said that the lecturer gave them topics: “With Mehmet hoca we were up to choose it (topic). And he gave topics that we used to like.” The student complained that the topics that a teacher gave were unfamiliar (“they do not know the subject”), therefore, “no one is coming, to be honest, no one comes.” Interestingly, she also mentioned that, “No one wants to know how to use ELL [sic] in internet. We know!” So, speech topics were unfamiliar/ difficult and trivial at the same time because they were known to the students. In the situation with participant 4 there were two ways to increase her attention to and satisfaction with the course: (1) change the tasks to adapt them to the student’s existing desires; (2) change her attitudes towards the

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tasks (Keller 2010). Firstly, the students were allowed to choose their preferred topics, but the analysis of model speakers and the reflective essay remained in a written format. Secondly, working on this student’s overconfidence and lack of interest by setting clear goals, asking her to help others practise, and changing the tasks given (instructional design) seemed to increase her public-speaking competence. She started to prepare for the post-test earlier than usual and helped some other students to polish the speech content and practise delivery. Moreover, she chose the issue that was identified as her problem in that course as the post-test presentation topic: “How to motivate yourself to study?” 3.2.2. Perceived Irrelevance of the Course as an Explanation for Poor Attendance Nine students reported the necessity of public speaking competence for their career goals. For instance, a non-treatment group participant noted that it was her dream to be an English teacher, “That’s why I want to do it, do everything, everything is important for me in this faculty. So I study hard to achieve my aim.” At the same time, one treatment group student and all non-attending group students did not see the relevance of the course for their personal needs. Pearson et al. (2008) relied on the findings of Christophel and Gorham (1995), Chesebro and McCroskey (2001), Jaasma and Koper (1999), and Pogue and AhYun (2006) to argue that motivation is related to the students’ loci of control and the teacher’s immediacy. Indeed, two participants of the current study up until the middle of the course believed that their scores were lower than they expected because of activities like “writing and homework,” boring topics, or because of the teacher’s personality: “I can’t get just 24 percent [out of 30 percent, for the midterm exam]. Last year the lowest score I got from Mehmet hoca was 28 percent.” The external locus of control of these participants, as observed by Seifert (2004), negatively affected their overall motivation, and therefore their achievement. Regarding the factor of teacher immediacy, Thweatt and McCroskey (1998) claim that it is strongly related to the student’s perceptions of teacher credibility in respect of competence, trustworthiness, and caring. Interviews revealed that most students at the beginning of the course could not see a graduate student (the first author) as a credible and competent teacher, and therefore initially did not perceive the course as valuable.

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3.2.3. Sufficient Preparation and Practice Together with Confidence Results in Good Performance The theme of confidence emerged in four interviews. Two students reported that in front of an audience they would lose self-confidence: Participant 2: Actually, I can do successfully, but I think I do not have self-confidence in public. Normally, I have self-confidence, but in public, presentation, I am losing my self-confidence. Participant 6: I feel myself shy. With my best friends I have selfconfidence, but with others—no. It is possible to consider these students’ under-confidence (Dunlosky and Rawson 2012) through certain personality variables. For participant 2, it was a high level of CA and in the case of participant 6 high PSA. Another reason for low confidence might be the lack of adequate preparation and practice. 3.2.4. Being Intrinsically and Extrinsically Motivated Leads to Satisfaction with a Course Six students acknowledged that they were learning presentation skills to be competent teachers, e.g. “We are in the ELT department and we’ll become teachers in future. Besides our knowledge, our speaking must be perfect,” and one student said that her goal was, “to be able to present in front of people” and “to get a good grade”: “In my opinion, some students do only the presentations to present, to get the grades. Sometimes I do it also—I present only to get a good grade, I present successfully to get a grade.” It seems that expectancy for both extrinsic and intrinsic rewards was equal. It should be noted that most of the students expected to learn skills that could help them to become truly professional teachers. Thus, they were motivated to increase their public-speaking competencies in order to achieve their personal goals, regardless of the difficulty or tediousness of a task, a teacher’s identity, or other external factors.

4. Discussion The present study brought to light the problems raised by the students themselves as reasons for their low achievement. These included low English language proficiency, PSA, seeing activities as irrelevant, and lack of confidence (a low level of self-efficacy in this domain). Other factors

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that were revealed during the course but were not recognised by students as important included FLA, CA, age, insufficient attention, overconfidence, and absence of intrinsic reinforcement for effort. Some students reported that they were demotivated to prepare and perform the speeches because no one listened to them. This was especially the case when the topic was given by the teacher, and therefore it was difficult to relate it to their own beliefs and values. In such situations, it was difficult for students to maintain credibility to make others listen to them. These findings are in accordance with the conclusion of Thweatt and McCroskey (1998) about the importance of source credibility in the learning process. Based on the findings of Wheeless (1974), it is argued that the perceived competence of the speaker is the best predictor of whether the audience will choose to expose themselves to the given information. According to Andersen (1973), the same is true for the classroom environment: students tend to learn more from speakers they perceive as having higher credibility. This means that requiring students to present a given topic when they cannot show their credibility is not only demotivating but also senseless. Brydon and Scott (1997, 353) suggest that, “an informative speech is not worth giving unless it is designed to stay with the audience and influence their lives in some way.” In relation to this, Myers (2010) points out that making the speech more persuasive is important in stimulating the thinking of the students. In order to avoid this pitfall, the participants of the present study were asked to include such elements of persuasive speech as ethos (credibility), pathos (emotional appeals), and logos (the proof). Another factor behind the low motivation of the students is identified in the literature as presentations in educational contexts being required to be saturated with information. Teachers usually require informative speeches, the goal of which is audience learning (Brydon and Scott 2008). Indeed, the goal of persuasive speech is difficult to achieve with a single speech, i.e. it is not possible to radically change something about the audience in minutes (Brydon and Scott 2008). However, the present study shows that students did not pay enough attention to highly informative speeches. A Russian coach on public speaking, Gandapas (2012), argues that factual claims in the educational setting can only be effective when a person higher in status states them, or when an assignment is given on this informative speech. Thus, asking a student to present some factual material to the others, especially if it is not peer or group work, is senseless. For example, when a student in this particular class tried to teach others without internalising factual material, it was not productive at all. According to Brydon and Scott (2008), the problem of student-to-

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student informative speeches not receiving any feedback and the audience not taking them seriously can be solved by changing the attitude towards the distinction between informative and persuasive speeches. Brydon and Scott (2008, 351) suggest looking at informative and persuasive speeches’ connection as being not “a dichotomous one” but “a continuum.” Therefore, students in this study were asked to combine the elements of informative and persuasive speeches and prepare speeches that extend the audience’s knowledge and influenced their behaviour . The reasons for the low motivation of non-attending students were revealed through their comments about the overall preparation time. The present study found that students who have been studying English for a long time spent significantly less time preparing a speech. At the same time, these students had very low PSA. At first sight, this can be explained simply by the fact that the language-proficient students need less time to prepare an effective speech. Yet, this was not the case. The quality of their performance was much lower than that of the others. It was especially the case that native speakers of English, and those who had spent a long time in the United Kingdom, reported a small amount of speech preparation time and showed an average performance. Participant 9, who took language courses at university in London and lived there for a while, felt that it could be because of the low expectations of the teacher. Thus, the low course engagement of one native speaker from the treatment group and four non-attending group students was partly because of the course design that took into account the interests of non-native speakers, and therefore was not so advanced and challenging for the language-proficient students. In order to change this, some pedagogical techniques recommended by Levasseur et al. (2004) for advanced speech courses were applied. They included the intensive study of models and extensive self-analysis, which were configured as watching videos of models and their own speeches for the purposes of this course. Other reasons for the low motivation of the students included lack of confidence, or overconfidence and the absence of intrinsic reinforcement for effort. In the present work, confidence in a task and perceived selfefficacy for academic achievement emerged as relevant concepts (Myers 2010). According to Myers (Ibid., 57), people with a high sense of selfefficacy are, “more persistent, less anxious, and less depressed.” Crookes and Schmidt (1991) add that such students are more motivated than those who do not feel themselves competent enough to succeed. Two participants of the study did not have strong feelings of self-efficacy, and therefore did not set ambitious goals for themselves. Maybe the goals that they set were realistic and matched their current level of language

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proficiency. Yet, they did not help them to achieve advanced public speaking competence. Moreover, one treatment group student was not persistent and avoided practice if possible. Beatty (1987) proved that this is usual practice for students with high CA levels. On the contrary, most of the non-treatment group students, and some from the treatment group, tried hard and showed that self-efficacy grows with hard-won achievements (Myers 2010).

5. Conclusions Identifying the factors which influence public-speaking competence development and examining the possible ways which could help students acquire the necessary knowledge and skills, and stay motivated and engaged throughout a course, are important issues for each language teacher. These are even more important if the course being taught is a speaking course. Determining the relationships among learners’ characteristics, the trappings of knowledge, the affective variables they come to class with, and the quality of their speech performances provides a description of what kind of student could easily become a competent public speaker. This study showed that if a student has enough language proficiency, can deal with stressful situations (managing PSA), sees the personal relevance of acquiring presentational skills, is persistent in this process, exerts enough effort in practising and learning new theory, and has a strong sense of selfefficacy, then they can attain public-speaking competence. The results of this study have revealed the need for more information concerning the perceived characteristics and influence of the course instructor and the course itself to analyse students’ speech development. It can be assumed that the anxiety-related difficulties that students face may be initiated by some external factors such as teacher’s identity, the atmosphere in the class (social relationships between the students, as well as between students and teacher), and the instructional design. In addition, there was a lack of reliable data in the current study to claim credible reasons for why some students are not attending class. Therefore, students’ poor attendance or absenteeism in a public-speaking course needs to be investigated more deeply.

References Andersen, P. A. 1973. “An Experimental Study to Assess the Effects of Source Credibility on Comprehension.” Paper presented at the Annual

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Convention of the Speech Communication Association, New York, NY. Beatty, M. J. 1987. “Communication Apprehension as a Determinant of Avoidance, Withdrawal and Performance Anxiety.” Communication Quarterly 35 (2): 202–17. Brydon, S. R., and M. D. Scott. 1997. Between One and Many: The Art and Science of Public Speaking, 2nd ed. Mountain View, CA: Mayfield Publishing Company. —. 2008. Between One and Many: The Art and Science of Public Speaking, 6th ed. Boston, MA: McGraw-Hill Higher Education. Collis, J., and R. Hussey. 2009. Business Research: A Practical Guide for Undergraduate and Postgraduate Students, 3rd ed. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. Crookes, G., and R. W. Schmidt. 1991. “Motivation: Reopening the Research Agenda.” Language Learning 41 (4): 469–512. Dörnyei, Z. 1994. “Motivation and Motivating in the Foreign Language Classroom.” The Modern Language Journal 78: 273–84. Dunlosky, J., and K. A. Rawson. 2012. “Overconfidence Produces Underachievement: Inaccurate Self Evaluations Undermine Students’ Learning and Retention.” Learning and Instruction 22 (4): 271–80. Gandapas, R. 2012, June 26. Learn to Speak in Public, video file, http://www.speakersacademy.eu/speakers /radislav-gandapas. Giffin, K., and S. Gilham. 1971. “Relationships between Speech Anxiety and Motivation.” Speech Monographs 38 (1): 70–3. Horwitz, E. 2001. “Language Anxiety and Achievement.” Annual Review of Applied linguistics 21: 112–26. Horwitz, E. K., M. B. Horwitz, and J.A. Cope. 1991. “Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety.” In Language Anxiety, edited by E. K. Horwitz and D. J. Young, 27–39. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall. Hunt, S., C. Simonds, and P. Cooper. 2002. “Communication and Teacher Education: Exploring a Communication Course for all Teachers.” Communication Education 51 (1): 81–94. Johnson, R. B., Onwuegbuzie, A. J., and L. A. Turner. 2007. “Toward a Definition of Mixed Methods Research.” Journal of Mixed Methods Research 1 (2): 112–33. Keller, J. M. 1987. “The Systematic Process of Motivational Design.” Performance and Instruction 269 (12): 1– 8. —. 2010. Motivational Design for Learning and Performance: The ARCS Model Approach. Boston, MA: Springer.

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Levasseur, D. G., K. W. Dean, and J. Pfaff. 2004. “Speech Pedagogy beyond the Basics: a Study of Instructional Methods in the Advanced Public Speaking Course.” Communication Education 53 (3): 234–52. McCroskey, J. C. 1970. “Measures of Communication-bound Anxiety.” Speech Monographs 37: 269–77. McCroskey, J. C., and M. J. Beatty. 1999. “Communication Apprehension.” In Communication and Personality: Trait Pespectives, edited by J. C. McCroskey, J. A. Daly, M. M. Martin, and M. J. Beatty, 215–32. Cresskill, NJ: Hampton Press. Mulac, A., and A. R. Sherman. 1974. “Behavioural Assessment of Speech Anxiety.” Quarterly Journal of Speech 60 (2): 134–43. Mulhall, A. 2003. “In the Field: Notes on Observation in Qualitative Research.” Journal of Advanced Nursing 41 (3): 306–13. Myers, D. G. 2010. Social Psychology 10th ed. New York, NY: McGrawHill. O’Mara, J., J. L. Allen, K. M. Long, and B. Judd. 1996. “Communication Apprehension, Nonverbal Immediacy, and Negative Expectations for Learning.” Communication Research Reports 13 (1): 109–28. Pearson, J. C., A. F. Carmon, J. T. Child, and J. L. Semlak. 2008. “Why the Range in Grades? An Attempt to Explain the Variance in Students’ Public Speaking Grades.” Communication Quarterly 56 (4): 392–406. Pearson, J. C. and J. T. Child. 2008. “The Gentle Art of Persuasion: The Influence of Biological Sex, Previous Experience, and Preparation Time on Classroom Public Speaking Grades.” Basic Communication Course Annual 20: 101–37. Pearson, J. C., J. T. Child, B. L. DeGreeff, and J. L. Semlak. 2007. “The Influence of Biological Sex, Self- esteem, and Communication Apprehension on Unwillingness to Communicate.” http://faculty.kent.edu/jchild/pcdsbinpress.pdf. Pearson, J. C., J. T. Child, L. L. Herakova, J. L. Semlak, and J. Angelos. 2010. “Competent Public Speaking: Assessing Skill Development in the Basic Course.” Basic Communication Course Annual 22: 39–86. Pearson, J. C., W. Todd–Mancillas, and L. Turner. 1991. Gender and Communication, 2nd ed. Dubuque, IA: William C. Brown. Priem, J. S., and D. H. Solomon. 2009. “Comforting Apprehensive Communicators: the Effects of Reappraisal and Distraction on Cortisol Levels among Students in a Public Speaking Class.” Communication Quarterly 57 (3): 259–81.

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Richardson, J. T. E. 1994. “Mature Students in Higher Education: I. A Literature Survey on Approaches to Studying.” Studies in Higher Education 19 (3): 309–25. Scanlon, L., L. Rowling, and Z. Weber. 2007. “‘You Don’t Have Like an Identity … You are Just Lost in a Crowd’: Forming a Student Identity in the First-year Transition to University.” Journal of Youth Studies 10 (2): 223–41. Schegloff, E. A. 1987. “Analysing Single Episodes of Interaction: An Exercise in Conversation Analysis.” Social Psychology Quarterly 50 (2): 101–14. Schreiber, L. M., G. D. Paul, and L. R. Shibley. 2012. “The Development and Test of the Public Speaking Competence Rubric.” Communication Education 61 (3): 205–233. Seifert, T. 2004. “Understanding Student Motivation.” Educational Research 46 (2): 137–49. Thweatt, K. S., and J. C. McCroskey. 1998. “The Impact of Teacher Immediacy and Misbehaviours on Teacher Credibility.” Communication Education 47 (4): 348–58. Tsiplakides, I., and A. Keramida. 2009. “Helping Students Overcome Foreign Language Speaking Anxiety in the English Classroom: Theoretical Issues and Practical Recommendations.” International Education Studies 2 (4): 39–44. Wheeless, L. R. 1974. “The Effects of Attitude, Credibility, and Homophily on Selective Exposure to Information. Speech.” Monographs 41: 329–38. Yaikhong, K., and S. Usaha. 2012. “A Measure of EFL Public Speaking Class Anxiety: Scale Development and Preliminary Validation And Reliability.” English Language Teaching 5 (12): 23–35.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN TESTING IN ENGLISH FOR MEDICAL PURPOSES IN HIGHER EDUCATION IN TURKEY: A LONGITUDINAL INQUIRY NESLIHAN ÖNDER ÖZDEMIR

Language tests are inevitable in education to assess the learner’s knowledge, and this includes testing for languages for specific purposes. However, to the best of my knowledge, little is known regarding language testing in terms of its practical implications in higher education for courses, i.e. medical English. In addition, because there is a dearth of course and testing materials for medical English, testing becomes a challenge. Given the gaps in testing, this longitudinal study reports on the design of an appropriate test for medical English courses in the Faculty of Medicine, Uludağ University, Turkey. The examination questions were detailed using real sample examination questions that were prepared considering the longitudinal critical needs analysis (n=525) results (Onder 2014); questions focused on areas such as technical and sub-technical medical vocabulary, current medical research articles and connectives, along with medical students’ feedback (n=47). The test attempted to assess medical students’ medical English knowledge in five primary domains as follows: assessment of academic vocabulary knowledge, assessment of connectives, assessment of medical research article comprehension, assessment of academic reading, and assessment of academic writing skills. The validity of the test was discussed and feedback was collected from the subjects to enhance testing.

1. Introduction The growing field of Languages for Specific Purposes (LSP) within English language teaching requires the analysis of learner needs and the use of specific authentic learning materials; these have been addressed

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with empirical research in the literature. However, with regard to testing in LSP, there is scant empirical research and discussions regarding higher education. Because of the nature of tests, the available discussions on testing are not likely to be positive, welcome, or affirming. However, these evaluations are essential in both education and work life for assessing the knowledge or performance of students and a range of professionals, including medicine in the context of LSP testing. Brown (2004, 3) defines testing as a, “method of measuring a person’s ability, knowledge, or performance in a given domain.” In this study, the LSP test refers to, “the test [in which] the test content and test methods are derived from an analysis of a specific language use situation” (Douglas 2000, 1) in line with the present study. LSP testing assesses the target use of English after a needs analysis to determine the test content and method. The literature suggests that LSP tests are needed because they focus on language and are based on specific purpose content knowledge. Although all tests have a purpose, LSP tests are distinct from general purpose language tests: competency and general purpose language tests are at a very general and abstract level (Mauranen 1989); these types include Foreign Language Exam (YDS) in Turkey or internationally recognised proficiency tests such as the Test of English as a Foreign Language—Internet-Based Testing (TOEFL-iBT). Recently, there have been some attempts to create a certification in medicine using international English language tests that assess the language and communication skills of healthcare professionals (all four language skills of listening, reading, writing, and speaking in four sub-tests) who register and practise in an English-speaking environment, i.e. The Occupational English Test (OET) developed in Australia and the sTANDardised Language Examination for Medical purposes (sTANDEM) developed within an EU project under the Lifelong Learning programme (Key activity 2, languages in 2011–14). OET aims to assess health practitioners in 12 professions: Dentistry, Pharmacy, Dietetics, Physiotherapy, Medicine, Podiatry, Nursing, Radiography, Occupational Therapy, Speech Pathology, Optometry, and Veterinary Science. The validation research of OET was conducted in 2013 (Hay 2014) and recognised in Australia, New Zealand, and Singapore. The sTANDEM certification project was prepared in line with the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages to standardise the requirements regarding LSP skills in medical settings in Europe (Charpy & Carnet 2014). However, to the best of my knowledge, there is no published research that discusses the structure of medical English tests using real examination questions for undergraduate

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medical students following a longitudinal needs analysis (McDonough 1984) that reflects the reality in mainstream medical English classrooms in higher education. Likewise, despite the significance of testing in education and work recruitment, little attention has been paid to the practical implications of testing and how to address testing problems in higher education. Moreover, practical guidance on test development for classroom tests for medical English courses is still scant. It is generally accepted that the testing context can vary due to the size of the student population, the time and resources allocated for testing, the skills areas to be tested, and the general proficiency level of the students. Thus, flexibility is recommended in testing (Mauranen 1989). The available studies draw a general picture regarding testing. For example, Cumming (2001) interviewed 48 highly experienced instructors of ESL/EFL concerning their writing assessment in courses in universities and immigrant settlement programs, who worked in countries and states where English is either the majority language or an international language. The findings showed that student assessment was diverse, depending on whether the courses that instructors taught were general or specific purposes for learning English. Eleven instructors reported that the writing courses had specific purposes in line with students’ academic or professional domains. Given this relatively under-explored area, the theoretical frameworks in the present study are based on (1) grounded ethnography (Frankel and Beckman, 1982) with a focus on sustained classroom observation, and (2) the democratic participation of medical students following Benesch (1999; 2001) when developing an examination for the medical English course for first-year medical students with an emphasis on the teaching context in the Faculty of Medicine, Uludağ University, Turkey. Thus, as an ESP practitioner, I tried to understand my teaching context by, “studying both its natural occurrence and the accounts and [detailed] descriptions of the context” (Frankel and Beckman 1982, 1) with medical students while acknowledging that context is a dynamic concept (Douglas 2000). Therefore, I accepted medical students as active members of the classroom and society by encouraging their engagement and increasing their awareness of their rights in the examination process. Compatible with the teaching context in Turkey, the report here presents a design for an assessment of Turkish students.

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2. Methodology 2.1. Setting and Study Informants Undergraduate medical student education takes six years within medical schools in Turkey. Medical specialists tend to consider English instructors as content teachers, and they are not preferred by English instructors maybe because of their challenges, such as crowded classrooms and lack of content and terminology knowledge in medicine. As an elective course, medical English is taught in the pre-clinical years (4 credits in the first year, taught for four hours a week; 2 credits in the second year, taught for two hours a week; 2 credits in the third year, taught for two hours a week) in the Faculty of Medicine at Uludağ University in Turkey. As an ESP practitioner, I am a Medical English course coordinator and teach medical English courses, i.e. Medical English I and II in the first year, Medical English III and IV in the second year, and Medical English V and VI in the third year. I am responsible for course material production and test development for the mid-term and final examinations each year. My second post-graduate education focused on English for Specific Purposes (ESP) in the United Kingdom when I realised that my education background, with a BA and a MA in English-language teaching, was not sufficient to effectively teach medical students and produce in-house materials. Although medical students can be challenging, they also tend to be highly motivated, critical, self-confident, and hardworking, which helped me considerably when producing the in-house course materials, conducting testing, and preparing the teaching syllabus. Because the number of medical students is high (284 for the 2014 fall term in the first year; in total, approximately 600 students take medical English courses in the preclinical years), the lectures are given in lecture halls and testing tends to be a challenge. An affective-humanistic approach is used to supplement the primary English teaching programme. Compatible with the teaching context, Benesch (2001) questions power relations in the academic context to encourage democratic participation among students in higher education. In the present study, the emphasis is on opportunities for change and the encouragement of students’ active engagement and awareness of their rights in testing for a medical English course. Thus, to foster the medical students’ positive attitudes towards testing, the testing in this study was designed considering their needs, which were revealed through a longitudinal critical needs analysis (Onder 2014). The course syllabus was prepared in light of this needs analysis (see Appendix A). Moreover, after the in-house material was prepared, feedback was

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collected (n= 47) regarding the test to discover the students’ expectations from testing, their perceptions, and any potential problems I might have overlooked while designing the test, and also to create the test tasks and content that are “authentically representative of tasks in the target situation” (Douglas 2000, 19).

2.2. Teaching Materials in Medical English In-house materials were prepared in light of almost four years’ worth of the medical students’ feedback; they were updated each year as the material is a stimulus to learning and is useful for the organisation of the teaching-learning process (Dudley-Evans and St. Johns 2005, 107). The material production process is tiring, challenging, and time consuming, but this experience can allow ESP practitioners to improve their teaching and better meet medical students’ needs. Thus, time is well spent. For example, I trained myself to develop new techniques while preparing inhouse materials; I read relevant literature to improve myself professionally, attended international conferences, and benefitted from my ESP postgraduate education by using the knowledge gained there with practice in real-life teaching of ESP and producing in-house ESP materials. In addition, the medical students’ active participation and motivation increased. It is worth highlighting that Harwood (2010) rightly questions the ownership of English in the context of authentic English use in materials with evidence from the literature showing that the “number of non-native speakers outnumber native speakers.” The discussion of the extent to which the content of ESP materials should be specialised is not conclusive. There is little linguistic justification for having highly specialised texts. However, highly specialised texts can achieve face validity and learners can be more motivated because the language is more relevant (Dudley-Evans and St. Johns 2005, 161). Considering this discussion and medical students’ needs during material preparation, I provided questions prepared from their written assignments and their outof-classroom research as non-native speakers of English. With the medical students’ permission, their course assignments were also used as materials in the medical English courses as a part of testing and to support in-house course materials.

2.3. Needs Analysis The observation to diagnose students’ perceived shortcomings and problems showed that most were not familiar with the vocabulary-learning

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strategies. Thus, while teaching medical students, several strategies were used to increase their awareness, such as: (1) a cognitive strategy by guessing the meaning from the context; (2) an activation strategy by using target words in different context; (3) teaching collocations; (4) the use of derivation; and (5) teaching synonyms and antonyms of the target words. Moreover, a longitudinal critical needs analysis was conducted to identify the needs of medical students through diagnosing their problems and shortcomings in learning medical English (for the detailed outcomes of a longitudinal critical needs analysis for medical English see Onder [2014]).

3. Preparation of Examination Questions for Medical English Although specific language background knowledge is a requirement in LSP testing, my observations indicate that it is difficult to authentically engage first-year medical students’ content knowledge as test tasks because of their unfamiliarity with content courses in medicine. This requirement may be valid after a few years of study of content courses in medicine. However, it is notable that all of the sentences in the medical English examinations were produced from updated medical texts from medical research articles and websites, such as ScienceDaily, and all concerned topics in medicine. Because of the high number of medical students on the course, the examination format is a standardised test with multiple-choice items and an essay to measure writing. In contrast to general-purpose language testing, which usually tests the four skills (Bachman 1990), the LSP assessment criteria for the medical English course were determined considering the discussions on LSP testing and the outcomes of the longitudinal critical needs analysis (Douglas 2001), allowing for the medical students’ voices to be heard through written feedback, as detailed previously. In other words, questions were prepared in light of learner needs and expectations. It is notable that because current medical research articles are used during teaching, course notes are updated regularly and questions in the examinations change each year according to the research articles and the technical and semi-technical words selected and discussed in the lectures. Moreover, as the literature suggests, we as testers need to understand how test takers tackle the information provided in the prompts and input data. Thus, LSP testers must be provided with adequate contextual clues, otherwise their test performances will constitute insufficient evidence of specific-purpose ability (Douglas 2010). Given this critical aspect of test design, the medical English course did not include highly specialised test content

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which required content knowledge, as provided below in the sample questions from a real examination. However, the first year test assessed technical language knowledge, which has specific purpose characteristics.

3.1. Medical Students’ Written Feedback Designing an effective LSP test for medical English courses in higher education requires careful thought about the aim of the medical English course and the examination. However, as Nation (2007) warns, we have “least control” over students’ attitudes. Thus, to mitigate this weakness I asked for written feedback from the medical students about the test, which I designed based on my observations and the critical needs analysis results. A total of 47 volunteer medical students wrote their perceptions, opinions, criticisms, suggestions, thanks, and recommendations for the test design. The written comments stated that the test format was found to be acceptable by most of the medical students, and the benefits of in-house course materials were reported: P.14: In the examination, the questions concerning the medical research articles in English can be compatible with our content courses in Turkish. P.41: The mid-term examination questions were great. I really liked the academic vocabulary questions and I love the way you taught us by using the strategies you mentioned. P.12: The course notes are very helpful to prepare ourselves for examinations for Medical English. However, some of the students focused on the difficulty experienced with academic reading, as the following quotations show. One potential explanation for these comments may be the educational system in Turkey, which emphasises memorisation by students while studying. P.6: The examination format is good, but sometimes the paragraphs are frightening. I mean boring. Particularly, when the examination is late in the afternoon, I do not like it because I feel tired. P.16: I particularly find academic reading challenging and hesitate when I see an unknown word. P.28: The paragraph questions frighten me but because you give the research articles before the examination to help us prepare for the long articles, I relax.

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P.45: My only problem concerning the medical English examination is that I always make mistakes in the medical research article reading parts. I do not know why I face such a problem. P.36: Although I know the medical words, because sometimes there are words whose meanings I do not know, I hesitate between two choices. Even if I understand the paragraph, I miss a question if I am not sure. I wish that the vocabulary in the reading could be easier. Other comments were associated with the background English knowledge. Some students expressed feeling disadvantaged compared to medical students who had more experience of English. Students’ perceptions are compatible with Elder’s (1996) study, which was noted in light of selfreport data from learners about language background. Her study revealed the challenges that arose from leaners’ different backgrounds that affected their assessment in language. P.19: When I look at my classmates, our level of English is not the same because some of my classmates’ general English knowledge is better; I feel bad and believe that they have more advantages for medical English examinations than me. P.16: My classmates like me start medical English with zero knowledge, as we do not have a good English language background because our English courses were empty before we were university students. Although I attended all of the courses, I had a low mark from the medical English examination … I particularly have difficulties with reading questions because I have a number of words that I do not know. P.40: My English is not very good, and so I do not understand when you teach in English. I am aware that speaking and listening in English is a necessity but it affects me negatively in my medical English examinations. If possible, I would be grateful if you would sometimes speak in Turkish. Moreover, I have a hearing loss problem, and so I cannot hear when I sit in the 6th or 7th line. If you use a microphone, it would be better for me. Foreign language exam (in Turkish Yabancı Dil Sınavı, and abbreviated as YDS) question types were recommended by a number of students, which is a requirement before entering “Examination for Specialty in Medicine” (in Turkish Tıpta Uzmanlık Sınavı, abbreviated as TUS). These examinations consist of multiple-choice questions.

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P.26: You may focus on YDS although we are first year medical students because the examination is significant for our future profession to have our speciality in medicine. P.5: I think the medical English course and examinations are very useful for YDS. P.38: Please ask more YDS type questions in the examination, so that we can feel that we are studying for YDS. Some comments clearly suggest that the humanistic approach had an effect. There was only one feedback, P.25, that was written in English: P.25: I think you are a perfect and awesome lecturer, investigator, elder sister Mrs. Ozdemir. I like listening to you, attend your courses and I really like your course notes and course aims. I will study abroad, and so your courses are very useful to me. Thank you so much my cute lecturer. In note: I am so glad with the lesson style and medical English examination format. P.40: I thank you to for your effort to teach always. Considering the students’ feedback and the needs analysis outcomes, the final examination conducted in the fall term of 2013–14 academic year, for the medical English course, was developed with four parts as follows.

3.2. Medical English Examination Format and Questions Part 1. Assessment of academic vocabulary knowledge: Given the fact that words are the basic building blocks of language and a priority in foreign language learning, assessing vocabulary knowledge among nonnative speakers is straightforward (Read 2000). Each frequently used semi-technical word was explained with its collocation(s) in various rich contexts through choosing specific sentences from current published research articles to put in the course notes. In the examination, words were used in example sentences that differed from the course notes to discover whether the medical students had gained the target words and diagnose their weaknesses as regards the target academic vocabulary, including words such as “sustained” and “strains,” as shown in the questions below. Sometimes, the synonym, antonym, or definition of the target words was asked to measure vocabulary growth. Sample Examination Question 1: A new technology which delivers ___ release of therapeutics for up to six months could be used in conditions

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which require routine injections, including diabetes, certain forms of cancer, and potentially HIV/AIDS. (a) sustained (b) sequenced (c) flawed (d) threatened (e) virulent Sample Examination Question 2: The threat posed by the spread of antibiotic-resistant ___ of bacteria is unlikely to be news to Nature’s readers. Stories of the spread of “superbugs” have become familiar in recent years. (a) detection (b) recognition (c) strains (d) concern (e) parties Sample Examination Question 3: The findings, which appear in the journal Leukemia, are from the first nationwide study to look at the _____ of multiple myeloma in blacks, whites, and Hispanics and could point the way toward tailored screening and preventive strategies for different racial groups. (a) stagnate (b) precursor (c) build-up (d) rupture (e) distress Sample Examination Question 4: A study provides evidence that their kidneys' inability to ____ waste products in the urine, which leads to build-up of these products in the blood, may damage the sugary lining of blood vessels and lead to heart troubles. (a) recurrence (b) proliferation (c) comply (d) staining (e) excrete Sample Examination Question 5: __ is a reduction in how unpleasant, harmful, or serious a situation is. (a) Proliferation (b) Mitigation (c) Challenge (d) Abolition (e) Augmentation Moreover, in each examination there was a question regarding the academic activities of undergraduate medical students in student unions at the university, such as the Uludağ University Scientific Research Union (abbreviated as UBİAT in Turkish), which organises meetings each week to present a research article in medicine, and holds a medical student congress each year, Uludağ University Information and R&D Days, or success stories of medical student(s) after an award (i.e. in a competition) with a message of congratulations for medical students. Question 6 is provided as an example below. Sample Examination Question 6: Some of the medical students (such as Yildirim Esen, Murat Şen, Mert Aydın, Özge Albayrak, Canan Çiçek, and Civanmert Bayrak), in the clinics in the Faculty of Medicine at the Uludağ

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University, are _____ to ___ (examine carefully) the congress abstracts/proposals submitted for poster or oral presentations for the 15th UBIAT National Medical Students Congress on 28 February–2 March, 2014. (a) reviewers/review (b) editors/edit (c) journals/edit (d) reviewers/editorial (e) edit/reviewers After the examination, the medical students reported that this was their favourite question because they were very familiar with UBIAT activities, and the majority attend the activities each week. Once the examination was finished, the medical students were very happy. When I checked my mobile phone, I found that I had received a message thanking me for the question, with a comment that the question had made the students very pleased and had put a smile on their faces during the examination. Part 2. Assessment of connectives knowledge: During the lectures, substitutions of linking words, such as “however” and “nevertheless,” were discussed in the context of medical research articles. The sentences for the questions on linking words were drawn from current medical research articles. Sample Examination Question 7: A final limitation is that [the researchers] were not able to study the exact wear time of the helmet. ____, in this pragmatic study [the researchers] wanted to study the effect of helmet therapy in routine everyday practice, including parent instructions and regular check-ups to monitor treatment and assess improvements in skull shape. (a) However (b) Since (c) Although (d) While (e) Unless The two sentences were chosen from the research article “Helmet Therapy in Infants with Positional Skull Deformation: Randomised Controlled Trial” in the British Medical Journal (2014). Part 3. Assessment of medical research article knowledge: During the lectures, the medical students were taught key terms regarding publications, including review, reviewer, empirical/review research, research article, and impact factor. Moreover, communication purposes and the genre of empirical medical research articles within peer-reviewed journals were discussed, namely the Introduction, Methodology, Results, and Discussion sections, IMRD style, to raise awareness among the students of the features of each section and the language used, i.e. using

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tentative language such as “likely to” and “may,” particularly in Discussion sections, and using more objective statements when presenting research outcomes, such as “show” and “reveal.” The genre knowledge was measured using representative sentences from a published research article by Turkish medical specialists, and medical specialists as native speakers of English in the high impact journals as shown in Question 8. Sample Examination Question 8: Avian Influenza A (H5N1) Infection in Eastern Turkey in 2006 (published in the New England Journal of Medicine) (1) An outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza A (H5N1) that had previously been detected throughout Asia, with major economic and health repercussions, extended to eastern Turkey in late December 2005 and early January 2006. (2) Nasopharyngeal samples for microbiologic tests were obtained on admission in a standardised fashion and sent to the Refik Saydam Hygiene Institute Laboratory, Ankara. At least two samples were obtained with Dacron-tipped swabs from each patient. (3) Among the eight patients in whom H5N1 infection was diagnosed, initial test results of nasopharyngealswab specimens from four patients were negative. (4) Many of these patients’ siblings and parents also had contact with diseased poultry in the home but remained healthy, suggesting that the intensity and duration of contact with infected birds may be important in transmission. (a) (1) Results (2) Methods (3) Introduction (4) Discussion (b) (1) Methods (2) Results (3) Introduction (4) Discussion (c) (1) Methods (2) Discussion (3) Results (4) Introduction (d) (1) Introduction (2) Methods (3) Results (4) Discussion (e) (1) Introduction (2) Methods (3) Discussion (4) Results Moreover, to assess the updated information, another question assessed the knowledge of 2014 medical journal impact factors. Part 4. Assessment of academic reading skills: Current academic research articles were chosen from the journals with high impact factors to measure the medical students’ academic reading comprehension through two types of questions, True-False and multiple choice, as shown below. Although True-False questions have weaknesses, this question type was used to encourage the students to engage in these authentic medical research articles considering their feedback as reported previously.

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True-False questions Since its inception, the Mayo Medical School has provided dedicated research time for students in their third year of training. A previous study from our institution found that Mayo medical students published more articles than the national average. Although the research program has been highly successful, students have found that beginning research at this late stage of training has sometimes made it difficult for them to publish their work prior to graduation. In 2006, the Mayo Medical School curriculum was revised to allow for selectives—dedicated periods of time—during which students can pursue independent study in medically related fields, including bio-medical research. We sought to determine whether this change affected the research productivity of Mayo medical students. We found that students who began their studies after this change published more papers. Sample Examination Question 9: The text above implies that the Mayo Medical School seems to encourage medical students for research through sparing research time in the third year of training. (a) True (b) False Sample Examination Question 10: The text suggests that medical students will certainly see their publication before graduation. (a) True (b) False Multiple choice questions The multiple choice questions for reading were chosen from the YDS examinations that the Council of Higher Education in Turkey conducts twice each year (see http://www.osym.gov.tr/belge/(1)4127/sinavarsivi.html for the YDS examination archive). Part 5. Assessment of academic writing skills: The writing assessment was observed from an individual report about academic activities on the university campus, such as Information and R&D Days. The medical students were asked to choose an academic poster or an activity they attended to write about, and they were provided with various writing tasks to choose from: (1) write a summary and opinion about an academic poster/academic event in English; (2) interview academics/participants during the session for in-depth information on their studies that were presented on the poster and report what their comments are in English; (3) ask questions to the audience who come to see the poster about their perceptions on Information and R&D Days; or (4) write about any topic you like, but provide a justification.

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3.3. Validity of the Test Following Messick’s (1996) discussion, the validity of the medical English test was discussed. Validity is not a property of the test, but addresses the relevance of the test scores. Validity refers to the extent to which the test measures what it intends to measure; in other words, validity is the “accuracy and suitability” of the test; thus, validity is a significant characteristic of test scores. In testing, we cannot have validity without reliability; however, a test can be reliable without being valid. The literature raises two questions concerning validity: (1) is the measure accurate? and (2) are we really measuring what we aim to measure? We cannot expect teacher-made tests to be fully validated, but we can improve their validity. Messick (1996) suggests that preparation which emphasises test structure, content familiarisation, and anxiety reduction by test takers, i.e. medical students, can improve test validity. Three types of validity were realised in this test, which are discussed below. Content validity: Content validity refers to evidence of content relevance in terms of a representative sample of the content and technical quality of the questions; therefore, as Hughes (2003, 27) states, “the greater a test’s content validity, the more likely it is to be an accurate measure of what it is supposed to measure.” Each question in the test should be representative of what we aim to assess in the medical English course. Three medical specialists were consulted on the relevance and appropriateness of the questions and whether they adequately sample the universe for content validity. The specialists also answered the questions to test themselves and experience the examination. Validity in scoring: In addition to the valid test items, how to score the answers is significant for the validity of the test. Because medical English classes tend to be very crowded, all of the questions were written multiple choice. Thus, the assessment of vocabulary and reading was scored objectively. As for academic writing in the test, to make the scoring valid mechanical features, such as spelling and punctuation, were not overemphasised (Hughes 2003). Face validity: A test has face validity if it measures what is intended to be measured (Hughes 2003). The medical students’ opinions and comments regarding how they might be appropriate for the test were taken into account; it is important for the overall validity of the tests to find whether the items appear to be valid. While designing the tests, Studentcentredness was at the heart of the design, and so the students were

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consulted regarding their preferred testing methods and question types. Then, feedback was collected after the mid-term examination to discover whether they felt the questions were valid. This feedback enabled a decision about whether a particular measurement instrument was appropriate for a given assessment situation.

4. Conclusion and Pedagogical Implications In this LSP test, the medical students’ needs and opinions were taken into account while developing the testing principles for authentic and realistic tests in medical English. Because the informants were subject specialists, and resulting from the heavy schedule in the department, they could have a slight voice in the preparation of testing, although their active involvement is strongly recommended (Rea-Dickins 1987; Selinker 1979; Elder 1993; Douglas and Selinker 1994). The medical English as LSP test included five main parts to assess medical students’ knowledge: assessment of academic vocabulary knowledge, assessment of connectives, assessment of medical research article knowledge, assessment of academic reading skills and assessment of academic writing skills.

References Bachman, L. 1990. Fundamental Considerations in Language Testing. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Benesch, S. 2001. Critical English for Academic Purposes: Theory, Politics and Practice. New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Inc. —. 1999. “Right Analysis: Studying Power Relations in an Academic Setting.” English for Specific Purposes 18: 313–28. Brown, H. D. 2004. Language Assessment: Principles and Classroom Practices. White Plains, NY: Pearson Education, Inc. Charpy, J. P., and D. Carnet. 2014. “The European sTANDEM Project for Certification in Medical English: Standards, Acceptability and Transgressions.” ILCEA 19: 1–14. Cumming, A. 2001. “ESL/EFL Instructors’ Practices for Writing Assessment: Specific Purposes or General Purposes?” Language Testing 18 (2): 207–24. Douglas, D., and L. Selinker. 1994. “Research Methodology in Contextbased Second Language Research.” In Methodologies for Eliciting and Analysing Language in Context, edited by E. Tarone, S. Gass, and A. Cohen, 119– 31. Northvale, NJ: Erlbaum.

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Douglas, D. 2001. “Language for Specific Purposes Assessment Criteria: Where Do They Come From?” Language Testing 18 (2): 171–85. —. 2000. Assessing Languages for Specific Purposes. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Dudley–Evans, T., and M. St. John. 2005. Developments in English for Specific Purposes. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Elder, C. 1993. “How do Subject Specialists Construe Classroom Language Proficiency?” Language Testing 10 (3): 235–54. —. 1996. “The Effect of Language Background on ‘Foreign’ Language Test Performance: The Case of Chinese, Italian and Modern Greek.” Language Learning 46 (2): 233–82. Frankel, R., and H. Beckman. 1982. “IMPACT: an Interaction-based Method for Preserving and Analyzing Clinical Transactions.” In Explorations in Provider and Patient Transactions, edited by L. Pettigrew, 71–85. Memphis, TN: Humana. Harwood, N. (ed.). 2010. English Language Teaching Materials—Theory and Practice. New York: Cambridge University Press. Hay, L. 2014. “Promoting Effective Clinician-Patient Spoken Communication through English Language Teaching and Assessment: the Case of the Occupational English Test.” Presented at The Pyramid Group’s International Medical English Conference on September 13, 2014. Norwich, United Kingdom. Hughes, A. 2003. Testing for Language Teachers, 2nd ed. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Mauranen, A. 1989. “New Directions in LSP Testing at Finnish Universities.” http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext /ED344451.pdf McDonough, J. 1984. ESP in Perspective. London: Collins. Messick, S. 1996. “Validity and Washback in Language Testing.” Language Testing 13 (3): 241–56. Onder, Ozdemir, N. 2014 “Diagnosing the EAP Needs of Turkish Medical Students: A Longitudinal Critical Needs Analysis.” Iberica 28: 35–58. Nation, P. 2007. “Fundamental Issues in Modelling and Assessing Vocabulary Knowledge.” In Modelling and Assessing Vocabulary Knowledge, edited by H. Daller, J. Milton, and J. Treffers–Daller, 33– 43. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Rea–Dickins, P. 1987. “Testing Doctors’ Written Communicative Competence: an Experimental Technique in English for Specific Purposes.” Quantitative Linguistics 34: 185–218. Read, J. 2000. Assessing Vocabulary. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

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Selinker, L. 1979. “On the Use of Informants in Discourse Analysis and Language for Specific Purposes.” International Review of Applied Linguistics 17: 189–215.

Appendix A: Course Syllabus ENGLISH Course Title 1

MEDICAL ENGLISH-I

2

Course Code

TIPİS1023

3

Type of Course

Optional

4

Level of Course

First cycle

5

Year of Study

2014–15

6

Semester

1st

7

ECTS Allocated Theoretical (hour/week)

8

Credits

6 4

9

Prerequisites

Medical students must pass proficiency examination in English at least with 70 out of 100 points, which is prepared by Uludağ University. English (Accompanied by Turkish when necessary) Face to face learning

10

Language

11

Mode of Delivery

12

Course Coordinator

Instructor Neslihan ÖNDER ÖZDEMİR

13

Course Lecturers

Instructor Neslihan ÖNDER ÖZDEMİR

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Contact information of the Course Coordinator Website

[email protected]

16

Objective of the Course

17

Learning Outcomes

Medical English-I aims to equip medical students with the medical vocabulary—mainly semi-technical words—in current authentic texts, and key academic skills, which have been determined in light of empirical data with a longitudinal critical needs analysis. Using a medical dictionary 1 Using proper vocabulary while 2 speaking to patients and colleagues Talking about medicine 3 Practicing vocabulary learning 4 strategies with challenging medical texts, including a cognitive strategy by guessing the meaning from the context; activation strategy by using target words in different context; collocations; derivation; synonyms and antonyms of the target medical words. Being able to read medical texts in 5 English Using skills of paraphrasing 6 Writing a text for an academic 7 activity Explaining the instructions 8 relevant to medical contexts Discussing medical reports and 9 case studies 10 Being able to deal with the format of medical research articles

14

15

http://tip.uludag.edu.tr/english/

CHAPTER FOURTEEN THE USE OF SUPPORT VERB CONSTRUCTIONS (SVC) IN THE ARGUMENTATIVE ESSAYS OF TURKISH EFL LEARNERS: KTUCLE VS. LOCNESS ALI ŞÜKRÜ ÖZBAY AND MUSTAFA NACI KAYAOĜLU

1. Introduction This computerised, contrastive learner corpus-based descriptive paper includes a detailed account of the use of support verb constructions in English by English majors in a tertiary-level EFL setting. The study is corpus-based, since a corpus has the potential to provide us with profound advantages in the ways we study, teach, and learn languages through its authentic, genuine, qualitative, and quantitative findings related to the nature of language. Moreover, the close relationship between corpus linguistics and lexicology makes it a tool with greater potential for linguistic research towards the collocational and phraseological nature of the language in general terms, and support verb constructions in specific terms. As the researchers of this study, we firmly believe that by using corpus linguistic tools and methods the collocational nature of the English language can be investigated in greater depth, and it becomes possible to appreciate the ideas of British linguist John Firth, who contended that, “you shall know a word by the company it keeps” (1957, 11). It is also the case that words’ tendency to occur in “preferred sequences” (Hunston 2002) paves the way for predicting their meanings by their contexts and lexical co-occurrences in any given text (138). The existence of this lexical co-occurrence in the texts can help the speakers understand the meaning of the words and influences future lexical choices in any text. We believe that there is a need for all EFL speakers and learners to increase their

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awareness towards the collocational nature of English, as well as the existence of pre-determined free and restricted lexical combinations. The fact that grammar alone may be insufficient to account for why language is used the way it is urged us to think that the frequency of words, lexical structures, and the associated collocational preferences in texts pedagogically deserves immediate focus and research. Teaching lexical combinations, therefore, must be an important part of language teaching along with grammar. Lewis (2000), in line with his lexical approach, questioned, “the place of grammar and vocabulary dichotomy in language teaching,” and seriously proposed a lexical approach based on the idea of teaching lexical combinations or collocations rather than grammar alone” (127). Teaching collocations or multi-word combinations to the EFL learners who have lexical problems and who struggle more with matching the correct combinations so that their writing sounds natural therefore occupies a high priority. Failure to become familiarised with the idiomatic nature of English language and lexically co-occurring word groups may result in problematic or wrong lexical choices in the writing texts of EFL learners. One group of collocations is called Support Verb Constructions (SVC) (“have a look,” “run the risk”), which are important since they seem to be very common but problematic even for advanced learners (Sinclair and Fox 1990). Sinclair and Renouf (1988) emphasise the significance of these constructions for EFL learners and teachers, and claim that these constructions are very rare, if they exist at all, in teaching materials. There are several existing studies related to the support verb constructions (Altenberg and Granger 2001; Howarth 1996; Kaszubski 2000). One of the few studies concentrating on support verb constructions belongs to Chi, Wong, and Wong (1994), who investigated the support verb constructions of six common verbs in a one-million word corpus of learner English produced by speakers of Chinese. Although this problematic situation, which is very often the case in the writing productions of EFL learners, may also be related to language proficiency, we still believe that there is an urgent need to raise their awareness of the collocational nature of the English language. At this stage, corpus linguistics and corpus tools become vitally important for the accurate description of lexical and structural preferences in a text, as well as quantitative and qualitative models of lexical analysis of the texts. These may serve to compensate for a lack of common knowledge that native speakers naturally possess and automatically use when deciding on the right collocations. Corpus linguistics, as a branch of a broad area of linguistics, can be considered as a methodology based on the use of electronic collections of naturally occurring texts for numerous

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pedagogical purposes, or a body of a written text which can serve as a basis of linguistic analysis (McEnery and Hardie 2011). Granger (2002) defines it as a monolithic, consensually agreed set of methods and procedures for the exploration of language. According to Kennedy (1998) and Biber, Conrad, and Reppen (1998), it is an empirical study of language based on computer-assisted techniques with the purpose of investigating naturally occurring language. According to Leech (1992), corpora can change perspectives on language research and offer a new philosophical approach to the subject. Stubbs (1996) defines it as a, “methodology whose power is no longer in doubt … it has led to farreaching new hypotheses about language such as the co-selection of lexis and syntax” (232). Furthermore, according to McEnery and Wilson (1996), there is a wide consensus among many researchers that, “corpus is the most reliable source of evidence for such features as frequency” (9). Learner corpora, as a sub-branch of corpus linguistics, offer solutions to the various challenges in the foreign language teaching and constitute an ideal tool for the researchers who explore the foreign language learners’ current language at the lexical level. One of the strengths of learner corpora technology is that it collects objective data, and stores and uses it automatically for analysis purposes (Granger 1998). Computer learner corpora (CLC), according to the Sinclair (1996), are: “The electronic collections of authentic FL/SL textual data assembled according to explicit design criteria for a particular SLA/FLT purpose. They are encoded in a standardized and homogeneous way and documented as to their origin and provenance.” In the teaching the English language, there is a need to know the typical difficulties of the EFL learners to create possible solutions to the problems likely to arise while learning and teaching. For this reason, as a tool to aid the teachers for the solution of the problems, contrastive analysis (CAH) is applied to analyse the language produced by EFL learners to compare it with the language produced by native speakers (Lado 1957). Through the comparative analysis function of computerised learner corpora, it becomes a strong alternative for other data collection methodologies. With this purpose in mind, in this study the use of support verb constructions by the learners of English in a tertiary level EFL setting were investigated on the basis of a learner corpus that was compiled by the researcher from the argumentative writing samples of the students.

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2. Theoretical Background 2.1. Lexicology, Idiom Principle and Contrastive Interlanguage Analysis The study of words and multi-word combinations within the framework of lexicology is important because they are among the most important language components for learners (Nation 2001; Bogaards and Laufer 2004). The claim that, “the lexicon is the driving force in sentence production” shows the significance of lexical items for the EFL learners (Levelt 1989, 81). This close treatment of the collocational nature of language soon gave way to the birth of the lexical approach, a new approach in regard to teaching L2 and FL (Lewis 2000). The approach is, “derived from the belief that the building blocks of language communication teaching are not grammar, functions, notions or some other units of planning and teaching, but lexis” (Richards and Rogers 2001, 132). This shows again that the lexical approach presents us with the belief of the centrality of the lexicon to language structure, learning, and use (Lewis 1993). All this, in turn, led to a rise in the role of vocabulary in L2 and FL education thanks to the authenticity of its corpus, and its usefulness for extracting words and their contexts (Sun and Wang 2003; Chan and Liou 2005). Considering the existence of an intrinsic connection between lexicon and grammar by the corpus linguists entails the rise of a new theory of language analysis proposed by Sinclair (1991), who claimed that in order to fully analyse any language text, two principles should be considered: the open-choice and the idiom principles, which govern the choice of words by speakers and writers. The open-choice principle, according to Sinclair, is, "probably the normal way of seeing and describing language" (1991, 109). This principle regulates the basic restrictions on the possible choice of lexical items that are used to fill the slots in any given text. But sometimes, words tend to appear together and generate multi-word combinations or phraseological structures, and each word shows variations in meaning in the contexts of the new combinations, which is called the idiom principle. According to the idiom principle—which is composed of collocations or other degrees of idiomaticity, for instance idioms or fixed phrases—words tend to appear together and generate a huge number of phraseological units that add new meanings in their combinations. In Sinclair’s words, “the word is the unit that aligns grammar and vocabulary” (1996, 24). According to this model, language is composed of a series of phrases and semi-fixed phrases that are expected to be encountered in specific registers, and should be studied as chunks.

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Using the learners’ language data for a linguistic study calls for a contrastive interlanguage analysis perspective. In other words, in an attempt to analyse learner corpora, the most frequent method employed is contrastive interlanguage analysis (CIA), which is basically used to compare varieties of one language, these being native and non-native (L1/L2), or different non-native varieties (L2/L2) (Granger 1996; Gilquin 2001). The corpus-based contrastive interlanguage analysis (CIA) of the learners’ written language may help to understand the acquisition sequences at different stages of language learning (Cobb 2003). This will in turn lead to understanding the nature of acquiring second languages as well as the development of curriculum design, the production of pedagogic materials, and classroom based teaching in FL or SL settings (Meunier 2002). In addition to many other benefits, the understanding of the developmental stages of the learners in their acquisition of the second language can be regarded as one of the best potential advantages of the corpus based contrastive interlanguage analysis process (Ibid.). These stages are determined as a result of the, “quantitative and qualitative comparisons between native language and learner language” (Granger 2009, 18). For Barlow (2005), this comparison brings about “a variety of issues” that need to be treated seriously (345). First and foremost is the level of proficiency of both native and non-native learners I speaking. This problem in the KTUCLE corpus was solved by using advanced level nonnative learners’ argumentative writing productions as compared with the Louvain Corpus of Native English essays (LOCNESS). The Louvain Corpus of Native English essays was written by British and American students. There are similarities between KTUCLE and LOCNESS in terms of genre. They both included texts written in argumentation, and the age and experience of the writers are similar. According to Leech (1998), native control corpora such as LOCNESS or BAWE can be considered as a, “standard of comparison, a norm against which to measure the characteristics of the learner corpora” (xv). It is also the case that this powerful native corpus is based on the norms of native speakers, which are explicit, while corpus-based and “nativeness” remain useful constructs both for linguistics and for the ELT community (Mukherjee 2005). When a learner corpus such as KTUCLE (L2) is compared with a reference corpus such as LOCNESS (L1), it means that LOCNESS (L1) is taken as a “norm” with which the learner corpus data from a L2 corpus will be compared. In this study, the EFL learner writing corpus (L2) was compared to argumentative writing samples of British and American students (L1). While there are wide ranging criticisms towards the use of the native (L1) writing corpus as a reference, one should not forget that an

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L1 student writing corpus will always be a better source of comparable data for EFL learner writing, since we are basically trying to understand more about the interlanguage developmental levels of the EFL writers.

3. Methodology This is a mixed-method research study aiming to make a corpus analysis of the support verb construction (SVC) development as well as its use by learners of English at a tertiary level EFL setting in Turkey, and identify the affective factors behind the support verb construction development of the EFL learners. The following questions were asked: (1) What is the overall frequency of Support Verb Constructions

(SVC) use in the argumentative essays of the tertiary level EFL learners? (2) What are the affective factors behind the SVC development of the tertiary level EFL learners? The rationale for employing a mixed-method research design was complementarity, and “seeks elaboration, enhancement, illustration, the clarification of the results from one method with the results from the other method” (Greene, Caracelli, and Graham 1989, in Christensen and Johnson 2004, 423). The subjects were asked to keep diaries related to the word selection processes of their own argumentative essays, and the analysis of these diaries was used to reveal the affective factors behind their lexical preferences. The qualitative data were analysed through the content analysis, as suggested by Miles and Huberman (1994) and Weber (1990), which involves coding for themes, looking for patterns, and making interpretations. The quantitative data were analysed through the frequencies of each item.

3.1. Research Setting and Participants The study was carried out in the English department of a university in Trabzon, Turkey. The 105 participants were aged between 17 and 25, and all were Turkish citizens. The sampling procedure used by the researcher is purposive sampling, and the individuals met the criteria for the study. In an attempt to understand the participants’ current language levels, an Oxford Online Placement Test was implemented. Based on the scores, the participants were divided into groups of two for further research purposes.

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3.2. Procedure For the design criteria to be implemented properly, the following steps were taken in the study. First of all, in order to identify the subjects they were given a demographical questionnaire. The total number of subjects was 105. In the demographic information questionnaire, questions based on the design criteria were asked related to age, sex, mother tongue, region, knowledge of other languages, language level, learning context, and practical experience. The researchers collected the data after obtaining the necessary approval and consent. The subjects were delivered an informed consent form reminding them about the aim of the study, confidentiality, voluntariness, authority, and anonymity of participation. Table 14.1. Demographic information of student participants (subjects) No. 83 22

% 79 21

17–18 19–20 21–23 23–above

1 37 52 15

1 35 50 14

5 18 37 42 3

4.7 17 35 40 3

Previous high-school graduation

Less than a year 1 year 2 years 3 years 4 years

101 2 2

96 2 2

Other languages

Public Private Abroad

15 16 11

14 15 19

15 90

14 86

Sex

Female Male

Age

Total length of time in the department

Experience overseas

French German Others Yes No

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Secondly, the Oxford Online Placement Test, widely used around the world for language placement purposes, was applied. As well as placing the students into the appropriate level class for a language course, the Oxford Online Placement Test can also be used as a quick measure of a student's general language ability. The test considers not only grammar and vocabulary, but also tests how learners use that knowledge in order to understand meaning in communication. It has been pretested and validated by more than 19,000 students in 60 countries, and the scoring system is based on CEFR level (A1–C2), with separate scores for Use of English and Listening. The only criteria for the study are that all participants are affiliated with the scores they got from the online placement exam held by Oxford University, and are tertiary level Turkish EFL students at a middle sized university in Trabzon. Participants of the study include first- and second-year students from the department of English. Table 14.2. The study design steps to be followed in the methodology section Steps Step 1

Methodology Section Demographic Information forms were given to all the students (1st and 2nd year students) at the English Department. The total number of these students is 105

Step 2

Sample Selection: Oxford Online Placement Test

Step 3

Compiling the learner corpus from the writing samples of the students: Karadeniz Technical University Corpus of Learner English (KTUCLE)

Step 4

Data Collection: Criteria for the Selection of Support Verb Combination Samples from the Learner Corpora: KTUCLE and LOCNESS

Step 5

Data Collection: Retrospective Protocol: Immediate and delayed retrospection with the samples

Step 6

Data Collection: Students’ diaries

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Thirdly, the database of this study consists of a learner corpus that was compiled by the researcher called the Karadeniz Technical University Corpus of Learner English (KTUCLE). It contains essays that are academic in character, and the selected sample for the present study comprises a total of 350,000 words. Initially, the essays written by the students were retyped on computer and converted into text file documents, and were uploaded onto the AntConc3.2.4w concordance program software, available free online. The raw data in the study were not annotated or tagged since the probable structural problems in learners’ English would make the automatic tagging process very difficult. After the extraction of all verb combinations with “have,” “make,” “do,” “take,” and “do” from the corpus, the samples classified as support verb constructions were grouped together. The acceptability of these support verb constructions were determined by first referring to the Collins COBUILD English Dictionary (1995), and at least four times to the British National Corpus (BNC). In the end, the statistical procedures included information related to the number, type, variation, and percentage of the data as well a detailed description of the formation and developmental stages of the constructions. The reference corpus of similar writing was taken from the Louvain Corpus of Native English essays (LOCNESS). The LOCNESS corpus was compiled in 1995, and comprises approximately 325,000 words. It includes 149,574 words of argumentative essays written by American university students, 18,826 words of literary mixed essays written by American university students, 59,568 words of argumentative and literary essays written by British university students, and 60,209 words from British A-level argumentative essays. Table 14.3. Constituents of the KTUCLE and LOCNESS Representation

Corpus

Learner writing

KTUCLE

Native expert writing

LOCNESS

No. of texts Word count 390 texts 350,000 words

Average length of text 2,059

221 texts 324,304 words

2,596

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Based on the learner corpus (KTUCLE) data, which was compiled by the researcher and included mostly argumentative essays of tertiary level EFL learners, all the verb-noun combinations with “make,” “have,” “take,” “give” and “do” were extracted and listed separately. For practical reasons, the analysis of the combinations is limited to the frequently used verbs above (Akimoto 1989, 2), which are also the most common verbs used in a de-lexical sense (Sinclair and Fox 1990). First of all, the combinations were searched for acceptability from at least two dictionaries, the Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary (2000) and the BBI Dictionary of English Word Combinations. Secondly, all the combinations selected for the study were checked with the written part of the BNC, and the appearance of the combinations must have been noted at least four times in the concordance lines. Finally, the subjects were asked to keep diaries related to the writing processes, selection of words, and word combinations, and their feelings towards the writing tasks at hand. The diary as a data collection procedure in social sciences has attracted the attention of many researchers who are using qualitative data in their researches. Diaries are usually defined as first-person observations of experiences recorded over a period of time (Krishnan and Hoon 2002). These diaries were used as part of the delayed retrospection procedures. The scripts of the diaries were obtained from the 50 students in the first and second years for six weeks between September and December 2013. The tasks and topics were decided on the basis of the content of the expository writing course at the department.

4. Data Analysis and Findings In this section, the results of the qualitative and quantitative data analysis, respectively, are reported. In the first place, a corpus-based frequency analysis is presented as part of the quantitative analysis. In order to compare whether there is a significant difference between the number of instances of certain words in the two corpora, the log-likelihood test was applied. All the frequencies extracted from each corpus were normalised. Normalisation is necessary when we are comparing corpora of different sizes (Biber, Conrad, and Reppen 1998). Normalisation is also necessary in order to obtain comparable results and, consequently, be able to make claims. The following formula was used to normalise the results. normalised result = instances of the word in the corpus X 1,000,000 total # of words in the corpus

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In spite of the fact that the selection of the basis does not interfere with the comparability of the two numbers, Biber, Conrad, and Reppen (1998) suggested that the size of the corpus may determine it. The basis chosen for this study is 1,000,000, not only because of the size of the corpora, but also because this is the norming rate used in many corpus-based studies. The analysis of the quantitative data was followed by the analysis of the diaries. The themes or codes were created by the researchers based on the content of the diaries. Finally, the diaries were analysed in order to reveal the affective factors behind the support verb construction development of the EFL learners.

4.1. Corpus Analysis of Support Verb Constructions (SVC) In the analysis which follows, the NS corpus (LOCNESS) provides the backdrop against which characteristic features in the learners’ use of SVC expressions and multi-word combination patterns can be evaluated. When SVCs are more frequent in the NNS corpus than in the comparable reference NS component, this has been described as overuse. Table 14.4 shows the overall frequencies of SVCs in the KTUCLE and LOCNESS. Table 14.4. Distribution of SVC use with “make” across KTUCLE and LOCNESS SVC

observed frequency f

normalised frequency nf

LL

KTUCLE Make a reference Make a connection Make use of Make a score Make a choice Make contact Make a comment

12/2 9/1 9/2 7/0 5/5 5/1 4/0

34.2 25.7 25.7 20 14.2 14.2 11.4

+7.20 +6.78 +4.31 +9.19 -0.01 +2.62 +5.25

LOCNESS Make progress Make a sacrifice Make a decision Make an attempt Make a profit

3/3 2/2 3/3 3/3 8/8

9.2 6.1 9.2 9.2 24.6

+0.01 -0.13 +0.01 +0.28 +4.31

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Make a difference Make a mistake

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4/4 1/12

12.3 36.9

+2.16 +11.8

The most striking finding in Table 14.4 is that the category of SVC samples in KTUCLE as a whole is highly significantly overused. Within the global category, it is “make a reference,” “make a connection,” and “make a score” which stand out. The distributions of “make a choice,” “make progress,” “make a difference,” and “make an attempt” were the same in texts by native and non-native speakers, but “make a mistake” was over-represented, the difference being highly significant. One possible explanation for the overuse in KTUCLE may be transfer from the L1. It is possible to investigate the potential influence of the L1 by comparing more NNS essays with NS essays. In Table 14.5 below, NS support verb constructions are contrasted with NNS ones used by Turkish EFL learners. The table shows that almost all the NNS learners under investigation overuse the category of support verb constructions that begin with “take.” Significant overuse happens with “take care,” which was used eight times more than in the NS corpus. The reason for this generalised overuse of “take care” may be that it is a very popular construction for Turkish EFL learners, and they may have used it without actually making a conscious decision to be using a SVC. When learners were asked about this combination in their retrospective protocols, they responded that they considered this combination as a structural and compositional unit regardless of its collocational nature. “Take into account,” “take into consideration,” “take notice,” and “take control” were other SVCs whose numbers of occurrences were the same in both corpus. Table 14.5. Distribution of SVC use with “take” across KTUCLE and LOCNESS SVC

Take care of Take a look Take a risk Take a step Take into account Take notice Take revenge Take a risk

observed frequency f 85/10 8/0 7/0 4/0 10/7 3/3 4/2 7/0

normalised frequency nf

LL

242.8 22.8 20 11.4 28.5 8.5 11.4 20

+62.34 +10.51 +9.19 +5.25 +0.33 -0.01 +0.54 +9.19

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Take action Take control Take an interest Take into consideration Take note Take a decision

3/7 3/3 3/0 8/8 8/1 2/1

8.5 8.5 8.5 22.8 22.8 5.7

-1.96 -0.01 +3.94 -0.02 +5.69 +0.27

LOCNESS Take care of Take into account Take notice Take revenge Take action Take control Take into consideration Take note Take a decision

10/85 7/10 3/3 2/4 7/3 3/3 8/8 1/8 1/2

30.7 21.5 9.2 6.1 21.5 9.2 24.6 3.7 3.7

+62.34 -0.33 +0.01 -0.54 +1.96 +0.01 +0.02 -5.69 -0.27

Table 14.6 below shows that much fewer numbers of SVCs were used with “give” in both corpora. The infrequency of SVCs may be given to the fact that the base verb “give” presents a smaller variety of combinations, at least in the minds of the EFL learners within the scope of this study. The entire SVCs given in Table 14.5 above were used 34 times in the KTUCLE, and a significantly fewer 5 times in LOCNESS. This points to the infrequent use of combinations with “give” when compared to others. The greatest overuse is with “give permission,” “give information,” and “give direction.” These three combinations were used more than 31 times in the KTUCLE corpus. Other SVCs are quite sporadic and were used no more than once or twice. Although the number of occurrences given for each token on the table points to the limited combinative nature of the head word “give,” in fact the probable combinations with “give” could be much more for a different native-speaker corpus.

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Table 14.6. Distribution of SVC use with “give” across KTUCLE and LOCNESS SVC

KTUCLE Give permission Give information Give direction Give harm LOCNESS Give permission Give information

observed frequency f

normalized frequency nf

LL

12/3 11/2 8/0 3/0

34.2 31.4 22.8 8.5

+5.14 +6.21 +10.51 +3.94

3/12 2/11

9.2 6.1

-5.14 -6.21

In Table 14.7 below, the whole list of support verb constructions (SVC) that begin with “have” is given. In addition to giving the percentages of the each SVC token in each corpus, the number of occurrence for each SVCs were given in the thought that this would help better evaluate the findings at this initial stage of analysis. A close scrutiny of the table reveals that the majority of the combinations were slightly overused in the NNS corpus. The seemingly limited use of “have” combinations in the table may account for the fact that the EFL academic writers that fall within the scope of this dissertation preferred to use single-word tokens and made word choices based on the open choice principle, which is also called the terminological tendency. Table 14.7. Distribution of SVC use with “have” across KTUCLE and LOCNESS SVC

KTUCLE Have an effect Have access Have a row Have an influence Have control Have a dream Have a claim

observed frequency f

normalized frequency nf

LL

8/4 7/9 4/0 3/0 3/1 3/0 1/1

22.8 20 11.4 8.5 8.5 8.5 2.8

+1.08 -0.42 +5.25 +3.94 +0.90 +3.94 -0.00

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Have impact on Have an operation

14/13 2/0

40 5.7

-0.00 +2.63

LOCNESS Have an effect Have access Have impact on

4/8 9/7 13/14

12.3 27.6 40

-1.08 0.12 +0.00

The most significant overuse in the NNS corpus shown in the table is with “have a row,” “have an influence,” and “have a dream.” The first SVC alone was used more than 25 times, which accounts for almost 20% of the total usage. The relative richness in the variety of the SVC usages may be given to the fact that the head verb “have” has a wide variety of usages both as a single token and head verb for different combinations. The total uses of SVCs were 110 in the KTUCLE corpus, the second largest so far. A close look at Table 14.8 below reveals that “do” constructions are limited in scope and number. This relatively limited use of SVC combinations in the table may account for the fact that the EFL academic writers’ repertoire is very small in terms of “do” constructions, at least as far as their language performance is concerned. The use of “do” as a single word, however, was very common in the KTUCLE corpus, exceeding onethousand tokens (n:1,042), and thus it is possible to conclude that the terminological tendency was dominant in their papers. There are slight overuses in the KTUCLE corpus. The greatest underuse in KTUCLE is with “do a favour.” Table 14.8. Distribution of SVC use with “do” across KTUCLE and LOCNESS SVC

KTUCLE Do research Do an experiment Do exercise Do harm Do practice Do a favour Do a test Do a comment

observed frequency f

normalized frequency nf

LL

5/4 1/0 4/0 3/2 1/0 1/6 1/0 1/0

14.2 2.8 11.4 8.5 2.8 2.8 2.8 2.8

+0.05 +1.31 +5.25 +0.13 +1.31 -4.34 +1.31 +1.31

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Do a translation

2/0

5.7

+2.63

LOCNESS Do research Do harm Do a favour

4/5 2/3 6/1

12.3 6.1 18.4

-0.05 -0.13 +4.34

4.2. Analysis of the Students’ Diaries This study aimed to find out the affective factors behind the support verb combination development of learners on the basis of the analysis of the most common SVCs in English, such as “have,” “make,” “take,” “give” and “do” in the learner (non-native) corpus called KTUCLE. Affective factors are considered as the significant determinants of learners’ failure or success in writing, as well as a guide for coping with the writing problems of learners or encouraging them in an attempt to improve their writing skills (Langer 2004). The common affective factors related to L2, or foreign language, learning are emotions, self-esteem, empathy, anxiety, attitude and motivation, but other factors such as pedagogical, psychological, gender, personal, environmental, and cultural factors are also present (Shumin 2002, 204). In this study, the main emphasis is on the affective factors behind learners’ tendency towards MVCs, and in this part the affective factors were obtained from the students’ diaries and retrospective protocol, and in the analysis the various sub-themes also emerged. For four weeks, 61 students were asked to keep diaries related to SVC usage, selection of words, and feelings towards the writing tasks at hand. A total of 260 diaries (1st week: 60, 2nd week: 60, 3rd week: 61, 4th week: 59, 5th week: 20) were used in order to determine the affective factors (positive/negative) behind the MVC development of students. Based on the students’ responses to the diaries, the affective categories were created (see Fig. 14.1 below). Fig. 4.2-1. Affective Factors in learning SVCs

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As shown in Table 14.9 below, pedagogical factors were subcategorised into several themes: lack of background knowledge, amount and mode of instruction, poor writing skills, and lack of linguistic and/or vocabulary knowledge. Table 14.9. Pedagogical factors affecting SVC use Pedagogical Factors

Lack of Linguistic or/and Vocabula Knowledge Poor Writing Skills Writing Process (Preparation and Planning) Amount and Mode of Instruction Total

Number of responses 17 14 65 21

% 14.5 11.9 55.5 17.9

117

From Table 14.9, it is possible to speculate that “preparation and planning for writing” constitutes an important factor behind the students’ SVC use. Almost 56% of the students who prioritised this option think that careful preparation and planning for a writing task may help them use more SVC and other word combinations. In all, 18% of the students hold that “amount and mode of instruction” are very effective in learning and using these constructions. Likewise, 26.4% think that “lack of linguistic and/or vocabulary knowledge” and “poor skills” are the main obstacles for them to begin learning and using SVCs in their writing. These reveal that the writing process, careful planning, and the amount and mode of instruction are the most important sub-factors for EFL students in their attempts to develop an awareness of and conscious effort to use SVCs. Table 14.10. Personal factors affecting SVC use Personal Factors Personal interest in Writing [Background] Lack of Background knowledge Watching TV English Proficiency Self esteem Empathy Total 57

Number of responses % 47 82.4 3 5.2 7 12.2

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From Table 14.10 above, it can be seen that the “Personal interest in Writing” option constitutes the single highest percentage (82.4%) of all the personal factors involved. Only 17.2 % of the students mentioned the “lack of background knowledge and Watching TV” as other affective factors for their SVC use. It is, however, interesting to note that important personal factors such as “self-esteem” and “empathy” did not receive any percentage from the subjects. Table 14.11. Psychological factors affecting SVC use Psychological Factors Perception towards Writing Writing Apprehension (Anxiety) Total

Number of responses % 38 82.6 8 17.4 46

As shown in Table 14.11 above, psychological factors were subcategorised into two sub-factors: perception towards writing positively, and writing apprehension. According to the diaries, while 82.6% of the students think that they learn and use SVCs because of their perceived interest in these constructions, 17.4% say that their writing apprehension hinders them in learning and using these support verb constructions effectively. From these findings, it is easy to conclude that the learners’ psychological states and high anxiety levels towards writing may be discouraging factors for the development and use of SVCs. Table 14.12. Motivational factors affecting SVC use Motivational Factors Intrinsic Motivation Using the Internet Effort for Better Writing Skills Using a Dictionary Chatting with Native Speakers Total

Student Number 29 19.2 80 52.9 31 20.5 9 5.9 3 1.9 151

%

It is revealed from Table 14.12 above that “internet use” by itself occupies the highest percentage of all with 52.9%. It is obvious that the use of the internet has become an important motivator for the students who seek to develop themselves in SVC use. Obviously, the students use the internet in order to find arguments for their writing as well as finding the multi-verb

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combinations rather than checking them in their dictionaries. Yet, another seemingly important factor behind their SVC use is the amount of effort they consciously make to write better (20.5%). They know that to produce better essays they need to use collocations and multi-word combinations, and they make a special effort to find good combinations and use them when appropriate. In all, 19.2% of the students think that they are intrinsically motivated to write, and this powerful urge helps them use more support verb constructions for better writing. Consequently, there are undoubtedly many other affective factors at work which have a great impact on the learners’ tendency to use SVCs. Therefore, there is need for EFL teachers to make more conscious efforts regarding these factors and to consider their students` language development in the light of the aforementioned affective factors.

5. Conclusions The findings of this study, together with the fact that support verb constructions are a common feature in English, indicate that for the EFL learners in the scope of this study there is indeed a need for the improved teaching of support verb constructions. The reason for this is that they are used quite infrequently by the learners and the error rate is rather high. The seemingly rare use of many SVCs points to the fact that the subjects prefer using single word terminologies, which is also compatible with the word usages in their L1. It is also the case that the sporadic use of these SVCs may indicate their unconscious decisions to use the SVCs given in the above section. With this in mind, however, close scrutiny of the tables reveals that although the number of SVCs is relatively limited, almost all the existing ones were used more than once or twice in a corpus as large as KTUCLE with slightly more than 350,000 tokens. These relatively ample occurrences of SVC combinations in the tables may account for the fact that the Turkish EFL academic writers that fall within the scope of this dissertation preferred to use phrases rather than single-word tokens within a limited scope and made word choices based on the idiom principle, which is also referred to as phraseological tendency. The factors affecting the SVC use of the EFL learners may be more varied and complicated than the research findings in this study. With this in mind, however, the diaries and the questionnaires we conducted revealed that “internet use” was an important factor for the writers. We believe that more emphasis on the use of these constructions in the curriculum of any English department in Turkey will definitely foster

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students’ awareness, and they may bridge the gap between their own perceived vocabulary use in terms of richness and variety and the actual one used by native speaking partners. To conclude, although the findings of this research provide a greater understanding for the need to learn and use the collocational nature of English language, the quantitative data does not allow us to say much about why the number and variety of support verb constructions remained relatively low. As this study was corpus-based in nature, it is necessary to interpret the results with less caution. Generally speaking, the study underscores the central point that SVC use is a complex phenomenon that interacts with a number of variables or affective factors. Among these variables are personal interest in writing, background knowledge, internet use, language proficiency, perceptions, and motivation types. Another limitation was that the study was limited to students registered at only one state university in Trabzon, and so other tertiary level EFL students did not participate. For this reason, the results of this study cannot be generalised to all advanced-level university students in Turkey. Secondly, despite the accessibility of approaching a wide range of topics (e.g. collocations, phrasal verbs, grammar, discourse markers, cohesion), this study was strictly limited to investigating lexical aspects of the writings of advancedlevel Turkish students of English as a foreign language. This means that no other aspects (e.g. pragmatics, discourse markers, syntax) were targeted. Furthermore, this study was devoted solely to the learners' written interlanguage, so no attempts were made to involve the spoken discourse in any part. Subjects' residency is another limitation to the study; no writing samples were employed in this corpus if the participant had ever lived in an English-speaking country.

References Altenberg, B., and S. Granger. 2001. “The Grammatical and Lexical Patterning of ‘Make’ in Native and Non-native Student Writing.” Applied Linguistics 22: 173–94. Akimoto, M. 1989. A Study of Verbo-nominal Structures in English. Tokyo: Shinozaki Shorin. Barlow, M. 2005. “Computer-based Analyses of Learner Language.” In Analysing Learner Language, edited by R. Ellis, and G. Barkhuizen, 335–57. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Biber, D., S. Conrad, and R. Reppen. 1998. Corpus Linguistics: Investigating Language Structure and Use. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

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Biber, D. 1988. Variation across Speech and Writing. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Bogaards, P., and B. Laufer. (eds.). 2004. Vocabulary in a Second Language: Selection, Acquisition and Testing. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. Cobb, T. 2003. “Analyzing Late Interlanguage with Learner Corpora: Québec Replications of Three European Studies.” The Canadian Modern Language Review/La Revue canadienne des langues vivantes 59 (3): 393–423. Chan, T. P., and H.-C. Liou. 2005. “Effects of Web-based concordancing instruction on EFL students’ learning of verb-noun collocations.” Computer Assisted Language Learning 18 (3): 231–51. Christensen, L., and B. Johnson. 2004. Educational Research: Quantitative, Qualitative and Mixed Approaches, 2nd ed. Boston, MA: Pearson Education. Chi, M. L. A., P. K. Wong, and C. M. Wong. 1994. “Collocational Problems amongst ESL Learners: A Corpus-based Study.” In Entering Text, edited by L. Flowerdew and A. K. Tong, 157–65. Hong Kong: University of Science and Technology. Firth, J. 1957. Papers in Linguistics, 1934–1951. London: Oxford University Press. Gilquin, G. 2001. “The Integrated Contrastive model. Spicing up your Data.” Languages in Contrast 3 (1): 95–123. Granger, S. 1996, ‘”From CA to CIA and Back: an Integrated Approach to Computerized Bilingual and Learner Corpora.” In Languages in Contrast: Text-based Cross-linguistic Studies. Lund Studies in English 88, edited by K. Aijmer, B. Altenberg, and M. Johansson, 37–51. Lund: Lund University Press. —. 1998. “Prefabricated Patterns in Advanced EFL Writing: Collocations and Formulae.” In Phraseology: Theory, Analysis and Applications, edited by A. P. Cowie, 145–60. Oxford: Clarendon Press. —. 1998. “The Computer Learner Corpus: A Versatile New Source of Data for SLA Research.” In Learner English on Computer, edited by S. Granger, 3–18. London: Longman. —. 2002. “A Bird’s-eye View of Learner Corpus Research.” In Computer Learner Corpora, Second Language Acquisition and Foreign Language Teaching, edited by S. Granger, J. Hung, and S. Petch– Tyson, 3– 33. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. —. 2009. “The Contribution of Learner Corpora to Second Language Acquisition and Foreign Language Teaching: A Critical Evaluation.”

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In Corpora and Language Teaching, edited by K. Aijmer, 13–32. Amsterdam and Philadelphia: John Benjamins. Howarth, P. 1996. Phraseology in English Academic Writing. Some Implications for Language Learning and Dictionary Making. Tübingen: Niemeyer. Hunston, S. 2002. Corpora in Applied Linguistics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Kaszubski, P. 2000. “Selected Aspects of Lexicon, Phraseology and Style in the Writing of Polish Advanced Learners of English: A Contrastive, Corpus-based Approach.” Unpublished PhD Thesis, Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznań. http://main.amu.edu.pl/~przemka/rsearch.html. Kennedy, G. 1998. An Introduction to Corpus Linguistics. London, New York: Longman. Krishnan, L.A., and L.H. Hoon. 2002. “Diaries: Listening to ‘Voices’ from the Multicultural Classroom.” ELT Journal 56 (3): 227–39. Lado, R. 1957. Linguistics across Cultures. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press. Langer, J. A. 2004. Getting to Excellent: How to Create Better Schools. New York: Teachers College Press. Leech, G. 1998. “Preface.” In Learner English on Computer, edited by S. Granger, xiv–xx. London: Longman. —. 1992. “Corpora and Theories of Linguistic Performance.” In Directions in Corpus Linguistics, edited by J. Svartvik, 105–22. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter. Lewis, M. 2000. Teaching Collocation: Further Developments in the Lexical Approach. Hove: Language Teaching Publications. —. 1993. The Lexical Approach. London: Language Teaching Publications. —. 2000. Teaching Collocation. Further Developments in the Lexical Approach. Heinle: Cengage Learning. Levelt, W. J. M. 1989. Speaking: from Intention to Articulation. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. McEnery, T., and A. Wilson. 1996. Corpus Linguistics. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press McEnery, A. M., and A. Hardie. 2011. Corpus Linguistics: Method, Theory and Practice. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Meunier, F. 2002. “The Pedagogical Value of Native and Learner Corpora in EFL Grammar Teaching.” In Computer Learner Corpora, Second Language Acquisition and Foreign Language Teaching, edited by S. Granger, J. Hung, and S. Petch–Tyson, 119–42. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.

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Miles, M. B., and A. M. Huberman. 1994. Qualitative Data Analysis, 2nd ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. Mukherjee, J. 2005. “The Native Speaker is Alive and Kicking: Linguistic and Language Pedagogical Perspectives.” Anglistik 16 (2): 7–23. Nation, I. S. P. 2001. Learning Vocabulary in Another Language. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Richards, J. C. and T. S. Rogers. 2001. Approaches and Methods in Language Teaching, 2nd ed. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Shumin, K. 2002. “Factors to Consider: Developing Adult EFL Students’ Speaking Abilities.” In Methodology in Language Teaching: An Anthology of Current Practices, edited by J. C. Richards and W. A. Renandya, 204–11. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Sinclair, J., and G. Fox (eds.). 1990. Collins COBUILD English Grammar. London: Collins. Sinclair, J., and A. Renouf. 1988. “A Lexical Syllabus for Language Learning.” In Vocabulary and Language Teaching, edited by R. Carter and M. McCarthy, 140–60. London and New York: Longman. Sinclair, J. 1991. Corpus, Concordance, Collocation. Oxford: Oxford University Press. —. 1996. “The Search for Units of Meaning.” Textus 9: 75–106. —. 1996. “EAGLES. Preliminary recommendations on Corpus Typology.” http://www.ilc.pi.it/EAGLES96/corpustyp/corpustyp.html. Stubbs, M. 1996. Text and Corpus Analysis. Oxford: Blackwell. Sun, Y.C., and L.-Y. Wang. 2003. “Concordancers in the EFL Classroom: Cognitive Approaches and Collocation Difficulty.” Computer Assisted Language Learning 16 (1): 83–94. Weber, R. P. 1990. Basic Content Analysis, 2nd ed. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN THE ROLE OF RECEPTIVE AND PRODUCTIVE VOCABULARY IN CONTENT AND LANGUAGE INTEGRATED LEARNING (CLIL) FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF UNIVERSITY STUDENTS KATARZYNA PAPAJA

1. Introduction Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) has emerged as one of the major educational trends in the European Union. It is an innovative approach which refers to educational settings where a language other than the learners’ mother tongue is used as the medium of instruction. In a CLIL classroom, a CLIL learner is exposed to many specialised texts and articles which not only provide them with knowledge of particular concepts but also with specialised vocabulary. In comparison to the regular language learner, “the CLIL learner is exposed to a huge amount of new vocabulary which he/she has to learn by guessing” (Marsh and Marsland 1999, 79). When analysing vocabulary taught in a CLIL classroom a distinction should be made between receptive and productive vocabulary. Both capacities need to be developed to communicate effectively. In the CLIL classroom a lot of specialised vocabulary may be of a receptive nature. In other words, the CLIL learners may be able to understand particular words or expressions by simply guessing the meaning from the context, but they may not be able to use them correctly. This article provides an outline of the research into the importance of receptive and productive vocabulary in CLIL starting with a brief insight into the phenomenon of CLIL and a general overview of the study, which was conducted with university students who study scientific subjects in a foreign language. The data presented and discussed was collected through questionnaires. Additionally, special attention is paid to the role of

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incidental vocabulary learning (Huckin and Coady 1999), which is supposed to give the learner a richer sense of a word’s use and meaning.

2. Receptive vs. Productive Vocabulary Knowledge Vocabulary knowledge, also referred to as lexical knowledge (Laufer and Goldstein 2004) and word knowledge (Laufer 1990), has been defined either as comprising a number of very different sub-knowledge components (Ibid.; Nation 1990; 2001; Richards 1976; Ringbom 1987) or as a continuum of progressive degrees of knowledge (Faerch, Haastrup, and Phillipson 1984; Palmberg 1987). In the literature, there are many definitions concerning receptive and productive vocabulary knowledge. According to Belisle (2000, 2), “receptive vocabulary knowledge refers to the words and expressions learners can understand when reading or hearing them and productive vocabulary knowledge refers to the words and expressions that the learners can use correctly when producing oral or written language.” On the other hand, Waring (1997) regards the ability to provide a specific first language (L1) translation of the second language (L2) word as the receptive vocabulary knowledge, whereas the ability to provide a specific L2 equivalent for an L1 word is the productive vocabulary knowledge. Laufer and Goldstein (2004) consider receptive vocabulary knowledge as retrieval of the word form, and productive knowledge as retrieval of the word meaning. Receptive vocabulary knowledge is the ability to recognise the form of a word and define or find a synonym for it, while productive vocabulary knowledge is the ability to recall the form and meaning of a foreign language word (Webb 2008). The common theme of these definitions on receptive vocabulary knowledge is the ability to recognise the form and retrieve the meaning in listening and reading. As for productive vocabulary knowledge, the main feature is the ability of production and use of the target language (Nation 1990).

3. Research on Receptive and Productive Vocabulary Knowledge No research has been conducted into the nature of vocabulary learning/teaching in the CLIL environment; however, plenty of research can be found on the vocabulary size of L2 learners in general English classrooms. Laufer (1998) found that, on average, Israeli high-school graduates have a receptive vocabulary size of 3,500 word families and a controlled productive vocabulary size of 2,550, whereas Nurweni and Read (1999) found that Indonesian university students know an average of

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1,226 word families. Japanese university students had command of 2,000– 3,000 word families (Shillaw 1995; Barrow, Yuko, and Hideyo 1999). From the perspective of productive vocabulary size, Lee and Muncie (2006) investigated the vocabulary use in compositions by high-school ESL learners with multi-L1 backgrounds. This study showed that, although learners constantly use words from the 1,000 to 2,000 word level, their productive use of higher level target vocabulary improved and maintained after 14 days. Horst and Collins (2006) collected narrative texts produced by francophone learners of English (11–12 years old) at four 100-hour intervals of intensive language instruction. They found that, after instruction, a large proportion of words from the 1,000 and 2,000 level was evident in the learners’ writing, but their reliance on both L1 vocabulary and cognates was reduced. Though it is not necessary for the non-native speakers to reach the vocabulary competence of native speakers (assuming it were possible), the reported vocabulary size of these ESL/EFL learners will marginally enable them to cope with the university reading tasks (Nation 1990), but not enable them to have independent comprehension of reading novels or watching TV programs (Nation 2006). Examining receptive and productive vocabulary knowledge in the depth dimension usually looks at how L2 learners restructure the connections between words that they know, then comparing these connections with those of the native speakers (Haastrup and Henriksen 2000; Nadarajan 2008; Lessard-clouston 2006). Haastrup and Henriksen (2000) tracked one group of 17 young Danish learners of English in an EFL context over three years to see the network-building development of their vocabulary knowledge. Three sorting tasks were used to capture their vocabulary knowledge on the paradigmatic relations. Results showed no statistical significance on their vocabulary development on paradigmatic relations over three years of English study. This indicates that the networkbuilding development is a very slow process. Nadarajan's (2008) study looked at the in-depth vocabulary knowledge of different word classes among three groups of adult English learners at an advanced languageproficiency level. The first two groups are students from the first and fourth year, respectively, of university study in an EFL context, and the third group are college students in an English-speaking country. Their results were compared to those of native speakers. The study found that having a paradigmatic knowledge of words did not necessarily lead to the mastery of syntagmatic knowledge among non-native speakers, which is consistent with Nation’s (1990) claim that L2 learners tended to know more meanings than collocations.

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4. Vocabulary Knowledge in CLIL According to Harley (1996, 3), “vocabulary knowledge is multi-faceted.” Due to this complexity, classroom teachers must take a more comprehensive approach to vocabulary development in order for learners to reach a higher quality and quantity of L2 output (Swain 1996; Sanaoui 1996). Coady (1993) emphasises the importance of vocabulary building as an integral part of reading, viewing it as a strategic skill that is a necessary inclusion in reading instruction. There should be a distinction between general vocabulary and specialised vocabulary used when talking about particular branches of knowledge. General vocabulary is used in a CLIL classroom but is hardly ever taught. In a CLIL classroom, the CLIL learners are taught a specialised vocabulary needed in speaking, writing, listening, or reading tasks. However, as Wolff (2005, 17) notes, “during a CLIL lesson, a CLIL teacher should first introduce general vocabulary connected with the particular field of study and then more specialised vocabulary.” It should also be remembered that a lot of language vocabulary learning occurs incidentally while the learner is engaged in reading. They learn new vocabulary unconsciously. This type of learning is called “incidental” learning. Huckin and Coady (1999, 181) discuss certain advantages of incidental learning: (a) it is contextualised, giving the learner a richer sense of a word’s use and meaning (b) it is pedagogically efficient in that it enables two activities: vocabulary acquisition and reading (c) it is more individualised and learner-based. As for the receptive and productive nature of vocabulary knowledge, in the CLIL classroom a lot of specialised vocabulary may be of a receptive nature. In other words, the CLIL learners may be able to understand particular words or expressions by simply guessing the meaning from the context, but they may not be able to use them correctly. This process may occur due to the amount of vocabulary the CLIL learners have to learn. Gass (1988, 198) provides the following framework for language acquisition to the realm of vocabulary development. The framework specifies the stages of vocabulary acquisition from first exposure to output:

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x Perceived input is when students are made to “notice” the vocabulary and then connect it to past learning x Comprehended input is similar to Krashen’s “comprehensible input” but goes a step further in assuring that the student has understood it x Intake is when the student uses the vocabulary in various situations x Integration is the internalisation of the new vocabulary x Output is the use of the lexical items in the learner’s production. This hierarchical framework clearly delineates the middle processes needed to move learners from the receptive stage to the productive stage (Ben-Peretz et al. 1990). It is obvious that repeated exposure and manipulation of newly acquired vocabulary helps all the learners to memorise it. In the CLIL classroom, special attention should be paid to vocabulary learning due to the amount of specialised vocabulary which has to be in constant usage. As Marsh points out, “the benefits of learning a huge amount of content vocabulary are not immediately obvious but they can be seen over a period of time, and one critical factor may not be the actual number of hours to which any learner is exposed to CLIL, but the continuity of exposure” (Marsh and Marsland 1999, 78). In other words, the outcome of CLIL as far as vocabulary is concerned can be seen only after a certain period of time. What is important is not the number of hours but the time which the learner is exposed to CLIL. The longer they acquire content and language knowledge through CLIL, the better results they will get.

5. A Brief Description of the Current Study The current research aims to: x find out the usefulness of receptive and productive vocabulary among CLIL University students x compare the differences as far as the usefulness of receptive and productive vocabulary is concerned among Polish and German university students. Unlike regular English courses, CLIL provides additional learning challenges resulting from the fact that language is not a sole concern but a tool whereby CLIL students study content subjects.

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5.1. Participants of the Study A total of 82 CLIL learners participated in the research: 49 females and 33 males. All were 21–22 years old and university students; 39 students (25 females and 14 males) studies two subjects in English in the Institute of Biology at the University of Silesia; 43 students (23 females and 20 males) studies science in English at the Pädagogische Universität in Freiburg (Germany). It should be mentioned that Polish students who study particular subjects in English will not have dual qualifications when finishing university, whereas German students will have dual qualifications and will be able to teach both science and English.

5.2. Research Instrument and Procedure All the CLIL students were asked to fill in a questionnaire. The questionnaire was especially designed for the purpose of the study and consisted of 18 statements concerning vocabulary use. It also consisted of 6 questions measuring independent variables such as gender, the period of learning English, nationality, language contact, other languages known, and decision makers when choosing bilingual education. The questionnaire was administered in English. The research was conducted in autumn 2012 and the participants were asked to fill in the questionnaire during the class. The procedure took around 30 minutes. The questionnaire included 18 statements measuring learners' response on a 5-point Likert scale covering the range: strongly agree; rather agree; don't know; rather disagree; strongly disagree. The responses to the statements were transformed into numerical values ranging from 1 to 5 for a statistical analysis. Out of 18 statements administered, the following 6 will be analysed: (1) I think CLIL classes help me to remember more vocabulary in English (2) I do not have any problems when using new vocabulary during the CLIL classes (3) I find new vocabulary learnt in CLIL classes useful outside the university (4) I think that specialised vocabulary learnt during CLIL classes will be useful in the future (5) I learn new words through general practice of the language (6) I specifically devote time to learn new vocabulary (e.g. every day, every week, etc.).

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6. Data Presentation In order to illustrate the differences as far as the usefulness of receptive and productive vocabulary is concerned, the data collected from the questionnaires will be presented through diagrams and described in detail. Fig. 15.1. Remembering vocabulary

As it can be seen from Fig. 15.1, most German students (53% and 34%) think that CLIL classes help them to remember vocabulary. In the case of the Polish students, the situation is different: 34% think that CLIL classes help them to remember more vocabulary, but 35% think that CLIL classes do not help them at all.

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Fig. 15.2. The use of new vocabulary during CLIL classes

As it can be seen from Fig. 15.2, the German students do not have any problems when using new vocabulary during CLIL classes (63% and 28%). Polish students, on the other hand, tend to have a lot of problems: 38% claim have problems when using new vocabulary during CLIL classes, and 36% definitely have problems when using new vocabulary.

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Fig. 15.3. The usefulness of new vocabulary outside the university

As illustrated in Fig. 15.3, 43% of the German students find new vocabulary learnt in CLIL classes very useful outside the university; 31% find it useful, and only 12% do not find it useful. In the case of the Polish students, 43% find new vocabulary learnt in CLIL rather useless outside the university, and only 8% and 12% find it very useful and useful outside the university.

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Fig. 15.4. The usefulness of specialised vocabulary in the future

As can be seen from Fig. 15.4, most German students (38% and 41%) think that specialised vocabulary learnt in CLIL classes will be useful in the future. The Polish students’ answers differ considerably: 15% think that specialised vocabulary learnt during CLIL classes will be very useful in the future, 11% think that it will be useful, 34% do not have any opinion, and 25% and 17% think that it will not be useful.

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Fig. 15.5. Learning new words through general practice

Most German students (56% and 36%), as can be seen in Fig. 15.5, learn new words through the general practice of language. Only 14% and 18% of the Polish students learn new words through the general practice of language, while a vast majority of the Polish students (31% and 8%) do not.

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Fig. 15.6. Specifically devoted time to learn new vocabulary

As can be seen from Fig. 15.6, a lot of the Polish students (56% and 34%) devote additional time to learning new vocabulary. The German students do not need so much time: only 21% and 14% of the German students specifically devote time to learning new vocabulary; 26% of the German students do not do it at all.

7. Discussion Significant changes can be seen between the German and Polish students as far as learning vocabulary in a CLIL environment is concerned. Most German students think that CLIL classes help them to remember new vocabulary. In other words, CLIL classes help in acquiring productive vocabulary. The opinions of the Polish students differ. Some of the Polish respondents (35%) think that CLIL classes do not help them to remember new vocabulary, which may be due to the fact there are not many interactive activities going on in the CLIL classes in Poland during which the CLIL learners would be able to practice new vocabulary. Polish students tend to have huge knowledge of receptive vocabulary, but not productive. It is the Polish students who claim to have problems with using the newly acquired vocabulary during CLIL classes (38% and 36%), not the German ones. In fact, the German students tend to have no problems with changing receptive vocabulary into productive (63% and 28%). As mentioned above, a lack of interactive activities, such as pair or

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group work, leads to the lack of productive vocabulary on the part of the Polish students. The German students find vocabulary learnt in CLIL classes useful outside the university (43% and 31%), while most Polish students (43% and 27%) do not find it useful at all. In fact, the German students, when finishing their university education, will be allowed to teach science in English and therefore able to use their knowledge. The Polish students will have no additional qualifications. The fact that they study biology in English does not give them extra credit. They will not be able to use this knowledge outside the university unless they decide to live abroad. When being asked if they think they will find new vocabulary acquired in CLIL classes useful in the future, many Polish students (34%) answer that they do not know, while most of the German students (38% and 41%) are quite certain that it will be useful. The Polish students are very uncertain about their futures. Due to the Polish economic situation, they are not able to predict what is going to happen in few years’ time. Most German students (56% and 36%) learn new vocabulary through practice. Their classes are very interactive, and they often take part in various projects during which they have numerous possibilities to cooperate with people from various countries. What is more, German students are more wealthy than the Polish ones, and can therefore travel abroad more and practice their vocabulary. Even though the economic situation in Poland has changed and the Polish students have more possibilities to exchange their experiences with other nations, they still tend to learn vocabulary in a “traditional way.” In all, 31% and 8% say that they specifically devote their time to learning vocabulary. When being asked additional questions concerning learning strategies, most still tend to use vocabulary lists and memorise by heart without any context given. Many students do it because they are forced to do it. Many Polish CLIL teachers do not know how to teach content subjects in a foreign language, and think that teaching specialised vocabulary means giving their students lists of new vocabulary translated from English into Polish. All in all, there is a significant difference between German and Polish University CLIL students as far as acquiring vocabulary is concerned. German students tend to have a wider knowledge as far as productive vocabulary is concerned, while Polish students tend to have a wider knowledge as far as receptive vocabulary is concerned. German students have more possibilities to use their vocabulary due to the fact that classes are more interactive. Polish students do not have so many possibilities because they are taught in a more “traditional way.”

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8. Conclusions and Further Research Implications Vocabulary, whether receptive or productive in nature, is extremely important in the CLIL environment, and therefore careful attention should be given to learning and teaching new vocabulary. In the CLIL classroom, special attention should be paid to vocabulary learning due to the amount of specialised vocabulary which has to be in constant usage. Swain and Carroll (1987, 190) developed a descriptive classification of vocabulary related instructional activities, which can be also used in CLIL: Planned/Unplanned. Planned instruction involves deciding what lexical knowledge will be taught. What are the content-obligatory lexical items to be taught? Each CLIL teacher should plan which vocabulary items they need to provide the CLIL learners with in order to make them understand subject-specific concepts. A particularly good idea is to provide the CLIL learners in advance with a list of the most important words which they may need during a particular lesson. This method would definitely make the CLIL learners feel more comfortable. Unplanned instruction naturally arises from learner need and interest. All language teachers, not only the CLIL ones, should be prepared for it. Building on prior knowledge in L1 and L2. The CLIL teachers need to plan how to recycle previously studied vocabulary to teach new items and reuse words in a variety of contexts (integration of content and language). Peer think-aloud discussions are especially useful as they help the learners explain and justify their vocabulary knowledge (Morrison 1996, 41–75). Focus on meaning/Focus on formal features of words. In the CLIL classroom, attention should be paid to both the meaning of particular words and their features. As a result, the CLIL learners should be provided with many exercises to enable them to practice and memorise content words. There is an implication of a need for future research to verify the results obtained from the current study, especially as the data were collected over a short period. Despite the possible conclusions that have been drawn from this study, it is necessary to emphasise that this research needs to be repeated with larger samples. Additionally, it would be a great idea to conduct a study on learning vocabulary strategies and compare the results between students coming from various foreign universities. Future longitudinal and experimental studies may shed more light on the estimation of casual influence.

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References Barrow, J., N. Yuko N., and I. Hideyo. 1999. “Assessing Japanese College students’ vocabulary knowledge with a self-checking familiarity survey.” System 27: 223–47. Belisle, T. A. 2000. “Developing Vocabulary Knowledge in the Immersion Classroom.” The Bridge: From Research to Practice, 1–9. Edina MN: Normandale French Immersion School. Ben-Peretz, M., G. Moshe, B. Dor, R. and Strahovsky. 1990. “Teachers’ Thinking about Professional Development: Relationships between Plans & Actions.” In Insights into Teacher’s Thinking & Practice, edited by Christopher Day, Maureen Pope, and Pam Denicolo, 178– 188. Basingstoke: Falmer Press. Coady, J. 1993. “Research on ESL/EFL Vocabulary Acquisition: Putting It in Context.” In Second Language Reading and Vocabulary Learning, edited by T. Huckin, M. Haynes, and J. Coady, 3–23. Norwood: Ablex Publishing Cooperation. Faerch, C., K. Haastrup, and R. Phillipson. 1984. Learner Language and Language Learning, Clevedon: Multilingual Matters.

Gass, S. 1988. “Integrating Research Areas: a Framework for Second Language Studies.” Applied Linguistics 9: 198–217. Haastrup, K., and B. Henriksen. 2000. “Vocabulary Acquisition: Acquiring Depth of Knowledge Through Network Building.” International Journal of Applied Linguistics 102: 221–40. Harley, B. 1996. “Introduction: Vocabulary Learning and Teaching in a Second Language.” The Canadian Modern Language Review 531: 3– 11. Huckin, T. and J. Coady. 1999. “Incidental Vocabulary Acquisition in a Second Language.” Studies in Second Language Acquisition 21 (2): 181–93. Horst, M. and L. Collins. 2006. “From faible to strong: How does their vocabulary grow?” Canadian Modern Language Review 63 (1): 83– 106. Laufer, B. 1990. “Ease and Difficulty in Vocabulary Learning: Some Teaching Implications.” Foreign Language Annals 23: 147–56. Laufer, B., and Z. Goldstein. 2004. “Testing Vocabulary Knowledge: Size, Strength, and Computer Adaptiveness.” Language Learning 543: 399– 436. Lee, S., and J. Muncie. 2006. “From Receptive to Productive: Improving ESL Learners’ Use of Vocabulary in a Postreading Composition Task.” TESOL Quarterly 402: 295–320.

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Lessard-clouston, M. 2006. “Breadth and Depth: Specialized Vocabulary Learning in Theology among Native and Non-Native English Speakers.” The Canadian Modern Language Review 632: 175–98. Marsh, D., and B. Marsland (eds.). 1999. Learning with Languages. A Professional Development Programme for Introducing Content and Language Integrated Learning. Finland: University of Jyväskylä. Morrison, L. 1996. “Talking about Words: A Study of French as a Second Language Learners’ Lexical Inferencing Procedures.” The Canadian Modern Language Review 53 (1): 41–75. Nadarajan, S. 2008. “Assessing In-Depth Vocabulary Ability of Adult ESL Learners.” International Journal of Language Society and Culture 26: 93–106. Nation, P. 1990. Teaching and Learning Vocabulary. New York: Heinle & Heinl. —. 2001. Learning Vocabulary in Another Language. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. —. 2006. “How Large a Vocabulary is Needed for Reading and Listening?” The Canadian Modern Language Review 631: 59–82. Nurweni, A., and J. Read. 1999. “The English Vocabulary Knowledge of Indonesian University Students.” English for Special Purposes 182: 161–75. Palmberg, R. 1987. “Patterns of Vocabulary Development in ForeignLanguage Learners.” Studies in Second Language Acquisition 92: 201–20. Richards, J. C. 1976. “The Role of Vocabulary Teaching.” TESOL Quarterly 10: 77–89. Ringbom, H. 1987. The Role of the First Language in Foreign Language Learning, Clevedon: Multilingual Matters. Sanaoui, R. 1996. “Processes of Vocabulary Instruction in 10 French as a Second Language Classrooms.” The Canadian Modern Language Review 52 (2): 179–99. Shillaw, J. 1995. “Using a Word List as a Focus for Vocabulary Learning.” The Language Teacher JALT 192: 58–9. Swain, M. 1996. “Discovering Successful Second Language Teaching Strategies and Practices: from Program Evaluation to Classroom Experimentation.” Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development 17: 89–104. Swain, M., and C. Shivani. 1987. “The Immersion Observation Study.” In The Development of Bilingual Proficiency. Final Report, Vol. II, edited by B. Harley, P. Allen, J. Cummins, and M. Swain, 190–263. Toronto: Modern Language Centre.

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Waring, R. 1997. “A Comparison of the Receptive and Productive Vocabulary Sizes of Some Second Language Learners.” Immaculata Notre Dame Seishin Univerisy, Okayama 1: 53–68. Webb, S. 2008. “Receptive and Productive Vocabulary Sizes of L2 Learners.” Studies in Second language Acquisition 301: 79–95. Wolff, D. 2005. Content and Language Integrated Learning in HAL, Volume 5. Chapter 21, 1–22.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN IMPORTANCE OF SITUATIONAL CONTEXT AND RESPONSE IN MEMORY RETENTION AND RECALL: READER PERFORMANCE IN AN ENGLISH AS A FOREIGN LANGUAGE LEARNING CONTEXT DEBOPRIYO ROY, STEPHEN CRABBE AND IHOR LUBASHEVSKY

1. Introduction Human memory research is a complex field of enquiry due to the fallible nature of the subject, or more specifically the fact that human memory retention and recall are imprecise and prone to errors. Currently, there is still no process by which to pinpoint what parts of the brain are responsible for deficits in memory retention and recall. Thus, the creation of a mathematical model of human memory likely provides only a limited picture of memory retention and recall, unless a broad range of external or situational factors are taken into consideration. For example, in an English as a foreign language (EFL) learning context, students engaged in an online language course could use multiple systems (including online dictionaries or translation software) and strategies (including focusing on reading headings/topic sentences or skimming and scanning text for main ideas) to obtain information. In such a learning context, students may not necessarily depend on memory retention and recall solely to obtain information. Research literature by Postman (1968, 149) mentioned Ebbinghaus (1964) from the field of behavioural and cognitive psychology as having provided us with models to understand optimal memory behaviour with

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respect to past information exposure and experience. In this context, the terms “recognition memory” and “recall memory” are widely discussed. Recognition memory can be defined as the ability to recognise whether a stimulus has been previously encountered. Recall memory can be defined as the ability to reproduce a stimulus that has been previously encountered. Both these memory types are necessary for language acquisition and learning. In a language classroom, students’ practice with learning materials, and the spacing of assignments on the learning materials, may affect memory retention and recall. However, research data by Anderson and Schooler (1991) suggest that there are no successful mechanistic formulations for the practice, retention and spacing effects in memory retention and recall. Nevertheless, they argue for the importance of practice, retention, and spacing as variables in defining how past memory usage could affect or predict future memory recognition and recall. This raises the question as to whether practice, retention, and spacing are the only contextual factors that could define a complex phenomenon as to how a memory trace could be recalled. For example, when designing an online language course for an EFL classroom, an instructor might opt to space out assignments to facilitate optimal learning for the students based on the belief that spaced assignments are more effective than massed assignments. Alternatively, another instructor might opt to provide the students with massed practice assignments to facilitate optimal learning based on the belief that massed practice is more effective than spaced practice. Both approaches have support in research literature from the field of behavioural and cognitive psychology. However, what about the situational context in which the learner has their experience? In other words, the systems and reading strategies that they use? The idea behind having practice and spacing effects as constant variables arises from the fact that how often a memory has been practiced, or how long it has been since it was last practiced, might not entirely explain or be the only factors to explain memory retention and recall ability. This is because of the complexity of the learning dynamics in a given learning situation. Such complex dynamics go beyond existing models of practice and spacing effects from the field of behavioural and cognitive psychology. In other words, existing models alone cannot fully explain a learning context and the demands it makes on memory retention and recall. This paper considers the existing models in considering memory retention and recall.

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2. Rationale This paper addresses several issues related to memory retention and recall. First, an argument is made that justifies the importance of taking into consideration practice and spacing effects in memory retention and recall ability using existing behavioural and cognitive models. Next, performance data from a website analysis study carried out in an EFL course at a Japanese technical university is used to suggest the importance of taking into consideration situational context in memory retention and recall; specifically, how the use of systems such as dictionaries or translation software and reading strategies such as focusing on headings/topic sentences or skimming and scanning text may reduce dependence on information retention and recall based on memory. The same performance data is also used to imply that, while the use of such systems and strategies seems to reduce dependence on information retention and recall based on memory, it does not necessarily lead to performance improvement, even with massed practice. Finally, the trend shown in the above-mentioned performance data has behavioural similarity with the study participants’ self-reported data (using MARSI Version 1.0) on their metacognitive awareness of their use of reading strategies during the assignments. The analysis of this selfreported data indicates that dependence on information retention and recall based on memory (the frequency of past recall and time since last recall) could be reduced, irrespective of practice and spacing effects, depending on the way—the systems and strategies used—in which the information is accessed. The above-mentioned analysis further indicates that practice and spacing effects, while important to consider, cannot themselves explain memory retention and recall ability.

3. Review of the Literature Before proceeding with a review of the literature on memory retention, it is first important to define briefly what is meant by declarative, episodic, semantic, and procedural memory in this paper. Declarative memory (personal experiences and facts) consists of episodic memory, that is our personal experience, and semantic memory, that is our general knowledge of facts. Procedural memory is our memory of how to do things. It can be seen as being implicit in the sense that humans do not necessarily have to consciously always remember how to do things.

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3.1. Memory Retention As far back as 1885, Ebbinghaus (1885; 1964) recognised that memory retention declines exponentially over time. More recently, researchers from the field of behavioural and cognitive psychology have provided us with models to understand this memory behaviour. Loftus (1985) first proposed the exponential form ܲ ൌ ‫ି ݁ܣ‬௕் ǡ where ܲ is the measure of memory performance, ܶ is the time that has elapsed, and ‫ ܣ‬and ܾ are the parameters of the model. Later, Anderson and Schooler (1991) proposed a modification of this called the power-law function, ܲ ൌ ‫ି ܶܣ‬௕ , in order to take into account that memory decline becomes slower as the elapsed (or delay) time T grows. However, caution is required in the use of mathematical models such as these, as they have inherent limitations. For example, if we consider the model of Anderson and Schooler (1991), the implicit indication is that, irrespective of the parameters selected, the memory performance would tend to approach infinity the less time elapses (delay time) between the learning of something and when it is needed. However, an exponential form has an upper or lower bound. Therefore, memory performance, or the time elapse after which memory performance declines, could never be infinite. It is reasonable to assume that memory performance and time are intrinsically linked. Thus, for example, we might assume that there would be a strong correlation between delay time and memory performance. However, if there were different systems and strategies available to readers to reduce dependence on memory performance, would the correlation necessarily be strong? Similarly, we might assume that there would be a strong correlation between the amount of practice and memory performance. However, if the practices offered to readers were repetitive or redundant in nature, would the correlation necessarily be strong? In situations where the practice effect has been explored over a wide range, a power-law function will typically provide a better fit (Newell and Rosenbloom 1981). However, research suggests a history of initial preference for the exponential form (Mazur and Hastie 1975; Restle and Greeno 1970). The reason could be the fact that the forgetting function, retention function, and spacing effect could not be formulated in terms of a power-law function (Landauer 1975; Glenberg 1976). This paper argues the importance of taking into account all the complex dynamics that affect memory retention when explaining performance. Similarly, the forgetting function, retention function, and spacing effect consider that memory gets associated with the situational context, which changes over time. Specifically, the practice effect results when context and repetition work

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together over time. A retention function results because, over time, some learning takes place from the test context. A spacing effect results with long delays between event occurrences and different contexts get associated with event occurrences. However, the problem remains that it is practically impossible to provide a mathematical expression of how situational context plays a role. Furthermore, a more challenging situation arises when it comes to predicting future use. Although the literature on need probability and need odds suggests a power or exponential relationship between need odds and frequency of past use, the inability to conjecture on the future context of use, and resulting behavioural and cognitive implications, makes it extremely difficult to come up with a specific power or exponential form.

3.2. Likely Approach with Situational Context This paper emphasises how the situational context, specifically the systems and reading strategies used, may help explain the extent to which a memory trace is likely to be needed to obtain information in a given learning situation. It is difficult to define behaviour, cognition, and emotion as independent variables and isolate them from situational context. Rather, behaviour, cognition, and emotion are self-defined by the structural patterns of information use. In order to help explain this in terms of the power and exponential functions, the following section will briefly examine activity theory, individual learning styles, cognitive ability, and memory research in an EFL learning context. 1.2.1. Activity Theory Activity theory (Engeström, Miettinen and Punamäki 1999) is a way of describing human activities by analysing the interaction of the activities with their context of enactment. In other words, it takes into account the context of human activities, such as obtaining information. Activity theory finds support in distributed cognition (Hutchins 1995), which is a branch of cognitive science that proposes that human knowledge and cognition do not come from the individual alone. Rather, they are inextricably bound in the context of their production. This includes, for example, the mediating artifacts—these can be both material and nonmaterial—that are used. Activity theory is thus immensely important in helping us to understand how memory could be recalled through retention power and practice and spacing effects, as the use of mediating artifacts can influence

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the manner in which memory is recalled and the need probability or need odds for memory recall. For example, material artifacts for obtaining information in a language course might include online/paper dictionaries or translation software, and nonmaterial artifacts might include focusing on reading headings/topic sentences or skimming and scanning text for the main ideas. However, it is still difficult to come up with a mathematical model for memory recall or need probability/odds, and for practice and spacing effects, unless we know the exact pattern in which the mediating artifacts are accessed in the human activity. 1.2.2. Individual Differences in Learning There are many definitions of “learning styles” provided by various researchers, e.g. Oxford (1996a) and Ellis (1985). Interestingly, the term “learning style” is such a multi-faceted concept that it is challenging, if not impossible, to convey it in a single definition. Learners with an analytical style tend to focus on form and accuracy, while those with a synthetic style tend to focus on meaning and fluency. Learners with a sequential/systematic style tend to adopt a structured approach to completing a task, while learners with a random/intuitive style tend to adopt an intuitive approach. Other differences include learners with a reflective style (who tend to prefer regulated and predictable language use) and learners with an impulsive style (these tend to prefer experimenting with language use); learners with an anxious style (who tend to be rigid and not tolerate language experimentation) and learners with a relaxed style (who tend to be able to tolerate flexibility and creativity with language use); and learners with an individual style (who tend to prefer working alone and have intrinsic motivation) and learners with a grouporiented style (who tend to prefer working in groups). Individual differences in learning are thus contextual parameters that can assist in identifying what might or might not help in the process of memory retention and recall. For example, it is possible that memory retention power is enhanced when a person better understands complex procedural instructions for carrying out a software installation by approaching the information as a sequential/systematic learner rather than an intuitive learner. However, someone who approached looking for the information as an intuitive/flexible learner could better understand the exact location of information in a large user manual. Therefore, the time taken to find and understand the necessary information for carrying out the software installation might vary significantly depending on individual differences in learning.

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1.2.3. Cognitive Ability This section briefly suggests why cognitive ability could influence memory retention and recall. In the Theory of Multiple Intelligences, Gardner (1983) argues that humans have a range of cognitive abilities whose configuration is different in everyone. Hence, for example, he points out that a student who finds it easy to learn how to multiply is not necessarily more intelligent than a student who finds it difficult, as the latter student might find it easy to learn how to do another cognitive task. More recently, the Cattell-Horn-Carroll Theory of Cognitive Abilities (McGrew 1997, 2005) argued that humans may in fact have as many as 10 broad cognitive abilities and 70 narrow cognitive abilities, and that their configuration is different in everyone (McGrew and Flanagan 1998; Flanagan and Ortiz 2001). These include, for example, crystallised intelligence (Gc), fluid intelligence (Gf), quantitative reasoning (Gq), reading and writing ability (Grw), short-term memory (Gsm), long-term storage and retrieval (Glr), visual processing (Gv), auditory processing (Ga), and processing speed (Gs) (Flanagan et al. 2007). These theories imply that individual differences in cognitive abilities could affect memory retention and recall.

3.3. Memory Research in an EFL Learning Context In this final section we will briefly consider previous research on memory, particularly as it relates to vocabulary retention in an EFL learning context. First, the Depth of Processing Hypothesis (DPH) suggests that the more learners are cognitively engaged in vocabulary learning, the more likely they are to retain the vocabulary in their memory (Ghorbani and Riabi 2011). In this regard, Marefat and Shirazi (2003) analysed the effects of teaching direct learning strategies (cognitive, compensation, and memory strategies) to EFL learners on their short- and long-term vocabulary retention. They found that cognitive and memory strategies were most effective for both short- and long-term vocabulary retention. More recently, Ghaffari and Mohamadi (2012) analysed the effects of context on vocabulary learning in an EFL language context. They found that the EFL learners who learned vocabulary in a decontextualised way in fact retained it better than those who learned it in a contextualised way. They concluded from this that contextualised learning in itself does not

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necessarily lead to more effective vocabulary learning and retention. The instructor needs to find texts that are appealing to the EFL learners. Finally, Tavakoli and Gerami (2013) compared the effectiveness of keyword and pictorial vocabulary learning strategies for EFL learners. They found that the EFL learners who learned vocabulary using the keyword strategy retained it in their long-term memory better than those who learned vocabulary using the pictorial strategy. Having briefly examined activity theory, individual learning styles, cognitive ability, and memory research in an EFL learning context, this paper now looks at an exploratory study recently undertaken by the authors.

4. Research Question and Hypothesis Is it possible to establish a mathematical model that could explain how memory works, and thus how memory retention and recall, practice effect, and spacing effect would play out? A starting point for this study is the following hypothesis (not explicitly tested here): It is not possible to establish a mathematical model for retention effect, recall affect, practice effect, and spacing effect unless the parameters of such a memory model take into account the situational context in which the learning takes place, individual differences in learning, and cognitive ability. This exploratory study limits itself to investigating the possibility of establishing such a mathematical model of human memory. The intention is to show how the first parameter—the situational context of a learning situation—may affect dependence on information retention and recall based on memory.

5. Methodology It is difficult to pinpoint the extent to which memory is required for a website analysis study. However, the study participants’ use of different systems (e.g. online/paper dictionaries or translation software) and different strategies (e.g. reading website headings/topic sentences, or skimming and scanning website text for the main ideas) to obtain information for analysing the websites can establish the importance of situational context and response in memory retention and recall. The exploratory study, as reported here, was carried out for six weeks as an in-class activity in an EFL course. The 28 participants in the EFL course (age group: 18–20 years with a pre-intermediate level of English

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language proficiency) were undergraduate computer science majors at a Japanese technical university. As a part of the analysis, the participants answered eight open-ended design and inference-related questions about a different English language website every week for six weeks. Design questions are based on the explicitly visible look and structure of the website. Inference-based questions are based on user perceptions about the possible audience of the website, technology used, etc. The websites, shown in Fig. 16.1 in the next section, had a broadly similar subject base. Furthermore, the eight questions remained the same throughout the study, with each question focusing on one aspect of the analysed website. This repetition was part of the methodological framework of the study. The focus of each question is shown in Table 16.1 in the next section. The students were required to formulate their responses in English and enter them in the e-learning platform Moodle. In addition, the instructions that the students were given by the course instructor were also in English and were the same each week. To ascertain the participants’ metacognitive awareness of their use of different reading strategies during the website analysis study, a modified version of the Metacognitive Awareness of Reading Strategies Inventory (MARSI Version 1.0) questionnaire developed by Mokhtari and Reichard (2002) was also given to the participants to complete. This questionnaire has been designed to assess adolescent and adult readers' metacognitive awareness and perceived use of reading strategies. In all, 26 out of the 28 (95%) students who took part in the first week of the study also participated in the remaining five weeks. Two students dropped out after the first week. As a result, the data from both the website analysis assignments and the participant self-reports for the most part represent the same participants over the six weeks of the study. First, the data from the website analysis assignments will be considered to determine if a massed practice effect can be seen in the responses to the eight questions, and the role of memory in these responses.

6. Data Presentation and Analysis 6.1. Accuracy Scores The following section documents the data related to accuracy scores for each of the six weeks of study.

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6.1.1. Data Presentation Table 16.1 below shows the mean accuracy score for each question, each week, over the six weeks of the study. Table 16.1. Mean accuracy score for each question each week

Table 16.2 below shows the total score for the eight questions each week over the six weeks of the study. Table 16.2. Total score for the eight questions each week

Figs. 16.1 and 16.2 below show the movement of the above mean accuracy scores for each question over the six weeks of the study.

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Fig. 16.1. Movement of the mean accuracy scores for the first five questions over the six weeks of the study (Massed Practice Effect)

Fig. 16.2. Movement of the mean accuracy scores for the final three questions over the six weeks of the study (Massed Practice Effect)

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6.1.2. Data Analysis It is clear from both Figs. 16.1 and 16.2 that the mean accuracy scores for all of the questions fell, despite the questions remaining the same over the course of the study. It can be seen that memory behaviour in an EFL learning context has often been looked at in terms of vocabulary retention. While this approach has provided many valuable insights, the exploratory study, as reported here, takes a different approach. This reflects the authors’ belief that taking different approaches can provide new insights into a research area. The challenge for the study participants was to be able to remember, first, how they had approached each question during the previous week, second, how they had analysed the website during the previous week and, third, how they responded to each question in terms of the words, phrases etc. used during the previous week. However, the participants were allowed to use available systems such as online/paper dictionaries and translation software, and could refer to their earlier responses. As a result, it would not be unreasonable to assume that participant performance would improve, or at least not worsen, over the six weeks of the study. Table 16.1 reveals that this assumption about performance improvement over time is in fact not true. Participant performance, in terms of mean accuracy scores, declined over the course of the study for every question, even though the participants underwent massed practice with a different English language website every week. However, these performance data are not sufficient in themselves. We also need to consider the participants’ self-reported data on the website analysis assignments.

6.2. Participants’ Self-reports on their Metacognitive Awareness of Reading Strategies 6.2.1. Data Presentation A modified version of the MARSI Version 1.0 questionnaire was used to enable the study participants to self-report on the different cognitive strategies they used during interaction with the six websites. Table 16.3 below shows this modified questionnaire.

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Table 16.3. Modified MARSI Version 1.0 questionnaire It should be made clear that this questionnaire does not itself test memory. Rather, it brings to light the different cognitive strategies that could be used to obtain information in a given learning context. Different individuals may use different strategies and systems to reduce cognitive

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dependence on information retention and recall based on memory. For example, one individual might use strategies such as focusing on reading website headings/topic sentences or skimming and scanning website body text for main ideas. When reading various English language websites with a broadly similar subject base over time, the use of such strategies might make it easier for the individual to comprehend the content of a website. However, another individual might use an online/paper dictionary or translation software to comprehend the content of a website. Table 16.4 below shows the different reading strategies reported as being used by the participants in the study in terms of their mean and standard deviations. Table 16.5 shows the correlation between the reported reading strategies in terms of the Pearson Correlation and Sig. (2-tailed) values. Table 16.4. Mean and standard deviation values for the self-reported scores on the reading strategy inventory Metacognitive Strategy

Reading Strategy 1 (RS1) Reading Strategy 2 (RS2) Reading Strategy 3 (RS3) Reading Strategy 4 (RS4) Reading Strategy 5 (RS5) Reading Strategy 6 (RS6) Reading Strategy 7 (RS7) Reading Strategy 8 (RS8) Reading Strategy 9 (RS9) Reading Strategy 10 (RS10) Reading Strategy 11 (RS11) Reading Strategy 12 (RS12)

Mean

2.46 3.96 3.00 3.11 2.71 2.43 3.71 4.18 3.11 3.54 3.82 3.68

Standard Deviation 1.138 0.637 1.018 1.166 1.049 1.136 0.937 1.056 0.916 0.744 0.905 0.772

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Table 16.5. Significant correlation between the self-reported scores on the reading strategy inventory Correlation Between

Pearson Correlation

Sig. (2-tailed)

Reading Strategies 1 and 3 Reading Strategies 1 and 5 Reading Strategies 3 and 5 Reading Strategies 8 and 1 Reading Strategies 7 and 11 Reading Strategies 10 and 12

.511* .550** .624** .411* .462* .375*

.005 .002 .000 .030 .013 .049

6.2.2. Data Analysis With regard to the different systems that the participants used, Table 16.3 reveals that the participants self-reported to have frequently used the eighth strategy, “I used my electronic/hard copy dictionary to understand the meaning of words in the web pages,” and the eleventh strategy, “When I failed to understand the meaning of a sentence, I seek help from my friends, or an online dictionary.” It also reveals that the participants selfreported to have appreciably used the sixth strategy, “I often translated the text on the web pages into Japanese. I understand the text better when I read it in Japanese.” With regards to the different strategies the participants used, Table 16.3 reveals that the participants self-reported to have also markedly used the first strategy, “When reading the text from the websites (IBM, DELL, Mitsubishi etc.), I only focused on the title, topic sentence of the first paragraph etc. I DID NOT read the entire paragraph in the web pages,” and the fifth strategy, “I simply tried to read only the main ideas in a web page. I did not want to read through the entire text.” Table 16.4 further reveals that there was a high positive correlation between these two strategies. The use of these self-reported systems and strategies would seem to have reduced the participants’ dependence on information retention and recall based on memory. However, in this regard, the spacing effect needs to be mentioned. The one-week spacing between the website analysis assignments might have resulted in procedural memory loss among the participants. For example, some participants may have forgotten how they had responded to a question during the preceding week because of the one-

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week spacing between assignments and used one of the aforementioned systems and/or strategies as an alternative to referring back to their earlier responses. The spacing effect could thus have contributed to memory loss. This might be partly compensated for by massed practice over a longer period. However, this is beyond the scope of the current study. Instructors in a modern EFL classroom therefore need to be clear as to what is to be tested, how it is to be tested, and whether memory testing is to be a part of in-class activities. For example, if an activity in an EFL classroom is intended for students to explore the different ways in which the verb “organised” can be used, the students may first use translation software to check the meaning of the word, check online for examples of the word in context, and then skim and scan the examples to obtain the desired information and complete the activity. In this activity, what do the instructors want to test? (1) Whether students are able to retain and recall the different ways in which the verb “organised” can be used (2) Whether students are aware of the different systems and strategies to use to obtain this information.

7. Conclusions Instructors in an EFL classroom need to judge the importance of memory and what it means to ask students to memorise something. Students exposed to regular assignments in a given subject area over a long-term period may gain sufficient proficiency to not have to use systems and strategies such as these mentioned in this paper to obtain information. However, the data from this six-week study suggests that students with less or more short-term exposure are likely to use such systems and strategies to reduce dependence on information retention and recall based on memory. The use of such systems and strategies does not, however, necessarily lead to performance improvement, even with massed practice. This suggests that there might be a need for further investigation into whether, for example, eliminating redundancy from assignments or including instructor feedback may also be necessary for performance improvement. In conclusion, the authors hope that this preliminary study has drawn attention to the potential importance of situational context and response in memory retention and recall, and provided readers with some insight into this area in an EFL learning context.

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7.1. Teaching Implications An important assignment for language teachers in a non-native context would be to assign a variety of tools to explore how students react to its use, how much they depend on it, and to what extent its use is reflected in the quality of responses they are able to generate. For example, this paper dealt with an English website analysis. However, this is a limited assignment. Students should be tested on a variety of websites related to genres such as education (school or university websites); government (e.g. tax submission websites, ministry websites, driving license and transportation-related websites); sports (e.g. cricket clubs, football, newspaper articles on sports performance reviews); and nature (e.g. National Geographic, Animal Planet), besides other genres. It could also be fitting to ask students to design a native version of the English website in Google Sites or Wordpress. Ideal major assignments in this topic might also include several other sub-assignments, such as identifying the keywords in English, their implications in the context, and what it might mean for the audience and product sales. The article discussed the use of design- and inference-based questions. We can expect the inference-based questions to be challenging for non-native speakers, unless the student has experience in the context, and can analyse the situation in their native language. As for the design-based questions, students must be taught how to explore design, and the points to focus on, for example, and will need a website design-based rubric as a starting point. Teachers can expect their performance and ability for design analysis to vary significantly based on website genre. We have discussed situational contexts, but have not considered how situational contexts could be embedded in the learning context itself, and not just in the tools students use. For example, students could be shown movies in English, with or without subtitles, and asked to explore the important scenes, the sequence of events, the climax, the main characters, or important dialogue. As students try to recall the information, and explain it in English, they might need to use electronic dictionaries, translation software, and a review of the movie in their native language or English. In this learning context, students could be expected to draw from their memory about the movie as they saw it or about the subtitle as they read it, and then process such cognitively stored information with existing supporting tools such as dictionaries and translation software. Using a combination of both formative and summative assessment techniques, the teacher might revisit the same movie after a significant time lag and ask students to identify the key events or characters. Teachers should keep track of the situational contexts and cognitive contexts

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students use when recalling such information, as well as the difference in their ability for information recall over time as they move away from the first screening of the movie. Although not the key focus of this paper, similar assignments could be designed related to simple reading assignments and digital storytelling, including e-books and animation.

7.2. Research Suggestions Important research into this topic could be the general understanding related to how students’ information retention and recall improves over time. As mentioned in the previous section, we will need diverse examples of websites and movie genres to explore if certain types of content are better comprehended, restored more efficiently in memory, and recalled with significant proficiency. A challenging aspect in this research would be to explore how we can differentiate between individual ability to learn certain types of content better versus when the content complexity itself could be generalised across the range of participants. Further, although such memory-related experiments could be conducted with different modalities (e.g. visual, text, animations, voice), we will need to explore the impact of information complexity overload, and how it impacts information retention and recall. Further, it would be imperative to let students use different types of tools such as electronic dictionaries, translation software, or Google search, or editing software such as Google Drive, and see how any specific type of media impacts the quality of response or delivery. The above paragraph identifies the different kinds of independent variables that might impact memory retention and recall. However, this also increases the challenge because it makes it that much more difficult to isolate one set of experimental context from another. This type of research experiment could possibly be better complemented by high-end usabilitybased approaches such as eye-tracking, cognitive understanding of user performance through EPOC brain computer interface devices, use of screen capture software, heuristic evaluation, and think-aloud protocols. Eye-tracking research is accepted to focus on user attention spans and gaze patterns on specific information hotspots on the screen. A brain computer interface device should provide data on brain activity mapping, while heuristic evaluations, retrospective interviewing, and think-aloud protocols could yield more traditional subjective data related to user interaction with the interface.

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The metacognitive analysis of user behaviour should be done separately from the actual user performance with the context. The two types of data could then be mapped together to explore a possible pattern. Finally, and importantly, this study has been a preliminary analysis intended to provide some initial indications as to how students use certain styles and strategies towards memory retention, given specific content. Future analysis on the topic should include a much larger and diverse sample size towards a more robust study design, and repeated measures analysis should be conducted with multiple variables and treatment conditions in controlled settings.

References Anderson, J. R., and L. J. Schooler. 1991. “Reflections of the Environment in Memory.” Psychological Science 2: 396–408. Flanagan D., S. Ortiz, and V. Alfonso. 2007. Essentials of Cross Battery Assessment 2nd edition. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons. Ebbinghaus, H. 1885/1964. Memory: A Contribution to Experimental Psychology. Translated by H. A. Ruger and C. E. Bussenius. New York: Dover Publications. Ellis, R. 1985. Understanding Second Language Acquisition. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Engeström, Y., R. Miettinen, R.-L. Punamäki (eds.) 1999. Perspectives on Activity Theory. New York: Cambridge University Press. Flanagan, D. P., and S. O. Ortiz. 2001. Essentials of Cross-Battery Assessment. New York: Wiley & Sons. Gardner, H. 1983. Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences. New York: Basic Books. Ghaffari, M., and R. Mohamadi. 2012. “The Effect of Context Humorous vs. Non-humorous on Vocabulary Acquisition and Retention of Iranian EFL Learners.” International Journal of Applied Linguistics & English Literature 1 (6) 222–31. Ghorbani, M. R. and N. K. Riabi. 2011. “The Impact of Memory Strategy Instruction on Learners’ EFL Vocabulary Retention.” Theory and Practice in Language Studies 1 (9): 1222–6. Glenberg, A. M. 1976. “Monotonic and Nonmonotonic Lag Effects in Paired-associate and Recognition Memory Paradigms.” Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behaviour 15 (1): 1–16. Hutchins, E. 1995. Cognition in the Wild. Cambridge: MIT Press.

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Landauer, T. K. 1975. “Memory without Organization: Properties of a Model with Random Storage and Undirected Retrieval.” Cognitive Psychology 7: 495–531. Marefat, H., and M. A. Shirazi. 2003. “The Impact of Teaching Direct Learning Strategies on the Retention of Vocabulary by EFL Learners.” The Reading Matrix 3 (2): 47–62. Mazur, J. E., and R. Hastie. 1975. “Learning as Accumulation: A Reexamination of the Learning Curve.” Psychological Bulletin 85: 1256– 74. McGrew, K. S. 2005. “The Cattell-Horn-Carroll Theory of Cognitive Abilities: Past, Present, and Future.” In Contemporary Intellectual Assessment: Theories, Tests, and Issues, edited by D. P. Flanagan, J. L. Genshaft, and P. L. Harrison, 136–82. New York: Guilford. —. 1997. “Analysis of the Major Intelligence Batteries According to a Proposed Comprehensive Gf-Gc Framework.” In Contemporary Intellectual Assessment: Theories, Tests, and Issues, edited by D. P. Flanagan, J. L. Genshaft, and P. L. Harrison, 151–80. New York: Guilford Press. McGrew, K. S., and D. P. Flanagan. 1998. The Intelligence Test Desk Reference ITDR: Gf-Gc Cross-Battery Assessment. Boston: Allyn & Bacon. Mokhtari, K., and C. Reichard. 2002. “Assessing Students’ Metacognitive Awareness of Reading Strategies.” Journal of Educational Psychology 94 (2): 249–59. Newell, A., and P. S. Rosenbloom. 1981. “Mechanisms of Skill Acquisition and the Law of Practice.” In Cognitive Skills and Their Acquisition, edited by J. R. Anderson, 1–55. Hillsdale: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Oxford, R. L. 1996a. Language Learning Strategies around the World: Cross Cultural Perspectives. Manoa: University of Hawaii Press. Postman, L. 1968. “Hermann Ebbinghaus.” American Psychologist 23: 149–57. Restle, F., and J. G. Greeno. 1970. Introduction to Mathematical Psychology. Reading: Addison-Wesley. Tavakoli, M., and E. Gerami. 2013. “The Effect of Keyword and Pictorial Methods on EFL Learners’ Vocabulary Learning and Retention.” Porta Linguarum 19: 299–316.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN DEVICES AND TECHNIQUES FOR MEMORY RETENTION IN A FOREIGN LANGUAGE LEARNING CONTEXT DEBOPRIYO ROY AND STEPHEN CRABBE

1. Introduction Applied linguistics research indicates that foreign language is taught using either an audio-lingual method or a grammar-translation method, and language teachers are left to decide which method should be used for effective foreign language teaching and acquisition. The most important idea in language acquisition sciences attempts to deal with the process of language acquisition and not its product. Literature on language acquisition seems to have converged on the idea that real language acquisition develops slowly, and over time. In order to speak well we need to listen well, and speaking ability only grows over time. Thus, for language teachers, the idea would be to supply comprehensible input in relatively stress-free situations that comes naturally, and is focused on student interest. It could be argued that the whole idea of language teaching should be based on supplying communicative and comprehensible input, rather than forced production-based language units. Now, the question to be raised is what could be considered as acceptable and efficient comprehensible inputs? How could these inputs foster a learning infrastructure where memory retention for language learning and acquisition is facilitated? In this article, we have considered different devices and techniques that could help with memory retention for language learning and acquisition. A primary concern that we have in this regard is to successfully understand which device or technique actually helps with second/foreign language acquisition vis-à-vis learning. Language acquisition is a subconscious process in a way where the acquirers are not usually aware of the fact that

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they are acquiring language. On the contrary, language learning takes place when the learner is aware of the rules and grammar, and can successfully explain it. If a non-native speaker reads an English newspaper article over a prolonged period from their mobile device or iPod, is there a way to tell how English language acquisition vis-à-vis learning is happening? Could it be difficult to know the extent to which the mobile device is facilitating the acquisition and/or learning process? Research (Glisky, Schacter and Tulving 1986) indicates that it might be relatively easy to attribute the retention of vocabulary or general language elements in memory to electronic devices, and language learning and retention strategies and approaches. However, different types of information aids might work in different ways when it comes to information comprehension and retention in a foreign language. Research indicates that text comprehension in a foreign language was weakest for all learners when they received visual annotations. The generative theory of multimedia learning and cognitive load theory supports the findings that assume multimedia-learning processes are executed under the constraints of limited working memory (Plass et al. 2003). Before we move onto exploring the techniques and devices that possibly help with information retention in the working memory and longterm memory, it is imperative to understand how the working memory works cognitively towards language acquisition and learning. A widely researched topic in second language acquisition is students’ differential success in language learning. Affective, cognitive, and personality-related individual differences account for the variability in second and foreign language learning (Gardner 1985). Working memory capacity is one of the cognitive factors, which is one of the important predictors of success in foreign-language acquisition (Sawyer and Ranta 2001). A large section of the literature reiterates the role of verbal working memory capacity towards vocabulary learning in a foreign language. Interestingly, the literature indicates very few research projects that investigated the general effects of verbal working memory capacity on L2 skills acquisition such as listening, reading, writing, and speaking (O’Brien, Segalowitz, Collentine and Freed 2006). Thus, the relationship between verbal working memory capacity and foreign language aptitude is not obvious. Research has implied that working memory capacity and language aptitude are interlinked through components such as analytic capacity, memory ability, and phonetic coding ability (Miyake and Friedman 1998; Sawyer and Ranta 2001). However, some research indicates that foreign language acquisition is a dynamic construct

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involving cognitive ability types that ranges beyond working memory capacity, such as intelligence (Skehan 1986) and foreign language aptitude (Carroll 1981). The concept that short-term working memory combines storage with the processing and manipulation of information is rather new and very different from the previous theories of working memory that focused entirely on the storage function. In this new model of working memory, comprehension, reasoning, and learning play a more central role in foreign-language acquisition (Baddeley 2003). The phonological loop is the most widely researched component of working memory. This subsystem comprises a store that holds information for few seconds, and a rehearsal process that refreshes decaying information. This capacity is often measured by the immediate serial recall of numbers or words (Baddeley 2003). Other complex verbal working memory tasks include reading and listening span, and the backward digit span task (Daneman and Carpenter 1980). Working memory is frequently used in reference to the part of the memory that temporarily stores and processes information after it is first received. It thus has an important role in complex cognitive tasks, such as learning a new foreign language. In fact, the importance of its role in foreign language learning has been underlined in numerous studies, such as Miyake and Friedman (1998), Mackey et al. (2002) and Van den Noort, Bosch, and Hugdahl (2006). Thus, what can be used to aid working memory and therefore memory retention in a foreign language learning context? Memory problems are commonly associated with aging, and electronic memory devices with aiding memory retention in individuals with memory problems (loss or impairment) (Kapur 1995). However, the recent explosion in the variety and functionality of electronic memory devices available in the market has opened up the possibility of them being used for foreign language learning. Furthermore, there are many techniques that aid memory retention and are used, or have the potential to be used, in foreign-language learning. This paper will not examine the human working memory system as that is beyond its intended scope. Rather, it will bring together different devices and techniques that have been shown to aid memory retention, particularly in terms of working memory in cognitive psychology and neuroscience research, and are, or have the potential to be, useful and relevant to the study of a foreign language. It is hoped that this will serve as a reference and repository for educators and students in a foreign language learning context to reflect on and discuss devices and techniques that they could use.

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2. Techniques This section provides some information on various techniques that aid memory retention and are, or have the potential to be, useful in foreign language learning. Bizarre imagery: The use of imagery as a memory aid is well researched and documented. Of particular interest in a foreign language learning context is research undertaken by McDaniel and Einstein (1986), which implies that people are more likely to remember word triplets if they are using bizarre images to connect the words rather than common images. Emotion: Research has repeatedly demonstrated the positive impact of emotionally arousing material on memory retention (Bradley et al. 1992; Cahill and McGaugh 1998; Kazui et al. (2000). Mnemonic and association: These are memory aid techniques that facilitate memory retention by associating new information with that which is already known. As early as 1980, research evidence implied that the ability to recall new vocabulary in a foreign language-learning context is improved through using mnemonic and association techniques (Cohen and Aphek 1980). Proactive interference: The term “proactive interference” is widely used in reference to the interference of prior learning on the retention of later learning. Research undertaken by Lustig, May, and Hasher (2001) indicates that people have trouble learning and retaining new material when, textually, visually, or phonetically, the new material is similar to or the same as the old material. However, Lustig, May, and Hasher (2001) make clear that the effects of proactive interference can be negated if the new learning material is different from any older material. Procedures of learning: In 2002, Schneider, Healy, and Bourne undertook a study to test whether increasing the difficulty of the procedures used to learn new vocabulary in a foreign language would increase memory retention. This was based on the hypothesis that, “although easier material may be retained better than more difficult material, material learned under difficult conditions may be retained better than the same material learned under easy conditions” (2002, 422). Their research claimed that native English speakers learning French/English vocabulary pairs showed increased memory retention when the initial

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learning procedure involved the more difficult English-French translation direction. Pronunciation time: Speakers of different languages speak at different rates, which can affect working memory capacity in tasks such as foreignlanguage learning. For example, research undertaken by Naveh-Benjamin and Ayres (1986) showed that native speakers of Arabic generally speak more slowly than native speakers of English, and, as a result, their working memory capacity is smaller. Furthermore, more recent research undertaken by, for example, Chincotta and Hoosain (1995) and Chincotta and Underwood (1996) has supported Naveh-Benjamin and Ayres’ (1986) finding that working memory capacity is affected by speaking rate. Sequencing of items: The term “serial position effect” was first used by the psychologist Ebbinghaus as far back as the nineteenth century. Ebbinghaus (1885; 1964) used it in reference to the tendency of people to recall items at the beginning or end of a list of items more than items in the middle. This tendency to recall items at the beginning of a list is termed as the primacy effect, and recalling items at the end the recency effect. This primacy effect is thought to occur because items have been transferred to the long-term memory, and the recency effect because items are still being stored and processed in the working memory. The recency effect is the principle that the most recently presented items or experiences will most likely be remembered best. If someone hears a long list of words, it is more likely that they will remember the words heard last (at the end of the list) than words that occurred in the middle. Phonological Sequence: Research implies that phonological sequence learning and phonological short-term memory capacity facilitate vocabulary learning. With more practice in a foreign language, learners start realising phonological regularities, and already acquired vocabulary increases the efficiency of short-term phonological storage and helps learn more sequences (Speciale et al. 2004). Shopping lists as memory aids: The use of shopping lists as memory aids has also been researched. For example, research by Intons-Peterson and Fournier (1986) involved one group of undergraduates making notes and a second not doing so while listening to a list of items to buy. The results showed that the students who were allowed to create a memory aid (a shopping list) remembered more of the items than the students who were

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not allowed to, even though the memory aid was not made available at the time of testing memory retention and recall. Visual and verbal annotations: Research by Plass et al. (2003) found that when readers of a foreign-language text receive visual annotations for key words in the text, recall of word translations is worse for those with low verbal and spatial ability compared to those with high verbal and spatial ability. However, this difference in performance is not evident when readers receive verbal annotations for key words. Plass et al. (2003) conclude their study by stating that, “in particular, our results imply that learners should have options for using study material in both a visual mode and a verbal mode, but should not be forced to select and process both types of information” (Plass et al. 2003, 239). Word length: Baddeley, Thomson, and Buchanan(1975) investigated if memory retention varied depending upon the length of the words to be recalled. This study into working memory capacity for sets of short and long English words found that, as word length increased, memory retention decreased across a range of vocabulary. Word meaning, length, and frequency: There has been a great deal of research into the effect of word meaning, length, and frequency on memory retention. For example, research by Hulme and Maughan (1991) has shown that working memory capacity for words from an unfamiliar language is significantly lower than for words from a familiar language. Later research by Hulme et al. (1997) has also shown that working memory capacity for words that appear with low frequency in a text is significantly lower than for words that appear with high frequency. Furthermore, research by Campoy (2008) into word length found that working memory capacity is inversely related to word length. Time of day: There has been a great deal of research into the effect of time of learning on memory retention. For example, Deliens et al. (2013) found increased memory retention of learned word pairs when learning occurred in the evening at a time close to the usual bedtime of the study participants than in the morning. Testing effect: The term “testing effect” is widely used in reference to improving memory retention through testing. Roediger and Karpicke (2006) draw attention to the fact that testing is a powerful means of improving memory retention in addition to assessing it.

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Rehearsing foreign language material: There is enough research evidence to imply that rehearsing foreign language materials will benefit the process of comprehension and learning foreign language material, including the metalinguistic knowledge of grammar, accuracy in pronunciation, and grammatical fluency and accuracy (Ellis and Sinclair 1996).

3. Devices This section will provide some information on various devices that aid memory retention, and are, or have the potential to be, useful in a foreign language learning context. However, prior to doing this, it is useful to consider activity theory. Activity theory (Engeström et al. 1999) is a way of describing human activities by analysing the interaction of the activities with their context of enactment. In other words, it takes into account the context of human activities such as foreign-language learning. Activity theory finds support in distributed cognition (Hutchins 1995), which is a branch of cognitive science that proposes that human knowledge and cognition do not just come from the individual. Rather, they are inextricably bound up in the context of their production. This includes, for example, the mediating artifacts (or, in other words, the devices) that are used. Activity theory is thus immensely important in helping us to understand memory retention because the use of mediating artifacts can influence the manner in which memory is recalled. Some of these material artifacts, or devices, are described below. Data recording systems: Data recording systems may be used as information-retrieval technology to create a recorded language learning archive for individuals to utilise in a foreign language learning context. For example, they could be used as a memory trigger or as an error-prone speech recogniser in language selection, development, and use. In this regard, it is worth noting that the effectiveness of the memory retrieval capability may be affected by the individual’s familiarity with the recorded data and the context in which the data was recorded. Research by Vemuri (2004) has shown that an individual’s memory of a past event, in particular their ability to narrow the window of time in which the past event occurred, can positively affect their ability to remember something about it.

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SenseCam: This is a sensor-augmented wearable stills camera that automatically captures and records a series of images over time without any user input. It can therefore be utilised as a retrospective memory aid by an individual to help retrieve earlier memories that they may have forgotten. Research by Hodges et al. (2006) on the efficacy of the SenseCam suggests that it has the potential to significantly improve longterm memory retrieval. Voice organiser: This is a handheld Dictaphone-type electronic memory aid that is used to prevent prospective memory errors. Research by Van den Broek et al. (2000) involving two prospective memory tasks—one with a recall delay of nine hours and the other with a recall delay of one to six days—demonstrated that a voice recorder has the potential to improve prospective recall in everyday situations for individuals with memory problems. NeuroPage: This is a pager-type electronic memory aid that was originally designed for individuals with memory problems due to brain injury. Research by Wilson et al. (1997) has indicated that it has the potential to prevent prospective memory errors in individuals with memory problems. Mobile phones: Research by Wade and Troy (2001) investigated the efficacy of mobile phones as electronic memory aids for individuals with memory problems. The study results were overwhelmingly positive, demonstrating that mobile phones had considerable potential. In this regard, it is interesting to note that mobile phones are widely used in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learning contexts in Japan (Thornton and Houser 2004). In fact, research by Thornton and Houser into Japanese university students’ use of mobile phones for EFL purposes found that, “when actually using educational materials designed for mobile phones, students evaluated them positively, and test results showed that they were able to learn via this medium” (226). The authors concluded that “mobile devices such as phones … can be effective tools for delivering foreign language learning materials to students.” Dual device user interface design: This is an electronic memory aid that combines an interactive television (iTV) with a device such as a PDA or mobile phone. In 2005, Fallahkhair, Pemberton, and Griffiths successfully designed and developed one such electronic memory aid called TAMALLE (television and mobile assisted language learning

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environment) to facilitate language learning. Further information about TAMALLE can be found at http://fallahks.myweb.port.ac.uk/projects.html. Audio-based personal memory aid: This is a wearable type of electronic memory aid that, when activated by the wearer, enables them to record their conversations. In addition, it enables the wearer to search and browse the recorded data. It can thus be utilised as a retrospective memory aid by allowing the wearer to search for and browse a recorded conversation for an audio memory trigger to help retrieve an earlier memory that they may have forgotten (Vemuri et al. 2004). Computer-supported language learning in a ubiquitous computing environment: Ubiquitous computing technology enables a learning environment to be embedded in everyday life by capturing and recording an individual’s activities during the day, even if they change location. This has been made possible by the development of the radio frequency identification (RFID) tag, which enables the position and movement of tagged objects to be represented virtually onscreen. In 2010, Ogata et al. suggested utilising ubiquitous computing technology for foreign language learning. They proposed a vocabulary learning system called TANGO (Tag Added learNinG Objects) that uses RFID tags to detect objects around the learner and then ask the learner questions about the objects for vocabulary learning purposes. Ogata et al. make clear that the advantage of such a computer-supported language-learning environment is that learners would learn a language with real physical objects (2010). PhotoStudy: The PhotoStudy system was proposed by researchers at the University of Hawaii (Joseph, Binsted, and Suthers 2005). It is a prototype mobile learning system that aims to support vocabulary learning for EFL students on a wide range of wired and wireless mobile devices by providing the students with images and enabling them to practice vocabulary related to them. Podcasting: This is a method of broadcasting audio and video files over the internet that has the potential to support foreign language learning in a range of settings and across multiple disciplines. Research by Cebeci and Tekdal suggests that podcasting, “offers great promise for producing and enriching learning objects … [and] … methods of using podcasting in elearning should be developed more intensively and their incorporation into

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existing learning systems must be given careful attention” (Cebeci and Tekdal 2006, 55). Automatic speech recognition: This is a technology that enables a computer to identify the individual words spoken by a person. It is often found in speech pronunciation software. Several studies on automatic speech recognition have found that it can improve EFL learners’ pronunciation. For further information about this device see Golonka et al. (2012). Wristwatch memory device: This is an audio controlled and activated wristwatch-type electronic memory aid (Mathurin 1995). Personal digital assistant: This is a handheld computer that can be used to download and store data. Research by Kim (2013) on the efficacy of teaching a foreign language through a PDA indicates that this is a promising area for future research.

4. Conclusions The purpose of this paper has been to provide a repository of information about devices and techniques that have been shown to aid memory retention, particularly in terms of working memory, and are, or have the potential to be, useful and relevant in foreign language learning. Future studies should investigate, at length, how some or all of these techniques could be successfully integrated into foreign-language teaching in a way such that language acquisition and learning becomes evident. The information in this article is not intended to be comprehensive, but a starting point for further discussion. The authors further hope that the paper will enable and encourage educators and students in foreign language learning contexts to reflect on and consider the many different devices that they could use in their own teaching and learning. Future research with multiple devices might demonstrate particularly interesting results, and will probably show significant differences when it comes to information retention and recall. Some of the above-mentioned devices are currently used exclusively for patients suffering from amnesia, dementia, or other neurological conditions. Future discussions should focus on how these device interfaces could be improved and customised for holistic language teaching, and in the process bridge affective, cognitive, and personality-related individual differences. This could possibly facilitate superior short- and long-term memory retention. In conclusion, the number and variety of these different devices and

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techniques clearly indicate that there remains much to be explored with regard to aiding memory retention in a foreign language learning context. The overall idea of this paper is to make readers reflect on how these techniques and devices for increasing the efficiency of working memory capacity could contribute towards the acquisition of the five major constituents of second and foreign language competence: linguistic knowledge, reading, writing, speaking, and listening skills (Kormos and Safar 2008).

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Mathurin, T. S. 1995. Audio Controlled and Activated Wristwatch Memory Aid Device US Patent # 5,444,673; Date of Patent: August 22, 1995. http://www.google.co.uk/patents/US5444673. McDaniel, M. A., and G. O. Einstein. 1986. “Bizarre Imagery as an Effective Memory Aid: The Importance of Distinctiveness.” Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition 121: 54–65. Miyake, A., and N. P. Friedman. 1998. “Individual Differences in Second Language Proficiency: Working Memory as Language Aptitude.” In Foreign Language Learning: Psycholinguistics Studies on Training and Retention, edited by A. F. Healy and L. Bourne, 339–64. Mahawah: Lawrence Erlbaum. Naveh-Benjamin, M., and T. J. Ayres. 1986. “Digit span, reading rate, and linguistic relatively.” Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology 38A: 739–51. O’Brien, I., N. Segalowitz, J. Collentine, and B. Freed. 2006. “Phonological Memory and Lexical Narrative, and Grammatical Skills in Second Language Oral Production by Adult Learners.” Applied Psycholinguistics 27: 377–402. Ogata, H., R. Akamatsu, and Y. Yano. 2010. “Computer Supported Ubiquitous Learning Environment for Vocabulary Learning.” International Journal of Learning Technology 51: 5–24. Plass, J. L., D. M. Chun, R. E. Mayer, and D. Leutner. 2003. “Cognitive Load in Reading a Foreign Language Text with Multimedia Aids and the Influence of Verbal and Spatial Abilities.” Computers in Human Behaviour 19: 221–43. Roediger, H. L III, and J. D. Karpicke. 2006. “The Power of Testing Memory: Basic Research and Implications for Educational Practice.” Unpublished manuscript, Washington University in St. Louis. Sawyer, M. and L. Ranta. 2001. “Aptitude, Individual Differences and Instructional Design.” In Individual Differences and Instructed Language Learning, edited by P. Robinson, 319–53. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. Schneider, V. I., A. F. Healy, and L. E. Bourne. 2002. “What is Learned under Difficult Conditions is Hard to Forget: Contextual Interference Effects in Foreign Vocabulary Acquisition, Retention, and Transfer.” Journal of Memory and Language 462: 419–40. Skehan, P. 1986. “Cluster Analysis and the Identification of Learner Types.” In Experimental Approaches to Second Language Acquisition, edited by V. Cook, 81–94. Oxford: Pergamon. Speciale, G., N. C. Ellis, and T. Bywater. 2004. “Phonological Sequence

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Learning and Short-term Store Capacity Determine Second Language Vocabulary Acquisition.” Applied Psycholinguistics 25: 293–321. Thornton, P., and C. Houser. 2004. “Using Mobile Phones in Education.” In Proceedings of the 2nd IEEE International Workshop on Wireless and Mobile Technologies in Education WMTE'04, edited by IEEE Computer Society, 3–10. Washington: IEEE Computer Society. Van den Noort, M. W. M. L., P. Bosch, and K. Hugdahl. 2006. “Foreign Language Proficiency and Working Memory Capacity.” European Psychologist 11: 289–96. Van den Broek, M. D., J. Downes, Z. Johnson, B. Dayus, and N. Hilton. 2000. “Evaluation of an Electronic Memory Aid in the Neuropsychological Rehabilitation of Prospective Memory Deficits.” Brain Injury 145: 455–62. Vemuri, S. 2004. “Personal long-term memory aids.” PhD thesis published by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, http://web.media.mit.edu/~vemuri/research-pub/vemurithesis-final.pdf. Vemuri, S., C. Schmandt, W. Bender, S. Tellex, and B. Lassey. 2004. “An Audio-based Personal Memory Aid.” In Proceedings of UbiComp 2004, edited by N. Davies, E. Mynatt, and I. Siio, 400–17. Berlin: Springer. Wade, T. K., and J. C. Troy. 2001. “Mobile Phones as a New Memory Aid: A Preliminary Investigation using Case Studies.” Brain Injury 154: 305–20. Wilson, B. A., J. J. Evans, H. Emslie, and V. Malinek. 1997. “Evaluation of NeuroPage: a new memory aid.” Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry 631: 113–15.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN ACQUIRING THE LOCALITY CONDITION ON ENGLISH REFLEXIVES BY PERSIAN LEARNERS ALI SAFARI

1. Introduction L2 learners should arrive at a system accounting for L2 input, a situation similar to L1 acquisition. They are also faced with the problem of language acquisition. There are complex and abstract properties of grammar underdetermined by L2 input. Thus, one can suggest that UG (Universal Grammar) is operative in L2 learning as well as L1 acquisition (White 1989). However, Since L2 learners already have a set of principles represented in their L1, the strongest case for the operation of principles of UG in interlanguage grammars can be made if learners demonstrate knowledge of abstract and complex properties of language which could neither have been learned from L2 input nor derived from L1 grammar (White 2003). English and Persian differ in the domain in which reflexives may be bound. The binding patterns which emerged provide an interesting case for studying the role of UG in interlanguage grammars and the nature of interlanguage, which may be neither L1- nor L2-like but remain within UG constraints. For Persian learners, their knowledge of reflexives does not help due to the differences in the binding domain of reflexives in the two languages. English only allows local binding, while in Persian longdistance (LD) binding is possible for a special form of reflexives. Learners are not taught or explicitly told about such a restriction in English. Thus, we can investigate how they acquire the locality condition on English reflexives without receiving instruction or any evidence from their L1. The purpose of this study is to examine the nature of Persian adult learners’ interlanguage when they acquire the locality condition on English reflexives. Specifically, the paper investigates the role of UG in their interlanguage grammar. The paper is organised as follows: section 2 is devoted to the review of literature. In section 3, the linguistic feature

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under investigation, namely the binding domain, is discussed within the framework of the Minimalist Program. Section 4 discusses some methodological aspects of the study. The method and the materials are introduced in section 5, results and data analysis are presented in section 6, and the final section concludes the paper.

2. Review of Literature UG-related SLA studies have typically involved the three following versions of “Access” theory: x The No Access or Fundamental Difference Hypothesis (BleyVroman, 1990; Schachter 1989; Clahsen and Moysken 1986) proposes that second-language acquisition is totally different from first-language acquisition regarding access to UG-principles. L2 learners do not have access to UG principles other than those which are represented in their L1 grammar. x Direct Access (Flynn 1987) assumes that interlanguage grammars are UG-constrained and L2 learners are not restricted to representations based on the L1 grammar. x Finally, based on the Full Transfer Full Access Hypothesis (Schwarts and Sprouse 1996), L2 learners’ access to UG principles in the initial state is possible only through their L1. Restructuring takes place when they are exposed to L2 input. In the 1980s, the UG question seemed relatively straightforward (and relatively global): Is UG available (or accessible) to L2 learners? In other words, do ILGs (interlanguages) show evidence of being constrained by the principles of UG? A number of principles were investigated, such as subjacency, the ECP, and Binding Principle A. The assumption was that if you can show that a particular UG principle operates/does not operate then this generalises to other principles, hence UG availability/non-availability in general. Some researchers investigated the issue of UG parameters rather than invariant UG principles, e.g. head position (Flynn 1984) and prodrop (White 1985). Much early work looked at whether there is evidence of parameter (re)setting in ILGs (i.e. early stage L1 value, later stage L2 value of particular parameters, with relevant clustering of properties). If ILGs are UG constrained, then we expect parametric properties to show up, either in the form of L1 settings or L2 settings, or settings found in other languages, with an associated cluster of properties. A number of researchers proposed a “no parameter resetting” hypothesis,

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whereby L2 learners are subject to UG principles but cannot reset parameters (Clahsen and Muysken 1989; Liceras et al. 1997; Tsimpli and Roussou 1991). Others argue that L1 settings prevail initially, with the subsequent acquisition of other values (Schwartz and Sprouse 1996; White 1985). Some have proposed that L2 settings are attainable without the prior adoption of L1 settings (Epstein, Flynn and Martohardjono 1996; Flynn 1987). Considerable terminological confusions and disagreements arose fairly early on, relating to the involvement of the L1 and implications for UG operation. For example, “direct access” for some meant that L2 learners arrive at UG properties independently of their L1 (Cook 1988). For others (Thomas 1991) it meant the instantiation of any legitimate parameter settings. (L1, L2, Ln). “Indirect access” to UG was used to refer to access via the L1, some researchers using it to mean access ONLY via the L1 (Cook 1988), while others took this to mean access via L1 initially followed by parameter resetting. Similar problems have arisen with the terms “full access” and “partial access,” which at some point replaced “direct/indirect access.” “Full access” is for some (Epstein, Flynn and Martohardjono 1996) restricted to the position that UG operates independently of the L1 representation, whereas for others (Schwartz and Sprouse 1996; White 1985) it means access via L1 but not restricted to L1. In recent studies, SLA researches focused on examining the nature of interlanguage grammars to find out whether interlanguage grammars show properties of natural languages. The most important property of natural languages is that they are UG-constrained. In other words, they are within the bounds sanctioned by UG. The question arose as to whether they are always like natural language systems or whether they are wild or rogue. If interlanguage grammars show properties which cannot be found elsewhere in natural languages, it can be concluded that they are wild and not UGconstrained (White 1998). A number of researchers studied the binding phenomena to find out the role of UG in L2 learners. Akiyama (2002) examined the knowledge of the locality condition on English reflexives in Japanese learners of English and found a finite–non-finite asymmetry in their interlanguage grammar. McCormack (2004) studied the attrition of the locality condition on English reflexives in Japanese learners, showing that they had a Russian-like interlanguage grammar when this property weakened in their grammar representation. In this study the question is: What is the nature of interlanguage grammar when Persian adult learners of English acquire the locality condition on English reflexives? Is their interlanguage grammar within UG limits or not?

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3. Linguistic Feature Acquiring UG principles can be observed in the binding phenomena. This study examines the acquiring of constraints on reflexive binding. In earlier versions of generative syntax (Chomsky 1981; 1986), principle A of the binding theory required that an anaphor be bound in its governing category (GC). “Bound” means that the anaphoric expression and its antecedent are co-indexed, and the antecedent C-commands the anaphor. In (1) below the anaphor is co-indexed with "John," not "Mary". Consequently, John is the antecedent of the reflexive. It also C-commands the reflexive. (1)

Mary knew that John introduced himself i j *i/j

The violation of the C-command condition is responsible for the illformedness of the following sentence: (2)

*Mary ’s sister invited herself i i

For the present study, the definition of the C-command by Chomsky (1995) will be adapted. In recent developments, especially the Minimalist Program, the notion “government” is removed from the theory and, according to Chomsky (1986), condition A can be reduced to constraints on LF movements. Chomsky (1986) argues that anaphors undergo LF movement to a position near their antecedent. Lasnik (1999) proposes that, in these cases, the clause-mate condition suffices. Chomsky suggests the LF structure (4) for the following anaphoric relation. The antecedent raises to the [Spec,Agr s] and the reflexive adjoins to the head of this projection at LF. (3) (4)

They injured themselves. AgrsP

Spec

They

Agrs’

Agrs

themselves

TP Agrs t injured t

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For the object-oriented reflexive, Lasnik (1999) suggested that the antecedent raises to [Spec,Agro] and the reflexive adjoins to its head as illustrated below. (5) (6)

I asked them about themselves (Lasnik 1999, 38). Agrop

Spec

them

Agro’

Agro

themselves

VP

Agro

asked t about t

Under this analysis, the syntactic relation that resolves reflexive anaphora is precisely the spec-head relation. If the cause-mate suffices, the following ECM construction can be provided: (7)

*Johni believes [ himi to be intelligent ]

In other words, the binding domain of the pronoun is the matrix clause. Based on Lasnik (1999), an ECM subject raises to the higher [Spec,Agr o] just as a normal object does. The purpose of this study is therefore to investigate how this requirement for binding in English is acquired by Persian learners, and whether their interlanguage is within the bounds sanctioned by UG. Let’s contrast the binding domain in which the anaphor may be bound in English and Persian. English and Persian are different in respect to their binding domain of reflexives. English only allows the local binding of reflexives, as the following sentences illustrate. (8)

John thought that Mike was blaming himself i j *i/j

(9)

John wanted Mike to know himself better. i j *i/j

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In both sentences (finite and non-finite), the reflexive only refers to the embedded subject. There are, however, some sentences in English in which a reflexive can be bound from outside its local domain, as in the following example: (10) John wonders [ which pictures of himself Mary showed to Susan.] i i (Lasnik 1999) These NPs known as picture-NPs pose a serious problem for binding theory. For the purpose of the present study, they are considered as exceptions to the general principle in English. Reflexives must be bound in their minimal domain, either in finite or non-finite constructions. In neither language does finiteness or nonfiniteness of the subordinate clause play a role in determining the binding domain. In the following Persian sentences, in which the most commonly used reflexive form in colloquial language, “xod-ash,” is employed, it can be bound by an antecedent outside the local clause, as illustrated below: (11) Giti fekr mi-kon-e ke Jila xodesh -ro moqaser mi-dun-e. i j i/j Giti think DUR-do-3sg that Jila herself-OM DUR-know-3sg “Giti thinks that Jila is blaming herself.” (12) Ali goft ke Hasan xodesh -ro mo’arefi bo-kon-e i i/j Ali tell-PST.3sg that Hasan himself-OM INF-do-3sg “Ali told Hasan to introduce himself.”

guilty

introduce

(13) Ali fekr kard ke Hasan goft-e Pooya xodesh -ro dust dare i j k i/j/k Ali think do-PST.3sg that Hasan say-IMPERF Pooya himself -OM like hold-PRS.3sg “Ali thought that Hasan said that Pooya likes himself.” In (11), the reflexive can optionally refer to the matrix or embedded subject. The sentence in (12) contains a subjunctive subordinate clause and the reflexive can optionally refer to the embedded or matrix subject. Ghomeshi (2001) notes that subjunctive constructions are the closest constructions to non-finite clauses in English. Persian non-finite forms (or the so-called “long infinitives”) lack verbal properties, since they

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demonstrate nominal characteristics. For instance, they can take –ra as an accusative case marker or appear before the verb, unlike clausal complements which follow the verb in Persian. Example (13) illustrates an extreme form of LD binding in which the reflexive can optionally refer to a local subject, intermediate subject, or matrix subject. Persian has two kinds of reflexives: “xod” and “xod + clitic” (e.g. xod-ash). “xod” is used in the formal style and always selects a local subject as its antecedent. Given that “xod” is restricted to formal written language, we will focus on the colloquial form, although, based on Karimi (2005), it has lost its anaphoric property by attaching a clitic pronoun. In a translation test, which I administrated among 10 Persian speakers, subjects were asked to translate a sentence containing himself/herself into colloquial Persian. In all, 100% of them translated himself/herself to “xodash.” As a result, I consider “xodash” as the appropriate Persian equivalent of the English reflexive.

4. Methodological Issues Let us review what kinds of situation have been used to demonstrate an L2 logical problem, hence the likelihood of the involvement of UG. Researchers have sought out genuine “poverty of the stimulus” cases. In other words, both of the following must hold (White 1990): (1) The phenomenon in question must be underdetermined by the L2 input. That is, it must not be something that could have been acquired without recourse to universal principles, by simple observation of the L2 input, by frequency effects, or on the basis of instruction, analogical reasoning, etc. (2) The phenomenon in question should work differently in the L1 and the L2. If L2 learners show evidence of subtle and abstract knowledge, we want to exclude, as much as possible, the possibility that such knowledge is obtained via the L1 grammar alone. According to Cook (2000), UG-related SLA research should take the following steps: (1) Show that second-language learners know some aspects of secondlanguage grammar. (2) Show that this knowledge could not have been acquired on the basis of resources available to second language learners like L2 input.

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(3) Show that this knowledge could not have been acquired from their L1. As mentioned earlier, for Persian learners their L1 knowledge of reflexives does not help due to the differences in the binding domain of reflexives in the two languages. English only allows local binding, while in Persian long-distance (LD) binding is possible for a special form of reflexives. Learners are not taught or explicitly told about such a restriction in English. Thus, we can investigate how they acquire the locality condition on English reflexives without receiving instruction or any evidence from their L1.

4.1. Ambiguity Problem Persian does not provide any input for the binding domain in English because it has no such restriction in its colloquial speech. Data from L2 may provide evidence showing that local binding is possible, but this does not suggest that LD binding is impossible. L2 learners may misinterpret English sentences ambiguously in the same way that Persian native speakers interpret corresponding Persian sentences. Therefore, choosing “Mary” for the antecedent of reflexive in the following sentence may be a matter of preference rather than demonstrating knowledge of local binding in English. (14) Mary thought that Jennifer introduced herself. To avoid such problems in interpreting sentences and ensuring that the selected antecedent is not a preferred one, participants are required to read a story before getting to answer the relevant test. The story provides them with a context, and the context leads them to only one interpretation.

4.2. Choice of Verb The verb “want” is chosen for sentences with the non-finite complement clause as it is an ECM verb. ECM verbs do not have any abstract or empty element in their embedded subject position. The presence of PRO or other empty elements in this position may interfere with the knowledge of the binding domain.

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4.3. Methods of Analysis Results will be analysed based on both aggregate data and individual data to observe the consistency in learners’ grammars. Their grammar may be neither L1- nor L2-like.

4.4. Participants: 2 Levels Level 1 consists of 30 elementary learners. They are elementary English university students in the second year of study. They started learning English after entering the university. Level 2 consists of 30 advanced learners. They are advanced English university students in their last year at university. Control groups: 20 English native speakers and 20 Persian native speakers.

5. Materials Story-based Truth Value Judgment Tasks (TVJT; Crain and Thornton 1998) and Grammaticality Judgment Tasks are used to test the participants' knowledge of English reflexives. Grammaticality Judgment Tests (GJTs) have been used by second language acquisition researchers since the mid-1970s to assess the linguistic competence of secondlanguage learners in their L2, although a number of researchers (e.g. Gass 1994; Ellis 1991) have raised serious questions concerning the reliability of this type of test as a measure of L2 learners’ linguistic competence. Story-based Truth Value Judgment Tasks are used in this study to evaluate participants’ linguistic knowledge more reliably. The story-based Truth Value Judgment task is a technique that was specifically developed to investigate the meaning that people assign to the sentences of their language. The TVJT typically involves two experimenters. The first acts out short stories in front of the subject; at the end of the story, the second makes a statement about what he thinks happened in the story. The subject’s role is to determine whether the statement is right or wrong. In this study, a booklet is given to each subject. The subject reads the story first, then flips the page and reads a sentence about what happened in the story. The subjects’ role is to say whether the statement is correct or false with respect to the story.

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5.1. Story-Based Truth Value Judgment Task These tasks are employed to test the learner’s knowledge of English reflexives. To avoid the ambiguity problem, each stimulus sentence is given after a story. The story provides the participants with a context. This story leads them to only one interpretation. Two kinds of sentences are given to the subjects: S1: Sentences with embedded finite clause “John thought that Mike introduced himself” S2: Sentences with embedded non-finite clause “John wanted Mike to introduce himself” Participants are required to judge if the sentence is acceptable in this context or not. Example Stimulus Sentence: “X thought that Y introduced himself/ herself.” Local context: John was a new teacher in a high school and it was the first day of school. He entered the class accompanied by the manager. The manager started to talk to the students about his success, honours, and achievements. When he finished his speech, he left the class without introducing the new teacher to the students. Stimulus sentence: “John thought that the manager introduced himself/herself to the students.” (Yes/No) A response of Yes means that the subject has connected the reflexive with the local subject. LD context Mary and her sister were invited to a party by Jennifer but they didn’t know anyone in the party. When they got to the party Jennifer welcomed the new guests and introduced Mary to the other guests but she forgot to introduce Mary’s sister. Stimulus sentence: “Mary thought that Jennifer introduced herself to the guests.” (Yes/No) A response of Yes here means the participant has tried to connect the reflexive with the matrix subject.

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5.2. Grammaticality Judgment Task A number of sentences with number or gender discrepancies between the reflexive and the matrix subject were given to participants to judge their grammaticality. A response of “not OK” in these tests means that the subject has tried to connect the embedded reflexive with the matrix subject, and due to number or gender disagreement has marked the sentence “not OK.” Gender discrepancy: “Ali thought that Mary liked herself.” (OK/not OK) Number discrepancy: “Ali’s parents thought that Ali hated himself.” (OK, not OK)

5.3. Syntax Test To maintain homogeneity, a series of syntax tests will be administrated to ensure that the participants have the knowledge of the basic structures of English. Participants who do not perform well on these tests were excluded.

5.4. Transfer Test As mentioned above, Persian has two kinds of reflexives. “xod” is a subject oriented reflexive and only refers to the local subject. LD binding is impossible in this case. The other reflexive word which is formed by attaching a clitic pronoun to “xod” makes LD binding possible. Therefore, choosing each reflexive word affects the participants’ performance. All participants are required to translate the stimulus sentences into Persian to assess which reflexive word each participant used.

5.5. Procedure The participants were required to read the story before trying to judge the acceptability of sentences. Therefore, they were given the materials in a booklet. A story was written in English on one page. After flipping the page, they could see an English sentence for the story. After the truthvalue judgment tasks, the grammaticality judgment tasks were given to the participants. Finally, syntax tests were given to them and they were asked to translate all sentences of the truth-value judgment tasks into Persian.

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6. Results and Analysis Table 18.1 below shows the result of Truth-Value Judgment Tasks. The “Yes” numbers in the local context are considered as correct responses and those in the LD context are considered as incorrect responses. As seen in the table, the subjects performed well on all types of sentences. Table 18.1. Results of the TVJT Truth-Value Judgment Task Type Type 1 S1 Type 2 Type Type 1 S2 Type 2

Local context: number of Yes (%) 89.4 82.8 83.2 84.7

LD context: number of Yes (%) 7.3 6.1 9.8 8.3

Elementary learners judged the translated version of stimulus sentences instead of English sentences in Truth-Value Judgment Tasks. This process may affect their performance on these tasks. Knowledge of “xod” as a reflexive which doesn’t allow LD binding in Persian also affected their performance. Table 18.2 below shows the results of Grammaticality Judgment Tasks. The participants performed better on GJT. Since even in LD binding contexts the local antecedent is the preferred one, they would prefer the local subject as the antecedent of the reflexive. Table 18.2. Results of the GJT Grammaticality Judgment Tasks Number discrepancy Gender discrepancy

OK (%) 92 94

Not OK (%) 8 6

As shown in both tables, the subjects could demonstrate good knowledge of locality condition on English reflexives. This knowledge could not be obtained from L1 grammar or L2 input, so it can be proposed that UG is involved in the process of L2 acquisition. The results from empirical tests showed that learners seemed to be operating with UG-constrained grammars, and there is no evidence they were resorting to other resources such as non-linguistic problem solving.

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7. Conclusions The aim of this study was to examine the acquisition of the locality condition on English reflexives by Persian learners of English. Specifically, we tested whether or not adult learners can derive the locality condition of English reflexives. The data from the truth-value judgment task and grammaticality judgment task with 60 elementary and advanced Persian learners of English suggest that L2 learners can acquire the locality condition of English reflexives even in the absence of any overt instruction. Subjects demonstrated good knowledge of the abstract and complex properties of language (binding patterns of English in this case) which could neither have been learned from L2 input nor derived from L1 grammar or direct instruction. So, the conclusion is that UG is operative in their interlanguage and assists them in acquiring the locality condition on English reflexives. In other words, their interlanguage remains within the bounds sanctioned by UG. The results from this research seem to be in line with earlier work in the SLA on reflexives. As with Thomas (1991), there was evidence of structure dependency. In addition, there was a willingness to allow the local subject in preference to the object antecedent. The next step in future research is to study the nature of English learners’ interlanguage more precisely to find out whether it is more English- or Persian-like. Their interlanguage grammar may be neither English- nor Persian-like, but still remain within UG constraints.

References Akiayama, Y. 2002. “Japanese Adult Learners’ Development of The Locality Condition on English Reflexives.” Studies in Second Language Acquisition 24: 27–54. Bley-Vroman, R. 1990. “The Logical Problem of Foreign Language Learning.” Linguistic analysis 20: 3–49. Chomsky, N. 1981. Lectures on Government and Binding. Dordrecht: Foris —. 1986. Knowledge of Language. Cambridge, Mass: MIT Press —. 1995. The Minimalist Program. Cambridge, Mass: MIT Press Clahsen, H., and P. Muysken. 1986. “The Availability of Universal Grammar to Adult and Child Learners: A Study of the Acquisition of German Word Order.” Second Language Research 2: 93–119. —. 1989. “The UG paradox in L2 acquisition.” Second Language Research 5: 1–29.

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Cook, V. J. 1988. Chomsky’s Universal Grammar: an Introduction. Oxford: Basil Blackwell. —. 2000. “The Innateness of a Universal Grammar Principle in L2 Users of English.” Essex Research Reports in Linguistics. Colchester: University of Essex. Crain, S., and R. Thornton. 1998. Investigations in Universal Grammar: A Guide to Experiments in the Acquisition of Syntax and Semantics. The MIT Press: Cambridge, MA. Ellis, R. 1991. “Grammaticality Judgments and Second Language Acquisition.” Studies in Second Language Acquisition 13 (2): 161–86. Epstein, S., S. Flynn, and G. Martohardjono. 1996. “Second Language Acquisition: Theoretical and Experimental issues in Contemporary Research.” Brain and Behavioral Sciences 19: 677–758. Flynn, S. 1984. “A Universal in L2 Acquisition Based on a PBD Typology.” In Universals of Second Language Acquisition, edited by F. Eckman, L. Bell, and D. Nelson. Rowley, MA: Newbury House. —. 1987. A Parameter-setting Model of L2 Acquisition. Dordrecht: Reidel. Gass, S. 1994. “The Reliability of Second-language Grammaticality Judgments.” In Research Methodology in Second Language Acquisition, E. Tarone, S. Gass, and A. Cohen, 303–22. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Ghomeshi, J. 2001. “Control and Thematic Argument.” Canadian Journal of Linguistics 461 (2): 9–40. Karimi, S. 2005. A Minimalist Approach to Scrambling. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter. Lasnik, H. 1999. Minimalist Analysis. Massachusetts: Blackwell. Liceras, J., D. Maxwell, B. Laguardia, Z. Fern‡ndez, and R. Fern‡ndez. 1997. “A Longitudinal Study of Spanish Non-native Grammars: Beyond Parameters.” In Contemporary Perspectives on the Acquisition of Spanish, edited by A. T. Prez-Leroux & W. Glass Eds, 99–132. Somerville, MA: Cascadilla Press. McCormack, B. 2004. “Methodological Aspects of a Generative-Based Attrition Study.” In First Language Attrition: Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Methodological Issues, edited by M. S. Schmid, B. Köpke, M. C. J. Keijzer, and L. Weilemar, 243–56. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. Schachter, J. 1989. “Testing a Proposed Universal.” In Linguistic Perspectives on Second Language Acquisition, edited by S. Gass and J. Schachter, 73–88. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

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Schwarts, B. and R. Sprouse. 1996. “L2 Cognitive States and the Full Transfer/Full Access Model.” Second Language Research 12: 40–72. Thomas, M. 1991. “Universal Grammar and the interpretation of reflexives in a second language.” Language 67: 211. Tsimpli, I., and A. Roussou. 1991. “Parameter Resetting in L2?” UCL Working Papers in Linguistics 3: 149–69. White, L. 1985. “The Pro-drop Parameter in Adult Second Language Acquisition.” Language Learning 35: 47–62. —. 1989. Universal Grammar and Second Language Acquisition. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. —. 1990. “Second Language Acquisition and Universal Grammar.” Studies in Second Language Acquisition 12: 121–33. —. 1998. “Universal Grammar in Second Language Acquisition: The Nature of Interlanguage Representation.” Paper presented in GASLA. Pittsburgh. —. 2003. Second Language Acquisition and Universal Grammar. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Appendix 8-1 Truth-value judgment task Type S1 (embedded finite clause) (1) X thought that Y introduced himself/herself to the audience LD context: Mary and her sister were invited to a party by Jennifer but they didn’t know anyone in the party. When they got to the party Jennifer welcomed the new guests and introduced Mary to the other guests but she forgot to introduce Mary’s sister. Stimulus sentence: Mary thought that Jennifer introduced herself to the guests. (Yes/No) Local context: John was a new teacher in a high school and it was the first day of school. He entered the class accompanied by the manager. The Manager started to talk to the students about his success, honours, and achievements. When he finished his speech, he left the class without introducing the new teacher to the students. Stimulus sentence: John thought that the manager introduced himself/herself to the students. (Yes/No)

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(2) X thought that Y was blaming himself/herself. LD context: John, Mike and Bill are on the same football team. Their team lost a game yesterday. John looked very angry. He said to Bill: “we lost the game because you made a lot of mistakes.” He added: “Mike played so much better than you.” Stimulus sentence: Bill thought that John was blaming himself. Local context: Mary and Jennifer are classmates. Yesterday Mary was scolded by the teacher because Jennifer told on her. Mary wasn’t angry with Jennifer. Mary said: “It was my own fault. I insulted you and I feel guilty now.” Stimulus sentence: Jennifer thought that Mary was blaming herself. Type S2 (embedded nonfinite clause) (1) X wanted Y to talk about himself/herself LD context: John and Mike are best friends. They know each other’s family well. Yesterday, in the social studies class, John talked about his family and his best friend’s family, but he didn’t talk at all about his friend, Mike. Stimulus sentence: Mike wanted John to talk about himself. Local context: On the first day of school the teacher asked students to make a short speech in front of their classmates and talk about their backgrounds. John talked only about politics and society. The teacher wanted to know about John rather than society. Stimulus sentence: The teacher wanted John to talk about himself. (2) X wanted Y to introduce himself/herself LD context: Mary and her sister were invited to a party. At the party Jennifer introduced Mary's sister to John. Mary was a little disappointed. Mary was interested in John and wanted to be friends with him, but Jennifer didn’t introduce her to John. Stimulus sentence: Mary wanted Jennifer to introduce herself. Local context:

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On the first day of school the teacher asked the students to tell their names to their classmates and express their opinions about the school. John talked a lot about the school and its shortcomings without telling his name to his classmates. Stimulus sentence: The teacher wanted John to introduce himself. 8-2 Grammaticality Judgment Tasks Stimulus sentences: Gender discrepancy between the reflexive and the matrix subject (1) John thought that Mary liked herself. (2) Mary thought that John hated himself. Number discrepancy between the reflexive and the matrix subject (1) Ali’s parents thought that Ali hated himself. (2) John thought that his brothers hit themselves. 8-3 Syntax test Anaphora (1) John ran into Bill on the way home. Suddenly John hit himself. Q: Who did John hit? (2) John ran into Bill on the way home. Suddenly John hit him. Q: Who did John hit? 8-4 Finite/non-finite clause test Make a sentence with the words given (1) (thought – Bill – Mary – hated – that – john – very much) (2) (John‘s parents – John – to – want – be – an engineer) (3) (Mary – wanted – to – the party – John – to come – last night) (4) (John – that – talked – her classmates – Mary – thought – about).

CHAPTER NINETEEN IS ENGLISH STILL A FALSE FRIEND?: A STUDY ON LANGUAGE INTERFERENCE AND THE IMPORTANCE OF LEARNING (ENGLISH) IN THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY ISABEL FERNANDES SILVA, CÉLIA QUINTAS, AND ANA LUÍSA TEIXEIRA

1. Introduction Considering ours is a globalised, media-influenced society, and that ICT is currently integrated into our everyday lives, ICT has an eventual influence on learning, and, more specifically, on perceived knowledge. We aim to assess how students’ perceptions of their level of English are directly linked to the interference of Portuguese language. This paper integrates a wider project on ICT and learning, which began in 2010, with a questionnaire applied to students at Universidade Autónoma de Lisboa (a private university in Lisbon, Portugal), asking them to express their opinions on the usefulness and influence on their learning of resources made available at the English Moodle page (Fernandes Silva and Rodrigues Duarte 2011a). Three Portuguese higher education institutions (HEIs) are involved in the present study: two private and one public. Based on the fact that Portugal's policy on English learning, access to ICT, and the audiovisual has made students and people in general highly exposed to English, we have applied a questionnaire to a random group of students from the above-mentioned HEIs. This paper is divided into three parts: firstly, a description will be made of the country’s policy on English as a Foreign Language (EFL), on the use and accessibility of ICT, and on the audiovisual; secondly, the concept of perceived knowledge and interference will be analysed

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(including a subsection on false friends); thirdly, the methodology and the sample used will be presented, followed by a section on the results and their discussion; finally, conclusions will be drawn and further research proposed.

2. Educational Policy on ICT and on ESL In the late 1990s, Europe, i.e. the European Union, realised the need to invest in a European Higher Education Area and a common strategy in terms of education. In 1998 the Sorbonne Joint Declaration, signed by France, Germany, Italy, and the UK, aimed at harmonising, “the architecture of the European higher education system” and emphasised three important elements for a competitive educational system and a better integration of several teaching systems: “access to a diversity of programmes, including opportunities for multidisciplinary studies, development of a proficiency in languages and the ability to use new information technologies” (Sorbonne Joint Declaration 1998). In 1999, the Bologna Declaration was the first step in the Bologna Process which, among its several goals, aimed to foster mobility among students, teachers, and staff. Mobility can only be successful if participants speak the language of the host country or if there is a common second or third language that can be used by all so as to allow understanding and cooperation. In 2000, the Lisbon Strategy established a: new strategic goal for the next decade: to become the most competitive and dynamic knowledge-based economy in the world, capable of sustainable economic growth with more and better jobs and greater social cohesion. Achieving this goal requires an overall strategy aimed at preparing the transition to a knowledge-based economy and society by better policies for the information society …

Revised in 2005, the Lisbon Strategy defined the medium-term goals for this new, competitive Europe, in which: Businesses and citizens must have access to an inexpensive, world-class communications infrastructure and a wide range of services. Every citizen must be equipped with the skills needed to live and work in this new information society. [As such,] a European framework [was required to ] ... define the new basic skills to be provided through lifelong learning: IT skills, foreign languages, technological culture, entrepreneurship and social skills. (paragraph 9)

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Within this framework, in 2005/2006 a small number of schools were selected by the Portuguese government to provide English classes to primary school students. In the following year, primary school children could learn music and English and practice sports as extracurricular activities (Atividades de Enriquecimento Curriculares [AEC]). In September 2013, the Ministry of Education announced that English would very shortly become compulsory for primary school students, a decision reiterated in July 2014 with the statement that this would be implemented in 2015, i.e. from then onwards English would become a compulsory subject for third-year students. Regarding ICT, in 2007 a program was designed and implemented in Portugal—Plano Tecnológico da Educação (PTE)—to modernise education and provide access to technology to all stakeholders. PTE had seven objectives: (1) Provide schools with computer equipment (2) Support content development (3) Provide training in ICT to teachers (4) Promote the use of online portfolios and foster online activities (5) Promote the development and use of ICT by special-needs citizens (6) Enhance the diffusion of good practices and development monitoring systems (7) Promote open source coding and foster ICT systems privacy, security, and reliability. The program aimed to make Portugal one of the top five European countries in terms of technological innovation in schools by 2010. As one of the goals of the Lisbon strategy was to establish a “European Area of Research and Innovation,” higher education is at the core of this revolution. The mobility of researchers was fostered as well as a transnational network of communication that would link both people and institutions. In this context, learning a foreign language is crucial as a catalyst to mobility, considering that it enhances openness to other cultures because it widens the opportunities for mobility depending on the languages people (students, teachers, and other staff) speak. Furthermore, mastering ICT tools not only allows students and researchers to communicate via the Internet with other students and researchers, but also gives them access to the latest discoveries and state-of-the-art literature and equipment (Sharpe 2010). Presently, these two skills for life (knowing English and mastering ICT tools) are essential for success in academia and research. In Portugal, as in

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the rest of Europe and the world, many undergraduate and post-graduate programs are either partially or fully available in English, and access to some is dependent on students’ knowledge of English (segmentation); exchange and mobility programs, highly sought after and valued, require the knowledge of the foreign language (mostly English). Research presentation and dissemination also require English (the language used in the most important scientific journals and the most relevant conferences) and the use of social media and presentation tools, among others, as increasingly more people use video media to convey knowledge. In terms of an audiovisual policy (the law demands that all audiovisual products in a foreign language be translated), foreign languages are heard every day because most products are subtitled rather than dubbed. This is the norm for films (with the exception of cartoons and films for children, which are dubbed) and TV series. Moreover, if we consider cable TV and internet-based entertainment and information, we can conclude that a large amount of the Portuguese population is heavily exposed to English.

3. Literature Review There seems to be no consensus on educational models in terms of social cognitive learning processes: some focus on the individual, others on context, and others on information (Santana 2005). Some authors advocate that learning does not occur in context or within organisations but is an individual process (Simon 1991); others maintain that learning is a social process, and others still claim that learning implies acquiring, interpreting, disseminating, and storing information (Huber 1991). In fact, we agree with Santana (2005) when she affirms that all these models have flaws and that an integrated model is therefore called for. Another perspective on learning contexts is put forth by Senge (1990), a leading writer in the field of learning organisations, who identifies five disciplines which may foster the learning process and enhance performance: systems thinking, personal mastery, mental models, shared vision, and team learning. Furthermore, he advocates that these five disciplines are only effective if continuously cultivated and that together they enhance the development of a continuous leaning processes. Our contention is that learning is a process fostered by social, political, and organisational context, as confirmed by Santana (2005) and Senge (1990). We maintain that the learning process is structured around a web of layers: a specific social, political, and organisational context (Portugal, Lisbon, higher education), and individual knowledge acquisition/ information retrieval and storage. Knowledge results from integrating the

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external context and the individual’s internal cognitive and motivational elements. What an individual believes they know (perceived knowledge) does not necessarily correspond to their actual knowledge. In this paper, the concepts of perceived knowledge and interference (as a means of testing the gap between perceived and actual knowledge) will be discussed. Since the majority of the sentences used in the questionnaire included a false friend, that concept will also be analysed.

3.1. Perceived Knowledge An important concept for our study is the difference between actual, objective knowledge and subjective or perceived knowledge. An individual’s actual knowledge and an individual’s self-assessment, or perceived knowledge, rarely match. This discrepancy can be of different degrees, as Gregory (1997) indicates. Several authors have established the difference between actual and subjective knowledge. Ashcraft (1989) compares the human brain to a computer and defines actual knowledge as the ability to remember discrete bits of information, which resembles to memory. Authors such as Murdock (1974) and Brown (1976) have contributed to the study of memory by establishing the difference between remembering and acknowledgement, stating that acknowledgement is required to organise information. Acknowledgement includes a list of information elements people should identify as previously known to them so as to attain knowledge. Another difference between remembering and acknowledgement is in the decisions needed to create knowledge. Perceived knowledge is usually defined as self-assessment linked to a feeling of knowing which may or may not be directly related to a person’s objective or factual knowledge. In fact, several studies have demonstrated that the relation between what we think we know and what we actually know is usually positive but moderate (Holland 1995). Holland (1995) claims that actual and perceived knowledge rarely overlap, and that there is usually a gap between what a person thinks they know and what they really know on a given matter. The gap between perceived and actual knowledge is commonly defined as the "illusion of knowing" (Park 2001), and, according to Park, Gardner and Thukral (1998), it is usually wider when a person knows something about the matter but is not an expert. Thus, we have abundant information, but however we apprehend it has a motivational and selective nature. Cultural issues are crucial in order to understand the factors that lead us to select information which is completely dependent on the amount of information

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possessed, and may be influenced by information retrieved from recent stimulus. In addition, perceptions of knowledge are important for information processing, and perception is motivational and linked to selective information. In our study, the gap between perceived knowledge (level of English skills) and interference (awareness of the differences between the two languages) is a significant variable as it allows us to analyse the relation between what an individual believes they know and what they actually know in this specific context.

3.2. Interference Linguistic interference is rooted in several conceptual phenomena, which should be taken into account once we observe the language learning processes. The first necessary condition for the occurrence of interference is contact. If we take it as a given that language contact is the use of more than one language in the same place at the same time, we must then look into the underlying mechanisms that lead from contact to interference. Interference may indeed be understood as a consequence of language contact if we keep in mind that language contact is not dependent upon linguistic fluency in two or more languages, but rather that speakers use different languages in order to communicate. It is therefore to be concluded that, for interference (or language transfer) to occur, the following criteria apply: (1) A non-native speaker with a certain level of knowledge of L2 (2) Ambiguity (3) Lack of awareness Language transfer occurs at distinct levels: phonological, morphological, syntactic, and semantic. Inherent to all these occurrences is a cultural transfer. It is only in the sense that a cultural blending takes place that we can speak of language interference. Could this then be taken as multiculturalism? Throughout our project, it became clear that biculturalism is an essential feature of language interference. An important feature of such a cultural dimension is inherent to the concept of “code switching” (Crystal 1987) that can be caused by a variety of situations, of which not only the specific physical and psychological conditions of the speaker are to be considered. Code switching often occurs between bilingual speakers with the intention of maintaining a certain degree of cultural and/or social identification, and even excluding third parties. The

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cultural subtleties inherent to such code switching, however, entail a necessarily advanced knowledge of both languages at stake, and an understanding of languages within specific cultural contexts, something which only bilingualism renders viable. When speaking about interference among Portuguese learners of EFL, one must consider the processes inherent to language learning, in a general sense. Theories on language acquisition abound, yet one core duality calls for special attention, giving our scope of analysis: Skinner’s (1957) behaviourist positioning, focusing on the environmental determination within the language learning process; and Chomsky’s concept of a universal grammar (1965). Chomsky advocated that the human brain possessed a LAD (Language Acquisition Device), and that grammar categories were innate and therefore biologically inherited. The author contented that a child possesses the biological conditions necessary to produce meaning by adding verbs and nouns, for example. Such a perspective has been subjected to continued questioning. If language acquisition is considered as bveing determined solely by biological factors, then what to make of linguistic phenomena such as “interference?” Weinreich has first coined the term “interference” in the late 1960s, defining it as, “those instances of deviation from the norms of either language which occur in the speech of bilinguals as a result of their familiarity with more than one language, i.e. as a result of language contact” (1968, 1). The author emphasised the social and cultural contexts inherent to such occurrences, therefore invalidating an individualistic focus on the process, and coming closer to our contention.

3.3. False Friends We have decided to focus on “false friends” as indicators since these are the most effective means to read the processes of language interference. Moreover, the academic contributions towards the understanding of such phenomena in the study of English as a Foreign Language by Portuguese people are scarce. The concept of “false friends” is usually paired with the idea of “cognates,” which are commonly defined as, “words that have a similar spelling and meaning in the two languages [and] help with vocabulary expansion and with reading comprehension.” False friends, on the other hand, are, “pairs of words that appear similar, but have a different meaning in some or all contexts” (Inkpen, Frunza, and Kondrak 2005). Authors such as Chamizo Domínguez and Nerlich (2002) have distinguished between “chance false friends” and “semantic false friends.” “Chance false

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friends” are, “words that have a similar spelling and/or pronunciation but a completely different etymology and meaning in the two languages; semantic false friends, on the other hand, although having similar spelling and/or pronunciation, share etymological roots but have different meanings in the different languages” (Teixeira and Fernandes Silva 2012, 214–15). When looking at the impact of “false friends”/cognates on the learning process, it becomes clear that these do not exclusively hinder such process, but can actually help it. This is particularly true of “cognates,” as Inkpen, Frunza, and Kondrak (2005, 2) state: When learning a second language a student can benefit from knowledge in his/her first language … Cognates, words that have a similar spelling and meaning, can accelerate vocabulary acquisition and facilitate the reading comprehension task. On the other hand, a student has to pay attention to the pairs of words that look and sound similar but have a different meaning, false friend pairs, and especially to pairs of words that share meaning in some but not all contexts, partial cognates.

4. Methodology This study was conducted using an exploratory methodology and a questionnaire, which consisted of 15 sentences in Portuguese and a suggested translation into English for each. We asked the students to answer “yes” or “no” as to whether they considered the two sentences as synonyms. The variables used were: sex, age group, fluency in English, and degree programs. The sentences and/or false friends included in the questionnaire were selected based on a previous study by Teixeira and Fernandes Silva (2012) entitled “Interference in Composition: a Study on Written Essays by Portuguese Higher Education Learners.” Since one of the authors’ conclusions was that, from the list of examples of interference, “False friends appeared as one of the most significant types,” all but one of the sentences in the present questionnaire includes a false friend. The questionnaire was applied in three HEIs, two private (located in Lisbon) and one public (located in Setúbal, a city about 40 km from Lisbon), to a total of 159 respondents, all higher education students whose minimum level of English was A2 (basic user level according to CEFR). Data treatment (descriptive analysis and socio-demographic characterisation) was carried out using version 21 of the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). The crosstabs aimed to assess the

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relation between the perceived knowledge of English and the correct option(s) regarding the proposed sentences. As shown in Figs. 19.1 to 19.3, most participants were female, which is in accordance with higher education statistics in Portugal (Pordata), between 18 and 25 years old, and classified their English skills as average. Fig. 19.1. Questionnaire participants divided by sex (in numbers)

Sex

59

Masc Fem 99

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Fig. 19.2. Questionnaire participants divided by age (in numbers)

Age

22

2 18-25 26-40 85

41-55

50

Over 55

Fig. 19.3. Questionnaire participants divided by level of English skills (in numbers)

English skills

18

35

28

78

Fluent

Good

Average

Poor

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Data treatment (descriptive analysis and socio-demographic characterisation) was carried out using version 21 of SPSS. The crosstabs aimed to assess the relation between the perceived knowledge of English and the correct option(s) regarding the proposed sentences. General results indicate that most students considered all the sentences synonymous, though in the case of sentences (c), (e), (f), (g), (l), (n), and (p) there were more positive answers than negative ones. Fig. 19.4. “Yes” and “no” answers to the items in the questionnaire.

Answers to the questionnaire 160 140 120 100 80 60 40 20 0

Yes

No

However, only in the case of sentences (c) (Tiraste apontamentos?/“Did you take notes?”) and (g) (Ontem foste à biblioteca?/“Did you go to the library yesterday?”) are the pairs synonymous.

5. Discussion Though the questionnaire included 15 double statements (one in Portuguese and one in English), about which respondents were asked to indicate whether they were synonymous, we selected six for this paper. The results were analysed regarding the one sentence that did not include a false friend but that was a good example of interference, a sentence in

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which a very common false friend was used (“actually”), and four which included less common false friends (“disposition,” “rounded,” “customs,” and “by tomorrow”). The correct answer to the first three sentences was “no,” and to the two last sentences was “yes.” As already mentioned, the first sentence in the questionnaire is an example of interference without the occurrence of a false friend—when saying your age in Portuguese, the verb “to have” is used rather than “to be.” (a) Tenho vinte anos. “I have twenty years old.” Fig. 19.5. “Yes” and “no” answers to sentence (a) in the questionnaire according to the level of English skills

When asked whether the two sentences were synonymous, most respondents opted for “yes.” Even among those who considered themselves fluent or with good skills in English, some answered affirmatively (see Fig. 19.5 above). Regarding all the sentences whose correct answer would be “no,” meaning they are not synonymous, still the most common answer by students who considered themselves as having “average” English skills was “yes” (see Figs. 19.6 to 19.14 below).

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(b) Eles assistiram à aula. “They assisted the class.” The false friends “assist” (meaning “help”) and “assistir” (meaning “attend”) were at play. Though most students who described their skills in English as “fluent” or “good” opted for “no,” some of them still considered the sentences as synonymous (see Fig. 19.6 below) Fig. 19.6. “Yes” and “no” answers to sentence (b) in the questionnaire according to the level of English skills

Similar results may be found regarding pair (d). However, the difference between “yes” and “no” answers is not as significant, as shown in Fig. 19.7. In this case, the false friends were “attend” (meaning assist”) and “attender” (meaning “answer”). (d) Ela atendeu o telephone. “She attended the phone.”

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Fig. 19.7. “Yes” and “no” answers to sentence (d) in the questionnaire according to the level of English skills

50 45 40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0

Sentence d Yes Sentence d No Fluent

Averag Good e

Poor

English Skils Sentence d Yes

7

9

45

21

Sentence d No

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18

33

13

In pair (e) we tested students’ awareness regarding the pair “reunion” (meaning “reuniting people that have been apart”) and “reunião” (meaning “meeting”). (e) A reunião começa às 9 horas. “The reunion starts at 9 am.” As evidenced in Fig. , most respondents opted for “yes,” including those who described their skills as “fluent” or “good.”

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Fig. 19.8. “Yes” and “no” answers to sentence (e) in the questionnaire according to the level of English skills

70 60 50 40

30 20

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0 Fluent Good

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9

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This is even more significant in pair (f): (f) Neste trabalho pretendemos analisar o uso de óculos. “In this work, we pretend to analyse the use of glasses.” In which the words “pretend” (meaning “make up”) and “pretender” (meaning “intend”) are used, a common mistake made by Portuguese people speaking English. This perhaps explains the high number of respondents who considered both sentences as synonymous (see Fig. 19.9 below).

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Fig. 19.9. “Yes” and “no” answers to sentence (f) in the questionnaire according to the level of English skills

70 60 50 40

30 20

Sentence f Yes

10

Sentence f No

0 Fluent Good

Avera ge

Poor

English Skils Sentence f Yes

15

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In pair (h), the words “actually” and “actualmente” were used. “Actually” means “in fact,” whereas “actualmente” means “currently.” This is a very common false friend, even among upper-intermediate speakers. (h) Actualmente vivo em Cascais. “Actually, I am living in Cascais.”

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Fig. 19.10. “Yes” and “no” answers to sentence (h) in the questionnaire according to the level of English skills

As expected, the majority of respondents considered the two words synonymous. As shown in Fig. 19.10, most students who described themselves as fluent or good speakers also opted for “yes,” thus confirming our premise. The same occurs in the case of sentence (i) (see Fig. 19.11), in which the words “disposition” and “disposição” are used. However, “disposition” means “humour” and “disposição” means both “humour” and “physical arrangement” (in this case, the meaning is “arrangement”). (i) A disposição dos livros era caótica. “The disposition of the books was chaotic.”

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Fig. 19.11. “Yes” and “no” answers to sentence (i) in the questionnaire according to the level of English skills

60 50 40 30 20

Sentence i Yes

10 0

Sentence i No Flue Goo Aver Poor nt d age English Skils

Sentence i Yes

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14

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Sentence i No

6

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9

Fig. 19.12. “Yes” and “no” answers to sentence (l) in the questionnaire according to the level of English skills

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Sentence (m) proposes a new verb in English, “to round,” meaning “go around, avoid,” as synonymous of the Portuguese “contornar” in the phrase “contornar a situação.” (m) Eles contornaram a situação. “They rounded the situation.” Fig. 19.13. “Yes” and “no” answers to sentence (m) in the questionnaire according to the level of English skills

60 50 40

30 20

Sentence m Yes

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Fluen Avera Good Poor t ge English Skils

Sentence m Yes

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As shown in Fig. 19.3, the results are both expected and unexpected; the majority of the fluent students considered the sentences as synonymous, but most of the students with good English skills considered the opposite, though the difference between “yes” and “no” answers is very slight. Most students with average and poor skills gave an affirmative answer. The last pair which included a false friend was: (n) Os preços estão discriminados neste ficheiro. “The prices are discriminated in this file.”

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Though the verb “discriminate” can mean “differentiate” both in English and in Portuguese, the fact is that the sentence presented would be fully comprehensible in Portuguese yet not idiomatic in English. As expected, most students considered the two sentences as synonymous, “no” being the most common answer among all respondents, regardless of their perceived English skills (see Fig. 19.14 below). Fig. 19.14. “Yes” and “no” answers to sentence (n) in the questionnaire according to the level of English skills

70 60

50 40 30 20

Sentence n Yes

10

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0 Fluent Good

Avera Poor ge

English Skils Sentence n Yes

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The questionnaire included five synonymous pairs of sentences: (c), (g), (j), (o), and (p). (c) Tiraste apontamentos?

“Did you take notes?”

Here, the Portuguese word “apontamentos,” which is more common in this context than the equivalent to the English word “notes” (“notas”), was used. As expected and shown in Fig. 19.15 below, most students considered the sentences synonymous.

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Fig. 19.15. “Yes” and “no” answers to sentence (c) in the questionnaire according to the level of English skills

80 70 60 50 40 30 Sentence c Yes

20

Sentence c No

10 0 Fluent Good

Avera ge

Poor

English Skils Sentence c Yes

17

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Sentence c No

1

2

6

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The Portuguese word “biblioteca” means “library” in English. However, the word “livraria” (“bookshop”) is very commonly used as meaning “library,” as shown by the results evidenced in Fig. 19.16 below.

(g) Ontem foste à biblioteca? “Did you go to the library yesterday?”

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Fig. 19.16. “Yes” and “no” answers to sentence (g) in the questionnaire according to the level of English skills.

70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0

Sentence g Yes Sentence g No

Fluent

Good

Averag e

Poor

English Skils Sentence g Yes

15

19

60

24

Sentence g No

3

8

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11

(j) He based his research on the right data. “Ele baseou a sua investigação nos dados corretos.” The word “data” in Portuguese means “date,” which explains why so many respondents considered these sentences as not synonymous (see Fig. 19.17 below).

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Fig. 19.17. “Yes” and “no” answers to sentence (j) in the questionnaire according to the level of English skills

45 40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0

Sentence j Yes Sentence j No Fluent

Good

Average

Poor

English Skils Sentence j Yes

16

15

35

14

Sentence j No

2

12

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(o) Quando chegou do Brasil, ele passou pela alfândega. “When he arrived from Brazil, he went through customs.” In Portuguese the word “costumes” means “habits, customs”, while “customs” means “alfândega.” Confirming our expectations, most respondents opted for “yes.” However, students with higher skills more frequently answered “no.”

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Fig. 19.18. “Yes” and “no” answers to sentence (o) in the questionnaire according to the level of English skills

60 50 40 30

20 Sentence o Yes

10 0

Sentence o No Fluen Avera Good Poor t ge English Skils

Sentence o Yes

14

13

49

20

Sentence o No

4

14

29

15

Sentence (p) was another example of a synonymous pair: “até amanhã” means “by tomorrow.” (o) O relatório tem de ser entregue até amanhã. “The report has to be delivered by tomorrow.”

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Fig. 19.19. “Yes” and “no” answers to sentence (p) in the questionnaire according to the level of English skills

70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0

Sentence p Yes Sentence p No Avera Fluent Good ge

Poor

English Skils Sentence p Yes

16

18

58

29

Sentence p No

2

10

20

6

As shown in Fig. 19.19, there are more affirmative answers than negative ones. Nevertheless, a relatively high number of students describing their English skills as “good” answered negatively, and even among the selfdescribed fluent speakers there were those opting for “no.”

6. Conclusions Our study evidences the gap between perceived and actual knowledge through testing students’ perceptions of their English skills and awareness of the differences between their mother tongue and the English language. Interference is used as a variable here, allowing us to analyse the relation between self-assessed knowledge and actual, objective knowledge. It can therefore be concluded that perceived knowledge (level of English skills) and interference (awareness of the differences between the two languages) reveal a gap, which is a significant variable as it allows us to analyse the relation between what an individual believes they know and what they actually know in this specific context. Actual and perceived knowledge rarely meet, but there is a relation between the two. In our results, we have realised that, though some students define their skills as “fluent” or good,” they did not always opt for the right answer in the questionnaire. The opposite is also true—students

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who considered themselves as having “poor” skills sometimes did opt for the correct answer. Additionally, it has been concluded that most study participants defined their skills as average, which leads us to agree with Park, Gardner, and Thukral (1988) that the gap is wider when individuals do not perceive themselves as experts on a given matter. Interference has social, cultural, political, and organisational implications, and study participants were asked to fill in the questionnaire in a specific context (higher education, university, classroom, urban), at a specific time (during 2014), and under certain social/political conditions (for example, educational policies on ICT and on EFL, audiovisual policies, and age). Notwithstanding the fact that the Portuguese people in general, and university students in particular, are highly exposed to English (due to an educational policy that provides access to ICT and English from an early age, an audiovisual policy that prefers subtitling to dubbing, and an international higher education environment that requires all stakeholders to use a common language: English), our results indicate that having a higher level of English skills does not imply the absence of interference.

References Ambridge, B., and E. V. M. Lieven. 2011. Language Acquisition: Contrasting Theoretical Approaches. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Ashcraft, M. H. 1989. Human Memory and Cognition. Glenview, IL, USA: Scott, Foresman and Company. Brown, J. 1976. “An Analysis of Recognition and Recall and of Problems in their Comparison.” In Recall and Recognition, edited by J. Brown, 1–36. New York: John Wiley & Sons. Chamizo Domínguez, P., and B. Nerlich. 2002. “False Friends: their Origin and Semantics in some Selected Languages.” Journal of Pragmatics 34: 1833–49. Chomsky, N. 1965. Aspects of the Theory of Syntax. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. Crystal, D. 1987. The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Fernandes Silva, I., and Rodrigues Duarte, J. 2011a. “New Learning Identities.” International Journal of Arts and Sciences 4 (4): 228–34.

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—. 2011b. “New Approaches to Learning.” Proceedings of ED-MEDIA World Conference on Educational Media and Technology: 860–5. Frunza, O., and D. Inkpen. 2009. “Identification and Disambiguation of Cognates, False Friends, and Partial Cognates Using Machine Learning Technique.” International Journal of Linguistics 1 (1): E2, 1–37. Gregory, Richard L. 1997. “Knowledge in perception and illusion.” Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B 352: 1121–8. Huber, G. P. 1991. “Organisational Learning: the Contributing Processes and the Literatures.” Organization Science 2 (1). Holland, B. A. 1995. “The News and the 1992 Presidential Campaign: Perceived vs. Actual Political Knowledge.” Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly 72: 786–98. Inkpen, D., and O. Frunza. 2005. “Automatic Identification of Cognates and False Friends in French and English.” Proceedings of the International Conference on Recent Advances in Natural Language Processing. Borovets, Bulgaria, September 2005, 251–7. Murdock Jr, B. B. 1974. Human Memory: Theory and Data. Potomac, MD, US: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Publishers. Park, C. W., M. P. Gardner, and V. K. Thukral. 1988. “Self-perceived Knowledge: Some Effects on Information Processing for a Choice Task.” American Journal of Psychology 101: 401–24. Park, C.-Y. 2001. “News Media Exposure and Self-perceived Knowledge: The Illusion of Knowing.” International Journal of Public Opinion Research 13: 419–25. Plano Tecnológico. 2014. http://www.pte.gov.pt/pte/PT/OPTE/Miss%C3%A3oeObjectivos/index .htm. Pordata Portuguese Database, 2015. http://www.pordata.pt/Portugal/Alunos+matriculados+no+ensino +superior+total+e+por+sexo-1048. Santana, S. 2005. “Modelo integrado para o estudo da aprendizagem organizacional.” Análise Social XI (175): 367–91. Senge, P. 1990. The Fifth Discipline: the Art and Practice of the Learning Organisation. New York: Doubleday/Currency. Sharpe, R., and, H. Beetham. 2010. “Understanding Students’ Uses of Technology for Learning: Towards Creative Appropriation.” In Rethinking Learning for the Digital Age: How Learners Shape their Experiences, edited by R. Sharpe, H. Beetham, and S. de Freitas, 85– 99. London: Routledge Falmer. Simon, H. A. 1991. “Bounded Rationality and Organizational Learning.” Organization Science 2 (1): 125–34.

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Skinner, B. F. 1957. Verbal Behavior. Acton, MA: Copley Publishing Group. Sorbonne Joint Declaration, Online document. 1998. http://www.consilium.europa.eu/ueDocs/cms_Data/docs /pressData/en/ec/00100-r1.en0.htm retrieved 14 July 2014 PTE.gov. 2011. http//www.pte.gov.pt/pte/PT/OPTE/Miss%C3%A3oeObjectivos/index. htm The Lisbon Strategy Presidency Conclusions. Lisbon European Council, March 23 and 24, 2000. Draft. Online Document. http://www.consilium.europa.eu/ueDocs/cms_Data/docs/pressData/en/ ec/00100-r1.en0.htm. Teixeira, A. L., and I. Fernandes Silva. 2012. “Interference in Composition: a Study on Written Essays by Portuguese Higher Education Learners.” Frontiers of Language and Teaching 3: 213–18. Weinreich, U. 1968. Languages in Contact: Findings and Problems. The Hague: Mouton.

Appendix 1 – The Questionnaire The following questionnaire is part of a research project on interference of Portuguese in the fluency of English, in a context where English is prevailing in communication and entertainment. The questionnaire includes sets of sentences in Portuguese and English. Please indicate if you think the two sentences (the one in Portuguese and the one in English) have the same meaning. If you think they have the same meaning, underline “yes”; if you think they have different meanings underline “no.” All data collected is confidential and will only be used for scientific purposes. Only the researchers will have access to the data. Thank you for participating.

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Demographics Sex

Masc.

Age

18–25 26–40 40–55 +55

English

Fem.

skills fluent good average poor

Do you think the following sentences are synonymous (have the same meaning)? Underline your answer. (a) Tenho vinte anos. “I have twenty years old.”

Yes/No

(b) Eles assistiram à aula. “They assisted the class.”

Yes/No

(c) Tiraste apontamentos? “Did you take notes?”

Yes/No

(d) Ela atendeu o telefone. “She attended the phone.”

Yes/No

(e) A reunião começa às 9 horas. “The reunion starts at 9 am.”

Yes/No

(f) Neste trabalho pretendemos analisar o uso de óculos. Yes/No “In this work, we pretend to analyse the use of glasses.” (g) Ontem foste à biblioteca? “Did you go to the library yesterday?”

Yes/No

(h) Actualmente vivo em Cascais. “Actually, I am living in Cascais.”

Yes/No

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(i) A disposição dos livros era caótica. Yes/No “The disposition of the books was chaotic.” (j) “He based his research on the right data.” Yes/No Ele baseou a sua investigação nos dados corretos. (k) Muitos empregados ganham imenso dinheiro. Yes/No “Many employees win a lot of money.” (l) Eles contornaram a situação. Yes/No “They rounded the situation.” (n) Os preços estão discriminados neste ficheiro. Yes/No “The prices are discriminated in this file.” (o) Quando chegou do Brasil, ele passou pela alfândega. Yes/No “When he arrived from Brazil, he went through customs.” (o) O relatório tem de ser entregue até amanhã. Yes/No “The report has to be delivered by tomorrow.”

CHAPTER TWENTY THE EFFECT OF MUSIC ON TASK PERFORMANCE OF MONOLINGUALS AND BILINGUALS ANJA ŠARIĆ

1. Introduction 1.1. Theoretical Background Ever since Bialystok's (1988; 1999) findings that bilingual children tend to outperform monolingual children in various tasks requiring the inhibition of irrelevant information, the issue of this reported bilingual advantage has become a topic of hot debate among both linguists and behavioural scientists. The theoretical possibility that bilingualism per se can affect general cognitive development that goes beyond linguistic abilities goes hand in hand with the acceptance that at least some domain-general constraints have a say in the process of language acquisition. Typically, for bilinguals, those general constraints would involve the executive function (henceforth abbreviated as EF), “the ability to maintain the appropriate problem-solving set for the attainment of a future goal … planning, impulse control, inhibition of prepotent but irrelevant responses, set maintenance, organized search, and flexibility of thought and action” (Ozonoff, Pennington, and Rogers 2006, 1083). This bilingual advantage over their monolingual peers in various non-linguistic tasks requiring selective attention in the face of misleading cues is attributed to bilinguals' better EF, which in turn results from their constant need to inhibit one of the languages (Bialystok 1988; 1999; Green 1998). The question that has arisen is whether and to what extent an expertise in one task (constant inhibition of one of the languages in the case of bilinguals) can be extended to other, domain-general cognitive abilities. According to the enrichment hypothesis (Hebb 1947; 1949), the specific early lifestyle

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factors of an individual will have an effect on cognitive functioning throughout their lifespan. For example, Bialystok, Craik, and Freedman (2007) examined elderly bilingual and monolingual populations and showed that fluency in two languages delays the onset of dementia for approximately four years. Additionally, Bialystok, Craik, Klein, and Viswanathan (2004) showed that older bilinguals exhibited better conflict resolution in Simon tasks when compared to the age-matched monolinguals. The implications of the obtained results imply that bilinguals' constant need to manage the two languages has a long-term effect on domain-general cognitive abilities that go beyond the languagespecific domain. Thus, “if bilingualism alters something essential about nonverbal cognitive development, then it might well be through its impact on such a generalized executive function” (Bialystok 2005, 419). The study at hand aims to examine the relationship between inhibition that stems from bilinguals’ enhanced EF and their ability to ignore potentially distracting background music while performing mathematical tasks. 1.1.1. EF Tasks Previous studies concerning EF (Bialystok 2005; Bialystok and Codd 1997) compared bilinguals' and age-matched monolinguals' performance on various non-linguistic tasks (dimensional change card sorting and cardinality of numbers, among others). In the dimensional change card sorting task (Bialystok 2005), children are presented with a stack of cards with objects of two different shapes and two different colours (e.g. yellow and blue stars, and hearts of the same colour). In the first phase of the experiment, the child has to sort the cards according to the shape dimension; in other words, the child has to put hearts on hearts, and stars on stars, regardless of the colour of the object in question. In the second phase of the experiment, the sorting dimension is changed and the child is told to sort the cards according to the colour dimension (i.e. all yellow objects on one side, and blue on the other, regardless of the shape). Thus, what a child has to do is to disregard the pre-switch dimension and sort the cards according to the new dimension. Irrespective of the way in which the two dimensions are presented, young children tend to continue to sort according to the pre-switch dimension. Only around age five are children able to pass this task. The card-sorting task is perceived as hard, because what used to be the salient dimension (shape) has to be ignored in the postswitch phase. In other words, the child, for example, has to treat blue and yellow stars as two different sorting dimensions after she has treated them

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as one. Bialystok (2005) reports that bilingual children significantly outperform monolingual children in this task. In addition, bilinguals are also found to have a better understanding of numbers than the age-matched monolinguals. The first step in acquiring numerals is to perceive their quantitative significance (Fuson 1988). Bialystok and Codd (1997) tested monolinguals' and bilinguals' understanding of cardinality in a so-called towers task. They presented the children with two types of towers made out of LEGO blocks and DUPLO blocks. Children were then told that each block was an apartment that a family can live in, but that some are big and some are small. Their task was to count the blocks in each tower and say which of them housed more families. The conflicting part in this task is that a DUPLO tower has fewer blocks than a LEGO tower, but is nevertheless higher. In order to solve the task, the child needs to ignore height and focus on the number of blocks. The results show that young children consistently claim that the higher tower houses more families. Not until around four to five years of age are children able to pass this task. However, in this task, bilingual children significantly outperform monolingual children. They are able to resist the height cue, thus showing that they have a better ability to concentrate on the task. Due to their constant need to select the right language given the situation and ignore the other, attending to relevant aspects of a situation and ignoring irrelevant ones thus come easier to bilinguals than monolinguals. Bilinguals’ better-developed EF seemingly enables them to more-easily discard the confounding stimuli present in the task. Hence, for the present experiment two different music genres were introduced: one potentially stimulating and one disturbing. It was then observed whether the music would have a different effect on the task performance of monolingual and bilingual children. In other words, whether bilinguals’ enhanced EF would help them ignore the distracting stimulus better than their monolingual peers. 1.1.2. Music and Task Performance A growing body of literature has discussed the influence of background sounds on individual performance in various tasks since the middle of the twentieth century. The topic was in the spotlight once again during the 1990s, with the expansion of personal stereos and the general trend of music being present in everyday settings. The effects of music on human behaviour have been very well documented. Different kinds of music affect both our behaviour (e.g. Ragneskog et a1. 1996; Yalch and

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Spangenberg 2000) and our moods (e.g. McCraty et a1. 1998; Sousou 1997). Music is found to be on a scale from disturbing and greatly invigorating to calming and relaxing (Gaston 1968). McCraty et al. (1998) show that while exposure to “grunge rock” music can increase tension and hostility in people, listening to “designer music” (i.e. music made specifically to affect the listener on a physiological or psychological level) can result in an increased level of relaxation. Early studies that addressed the effect of music on task performance have shown that the introduction of background music has a soothing influence on hyperactive students (Scott 1970) and children with emotional and behavioural difficulties (Hallam and Price 1998). Additionally, Hall (1952) showed that reading comprehension in normally developing children improved in the presence of background music. Tucker and Bushman (1991), on the other hand, tested college students’ performance on mathematical and verbal tasks in the presence of potentially distracting rock ‘n’ roll music, and found that the success rates declined when this genre of music was played in the background.

1.2. Reasoning and Predictions The current study was set up to explore the effect of background music on task performance of monolinguals and bilinguals. Specifically, I aimed at addressing two questions. First, whether and to what extent different kinds of background music influence children’s task performance. Secondly, whether there is a difference in the task performance of monolingual and bilingual children across trials with different background music. According to Hallam, Price, and Katsarou, “the effects of music on the behaviour and task performance of children, unlike those of adults, would follow predictable trends, as they [the children] would have had relatively little opportunity to acquire specific associations between particular events and specific pieces or types of music” (2002, 112). Their responses are thus expected to be based on relatively primitive mechanisms. That is, relaxing and calming music would have a positive effect on the task performance, whereas aggressive, tense, and particularly disturbing music would have a negative effect on the task performance. Based on these predictions I hypothesised that children’s success rate on tasks in trials with distracting music would decline when compared to the results from the other two trials (with no background music and relaxing music). Based on the previous research regarding bilinguals’ EF, the prediction was that bilinguals would be able to inhibit the disturbing stimulus more easily than monolinguals, and that their results among different trials

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would show less discrepancy. The motivation for the present predictions is that bilinguals’ continual exposure to two different languages and the necessity for inhibiting one of them will make it easier for them to ignore the background music. In support for the stated prediction, previous research has shown that bilinguals outperform monolinguals on various non-linguistic tasks requiring selective attention, thus attending to relevant aspects of a situation and ignoring irrelevant ones comes easier to bilinguals than monolinguals. Bilinguals will therefore ignore the music irrespective of the type, making its effect on the task performance less obvious. Additionally, I hypothesised that children who are often exposed to background music while doing their homework would show less difference in the task performance among the different trials when compared to those who seldom or never work with the TV/radio on. In other words, music would have the greatest effect on children who never do homework in the presence of some background sounds as they are not used to working in a noisy environment.

2. Participants In all, 74 participants completed the experimental task: 40 monolingual Serbian-speaking children (23 males and 17 females, age range 7.1–8.1 years, mean age 7.6), and 34 Romanian-Serbian bilinguals (18 males and 16 females, age range 7–8.2 years, mean age 7.5). The reason for testing the children of this age is threefold. First, I wanted the task to be as simple as possible (i.e. all the children were able to solve it), yet challenging enough in the sense that it had not yet been acquired as a purely mechanical activity. At this age, children have the functional knowledge of basic mathematical operations, but those operations are still quite demanding, and as such require a high level of attention. Secondly, testing children when they are in the first grade creates an opportunity for carrying out a longitudinal study and following the children’s behaviour throughout primary education. Finally, this testing of first-grade students also allows for a cross-sectional study, possibly including students of other higher grades in the same schools. All tested children live in a Serbianspeaking territory. In terms of linguistic curriculum, I differentiated between bilingual and monolingual children according to their exposure and active use of the languages in question: x Monolingual children attend the first grade of a primary school which has Serbian as the language of instruction. Their parents are

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native speakers of Serbian, and the language they are addressed in at home is Serbian. x Bilingual children attend the first grade of a primary school. Romanian is the primary language of instruction and Serbian classes are held on a daily basis. All bilingual children come from families in which at least one parent is a native speaker of Romanian. It is important to note that both groups of children, monolinguals and bilinguals, are regularly exposed to more languages. All children included in the sample learn English as a foreign language at school twice a week. Additionally, apart from their native languages (Serbian for monolinguals, and Romanian and Serbian for bilinguals), and English which they learn at school, both groups of children are occasionally exposed to Spanish and Turkish due to the TV programmes they follow at home. Children’s habits when it comes to working with background music were also controlled for. More specifically, the environment in which the children do their homework was inquired about. I believe this is very important as it could reveal a certain pattern when it comes to children’s results in different trials. Children who are often exposed to background music while doing homework might show different results when compared to those who work in silence. Out of 34 bilinguals, 17 sometimes and 7 very often do their homework with the TV/radio on, while 10 always do it in silence. For monolingual children, 8 very often, 18 sometimes, and 14 never work with any background noise.

3. Design The success rate on the mathematical test was measured in three different conditions: with disturbing music, with relaxing music, and with no music. The possible variation in the success rate is to be attributed to the music played in the background. Thus, by manipulating the music genre (independent variable), potential changes in task performance (dependent variable) were measured in both monolingual and bilingual populations (independent variable). The number of attempted tasks was documented, as well as the number of correctly solved tasks. The results from the disturbing and relaxing trials were then compared to the result from the no-music trial.

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4. Materials The materials used for this experiment consisted of three different versions of a mathematical test, and two playlists: one with disturbing music, and the other with relaxing music.

4.1. Task A body comprised of first-grade teachers employed in the schools that participated in the experiment, in collaboration with the researcher, developed three tests comprising of 48 mathematical problems each. The teachers predicted that, on average, a student can solve between 15 and 20 problems in the timespan of 15 minutes. The students at the top of their class were predicted to be able to solve around 30 problems. In order to avoid the children finishing the test before the time ran out, a greater number of test items were provided. The problems included addition and subtraction operations and did not exceed the total number of 20 (e.g. [169] + [5+3] =). The format of each problem on all three versions of the test was the same, and the three tests only differed in the numbers used. All the materials had been covered in class before, and the students were familiar with this type of mathematical problem. Additionally, one day prior to the first experimental trial, the teachers went through the types of tasks with the children, so that all of them were very well prepared for the actual testing, as they knew what to expect.

4.2. Music The music used in the experiments was exclusively instrumental music. The lack of lyrics immediately nullifies the potential effect that a particular language might evoke in the children. In order to compile two different playlists, and to make sure that the right effect was exerted, a different group of first-grade students (that did not participate in the experiment) was played short excerpts of the selected music and asked to circle one option for each of the four criteria based on how they perceived the excerpt. The criteria offered was the following: happy/sad, calming/disturbing, scary/reassuring, and like/dislike (adapted from Hallam, Price, and Katsarou 2002). The criteria for a particular tune to be included in the experiment were that a majority of the children perceived it as calming (for playlist 1) and disturbing (for playlist 2). Both playlists were 15 minutes long.

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5. Procedure The experiment took place during the third class of each day (after the 20minute lunchbreak) on three consecutive days. On the first day of testing, both groups took the test without any background music. Both groups took the test separately in the classrooms in which they always have mathematics classes so that the environment change would not influence the results. On the second day the same procedure was followed, except that both groups worked on version two of the test, with disturbing background music. On day three, students were given the third version of the task and worked with relaxing music in the background. The fact that the children did the task on three consecutive days (all of them in the same order with respect to the background music: day one—no music; day two—disturbing music; day three—relaxing music) might introduce a bias in terms of “training.” That is, the children might have become more familiar with the test format (although the numbers were different in each trial), and at the same time more comfortable and secure, which would have resulted in improvement in trials 2 and 3 when compared with trial 1. In order to avoid the “training effect,” the children were purposely given the kind of exercise they were very familiar with. Moreover, the teachers went through the same type of exercises one day before the testing began to make sure that the task was fresh in the children's memories and ultimately minimise the potential “training effect.” One way to ensure that there was no bias effect was to randomly assign to the children one of the three trials for each day, either through headphones (i.e. each child should listen through their own headphones) or by dividing the children into three groups and assigning a different order of conditions to each (i.e. group 1: no music, relaxing, disturbing; group 2: relaxing, disturbing, no music; group 3: disturbing, no music, relaxing). However, the circumstances did not allow any of the two alternatives to be carried out in the experiment at hand. Before each test, students were instructed by the teacher and the researcher to work individually. The students began working on the test when the music started playing, and had to stop writing once the music stopped (both playlists were exactly 15 minutes long). In order to motivate them to finish as many test items as they could, the children were told on the first day of the testing that they were competing with other schools in the municipality in the mathematical championship. Additionally, they were shown a trophy which was to be given to the champions on the last day of testing. After each test, the children were praised and given sweets as a reward for their hard work.

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In addition to this, children were administered a linguistic background questionnaire (for their parents to fill in). Apart from inquiries about a child's linguistic background, the questionnaire also included questions regarding the child's habits in terms of listening to music or watching TV, especially while doing homework for school.

6. Results The number of correctly solved tasks and the number of attempted tasks were compared for the three trials for both populations. Other statistical analysis was done after the populations were grouped together based on their working habits: children who often work with background noises, those who seldom do so, and those children who never work with any kind of background music. The grouping was done both within each population separately and with both populations merged together.

6.1. Bilinguals versus Monolinguals A repeated ANOVA (henceforth RM ANOVA) was conducted on the data set (with Bonferroni correction). The number of correctly solved tasks within the monolingual group does not significantly differ among the nomusic trial (M=14.72, SD=8.19, range: 1–31), disturbing music trial (M=14.72, SD=8.92, range: 2–35), and relaxing music trial (M=15.85, SD=8.61, range: 2–37). When it comes to the number of attempted tasks, the results among trials do not differ significantly either: no-music (M=17.41, SD=8.27, range: 5–35), disturbing music (M=17.82, SD=8.91, range: 7–39) and relaxing music (M=18.36, SD=8.16, range: 5–37). In the bilingual population, the obtained results for the correctly solved problems are significant in the trial with no music (M=12.59, SD=6.16, range: 2–26) when compared to the disturbing music trial (M=14.79, SD=6.10, range: 2–29), F=(2,66)=6.24, p=.01, but not when compared to relaxing music (M=13.18, SD=5.11, range: 3–23). Significance was also observed between trials with disturbing music, and trials with relaxing music, p=.014 for the number of correctly solved problems. Similarly, for the number of attempted problems, a significance was observed in the trial with no music (M=15.18, SD=6.49, range: 2–27) when compared to that with disturbing music (M=17.85, SD=6.17, range: 6–35), F=(2, 142)=4.48, p=.013, but not to that with relaxing music (M=16.15, SD=4.96, range: 6– 25). Additionally, a significant difference in the number of attempted problems was also observed for the trial with disturbing music when compared to that of relaxing music, p=.026 (see Table 20.1 below).

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Table 20.1. The mean number of correctly solved and attempted problems in each trial TRIAL

NO MUSIC CORRECT/ ATTEMPTED

DISTURBING MUSIC CORRECT/ ATTEMPTED

RELAXING MUSIC CORRECT/ ATTEMPTED

MONOLINGUALS

14.72/ 17.41

14.72/ 17.82

15.85/18.36

BILINGUALS

12.59/15.18

14.79/17.85

13.18/16.15

6.2. Music Habits: Frequent versus Seldom versus Never Another RM ANOVA was conducted after the participants were grouped according to their TV/radio habits (see Table 20.2 below). The information used for dividing the participants was based on the questionnaire. Participants were assigned to three different groups on the basis of the amount of exposure to the background noises while completing schoolwork: very often (15 children), sometimes (35), and never (24). In this part of the analysis, both groups (monolinguals and bilinguals) were grouped together. Table 20.2. The number of children grouped according to their TV/radio habits HABITS

MONOLINGUALS

BILINGUALS

FREQUENT

8

7

SELDOM

18

17

NEVER

14

10

The group that reportedly never works with the TV/radio on showed significant improvement in task performance for relaxing music trial (M=17.37) when compared to the trial with no background music (M=15.11), F=(2, 60)=.823, p=.024 for attempted problems. For the number of correctly solved problems, no significant results were obtained. For the other two groups (the one that reportedly sometimes works in the presence of the TV/radio, and the one that very often does so) no significance was noted in either the number of attempted tasks or the proportion of the correctly solved problems (see Table 20.3 below).

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Table 20.3. The mean number of correctly solved and attempted problems in each trial: participants grouped based on their TV/radio habits (monolinguals and bilinguals together) TRIAL

NO MUSIC

RELAXING MUSIC

CORRECT/ ATTEMPTED

DISTURBING MUSIC CORRECT/ ATTEMPTED

FREQUENT

13.1/15.4

12.33/16

13/15.73

SELDOM

14.93/17.93

16.16/18.84

15.58/18.1

NEVER

12.7/15.11

14.48/17.7

14.37/17.37

CORRECT/ ATTEMPTED

When the participants were divided into the three groups but within their population—monolinguals: never (14), very often (8) and sometimes (18) vs. bilinguals: never (10), very often (7) and sometimes (17)—significant results were obtained only within the “frequent TV/radio” group. Within the bilingual subgroup of participants who very often do coursework in the presence of a TV, the number of correctly solved problems in the disturbing music trial (M=17.86), F= (2, 14)= 4.96, p=.022 differs significantly to that of the no-music trial (M=15.14). The number of attempted tasks with disturbing music (M=22.29) differs significantly from that of relaxing music (M=18.14), F=(2,30)=.234, p=.013. Similarly, for “frequent TV watchers” in the monolingual group, the proportion of correctly solved tasks with relaxing music (M=11.62) differs significantly to that of the disturbing music trial (M=7.5), F=(2, 14)=2.54, p=.047 (see Table 20.4 below). 

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Table 20.4. The mean number of correctly solved and attempted problems in each trial after the participants were grouped according to their TV/radio habits (monolinguals and bilinguals separated) TRIAL

MONOLINGUALS

BILINGUALS

NO MUSIC

DISTURBING MUSIC

RELAXING MUSIC

CORRECT/ ATTEMPTED

CORRECT/ ATTEMPTED

CORRECT/ ATTEMPTED

FREQUENT

11.25/13

7.5/10.5

11.62/13.62

SELDOM

17.8/20.93

18.87/22.2

18.2/20.6

NEVER

13.56/16.31

14.43/17.37

15.75/18.62

FREQUENT

15.14/18.14

17.86/22.29

14.57/18.14

SELDOM

12.25/15.12

13.62/15.68

13.12/15.68

NEVER

11.45/13.36

14.54/18.18

12.36/15.54

7. Discussion The experiment at hand aimed at addressing two questions: (i) whether different kinds of music affect children's task performance, and (ii) whether monolingual and bilingual children show different behaviours when it comes to working with different kinds of background music. A general prediction was that disturbing music would have a negative effect on children's performance (for both populations), and that the results from that trial would be worse than from that with no music. Additionally, the discrepancy between bilinguals' results for no music and the disturbing music trial was expected to be smaller than that of their monolingual peers. The rationale behind this prediction lies in bilinguals' allegedly better inhibition mechanism. However, the expectations for the task performance with relaxing music were not so clear. Namely, a growing bulk of literature suggests that relaxing music tends to have a positive effect on behaviour, and that it improves task performance in both normally developing populations, as well as populations with emotional and behavioural difficulties. Hence, the general prediction was in line with the existing evidence; that is, both groups would score better in trials with relaxing music when compared to the trials with no background music. For the bilingual population, however, it was hypothesised that relaxing music would not have as stimulating an effect as it would for monolinguals, the

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reason being bilinguals' better ability to ignore irrelevant aspects of the task; thus, in this case, the effect of the relaxing music would not be as tangible as in monolinguals. Another interesting question that arose during the present study was the nature of the distractor. Namely, in all EF tasks the distractor (whatever has the potential of misleading the subject) is in the task itself. It is important to note here that, in this study, the distractor (i.e. music) is outside the task. Ideally, the students’ general grade in mathematics was to be used as a measure for comparison with the two trials with music. However, a general practice in Serbia is that first-grade students are not given marks for their knowledge, but are graded descriptively. Nonetheless, in order to make sure that the results in the no-music trial were representative for each child (i.e. in line with their level of knowledge), the teachers were presented with their students' scores and asked to confirm if they were in line with their expectations for the particular child. Hence, a no-music trial was carried out to provide a basis for comparison. The obtained results do not reveal any significant differences between the task performance in the three trials (i.e. no music, disturbing music, and relaxing music) for the monolingual population, although the children scored slightly better in the relaxing music trial. As for the bilingual population, significant differences in both the number of attempted problems as well as the number of correctly solved tasks were observed for the trials with disturbing music when compared to those with no music and relaxing music. Bilinguals scored higher (higher number of attempts and higher number of correct tasks) in the disturbing music trial than in either the no-music or relaxing music trials. This result implies that the “disturbing factor” has a stimulating effect on the task-performance of bilinguals. It seems that the fact that something is distracting them from the task makes bilinguals focus better and be more committed to the assignment. It can be speculated that this stems from the fact that bilinguals' natural state of mind is “conflict-like” as the two languages are constantly competing for prevalence. Thus, it is not unnatural that bilinguals find it easier to work in these kinds of distracting contexts. It can be postulated that the observed significant improvement in the task performance for the trial with disturbing music could be attributed to the bias in terms of the sequential organisation of the trials. Namely, as the trial with disturbing music was presented one day after the one with no music, a slight familiarisation effect (resulting in higher scores) is to be expected. However, a significant difference was also observed between the disturbing music and relaxing music trials. In other words, bilinguals

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scored higher in the trial with disturbing music (second day of testing) when compared to that of with relaxing music (third day of testing). Therefore, if the familiarisation effect is indeed to be held responsible for the observed significance, then bilinguals would be expected to score the highest on the third day of testing, in the trial with relaxing music. The results, however, show that this is not the case. Importantly, monolinguals in general scored higher than the bilingual group. A possible explanation for bilinguals’ failure to perform in line with their monolingual peers might lie in the language of instruction. Namely, prior to the testing (on all three days) the children were given the instructions by the experimenter in Serbian, which is the weaker language for the bilingual population. Additionally, bilinguals have mathematics classes in Romanian. Thus, there is a possibility that, triggered by the experimenter’s use of Serbian, bilinguals shifted from their regular Romanian to Serbian as the language of thought. This might have slowed them down, which resulted in bilinguals solving fewer problems than monolinguals. Children's habits, when it comes to doing homework in the presence of TV/radio, proved to be of significance for the task performance. For both populations merged together, children who reportedly never do schoolwork with any background music scored significantly better in the trial with relaxing music when compared to that with no music. This observation shows that for children who work in silence, relaxing music has the expected stimulating effect. When the children were classified into three different groups according to habits, but this time within their population (monolinguals vs. bilinguals), significance was observed only in the “frequent watchers” subgroup. Bilingual “frequent watchers” scored significantly higher in the disturbing music trial when compared to the other two trials. This result implies that by being frequently exposed to different auditory stimuli while doing schoolwork, bilingual children can improve their originally well-developed inhibitory mechanism. As for the monolingual “frequent watchers” subgroup, the results revealed that they scored noticeably higher in the relaxing music trial when compared to the disturbing music trial. What this observation indicates is that, due to a constant exposure to different audio inputs, these children had probably formed their preferences and tastes when it comes to different music genres; that is, they find the music from the disturbing playlist more engaging, which resulted in their lack of concentration on the assignment.

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8. Conclusion In conclusion, the experiment at hand aimed to explore the effect of different background music on the task performance of monolinguals and bilinguals. Background music seems to have very little effect on the monolingual population. For the bilingual population, disturbing music seems to be stimulating, as it apparently helps the children focus better on the assigned task. The obtained results imply that bilingual children are not only able to inhibit the confounding stimulus better than their monolingual peers, but that they also benefit from this additional effort. In turn, this significant improvement in the disturbing music trial shows that bilinguals are able to extend the inhibitory mechanism beyond the borders of the task itself. Nevertheless, a greater body of evidence is needed for clear conclusions regarding inhibiting mechanisms in bilinguals to be drawn. From the applied perspective, the results of this experiment are on a par with the widespread belief that soothing background music generally has a positive effect on children’s classroom performance. However, the obtained results with disturbing music drift away from this general belief for the bilingual population only. Bilinguals’ classroom performance improved with disturbing background music. What these results imply is that, in order to stimulate students’ performance, teachers should make use of different kinds of music for different populations. While monolingual groups should be played relaxing background music, bilingual students should work with more aggressive music. Nevertheless, since these generalisations are drawn from the results obtained from the scores of mathematical tests, they cannot be applied to foreign-language classrooms without further investigation. It could be the case that the obtained pattern of performance for both populations holds across all areas, and that the same results would be obtained in a language classroom, for example. On the other hand, taking into account the multiple intelligences model (Gardner 1985), this pattern could vary across different areas, both within and across populations. More experiments of this kind are needed in order to draw stronger conclusions.

References Bialystok, E. 1988. “Levels of bilingualism and levels of linguistic awareness.” Developmental Psychology 244: 560–7. —. 1999. “Cognitive Complexity and Attentional Control in the Bilingual Mind.” Child Development 703: 636–44.

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—. 2005. “Consequences of Bilingualism for Cognitive Development.” In Handbook of Bilingualism, editede by J. F. Kroll and A. M. B. de Groot, 417–32. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Bialystok, E., and J. Codd. 1997. “Cardinal Limits: Evidence from Language Awareness and Bilingualism for Developing Concepts of Number.” Cognitive Development 121: 85–106. Bialystok, E., F. I. Craik, R. Klein, and M. Viswanathan. 2004. “Bilingualism, aging, and cognitive control: Evidence from the Simon task.” Psychology and Aging 19: 290–303. Bialystok, E., F. I. Craik, and M. Freedman. 2007. “Bilingualism as a Protection against the Onset of Symptoms of Dementia.” Neuropsychologia 452: 459–64. Fuson, K. C. 1988. Children's Counting and Concepts of Number. New York: Springer-Verlag Publishing. Gardner, H. 1985. Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences. New York: Basic Books. Gaston, E. T. 1968. Music in Therapy. New York: Macmillan College. Green, D. W. 1998. “Mental Control of the Bilingual Lexico-semantic System.” Bilingualism: Language and Cognition 102: 67–81. Hall, J. 1952. “The Effect of Background Music on the Reading Comprehension of 278 Eighth and Ninth Grade Students.” Journal of Educational Research 45: 451–8. Hallam, S., and J. Price. 1998. “Can the use of Background Music Improve the Behaviour and Academic Performance of Children with Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties?” British Journal of Special Education 252: 87–90. Hallam, S., J. Price, and G. Katsarou. 2002. “The Effects of Background Music on Primary School Pupils' Task Performance.” Educational Studies 282: 111–22. Hebb, D. O. 1947. “The Effects of Early Experience on Problem-solving at Maturity.” American Psychologist, 2: 306–7. —. 1949. The Organization of Behavior: A Neuropsychological Theory. New York: Wiley. McCraty, R., B. Barrios–Choplin, M. Atkinson, and D. Tomasino. 1998. “The Effects of Different Types of Music on Mood, Tension, and Mental Clarity.” Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine 41: 75. Ozonoff, S., B. F. Pennington, and S. J. Rogers. 2006. “Executive Function Deficits in High-functioning Autistic Individuals: Relationship to Theory of Mind.” Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry 327: 1081–1105.

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Ragneskog, H., G. Bråne, I. Karlsson, and M. Kihlgren. 1996. “Influence of Dinner Music on Food Intake and Symptoms Common in Dementia.” Scandinavian Journal of Caring Sciences 101: 11. Scott, T. 1970. “The Use of Music to Reduce Hyperactivity in Children.” American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 4: 677–80 Sousou, S. D. 1997. “Effects of Melody and Lyrics on Mood and Memory.” Perceptual and Motor Skills 851: 31–40. Tucker, A., and B. J. Bushman. 1991. “Effects of Rock and Roll Music on Mathematical, Verbal, and Reading Comprehension Performance.” Perceptual and Motor Skills 72 (3): 942. Yalch, R. F., and E. R. Spangenberg. 2000. “The Effects of Music in a Retail Setting on Real and Perceived Shopping Times.” Journal of Business Research 492: 139–47.

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE THE USE OF ENGLISH ARTICLES BY POLISH STUDENTS BASED ON CORPUS STUDIES ARTUR ŚWIĄTEK

1. Introduction The objective of this paper is to demonstrate the use of the system of English articles by non-native Polish users of English, representing B1 and B2 levels. This element of English grammar is a long-term interest of the author. The prior research conducted concentrated on the acquisition of the English article system in different proficiency groups by Polish subjects, namely pre-intermediate, intermediate, and advanced (Świątek 2013). For the needs of this article, these studies were focused only on the available corpus studies, where two levels of English were investigated, namely B1 and B2. The selected levels and instances of the use of English articles by Polish subjects constitute the core idea of this article. It is believed that the demonstrated examples will provide a thorough image of the challenges the article system evokes for L2 Polish study participants.

2. Polish L2 Students and the English Article System Polish, belonging to a different language family than English, realises articles in a different way. Some sources (enumerated below) indicate that Polish does not possess the article system at all. Polish learners/students face problems with the use of the English article system. Such problems correspond to similar difficulties of L2 learners, whose native languages are article free. The available theory, originating in the 1960s, has developed into an up-to-date version, and is in compliance with the question that no matter the length of time and quality of teaching, the articles will remain a challenge for L2 users. This is due to the tremendous difference between

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or among the language systems or language families their users originate from. This may be proved by the prior studies quoted below. According to Pisarek (1968, 12): In Polish, where there are no articles nor explicit definiteness or the lack of it realised by morphological features, there are no pronouns which can be called definite. The opposition of definiteness to indefiniteness is expressed in a specific way: for example, by the opposition of a given pronoun to the lack of the pronoun. This is how I understand the sense of grammatical definiteness in Polish …

Arabski (1990, 14) agrees with Pisarek`s opinion, stating that, “definiteness and indefiniteness are described in Polish by many means. We are aware of the obvious ones which are the most common translation equivalents.” Moreover, Arabski states that the indefinite article a is usually rendered in Polish by: (1) zero article, e.g. He is a teacher. between

Jest nauczycielem. (No grammatical element a default subject and a subject complement)

(2) different kind of pronouns, e.g. A Brown wanted to visit you. Jakiś Brown semantically it denotes “some”) Niejaki (In Polish semantically it denotes “some”) Pewien (In Polish semantically it denotes “certain”)

…

(In

Polish

(3) prepositions, e.g. two pence a kilo dwa pensy za kilo (In Polish “za” means “for”) The definite article has at least five counterparts in Polish: (1) zero article, e.g. The Polish that live … Polacy, którzy mieszkają … (No element is used to reflect the meaning of the English article) The Alps Alpy (As above)

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(2) pronouns, e.g. The man there Ten człowiek tam (The definite article the corresponds to the demonstrative pronoun “ten,” meaning “this”) The fellows Ci faceci (The definite article the corresponds to the Polish demonstrative pronoun “ten,” meaning “this”) (3) adjectives, e.g. The Nowak realised in

Słynny Nowak (Here the English article the is Polish by the adjective “słynny,” meaning “famous”)

(4) prepositions, e.g. 80 pence the yard reflected in

80 pensów za jard (The definite article is Polish by the Polish preposition approximately meaning “per”)

“za”

(5) word order, e.g. The woman looked at him. Kobieta spojrzała na niego. (Here we observe omission of the article in Polish, namely the context commences with the Polish word “kobieta,” meaning “woman”) A woman looked at him. Spojrzała na niego kobieta. (In this case we simply observe the realisation of the indefinite article a by a different word order, as the word “woman” is placed in Polish in the last position of the sentence). Another scholar, Ekiert (2004, 7), studying the English article system and its equivalents in Polish, states that: definiteness and indefiniteness are a universal property of human language that require speakers to distinguish specific from nonspecific referents, and shared from unshared background knowledge. These meanings are accomplished in Polish without an article system. Instead, word order, verbal aspects, and demonstratives signal definiteness and indefiniteness.

The Use of English Articles by Polish Students Based on Corpus Studies 357

For example, the Polish and English sentences in (1) are translation equivalents: (1) Do sklepu wszedł mężczyzna. to store entered man “A man entered the store.” In English we know that “man” is [+SR, -HK] (specific referent, unknown to the hearer) by virtue of the indefinite article. In Polish, however, the functional sentence perspective requires that new information should be positioned toward the end of the sentence, and the clause-final position of mężczyzna (Eng. man) implies that it is [-HK]. This example is contrasted with sentence (2), in which man is marked as [+SR, +HK] (specific referent, known to the hearer) by the definite article in English: (2) Mężczyzna wszedł do sklepu. man entered to store “The man entered the store.” In Polish, the first element in a sentence carries little new information. Instead, it functions to signal given information, and thus mężczyzna is [+HK]. Since Polish nouns are fully inflected for case, word order is not necessary for case assignment. In consequence, word order in Polish takes on some functions for which articles are used in English. Additionally, Ekiert (2004, 8) states that the verbal aspect also allows Polish speakers to distinguish specific from nonspecific referents. This is exemplified in (3) and (4), in which the perfective prefix na- on the verb implies that the noun, list (Eng. “letter”), is [+SR], while the imperfective verb implies [-SR]. (3) Napisałem list. Perfective-wrote-1st letter “I wrote the letter.” (4) Pisałem list. Imperfective-wrote-1st letter “I wrote a letter.” Definiteness in Polish is also achieved through the use of demonstratives, and the patterns are similar to those in English, e.g., ten (“this”), tamten (“that”), te (“these”), tamte (“those”).

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On the other hand, as in English, indefiniteness may be accomplished with the help of the numeral “one” (jeden), where it is possible to use “one” as a stressed emphatic variant of “a”/“an.”

3. Corpus Studies on the Use of Articles by Polish Students To fully and exhaustively reflect the problematic issue of the English article system used by Polish subjects, the corpus studies called PELCRA (Polish and English Language Corpora for Research and Applications) was used, a research group at the Department of English Language in the University of Łódź. The corpus is available on the internet (http://pelcra.pl/new), hence the studies have been conducted in this form. Since 1997, the corpus resources and tools for both English and Polish corpus data have found applications in academic and technological research. Following this trend and the requirements of academia to use modern technology and research tools in investigating the intricacies of English, the author of the article decided to demonstrate the use of the English article system by Polish study participants based on this corpus analysis.

4. The Study The objectives of the study were to analyse the erroneous use of the indefinite and the definite articles, indicate the problems Polish subjects face with articles, draw conclusions from the study, and suggest potential solutions to the problems with teaching the appropriate use of the English article system. In all, 250 contexts were analysed at each of the investigated levels of the Polish study participants. This number of contexts was sufficient to thoroughly observe the use of the English article system. Said form of presentation of the use of the English article system was selected to provide any potential reader with a wider scope of assumptions, plans, and ways of conveying the message by a speaker towards their recipients or a hearer. The available studies devoted to English articles focused on presenting rather separate sentences exemplifying the use of the English article system. This is, according to the author of the article, not a thorough picture reflecting the erroneous or appropriate use of English articles. To validate the course of the study, two forms were investigated (spoken and written) and two levels were studied (B1 and B2), as they are

The Use of English Articles by Polish Students Based on Corpus Studies 359

the most frequent stages of studying L2 where the most common errors occur while using English articles. The instances of the use are demonstrated in wider contexts as, in the view of the author, they reflect the subjects’ approach with respect to English articles. The instances in question are in bold to differentiate them from wider contexts and enable a potential reader to comprehend the process of analysis of the use of articles by Polish subjects.

4.1. B2 Spoken Form Each form, both spoken and written, comprises eight contexts. These contexts were regarded as the most striking instances of the erroneous use of English articles. We commence the discussion of the corpus studies with the spoken form. The form, by its very nature, is chaotic, unfinished, and abounds in confines. That is why not only the uses of articles will be demonstrated but also any potential reader of this article will have a chance to notice different erroneous uses of English grammar, directly and negatively influencing the use of the primary English function words as well. Each instance will be analysed and discussed separately to exemplify and prove the use of English articles by Polish subjects. (1) er my name is I live in a little cottage aah I live with er my parents and my little sister she has aah four years aah today I er drive her er to the kindergarten because the last month I er take the exam on the er driving license er and it 's all I think that.

In this example we observe the overuse of the definite article “the.” We cannot know which kindergarten the speaker refers to, as we do not know his or her whereabouts or place of residence. Another case concerns the use of the phrase “last month” unnecessarily preceded by the definite article. Also, we are puzzled by the use of the clause “take the exam on the driving licence,” as the speaker expresses their unfamiliarity with the phrase in English. (2) so you should you you say that at the level of secondary school we should try to learn as many different things as possible er mhm and possibly there then at the university level you should try to to to to aah choose only the things that are directly relevant which are very useful for you for instance right so probably at the university you shouldn't study history or no no no history I don 't like history er or social sciences.

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Here we do not observe any serious problems with the use of English articles. There is, however, the problematic phrase “choose only the things that …,” but we may assume that, by the use of the definite article, the speaker wanted to inform the hearer that things described by them should be familiar for both interlocutors. For any potential follower of this passage, it is not clearly comprehensible what the things refer to; however, the use of the definite article here is appropriate. (3) okay so aah so did you manage to to pass it you know at first attempt ? er no er two times okay that 's still still good but er the test on the erm you mean the theoretical part ? yes this this is the one er mmm but er the driving for the two could you tell me a bit about how the exam looks? er.

In this passage, in the phrase “you mean the theoretical part,” we may consider such a use of the definite article appropriate because there must be some distinction between the theoretical and the practical part of the driving licence examination. However, in the second instance the whole sentence is incomprehensible due to lots of hedges and imperfect grammar, hence the whole sense is lost, not to mention the use of the definite article. (4) mhm mhm mhm for our body erm but I couldn 't er live without it uh-huh you mentioned er you mentioned this aah website the it 's a shop er no it isn 't er the shop er it is a website shop or where mmm I should make people more conscious about eating

Here we may evaluate the use of English articles as highly inappropriate. A constant hesitation between the use of the definite as well as the indefinite article is observed. (5) but and but job with they do is much more important than than jobs that for example than politician do because they rescue people they te they take care of them in mountain and politician just you can say that control a country but sometimes they do just nothing do just sign some agreement once a day and they get twenty thousand zlotys a month and the people who works in rescue takes receives much more poor money and do much more important job okay the computer has greatly improved our lives today.

Similarly, the use and hesitation of which article to use is observable, hence the confusion on the part of any potential reader is profound and very difficult to evaluate.

The Use of English Articles by Polish Students Based on Corpus Studies 361 (6) of yyy grave digger who wants to earn money to buy a fri refridgerator yyy to cool down the vodka because he vodka vodka because he and his friends doesn 't don 't like yyy warm vodka.

In this passage, we observe the underuse of the appropriate article in the case of “grave digger” and the overuse of the relevant article in case of “vodka.” (7) dirty erm it o matko his the first opinion about him is not very good because people er for people is important how someone is loo er how someone look like er mmm.

In this instance, we observe the problem in the distinction between the possessive adjective and the article, which cannot be neighbouring sentence elements as they are predominantly exclusive due to their specific semantic functions. Again, the inappropriateness in the use of proper articles is due to a lack of sufficient knowledge of English grammar. (8) new lyrics to the songs mhm but so you 're not the the the do you do the vocals or do you just er play the guitar? so yyy to the to the March or April I was playing on guitar and singing but yyy we have new guitarist today so I 'm only singing uh-huh and how long have you been playing in the band?

Similarly to instance 6 above, what is observed here is some inconsistency with the use of the definite article “the,” where it is totally unnecessary as it does not precede any noun. Subsequently, “new guitarist” is deprived of any article, which is erroneous as it is obligatory in such a context.

4.2. B1 Spoken Form This level of English is lower in comparison with the one presented and described above, therefore more frequent erroneous uses of the English article system are expected to occur in the instances given below. (1) er I I know er if she non stop hungry and this is not good job for me this is interested in that er music job is yyy very interesting and it is popular and er if you create er good music you have satisfaction mhm so if you were to choose which of these would you I think the the this yyy would you would you go for ? aah the DJ ? the DJ mhm.

In the first passage we notice the underuse of the indefinite article “a” in “this is not good job” and the repetitive problem with the appropriate use and prior ability to distinguish between the definite article and the demonstrative pronoun in the case of “I think the this …”

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In the second example, we deal with the incomprehensible use of the structure “to be able to” unnecessarily followed by the surprising use of the definite article, which does not refer to anything clear. In the case of the subsequent instance, this part is incomprehensible as well, as the sentence “I prefer to the teacher” is totally illogical and does not assist any potential reader in understanding what is precisely conveyed to them. (3) er yes yes I am pessimistic and who who do you think will will be the the main figure what what which of the teams do you think aah might might play a role in the in the championship? I think that maybe Germany maybe Spain mhm so you have this the usual aah the usual suspect I mean the usual aah teams which are always seen as as ahh as the major aah candidates maybe Netherlands or er Netherlands.

Here we observe the identical problem as in (1) described above: “this the usual” excludes grammatical units and cannot coexist in the neighbouring parts of the sentence. In the subsequent case, “which are seen as the major candidates” reflects the overuse of the definite article. The zero article would match the context best, as the reference is generic. (4) er yes tak? this film and what do you think about the the I talked to to another person aah today about the twi Twilight series did you also read that? Twilight yyy yes I've read the series erm before film erm mmm before film yyy was produced I erm and after I also watched the film and erm I think it's erm.

Although this passage has with many hedges, which may slightly distract from the proper comprehension of the sense of the conveyed message, the use of English articles is appropriate. (5) yyy I also sing in my house because I have a microphone at home and yyy everyday I train my voice so how how do you how do you train the train your voice I mean did you did you er get some some er er guidance from somebody did you have yyy yes erm tutor.

In this case the use of the definite article is unnecessary as the speaker hesitates over which part of speech to use best, as to whether it should be a

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verb or a noun. Hence, the misunderstanding of the whole passage is profound and reflects the imperfections in the spoken performance of the speaker. (6) mmm I think er myself obviously you you need you need somebody to to to to you know to play for you but aah you can you know like aah mmm be a the singer or you can be just a singer within within within a larger aah mmm band right? so that's that's also a choice I believe which which might affect your career to a large extent.

Here, we notice a clear problem with the distinction between two different articles, one indefinite and one definite. The context clearly indicates that the only appropriate article to be used here is the indefinite article, as we do not specify which singer we mean. (7) in the future I am going to be a doctor er because er I like er learning er math er biology and chemistry the most so where do you want to study? er I would like to study medicine in er the Warsaw or er in the Cracow er because er I would like to be er the great er doctor ever and in a Poland so what would this is the best er the best universities d you like to specialize in? what sort of medicine?

In example 7 we observe the frequent tendency of L2 users to overuse the definite article when it precedes names of places, where it is apparently erroneous and grammatically inappropriate. What is more, it does not conform with clear rules of the use of English articles in such cases. (8) er no no I er would like to er camping because er I think it's er it's healthy because you er if you want to er rent a room er you must er pay for that and er and it's it's not close to the nature I like er green and trees and fresh air mhm so er that's that's er the the er most er interesting er thing for me.

In the case of the last instance in this section of the article, we notice again the overuse of the definite article, where the zero article should be used instead to denote a generic sense of the context in question.

4.3. B2 Written Form The presence of the written form here allows the reader to expect that the number of erroneous uses of English articles will be smaller in comparison to the spoken form demonstrated earlier. Such a form is different from a spoken one, as it may be prepared earlier, for instance as a home assignment or produced within a given deadline during composition

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classes, for example, and is devoid of any hedges. In other words, it enables the easier perception on the part of a potential recipient. Let us focus on the discussion of individual cases and see whether the initial assumptions of the author of this article are authentic. (1) The deficiency on one of these ingredients can influence unfavourably on our health. Everybody must find a suitable diet for oneself, which will help in the lifestyle and give better wellbeing. Depending on lifestyle and age, everybody will need different ingredients. Our menu should be filled with meals that are cooked but not fried. Eating a lot of the lean meats, fishs, vegetables and fruits is the best way to maintain and keep ourselves healthy. When I was a small girl, the doctor found that I had an illness with my kidneys. I have been in hospital in Bydgoszcz for 4 years. There I had 3 operations and I had a specific diet in order for my bad kidneys. Now I know that eating is important for me.

In the case of the initial passage in this section, we may easily observe the repetitive tendency to overuse the definite article in the case of “will help in the lifestyle” (where we do not know whose or which lifestyle is mentioned), and “Eating a lot of the lean meats” (where the problem is double; firstly we encounter the problem with the overuse and secondly, which does not directly concern the articles, with the comprehension of countability in English). (2) A close friend, who has the time for us, willing help and talk, has large influence on mental health. Our consciousness in possession the best friend helps us out with achievement equilibrium. In order to staying healthy and living longer, should take steps to change the habits and begin fight with bad inurements. When the human is healthy, he can feel glad about life.

Similarly, in this passage we cope with the overuse of the definite article. The examples are: “who has the time for us,” “the best friend,” “should take steps to change the habits,” and “when the human is healthy.” (3) Dear Katarzyna, Thank you for your letter. You asked me about the Sierpc. It certainly is a beautiful place to visit.

Repeatedly, we deal here with the overuse of the definite article and its placing before the names of places, which does not enhance understanding, as such a local name of a place is used generically and is a proper noun, not a common one.

The Use of English Articles by Polish Students Based on Corpus Studies 365 (4) You can travel to the Sierpc by bus or on a bike. I think you should take the bus, as you have very little time and it s much quicker and very comfortable.

In this instance, we may regard the use of the definite article as the appropriate one, as it clearly suggests the selection of the most convenient means of transport. (5) Arrangement of flowers, tables trimmed with a white tableclothes and with the crockery made the place look distinguished and sophisticated but also traditionally.

In contrast to the example above, we cannot evaluate the use of the indefinite article as the relevant one. On the contrary, what is observed is the lack of ability to distinguish between the proper use of the singular and plural in English juxtaposed with the notion of countability. (6) As you will realise, I am disappointed with the service in theatre. I trust that you will agree that I deserved a letter of explanation and what is more I would like to regain my money back.

Here, the context is ambiguous as we may clearly assume that the mentioned “service” may denote “service elsewhere,” namely in other institutions. Also, we may perceive the service as a one-time activity in a cultural institution. Additionally, the whole phrase used here is not semantically compatible with the rest of the passage. (7) It can 't slip our mind that whisky is another thing famous for Scots. Scotland is often cold and grey. It can rain the cats and dogs, however, many visitors take a liking to this country very much. They love wonderful empty hills of the north, the sea, people who are special, warm, funny and friendly—Scotland is magic.

In this case, we notice the inappropriate use of the idiomatic expression “It is raining cats and dogs,” in which we do not use any article. Such expressions are called “fixed” and need to be acquired or at least memorised and retrieved subsequently in an appropriate way. Surprisingly, the next idiom is used appropriately, which is both unexpected and impressive. (8) It is very important to have an opportunity to have chance to play with them. It means that we are good enough to compete with people who are the best of best. To win the match we need to be concentrated and fight

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In the last example provided in this section, we may notice the erroneous use of the expression “best of the best.” Once again, the speaker tried to be formal and eloquent while using English, but it ended in failure, although the entire context was really interesting and worth following.

4.4. B1 Written Form Prior to the analysis of the written form used at this level, the expectations of the author of the article were in compliance with the spoken form used at these two levels as well. B1 representatives were assumed to perform worse than their B2 counterparts. Let us verify whether these expectations were met or not. (1) Without leaving home we can settle of every matter: pay the bills, sell the car. Thanks to the Internet we can find virtually all the information. The process of searching is easy and quickly.

While analysing the use of articles in the first passage in this part of the article, we may observe two instances of the overuse of the definite article. It is not necessary to specify which or what kind of bills we need to pay, we pay bills in general; it is our obligation and a must of our everyday existence, hence the overuse may be misleading for a potential recipient. The second instance is possibly the latest craze, to make any noun in English countable, where in case of information it is advisable to treat this noun as uncountable. (2) Additional advantage of use the Internet is a chance to learn foreign languages. Staying at home we can save up for a free language course, find the necessary materials and collaborate with the tutor.

Here, the problem arises from the grammatical unawareness, as the use of the preposition “of” requires a gerundial construction. This problem, however, does not directly concern the use of the article, which in this instance is used appropriately. (3) It saves the time and lot of money. In addition to that, many people can access or update the information stored in a database, making it up-to-date and accurate. What about printers?

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In this passage, the problem with countability persists (in the case of “information”) and which is traditional once more with the improper use of the saying “it saves time and money,” where an unnecessary definite article is inserted. (4) A computer networks are basically connections of computers and resources and now are commonly used by many people, companies and organizations. Internet, the biggest one, has above 600 millions users.

Illustration 4 proves to be repetitive in comparison to the earlier ones analysed in this article. We encounter the problem of the Polish subject with singular and plural in English and the accompanying adjustment of their use of articles. However, in the final sentence in this passage, the comparison of adjectives is demonstrated at a high level, as is not erroneous. (5) We need to use security software and be careful. Moreover entire network usually depends on the main server. If it breaks down, the system is unable to operate, so it should be powerful computer.

This passage abounds in the underuse of articles. In the case of “entire network” the definite article is missing, while for “powerful computer” there is lack of an indefinite article. (6) Undoubtedly, its a great honour to be the chosen but I`ve worked my hands to the bone just to prove my fellow students that Im not a write-off and I didn`t go to the dogs.

In this case, we notice the inappropriate use of the expression “the chosen one.” The inappropriateness results from the incomplete expression, as it may slightly influence the thorough understanding of this context. (7) When five years ago I saw the mobile phone for the first time I thought it was the second best invention ever made. A car is the first one for me.

The initial sentence in this context is introduced erroneously, although it is understandable. However, the use of the definite article is unclear, as we are not certain which mobile phone is mentioned. It cannot be specified, as “mobile phone” is treated here as a new invention, not a particular model to be used by a potential user. Therefore, we observe the overuse of the definite article instead of using a definite article for generic meaning.

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Finally, in the last instance demonstrated in this section of the article, we come across the erroneous use of the expression “a third year student.” Moreover, in the second sentence we observe a lack of the indefinite article used before the word “few,” which is a very important quantifier depending whether we use or do not use an article before it. In addition, we expect the speaker rather to use the expression “a few similar courses before” to demonstrate his or her experience in English. Apparently, the message conveyed by our interlocutor may be understandable; however, the use of articles here points to lack of proficiency in English.

5. The Results of Corpus Studies (PELCRA) Having described the use of the English article system by Polish study participants representing B1 and B2 levels, we may draw the following conclusions from the conducted study. As far as the spoken form at B1 level is concerned we were able to notice such problems with the use of English articles: x x x x

demonstrative pronouns are used instead of articles overuse of “the” “0” articles occur instead of “the” “a”/“the” problem (hesitations occur about which article should be used in a given context) x preceding names of places with “the” x problems with articles in the case of idiomatic expressions. As far as the written form at B2 level is concerned, we were able to observe such problems with the use of English articles: x x x x

overuse of “the” preceding names of places with “the” plural/singular—problems with distinction idioms—improper use of “the.”

As for the spoken form at B2 level, the following erroneous uses were noted:

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x repetitive overuse of the definite article x grammar problems reflecting the inappropriateness in the use of articles x problems with the selection of articles to be used x omission of articles x problems with selecting pronouns or articles. Finally, we were able to observe the following erroneous uses of articles in the written form at B1 level: x overuse of “the” x problems with the countability/uncountability of nouns x zero article instead of other types of articles x lack of indefinite article which directly corresponds to overuse of the zero article.

6. Conclusions, Limitations of the Study, and Pedagogical Implications Having listed the most frequent erroneous uses of the English article system by Polish study participants at B1 and B2 levels, we may conclude and evaluate our studies devoted to this intriguing grammar aspects as very successful. The instrument of the studies was a set of wider contexts enabling us to observe, follow, and estimate the frequency of errors in English article use. It would not be possible without a very relevant and convenient tool—PELCRA (Polish and English Language Corpora for Research and Applications) corpus studies—a must for studying the use of articles in theme-related conversations as well as in theme-related essays, descriptions, and compositions. This study had its limitations, namely that only two levels were tested (B1, B2) and the number of analysed contexts was limited (up to 250 instances per level), out of which only 8 passages per studied form were demonstrated. As for the implications for future study, we are convinced that some remaining corpora from European or global contexts should be included. Two remaining levels, namely C1 and C2, should be investigated (levels A1 and A2 are not available in this corpus). Finally, we are aware that we should include our own corpus comprising both spoken and written forms, expanding the availability of the relevant data.

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As for the pedagogical implications, it is worth considering the further exposure of Polish students to the appropriate use of articles. To achieve tangible results in this challenging task, it would be advisable to diversify the sources containing articles, and a more accurate demonstration of the occurrence of articles would be highly beneficial for Polish subjects.

References Arabski, J. 1990. The Acquisition of Articles and Hierarchy of Difficulty. Foreign Language Acquisition Papers. Katowice: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Śląskiego. Ekiert, M. 2004. Acquisition of the English Article System by Speakers of Polish in ESL and EFL Settings.TESOL. Pisarek, K. 1968. “Zaimek w polskim zdaniu. Obserwacje przydawki zaimkowej.” Język polski XLVIII: 12–33. Świątek, A. 2013. “The Acquisition of the English Article System by Polish Learners in Different Proficiency Groups Juxtaposed with a Case Study.” In Language in Cognition and Affect, edited by E. Piechurska-Kuciel, and J. Szymańska, 151–71. Dordrecht: Springer.

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO ECONOMIC TRANSLATION: CHALLENGES AND HINDRANCES SOFIENE TERGUI

1. Introduction Nobody has ever said how many ways there are to skin a cat. Probably, it is the same number of ways there are for tackling and exploring the world of translation. However, apart from the heated controversy about the latter, there is a common belief that the ultimate goal of any translator is to bridge the gap between languages and cultures by establishing an equivalent meaning to the original text or source text (ST) in the Target Text (TT). But this search for equivalence is not an easy task. On the contrary, this mission is fraught with many hurdles, ranging from linguistic to paralinguistic obstacles. In fact, each language has its linguistic specificity, which does not have necessarily mean its equivalent in another language. In order to dig into the issue of equivalence, the following sections are to lay bare the linguistic hurdles in translating an economic text from English as a SL into Arabic and French as TLs. The variety of tongues and the resulting language and stylistic differences, coupled with the “technicity” of the text that deals with the Informal economy, would offer a paramount opportunity to explore the intrinsic linguistic and technical sides of the realm of specialised translation. Lastly, the last section of this paper assesses the obtained results as well as raises awareness about the issue of non-equivalence.

1.1. A Tentative Definition of Translation It is commonly agreed that translation is the complex linguistic process of moving from an original text or Source Text (ST), written in a certain

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Source Language (SL), into another text, called the Target Text (TT), in a another different language or Target Language (TL). The linguist Peter Newmark points to translation as, “a craft consisting in the attempt to replace a written message or statement in one language by the same and/or statement in another language” (Newmark 1981, 7). Following the same train of thought, E. A Nida summarises this complex linguistic situation by saying that, “Translating consists in producing in the reception language the closest natural equivalent to the message of the SL, first in meaning and second in style” (Nida and Taber 1982, 12). These two linguists argue that there are two forms of equivalence: formal, and dynamic. As far as the formal correspondence is concerned, it “focuses attention on the message itself, in both form and content,” unlike dynamic equivalence, which is based upon “the principle of equivalent effect” (1964, 159). In the second edition (1982) of their work, the two theorists provide a more detailed explanation of each type of equivalence. Formal correspondence consists of a TL item which represents the closest equivalent of a SL word or phrase. Nida and Taber make it clear that there are not always formal equivalents between language pairs. They therefore suggest that these formal equivalents should be used wherever possible, if the translation aims at achieving formal rather than dynamic equivalence. This process of “retextualising” from the SL into the TL requires knowledge of the source and target languages and their intrinsic linguistic characteristics as well as knowledge of the topic dealt with, and this assumption dates back to the thirteenth century, when Roger Bacon wrote that, “if a translation is to be true, the translator must know both languages.” The translator's role in relation to a text has been compared to that of an artist, e.g. a musician or actor, who interprets a work of art. Translation, like other arts, inescapably involves choice, and choice implies interpretation. It is no surprise then that we find the English-language novelist Joseph Conrad advising his niece and Polish translator Aniela Zagórska: Don't trouble to be too scrupulous … I may tell you (in French) that in my opinion "il vaut mieux interpréter que traduire" ["it is better to interpret than to translate"] … “Il s'agit donc de trouver les équivalents. Et là, ma chère, je vous prie laissez vous guider plutôt par votre tempérament que par une conscience sévère …” [“It is, then, a question of finding the equivalent expressions. And there, my dear, I beg you to let yourself be guided more by your temperament than by a strict conscience”].

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However, one might wonder here whether Joseph Conrad would keep the same opinion of being guided by “temperament” rather than “a strict conscience” when considering the translation of a technical text, as in our case.

1.2. Technical Translation Needless to say, when it comes to technical translation, which is the case in this work, the translator’s mission becomes harder since there can be no room for mistakes. Mistakes in this field may, indeed, be disastrous. Undoubtedly, Conrad, if alive, would change his mind and think of “a strict conscience” when dealing with technical terms. That is, translation errors on the job may very well lead to disasters. In chemical texts they can cause fatal poisoning or a terrible explosion. In legal translation they can unlawfully make a defendant lose a ludicrously expensive lawsuit. In aeronautics they may bring a plane down from the sky. The poor performance of an interpreter can spoil the proceedings of a whole international conference. The issue of this special translation rises from the fact that the texts translated are special and the words used are specific to a particular register, including mainly scientific terms. Byrne (2006) deals with the aim of this type of translation, and how meeting it is full of difficulties: While … the aim of technical translation is to transmit technical information, this would be just half of the story. Although it is true that technical texts are utilitarian … and are intended to serve a relatively finite purpose namely, to clearly present information to the target language readers … the challenge for technical communicators is to ensure that all of the relevant information is indeed conveyed but … conveyed in such a way that the readers can use the information easily, properly and effectively. (2006, 10)

Therefore, technical translation is not easy; it is not just about terminology but also accurate translation. Byrne further argues that technical translation, just like any other sort of translation, is not reproducing a text but communicating something for a new audience, as the original text did for the original audience. As a discipline, technical translation has been recognised, studied, and developed since the 1960s. Stemming from the field of translation studies, the field of technical translation traditionally emphasised much importance on the source language from which a text is translated. However, over the

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years there has been a movement away from this traditional approach to a focus on the purpose of the translation and the intended audience. According to Geoffrey Kingscott in his "Studies in Translatology" (2002), this is perhaps because only 5–10% of items in a technical document are terminology, while the other 90–95% of the text is language, most likely in a natural style of the source language. Though technical translation is only one subset of the different types of professional translation, it is the largest subset as far as output is concerned. Currently, more than 90% of all professionally translated work in the world is done by technical translators, highlighting the importance and significance of the domain. In this context, Kingscott argues, “It has been estimated that technical translation accounts for some 90% of the world’s total translation output each year” (2002, 247). To many, this is unsurprising given the importance attached to the availability of technical information in a variety of languages.

1.3. Necessity of Equivalence in Translation As can be easily seen in the above, no matter how translation is defined, the concept of equivalence is inseparable and is implied in one way or another. In a sense, each of the above definitions is constructed round the basic concept of equivalence, or, as Marry Snell-Hornby points out, that definitions of translation may be regarded as variations of the concept of equivalence (Snell-Hornby 2006, 15). The essentiality of the concept of equivalence in any definition of translation adequately demonstrates the necessity of equivalence in translation. The comparison of texts in different languages inevitably involves a theory of equivalence. Equivalence can be said to be the central issue in translation, although its definition, relevance, and applicability within the field of translation theory have caused heated controversy, and many different theories of the concept of equivalence have been elaborated within this field over the past fifty years. As a matter of fact, this issue will be of paramount utility since the translation practice in this thesis involves English as a source language, and Arabic and French as target languages. In the coming sections, this linguistic journey between three languages seems fraught with many challenges. The overriding objective in this challenging research and journey is reaching translation equivalence. The moral here is to try to find a balance between setting a tone that, indeed, celebrates interesting findings without too many leaps, and reporting limitations without being unnecessarily negative.

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Therefore, in this section the aim is twofold. The first purpose is to show some fruitful findings after translating an economic document. Secondly, difficulties and hindrances throughout the translation process are emphasised.

2. Findings 2.1. Translation Methods Used No doubt, a good translator must be knowledgeable about the different techniques and theories of translation. These methods are extremely helpful when translating a text, be it general or technical. Here are some of the methods used while translating an economic report. (a) Transposition: This is the process where parts of speech change their sequence when they are translated. It is in a sense a shift of word class. x “Monthly net income” =ϲϓΎμϟ΍ ϱήϬθϟ΍ ϞΧΪϟ΍ = “le revenu mensuel net.” Transposition is also called “shift” (Catford). It involves a recategorisation, i.e. a change in the grammar from the source language to the target language, like the position of the adjective in the previous example. In addition, while English has a preference for nominal sentences, Arabic is reluctant to begin with a noun, preferring verbal sentences like in this example: x Gathering the economic facts in the shadows of the law requires in-depth fieldwork= ϥϮϧΎϘϟ΍ ΔΑΎϗέ Ϧϣ ΖΘϠϓ΃ ϲΘϟ΍ ΔϳΩΎμΘϗϻ΍ ΕΎϧΎϴΒϟ΍ ϊϤΟ ΐϠτΘϳ ϖϤόϟ΍ ϲϓ Ύϴϧ΍Ϊϴϣ ϼϤϋ (b) Modulation: Modulation (i.e. using a different phrase to convey the same meaning) is used to get closer to what the author intends to say. See, for instance, how “in the shadows of the law” in English became “ ϲΘϟ΍ ϥϮϧΎϘϟ΍ ΔΑΎϗέ Ϧϣ ΖΘϠϓ΃” in Arabic.

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(c) Expansion (étoffement): In many cases I found it necessary to add some words in the target text to reveal the intended meaning of the source text and obtain the needed translation equivalence (TE), like: x Too many obstacles to legality = ΔϴϧϮϧΎϘϟ΍ ΔγέΎϤϤϟ΍ ϥϭΩ ϝϮΤΗ Ϟϴϗ΍ήόϟ΍ ΪϳΪϋ ΓέΎΠΘϠϟ Here, paramount attention is given to the meaning. Firstly, I had to decipher or decode the message in the target text. Secondly, I enciphered or formulated the target text. The addition of information for specification purposes is also required, "if ambiguity occurs in the receptor language formation and if the fact that greater specificity may be required so as to avoid misleading reference" (Nida 1964, 227). (d) Borrowing: The writer of the English report has borrowed several words from Arabic, like, “ras el mél,” “hogra,” etc. So my job here is to bring back the Arabic words in my translation since the writer borrowed them in order to give his text that authentic meaning of the investigation into the extra-legal economy of Tunisia. In fact, the borrowing here is not because the target language does not have a lexicalised correspondence or equivalent, but because it happens to achieve the aim of the text. Otherwise, the writer could say, simply and respectively: capital and despise. A striking example of borrowing in this translation is when dealing with the words: “slumdogs,” “Naxalite,” “favelas,” and “mafias,” which are typical names for specific groups in some countries and do not match equivalents in the TL. (e) Adaptation: One should dig deep into the works of many talented translation experts and linguists to use such a technique. Vinay and Darbelnet (1977) call it adaptation, while Newmark (1991) labels it cultural equivalence. It is about trying to find the nearest equivalent in the target language when there is a problem of equivalence, i.e. in case of nonequivalence. To illustrate, I can mention these examples: x Formality = ϰϧϮϧΎ˰˰˰˰ϗ ˯΍ήΟ· When we think about the source text again, we find it essential to add a word in Arabic which means that this formality is binding. So, the expression in Arabic would be: ΔϴϤγήϟ΍ Ε΍˯΍ήΟϹΎΑ ΪϴϘΘϟ΍

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x Informality = ϥϮϧΎϘϟΎΑ ΪϴϘΘϟ΍ ϡΪϋ Here, the opposite is expressed through the prefix “in,” so in Arabic it was necessary to add the word “ϡΪϋ” to mean the absence of formality. x Extralegality = ϱί΍ϮϤϟ΍ ΩΎμΘϗϻ΍ I found that the word “Extralegality” bears out the meaning of the informal or underground economy. Thus, adoption here is a necessary tool to get the equivalent in the target language. So I used the notion of ϱί΍ϮϤϟ΍ ΩΎμΘϗϻ΍. But it seems that the adjective “ϱί΍ϮϤϟ΍” is an automatic transfer of the French adjective “parallelle.” Translation experts argue that the UN adopted translation of this word is “ ήϴϏ ϢψϨϤϟ΍” rather than “ϱί΍ϮϤϟ΍.” However, the use of “Ϟψϟ΍ ΩΎμΘϗ΍” or “ΩϮγϷ΍ ΩΎμΘϗϻ΍” as well as “ϲϔΨϟ΍ ΩΎμΘϗϻ΍” is possible and can match the intended meaning and equivalence in the target text.

2.2. The Use of Context No doubt, the process of translation is fraught with many linguistic and paralinguistic considerations. In fact, it is not enough to just understand the meaning of the words but is of paramount important to be familiar with the context. For example, consider the following sentence, taken out of context: “With a large number of readers and relatively few writers, there is the possibility of writer starvation.” Without some sufficient co-text (surrounding sentences), one might think it is talking about human readers and writers, when in fact it is talking about components of a computer software system. Another example I always think of when translating is that one given by Newmark in the introduction of his work A Textbook of Translation: when do you translate “Il fait froid” as “It's cold” and “I'm cold,” “I’m freezing,” “I’m so cold,” etc.? Surely, the answer is “depending on the context!”

2.3. The Use of IT in Translation It is commonly argued that machine translation can never be as appropriate and “correct” as the human translation. However, we cannot ignore the fact that technology is now a sine qua non for the translator as well as the teacher and students of translation to perform better.

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In fact, the internet does not provide us with translation engines online only, but can also accompany the translator throughout thier translation. We can make use of the internet frequently when consulting invaluable books and articles linked to both translation and the theme of translation here, which is the informal economy. Without such an easy and rapid tool, many ideas would not see the light. It is worth mentioning that some online dictionaries are helpful with various difficult technical terms.

2.4. Managing the Problem of Common Mistakes The process of translation is fraught with many hurdles that may hamper an appropriate translation. In this part of the paper, I will highlight some cases which present a source of mistakes in the Arabic translation in general, and for Tunisian learners in particular: (a) False cognates (also false friends): pairs of words in two different languages that look or sound similar but differ significantly in meaning. In fact, the influence of French as a second language (L2) in Tunisia seems remarkable when dealing with a translation from English as (L3) into Arabic as (L1), or vice versa. Here, I give an example that seems confusing: The word “credit” in English may lead to the French word “crédit” and consequently to a totally different and inappropriate term in Arabic which is “νήϗ .” However, credit in English does not mean loan only but also, like in this context, simply “sum of money in sb’s bank account” or exactly in Arabic“Ϧ΋΍Ω Ϊϴλέ.” 9

Can you convert the things you own into credit …? = ϥϮόϴτΘδΗ Ϟϫ ϝΎϣ ϰϟ· ϥϮϜϠϤΗ Ύϣ ϞϳϮΤΗ.

(b) The Arabic spelling of “elhamza”; hamzat qat‘ (ϊτϗ ΓΰϤϫ) and hamzat al-wasl (ϞλϮϟ΍ ΓΰϤϫ): It is not unimportant to shed light on the difference between these two spelling features. My main focus here is not on the rules of the spelling of “hamza” (ΓΰϤϫ) in general, but rather on its spelling when it comes

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to nouns starting with “hamza.” Here, I will give some of these nouns that cause a remarkable confusion for Tunisian learners. (1) Starting with hamzat qata‘ (ϊτϗ ΓΰϤϫ); αϼϓϹ΍, ˯ΎμϗϹ΍, έ΍Ϊλ·, ϝΎΧΩ· ,ϡΎϤΗ· , ϙ΍έΩ· ,˯΍ήΟϹ΍ (2) Starting with hamzat al-wasl (ϞλϮϟ΍ ΓΰϤϫ); ΩΎμΘϗ΍, ϝϼϐΘγ΍ , ϝΎϤόΘγ΍ ,έ΍ήϘΘγ΍ ,ϙ΍έΪΘγ΍ έΎϘΘΣ΍. So, all the nouns in the first list start with hamzat qata‘ because the verb of these nouns is four letters, i.e. the same as “af’ala” (Ϟόϓ΃ ). As a rule, the nouns coming from four-letter verbs must start with hamzat qata‘ (ϊτϗ ΓΰϤϫ). However, the nouns in the second list can never start with hamzat qata‘, as commonly and wrongly used, but they can start with hamzat al-wasl (ϞλϮϟ΍ ΓΰϤϫ) since the verbs these nouns come from are not four letters, i.e. they are not the same as “af’ala’’(Ϟόϓ΃). It goes without saying that my focus on this common mistake is deliberate because I have noticed this spelling error many times throughout my students’ translation works, in highly official documents, or even in the names of some ministries like ϥϭΆθϟ΍ Γέ΍ίϭ ΔϴϋΎϤΘΟϻ΍ or the well-known leader in telecommunication services in Tunisia ΕϻΎμΗ΍ βϧϮΗ and other famous and old institutions like ΩΎΤΗϻ΍ ϞϐθϠϟ ϲδϧϮΘϟ΍ ϡΎόϟ΍. In all these examples, they have no hesitation in starting wrongly with hamzat qata‘ instead of hamzat al-wasl. (c) Unnecessary use of the passive voice in Arabic Another common mistake I have frequently noticed is the automatic transfer of the passive in English into the same voice in Arabic. However, Arabic, unlike English, tends to use active sentences much more than passive ones. Here is an example from my translation to illustrate the tendency of Arabic, unlike English and French, to use an active construction: x

The result is that the value of legalization to development is tremendously underestimated = Le résultat … l’importance de la legalization au développement est considérablement sousestimée = ϮϤϨϟ΍ ϲϓ ϝΎϤϋϷ΍ ϦϴϨϘΗ ΔϴϤϫ΃ ϥϭέΪϘϳ ϻ ΪϳΪόϟ΍ ϥ΃ ΔΠϴΘϨϟ΍ ϭ

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As we can clearly see, we have moved from a passive form in English “… the value … is underestimated,” and French “la valeur … est sous-estimée” into the active form in Arabic: ϦϴϨϘΗ ΔϴϤϫ΃ ϥϭέΪϘϳ ϻ ΪϳΪόϟ΍ ϝΎϤϋϷ΍. In brief, one should mind the specific language differences between the source text and target text to achieve the ultimate goal of translation equivalence.

3. Limitations 3.1. The Problem of Non-equivalence When she tackles problems arising from lack of equivalence at the word level, the Egyptian linguist Mona Baker asks herself what a translator does when there is no word in the TL which expresses the same meaning as the SL word. Although she attempts to outline some of the most common types of non-equivalence which often pose difficulties for the translator and give some attested strategies for dealing with them, Baker admits that, “It is virtually impossible to offer absolute guidelines for dealing with the various types of non-equivalence which exist among languages” (2006, 17). Nevertheless, a translator needs to be aware of some strategies which may be used to deal with non-equivalence in certain contexts. Certain suffixes and prefixes, for instance, which convey prepositional and other types of meaning in English, often have no direct equivalents in other languages. To illustrate, I give this example. The word “extra legality,” used many times by Desotto, has not been easy to decipher. After reading the whole document to get the gist of the text, things have become clearer, especially given that the report is about an investigation into the informal or background economy. As a matter of fact, the nearest and most appropriate equivalent in French is clearly “Economie informelle.” But although the Arabic equivalent for this term can be ΩΎμΘϗϻ΍ "ϱί΍ϮϤϟ΍,” translation experts argue that the expression officially adopted by the United Nations is “ϢψϨϤϟ΍ ήϴϏ ΩΎμΘϗϻ΍ .” It is most important for translators to understand the contribution that affixes make to the meaning of words and expressions, especially since they are often used creatively in English to coin new words.

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3.2. Technical Terms The technical translation process is fraught with many hurdles and risks. In fact, the translator has no room for mistakes. For each purely technical term, you cannot find many equivalents, unlike for general words. To illustrate this difficulty, I will give you this example from the translation into Arabic. When I came across the technical term “creditworthiness,” for example, and knowing it means literally “ϦϳΪϟ΍ ιϼΧ ϲϓ Δϴϗ΍ΪμϤϟ΍,” I was about to mistranslate it. In fact, we cannot risk using such an expression without checking in specialised dictionaries or websites. When checking, one gets confirmation that economists do not sayϦϳΪϟ΍, "ιϼΧ ϲϓ Δϴϗ΍ΪμϤϟ΍, ” but rather “ΔѧѧѧѧѧѧѧѧѧѧѧѧϴϧΎϤΘ΋ϻ΍ ΔѧѧѧѧѧϴϠϫϷ΍.” In this context of looking for the appropriate equivalent, one cannot forget to mention Vinay and Darbelnet arguing that “the need for creating equivalences arises from the situation, and it is in the situation of the SL text that translators have to look for a solution” (1998). Indeed, they conclude that even if the semantic equivalent of an expression in the SL text is quoted in a dictionary or a glossary it is not enough, and does not guarantee a successful translation.

3.3. Polysemous Words “Polysemy (or polysemia) is a compound noun for a basic feature. The name comes from Greek poly (many) and semy (to do with meaning as in semantics). Polysemy is also called radiation or multiplication. This happens when a word acquires a wider range of meanings” (Quiroga-Clare 2003). For example, “note” is “a musical tone” or “a short written record.” “Not only do different words have different meanings; it is also the case that the same word may have a set of different meanings. This is polysemy; such a word is polysemic” (Palmer 1976, 100) For example, flight means “passing through the air,” “power of flying,” “air journey,” “unit of air force,” and many others. So, a polysemic word is a word with different meanings and therefore problems rise, with ambiguity becoming the first issue whenever these words are used. One of the most puzzling polysemic words I came across throughout the translation of the economic report was “bill.” It can mean “written statement of money owed for goods or services supplied,” “written or printed advertisement,” “programme of entertainment,” “draft of a proposed law to be discussed by a parliament,” and “a bird’s beak,” among other things.

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The crucial thing for the understanding of a word is context. So, the translation of this word requires an understanding of its context. Therefore, the word “bills” matches “des bons” in French and “Ε΍ΪϨγ” in Arabic, because the context of the surrounding words in the sentences bears that meaning “Issue bills to raise financing” = “Emettre des bons pour augmenter le financement” = “ϞϳϮϤΘϟ΍ ϢΠΣ ΓΩΎϳΰϟ Ε΍ΪϨγ έ΍Ϊλ·.” 

4. Results In this crucial part of the paper I will try to tackle the issue of equivalence in this economic translation. In fact, the translator’s ultimate objective is achieving equivalence, and I have used different strategies and techniques to this end. However, I might sometimes miss that objective because of many linguistic and paralinguistic factors. An extremely interesting discussion of the notion of equivalence can be found in Baker (1992), who seems to offer a more detailed list of conditions upon which the concept of equivalence can be defined. She explores the notion of equivalence at different levels in relation to the translation process, including different aspects of translation, and hence putting together the linguistic and communicative approach. I will use Baker’s typology about equivalence and see its relevance in the economic translation. ¾ Equivalence that can appear at word level and above word level: equivalence at word level is the first element to be taken into consideration by the translator. In fact, the equivalence at this level is of paramount importance in general translation, let alone in the technical one, where the translator does not have a vast choice between equivalents. One, in this economic translation for instance, cannot find other equivalents for these terms: Arab Spring = Printemps Arabe = ϲΑήόϟ΍ ϊϴΑήϟ΍, Bankruptcy = Faillite = αϼϓϹ΍, Capital = Capital = ϝΎϤϟ΍ α΃έ, shares = actions = ϢϬγϷ΍, or Goodwill = Fond de commerce = ϱέΎΠΘϟ΍ ϞλϷ΍. Therefore, the translator here should know and find the exact equivalent for such technical terms, as any confusion or mistake would confuse the whole work. ¾ Grammatical equivalence: Baker notes that grammatical rules may vary across languages and this may pose some problems in terms of finding a direct correspondence in the TL. Amongst these

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grammatical devices which might cause problems in translation, Baker focuses on number, tense and aspects, voice, person and gender. To illustrate this type of equivalence, one can point to the use of the active voice in Arabic, although the voice is passive in English and French, as in: … the value of legalization … is tremendously underestimated = …l’importance de la legalization … est considérablement sousestimée = … ϝΎϤϋϷ΍ ϦϴϨϘΗ ΔϴϤϫ΃ ϥϭέΪϘϳ ϻ ΪϳΪόϟ΍. In the same example we can see the gender issue in both the French and Arabic grammar, unlike English which is a non-gender language. So, for the word “importance,” the past participle must take the female “ée” at the end. In addition, the translator cannot reach equivalence unless she cares about the equivalence in tenses which vary across languages. ¾ Textual equivalence: when referring to the equivalence between a SL text and a TL text in terms of information and cohesion. This type of equivalence has been clearly and necessarily matched in the translation of this document about the informal economy in Tunisia. Otherwise, one cannot speak about a translation that misses the information of the source text or lacks coherence and cohesion in the target text. We should refer here to the linguist Nida, who distinguishes between Formal equivalence, which consists of a TL item that represents the closest equivalent of a SL word or phrase, and Dynamic equivalence, which is defined as a translation principle according to which a translator seeks to translate the meaning of the original in such a way that the TL wording will trigger the same impact on the TC audience as the original wording did upon the ST audience (Nida and Taber 1982, 200). The key point here is that Nida and Baker are in favour of the application of dynamic equivalence as a more-effective translation procedure, since the formal correspondence may distort the meaning of the ST. The principle of the dynamic equivalence can be grasped in this example of the translation where one should care about the meaning rather than the rank of the words in the source text:

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“in the shadows of the law” = “ϥϮϧΎϘϟ΍ ΔΑΎϗέ Ϧϣ ΖΘϠϓ΃ ϲΘϟ΍.” The translator should therefore translate the meaning here rather than following the structure of the English sentence word by word. However, the translation equivalence has also been achieved by following the word rank in the source text, thus in an economic text, like a general one, formal translation can be used to achieve equivalence as in this example: Legalization means creating economic knowledge = La Légalisation signifie la création d’une connaissance économique = ϥ· ΔϳΩΎμΘϗ΍ Δϓήόϣ ϖϠΧ ϲϨόϳ ϦϴϨϘΘϟ΍. The translation here has not undergone changes at the level of the structure. In fact, we have a Subject + Verb + Object structure in the three languages. ¾

Pragmatic equivalence: present when referring to implicatures and strategies of avoidance during the translation process. Implicature is not about what is explicitly said but what is implied.

We all know that technical translation does not mean a translation of texts that are purely technical. We have technical terms that pragmatics cannot serve in their translation. But a great part of the economic text encompasses ordinary words that the writer can use beyond their meaning to match their purpose. One should care about what the writer implicitly wants to say. Hence, I give this example: expropriation is indignity = ωΰϧ ϭ .Δϣ΍ήϜϟ΍ Ϧϣ βϣϭ ΔϧΎϫ΍ Ϯϫ ΔϴϜϠϤϟ΍. Another example where I have not hesitated to translate the intention of the writer is when describing how quickly the move of the revolution from Tunisia to other countries has been. In the English ST, the writer says, “may help to explain why the revolt initiated in Tunisia spread so quickly.” In the Arabic TT, to convey this meaning of “so quickly” I have used an image from Arabic that says it all: ϲϓ έΎϨϟ΍ ϥΎϳήγ Δϋήδϛ ΖϧΎϛ ϲΘϟ΁ ΓέϮΜϟ΍ έΎθΘϧ΍ Δϋήγ ήϴδϔΗ ϰϠϋ ΪϋΎδϳ ϥ΃ ϦϜϤϳ.” “ϢϴθϬϟ΍ To sum this up, one can assert that no translator ends up with a full satisfaction with their work. In fact, the variety of languages coupled with the sociocultural differences between people and countries might hamper the mission of the translator. However, the linguistic expertise in both the source and target languages is a sine qua non to reach the intended equivalence and the appropriate translation.

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It goes without saying that the linguistic practice and analysis in this paper can serve in showing the different tools used to clear the hurdles when translating a technical text. However, a deeper comparative study and a more scientific investigation into the complex linguistic realm of Arabic, English, and French seem necessary to explore equivalence between the three languages. Neither the scope nor the objective of this paper would allow for such a profound study.

5. Conclusion To conclude, we can say that the issue of equivalence can never stop creating heated debates among linguists and translators. Although the findings in this paper have stressed the importance of the different translation methods to decipher the source text and establish the intended equivalence in the target text, this work is still far from unveiling the hidden linguistic specific aspects of each language. In fact, English and Arabic have totally different linguistic aspects. Thus, a translator can never dare to reach a total equivalence because of the impossibility of sameness in one language, let alone in two or more languages. This puzzling and perplexing search for equivalence seems more far-fetched if the translator lacks some linguistic knowledge in the source or the target language. In addition, the process of translation is not only based on how much the translator is familiar with the intrinsic linguistic aspects of the language, but also has much to do with the ability to decipher the intention of the writer, i.e. the pragmatic side of the language. Hence, throughout the translation of an economic report, the translator should be aware of the social and cultural background of the writer of the source text. No less important, they must diagnose the aim of the translation and the audience or receiver of the target text. It goes without saying that the aforementioned hindrances become much more complicated when it comes to the translation of a specialised text with technical terminology, like in the economic translation in this paper. In this case, the translator has no room for mistakes that will cloud the whole meaning since the choice of an equivalent technical term must be precise and appropriate. Last, the attempt to lay bare the different translation methods to reach equivalence, and overcome some situations of non-equivalence between English, Arabic, and French, cannot give a final scientific solution to tackling the issue of translation equivalence.

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It is important to remember that translation can never be an mechanical operation. Thus, many linguistic and paralinguistic factors determine this process. Still, the ever problematic and debated question among theorists of whether translation be taught cannot be ignored. A positive answer seems a sine qua non to reconsider the way translation is taught as well as assessed in Tunisia. As a matter of fact, the issue is so paramount and challenging that it needs further and deeper empirical research.

References Atlas Encyclopedic Dictionary. 2002. English–Arabic. Atlas Publishing House, Second Edition. Baker, M. 2006. In Other Words: A Course book on Translation, 2nd edn. London and New York: Routledge. —. 1992. In Other Words: A Course book on Translation. London: Sage Publications. Bassnett, S. 2002. Translation Studies, 3rd rev. edn. London: Routledge. Bell, R. T. 1993. Translation and Translating: Theory and Practice. London and New York: Longman. Brandenburg, M. 2013. “Property Rights, Rule of Law, and the Spark of the ‘Arab Spring’.” http://blog.acton.org/archives/60813-propertyrights-rule-law-spark-arab-spring.html. Byrne, J. 2006. Technical Translation: Usability Strategies for Translating Technical Documentation. Dordrecht: Springer. Catford, J. C. 1965. A Linguistic Theory of Translation: An Essay in Applied Linguistics. London, Oxford University Press. Christopher Kasparek. 1983 "The Translator's Endless Toil." The Polish Review XXVIII (2): 84–7. Collins York English Dictionary, Fourth Edition. n.d. Librairie du Liban Publisher by special agreement with Harper Collins Publishers. Darir H., 2010. Affixation in Arabic: A Terminological Perspective on Modern Arabic Scientific and Technical Terms. Unpublished article. De Soto, Hernando.2005. Le mystère du capital: Pourquoi le capitalisme triomphe en Occident et échoue partout ailleurs. Paris: Nouveaux Horizons-ARS, 2005. Finch, C. 1969. An Approach to Technical Translation: An Introductory Guide for Scientific Readers. New York: Pergamon Press, 1969. Kingscott, Geoffrey. 2002. "Studies in Translatology." Perspectives 10 (4): 247–55. Namit Bhatia (ed.). 1992. The Oxford Companion to the English Language, 1,051–4.

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Newmark, P. 1981. Approaches to Translation. Oxford: Pergamon Press. —. 1988. Approaches to Translation. Uper Saddle River, NJ.: Prentice Hall International. Nida, E. A. 1964. Towards a Science of Translating. Leiden: E. J. Brill. Nida, E. A., and C. R. Taber. 1982. The Theory and Practice of Translation. Leiden: E. J. Brill. Palmer, F. 1976. Semantics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Quiroga-Clare, C. 2003. “Language Ambiguity: a Curse and a Blessing.” Translation Journal 7 (1) Snell-Hornby, M. 2006. The Turns of Translation Studies: New Paradigms or Shifting Viewpoints? Philadelphia: John Benjamins. Thompson, Daniel. “Theophilus Presbyter: Word and Meaning in Technical Translation.” Medieval Academy of America 42 (2) (1967): 313–39. Thomson A. J., and A. V. Martinet. 1986. A Practical English Grammar, Second Edition. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Vinay, J.-P., and J. Darbelnet. 1977. Stylistique comparée du français et de l’anglais. Paris: Didier.

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE ASPECTS OF BUSINESS VOCABULARY ACQUISITION IN A TERTIARY RUSSIAN ESP CONTEXT NATALIA TROUFANOVA

1. Introduction English business vocabulary is one of the major challenges Russian students face in their ESP learning process. The present paper deals with the major problems confronting language advisors who teach business vocabulary to Russian ESP economics students. English is a required subject for students of economics departments at most universities in Russia. At the Department of Engineering and Business and Management of Bauman Moscow State Technical University, students receive three years of foreign language instruction during their bachelor degree course, followed by an English for economics course during the first year of their masters’ program. The curriculum also includes special economics courses in English delivered by qualified economists. The combination of economics and language training is supposed to help graduates adapt to the ever more demanding standards of the modern job environment or cope with further education in Englishspeaking countries. Over the last five years the number of English classes has reduced three times, leading to two academic hours of English a week, so the emphasis is on the independent work of students and the individual consultations with their language advisors. This means that in Russian universities students are expected to autonomously learn a high proportion of ESP vocabulary. The university Business English (BE) syllabus usually offers a combination of materials, including various British and American coursebooks adapted to the Russian students’ specific needs. The main

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purpose of the courses is to develop effective communication skills, paying attention to the difficulties which arise in the process of studying professional terminology. As learners become more proficient and have the vocabulary to deal with everyday business issues and general academic words, the next step is having them read a large number of authentic articles on the topic of their specialty: finance and credit, risk management and insurance, industrial logistics management, and business informatics. Narrow reading is considered to facilitate vocabulary acquisition and provide background knowledge on various topics of students’ specialties (Krashen 1981; Dubin and Bycina 1991). It can “accelerate access into authentic materials” at intermediate and advanced levels, provided that the, “context is rich enough to offer adequate clues to guess a word’s meaning” (Schmitt 2007, 152–3). Russian economics students are given a choice of authentic sources, such as business newspapers, tabloids, and magazines (The Financial Times, The Wall Street Journal, Business Week, Fortune, The Economist), scientific business journals (Journal of World Business, Journal of Management Studies, Journal of International Business Studies, Management Accounting Research), and and editions from the internetbased business press (Business Wire, PR Newswire, Bloomberg, BS Market Watch). Such authentic materials are closely related to students’ needs. They provide exposure to real language as well as up-to-date information on business issues and economics, and have a positive effect on their motivation. Reading on one subject related to their special field of study—for example, on mergers and acquisitions—means that much of the topicrelated vocabulary is repeated through the course of reading. This both makes the reading easier and gives them a better chance to learn recurring business-specific vocabulary.

2. Linguistic Characteristics of Business English Vocabulary Although many scholars agree that, “there cannot be an easily definable body of lexis … that distinguishes Business English from other varieties of English” (Dudley-Evans and St John 1999, 5), a number of studies have revealed several linguistic characteristics specific for the BE lexis. One of the most important factors to be taken into account in teaching and learning business-specific vocabulary is the stylistic variation in BE,

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as some formal words are used predominantly in written discourse while others mostly occur in spoken or conversational BE. Pickett (1989) looks at the differentiation of business terms according to their stylistic variation. He lists a number of lexical items that occupy a neutral place between businesses and may be used on occasions in General English, although they appear more frequently in BE. He points out that some more formal lexical items are preferred to the more frequently used General English lexemes. In some recent studies, Business English Corpus data are exploited to study genre and register variation (James and Purchase 1996; Curado Fuentes 2000). Lexical diversity is found in email writing, which features words and phrases that can either resemble conversational input or provide a dimension that is closer to academic writing. James and Purchase (1996) describe a study concerning the choice of Economics and Business Science Vocabulary at university level for teaching purposes. They analyse the terms borrowed from specialised technical fields and select a key vocabulary according to the frequency and dispersion of subject-based lexical items in textbooks. Bhatia (1999) looks at the disciplinary variation in BE and highlights some of the disciplinary conflicts that may arise because of a tendency to introduce inter-disciplinary academic programs. The use of business vocabulary in different interconnected spheres of business leads to a significant degree of polysemy and synonymy in naming of economic concepts. Radosavljević (2010) discusses the problem of “multimeaningfulness” in BE vocabulary. The study suggests that teachers and learners of BE should know the specific professional meaning of business terms, understand the professional knowledge, and build context-awareness to exclude “multimeaningfulness” and ambiguity. Irgl (1989) analyses various types of synonymy in the language of business and economics, pointing out the great range of synonyms for expressing certain key notions. For example, there are 60 expressions to describe the upward and downward movement of prices. The heavy use of buzzwords, neologisms, and a large number of metaphors and idiomatic expressions represents a distinguishing characteristic of business discourse and is a burden for economics students and their language advisors. In business dictionaries, many of them are labelled as informal, yet many are not restricted to colloquial contexts and may be used in written texts, such as articles on venture capital financing. The use of metaphoric expressions in the field of economics has received much attention. Several studies attempted to uncover conceptual metaphors in particular sectors of business journalism and establish

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conditions under which enhanced metaphor awareness is beneficial to learners’ vocabulary expansion (Boers 2004; Koller 2004; SkorczynskaSznajder 2010). According to Boers and Demecheleer (1997), typical metaphorical themes in economics are Mechanisms and Machines (finetuning economic growth), Animals (seagull manager, loan shark), Plants and Gardening, Health and Fitness (company doctor, financial injection), Fighting and Warfare (conquer the market), Ships and Sailing (to be on the rocks, to rock the boat), and Sports (in pole position). Though most linguists agree that metaphors should be included in BE syllabuses, it is still not entirely clear which metaphors should be taught and “how much metaphor instruction is needed to yield long-term gains in learners’ vocabulary expansion” (Boers 2004, 228). Another notable feature of economic terminology and business jargon is the common use of all types of abbreviations, such as initialisms (APR, GDP, PLC), acronyms (SWOT analysis, ROI), clippings (Inc., ad/advert, Rep), and blends (glocalisation, infomercial, flexecutive). Pop and Sim (2009) provide an insightful analysis of some of the acronyms and initialisms used in BE. However, the techniques of teaching commonly used abbreviated forms of business lexical units remain to be discussed, as they appear quite frequently in BE articles and cause major difficulties in terms of decoding and translation.

3. Difficulties in Vocabulary Acquisition caused by Non-equivalence in English and Russian Business Lexis To improve the efficiency of vocabulary teaching and learning strategies, a number of differentiated approaches to the identification, selection, and arrangement of the lexical material have been developed. Fries (1952) and Lado (1961) were among the first to emphasise the importance of cultural content in material selection. Stockwell, Bowen, and Martin (1965), as well as Nation and Waring (1997), carried out methodological typologies which provide a hierarchy of difficulties in learning vocabulary. They attempted to view different degrees of difficulty and tried to deal with this issue by identifying vocabulary categories that will lead to problems with reading comprehension. Russian students are taught various strategies to ensure better reading comprehension by using a number of content clues. There is an almost unlimited variety of clues possible, such as description clues, contrast clues, cause and effect clues, synonym restatements, exemplifications, and analysis of morphological structure (Nation 1990). Although the learners are encouraged to develop this key vocabulary skill of guessing a new

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term’s meaning from the context, it is a slow and complicated process which can be completed only as a whole-group activity. In their autonomous work, students are often reluctant to use this elaborate and time-consuming procedure. A relatively small number (about 20%) of students turn to business dictionaries for learners of English to find the definitions of unknown terms. The majority of students prefer to use English-Russian business dictionaries. A few modern and comprehensive bilingual dictionaries have appeared covering all the latest business terms from marketing, accounting, banking, and finance, such as a series of economics dictionaries, Economicus, which was created by ABBY Lingvo and the Saint Petersburg School of Economics as part of their joint Economicus Project (2006). However, these dictionaries are far from concise and perfect, as the challenges in translation that ESP lexicographers face at present are similar to the difficulties that learners of BE quite often encounter. Translation challenges are believed to be linked with the problem of non-equivalence (Baker 1992). Non-equivalence means that the target language has no direct equivalent for a word or phrase in the source language. The present study does not aim at giving a detailed typology of lexical-semantic correlations at the inter-language level. Instead, it attempts to describe some common types of non-equivalence caused by lacunas, non-equivalent words, and culture-specific concepts in business terminology. A number of significant factors that lead to non-equivalence in economic discourse have been highlighted, and the most crucial are discussed below. (1) English business terms may express a concept, which is culturespecific and unfamiliar to the Russian speakers. For example, “stockjobber” is a British-specific term for “someone whose job was to buy stocks and shares dealing only with brokers and not directly with investors” (Longman Business English Dictionary (LBED) 2007, 285), and “scrip” is “a document given instead of money that can be exchanged for money and shares” (Ibid., 481). (2) There may be different distinctions in the meaning of translational counterparts, which lead to lexical discrepancy. In this case, a common problem which constitutes a real area of difficulty that Russian students encounter with BE vocabulary is that a Russian lexeme has two or more counterparts. English, for instance, has two nouns, “salary”/“wages” and “amortization”/“depreciation,” and two adjectives, “effective”/“efficient,”

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that correspond to the Russian words зарплата, амортизация и эффективный, with broader meanings. In some cases there may be several words in Russian that are close in meaning, but the corresponding lists of English synonyms and words related in meaning are much longer. For instance, in Russian we usually use the words уволить, отстранить, and сократить, which mean “be removed from job or responsibility,” whereas in English students have to choose between “dismiss,” “discharge,” “fire,” “sack,” “lay off,” and “make redundant,” which have either semantic, stylistic, or dialect differences. (3) English language terms may be semantically complex or not lexicalised in Russian. For example, “absenteeism,” “the problem of employees not being at work when they should be,” seems to be universal, but there is no particular term to denote this concept in Russian. Some other examples include: “delayer,” “educe the number of management levels” (LBED 2007, 142); “roadshow,” “a series of meetings in different places organized by a company trying to raise money for investment in order to show” (Ibid., 470), and “stagflation,” a term coined by economists in the 1970s to describe, “an economic condition in which there is inflation but the economy is not growing” (512). It is worth mentioning that these lacunas are being increasingly filled with English loan words. According to some published data, there has been a dramatic increase in the number of Anglicisms in the Russian language business discourse, where they comprise about 14% of lexis (Maximova 2007). Some of the most frequently used borrowings include: futures / фьючерсы, derivatives / деривативы, default / дефолт, trader / трейдер, securitization / секьюритизация, distributor / дистрибьютор, underwriter / андеррайтер, holding / холдинг, bidder / биддер, overdraft / овердрафт, stakeholder / стейкхолдер, hedge / хеджировать, promotion / промоушн, venture / венчурный, liquid / ликвидный, royalty / роялти, factoring / факторинговый, discount / дисконтный, broker / брокер, clearing / клиринговый, copyright / копирайт, swap / своп, etc. Most of these new business loanwords denote economic concepts which were not lexicalised in Russian until the 1990s. Krysin (2004) sees both linguistic and socio-psychological reasons for this tendency, such as: x the absence of the native language equivalent for a new concept x concretisation and specification of certain concepts by denoting them with different lexemes (сервис [service], обслуживание, экспорт [export] вывоз)

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x tendency to use one borrowed word instead of a descriptive clause in the native language x higher prestige of lexical borrowings; communicative relevance and formation of international jargon (Krysin 2004, 188). Russia, unlike some other countries, has no significant resistance to the adoption of foreign loanwords into the language. Moreover, we can see that some long-existing Russian terms are being replaced by the English loan words, and Russian students sometimes find that a loanword, and not its native counterpart, is more suitable to express a specific meaning. The infusion of English vocabulary into contemporary Business Russian is so rapid and widespread that many recent borrowings in common use today have several spelling variants, being either exact transliterations or with a modified spelling assimilated to the Russian language patterns. Although some linguistic conservatives may voice their negative attitudes towards Anglicisms, others think they provide an advantage in lexical competition because they make economic terminology more homogeneous. At the same time, such “international” terminology creates considerable difficulties in vocabulary acquisition because Russian students may translate business-specific terms easily, replacing them with similar sounding loan words, but sometimes have no idea what the meanings are. (4) A Russian language term may have the same denotation as the source language word, but may not possess the same emotional connotation. The difference may be obvious or subtle, but important enough to pose a problem for students in a given context. This is particularly the case with metaphorical expressions, for example “rainmakers” and “sunrise industries.” Both possess positive emotional connotation, while their Russian equivalents лоббист and новые отрасли экономики do not. An additional aspect of this problem is that an increasing number of English metaphoric expressions are being literally translated or calqued into Russian, becoming a part of the contemporary business and financial journalism in this country. For instance, “white knight” > белый рыцарь, “black knight” > черный рыцарь, “business angel” > бизнес-ангел, “Gnomes of Zurich” > цюрихские гномы, “sleeping beauty” > спящая красавица, “golden bug” > золотой жук, etc. Some of them are replacing the existing figurative expressions to denote the same concepts. For example, in Russian there is an idiom денежный мешок (“moneybag”) to denote a rich person, but in business articles the calqued form of the expression “fat cat” > жирный кот is used more frequently.

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Apart from the possible difference in the expressive meaning, such lexical units cause major difficulties in acquisition by Russian students because their metaphoric meanings were established in a foreign language and the underlying associations and comparisons may be unclear to them. The practical problem-solving approach to teaching non-equivalent terminological vocabulary to ESP students is to translate by paraphrasing on the basis of super-ordinate or related terms. Translations by means of loan words and calqued lexemes when they occur for the first time should be supplemented by explanations, descriptions, and illustrations to convey the terms’ precise meanings. Once they are explained, it is possible to use lexical borrowings or loan translations on their own, for reasons of language economy. As for the culture-specific vocabulary, this may be a fruitful area for comparisons with the student’s first culture and target economic patterns. In this case, the foreign-language teachers help the students to create bridges from one cognitive system to another.

4. Contrastive Sociolinguistic Study of Anglicisms and their BE Prototypes This study investigates some similarities and differences in the terminological competence of Russian and English-speaking business communication participants. It analyses conceptual knowledge and the actual usage of both lexical borrowings and loan translations, as well as their equivalents in the source language. The implications for teaching and learning English business vocabulary are discussed.

4.1. Aim As stated above, the emergence of English as the world language has promoted regular economic contacts between two countries with hundreds of Anglicisms becoming an integral part of the Russian financial and economic terminology and business jargon. The consequences of such a massive invasion of foreign language nominations into the Russian language system are complex semantic processes that occur during their adaptation. These include acquiring both additional meanings and new connotations. Empirical evidence shows that the meaning of some loanwords remains unknown or inaccurately understood by many Russian speakers, even those who have sufficient professional experience in the field of economics and business. The improper usage of lexical borrowings and

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loan translations can lead to communicative failures in business communication. Thus, BE vocabulary is a promising area for a contrastive sociolinguistic research, adequately demonstrating all phases of communication through the usage of the terms in their native language environment—through a complex mechanism of integration—to the inclusion in the dictionary of the Russian language, i.e. the final stage of their adaptation. This aspect involves a comparison of nominative ESP units not only at the semantic level, but also at the communicative one. The purpose of this study is a contrastive analyses of the lexical and conceptual knowledge of a number of recent lexical borrowings in the field of business and economics and their BE equivalents. In other words, it aims at revealing some common and distinguishing features in the actual usage of Anglicisms and their prototypes in Russian- and Englishlanguage business communication. From the pedagogical perspective, students’ awareness of difference in the usage of terminological counterparts may be enhanced by comparing their own meaning representations with native-speaker information.

4.2. Participants The 60 participants were Russian-speaking business graduates who were employees of Moscow companies. Almost the same number (58) of English-speaking economists participated in the study, including 32 Americans, 23 British, and 3 Canadians educated in English-speaking countries and employed by Russian (7), British (20), and American (31) companies. Most of the informants were involved in Banking and Finance (33/24), Risk Management and Insurance (16/12), Sales and Marketing (4/22), and Industrial Logistics Management (7 Russian economists). Their ages ranged from 20 to 36 years, thus representing the most professionally active part of the population.

4.3. Target Lexical Items The lexical items selected for the business language questionnaire were lexical borrowings of agent nouns and their English equivalents, denoting persons or companies. “Borrowed agent nouns” refer to a set of lexical items, which are essential and relatively frequent in economic articles. Some of them are well-known and widely used, for instance: брокер (“broker”), дилер (“dealer”), дистрибьютор (“distributor”), менеджер (“manager”). Moreover, they have been subjects of sociolinguistic and

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psycholinguistic research on the usage of Anglicisms by various social groups of Russian native speakers (Kakorina 2000; Mitireva 2002). Other borrowed terms (стейкхолдер [“stakeholder”], комплаенс-контролер [“compliance checker”], сток-брокер [“stockbroker”], гринмейлер [“greenmailer”], фрилансер [“freelancer”], байер [“buyer”], промоутер [“promoter”], etc.) are covered by most Russian dictionaries of economic and business terms, but seem to be restricted by the boundaries of professional vocabulary usage. A corpus search of the modern Russian language (www.ruscorpora.ru), incorporating over 300 million words, indicates that these lexemes appear not very frequently in the general language. It gives a relatively small number of results for each (for example, дистрибьютор: 59 documents, 79 contexts, промоутер: 10 documents, 18 contexts, and фрилансер: 3 documents, 3 contexts). A small group of lexical units were metaphoric expressions used to refer to persons in economic discourse. As I have already noted, they were borrowed from English by literal word-for-word translation, for example: бык/“bull,” бизнес-ангел/“business angel,” черный рыцарь/“black knight,” доктор компании/“company doctor,” акционер-диссидент/ “dissident shareholder,” ракетный ученый/“rocket scientist.”

4.4. Procedure Each participant was given a business language questionnaire which included 23 lexical units denoting persons. In the first part of the questionnaire they were asked to fill in the information about their age, education, and area of work. In the second part they were asked to define specific terms by answering two questions: (1) Are the following terms familiar to you? Please tick the boxes. (2) If you know the term, please use the large box to define the word, or provide a word or expression with a similar meaning. All the questions were given in their native languages and the participants responded in their native languages as well. In order to eliminate the element of confusion and misunderstanding, a sample of the completed questionnaire was given (see Tables 23.1 and 23.2 below). Participants were asked to do the task on their own without a dictionary. Data processing was based on the methods of quantitative and component semantic analysis with the following description, generalisation, and comparison of the results.

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Table 23.1. Business English Questionnaire term

I don't I've come across I know I I use this know this this term, but I this term, occasionally term quite term don’t know what it but I use this frequently means never use term it underwriter V a person who agrees to accept the risk of any loss under an insurance contract applicant

V 1. a person who applies for a job; a candidate; 2 a person or organisation who asks to buy new shares when they are first made available

Table 23.2. Business Russian Questionnaire термин

никогда встречал, знаю, но не употребляю употребляю не но не знаю употребляю иногда часто встречал значения

андеррайтер

V гарант, поручитель

аппликант

V 1. соискатель, кандидат 2. лицо, в пользу которого банк производит оплату по аккредитиву

4.3. Meaning Representation Strategies The definitions the respondents gave included a great deal of professional knowledge. Basic ways (strategies) of meaning representation used by both groups of participants are listed below. The Russian-speaking participants’ sample answers are given in translation.

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(1) the definition of the term: “dealer”/дилер x a person who is buying and selling goods or services for profit (Russian-speaking informant [RSI]) x someone who purchases and maintains an inventory of goods to be sold (English-speaking informant [ESI]) x somebody who organises the selling of a particular item (RSI) x a person who buys and sells shares (ESI) x someone whose job is buying and selling bonds and shares (ESI) x a person or company that is licensed to sell securities to the public (ESI). (2) Synonym replacement and cross-reference to one of the terms listed in the questionnaire: “dealer”/дилер x broker/trader, foreign exchange trader (ESI) ретейлер/“retailer” x similar to a broker or agent (ESI) x seller (RSI) трейдер/“trader” x same as stockbroker (RSI) ракетный ученый/“rocket scientist” x financial analyst (ESI). (3) Indication of the professional business sphere in which the term is used: бык/“bull” x a stock-market term (ESI) провайдер/“provider” x a person or company that provides a service. It is frequently used in health care to refer to hospitals (ESI). (4) The term’s context usage examples: ракетный ученый/“rocket scientist” x is usually used in the phrase “you don't need to be a rocket scientist to understand or do something” (ESI)

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x

normally used in the negative: “it is not rocket science,” “you don't need to be a rocket scientist to …,” meaning you don't have to be super-bright to understand a new situation or job or instruction (ESI)

(5) Marking some terms as restricted to one of the regional dialects (by English-speaking participants): комплаенс-контролер/“compliance controller” x possibly an Americanism—“quality controller” in English. A person who is responsible for maintaining the level of service or manufacture to agreed standards сток-джоббер/“stock-jobber” x British English? (6) Reference to the source language (by Russian participants): скальпер/“scalper” x I haven’t heard this word in Russian. In English it usually refers to someone who buys tickets to events and then “scalps” them for a profit бык/“bull” x translated from English: a person who counts on the growth of share prices on the stock market (7) Illustrative explanations: рейдер/“raider” x I think it is someone who is engaged in buying the company's assets in order to destroy and resell it subsequently (Richard Gere’s character in "Pretty Woman") (RSI) x The Rosneft company, which forced Yukos into bankruptcy and took over its assets (RSI).

4.4. Results The results of the study revealed some common and distinctive features in the terminological competence of the Russian and English-speaking participants. Almost half (11) of the loanwords adopted by the Russian language and their English counterparts were familiar to both groups. Thus, lexical items denoting equally relevant concepts for both groups of

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informants include: брокер (47)/“broker” (43), брэнд-менеджер (43)/“brand manager” (36), дилер (50)/“dealer” (36), девелопер (39)/“developer” (45), провайдер (47)/“provider” (32), ретейлер (34)/“retailer” (40), трейдер (42)/“trader” (44), дистрибьютор (26)/“distributor” (29), фрилансер (33)/“freelancer” (38), промоутер (26)/“promoter” (20), мерчандайзер (21)/“merchandiser” (27) (the numbers in parentheses are the informants who use the term quite frequently or sometimes). However, the participants pointed out different semantic components in some of them. Thus, the English-speaking economists described a “broker” as a person who buys and sells either goods, or services or shares, business interests, real estate, securities, or another commodity, whereas for the Russian economists the main semantic component in the meaning of the word “broker” was not the object a broker deals with but their place of work, which most of them indicated as being a “stock exchange.” This may be the reason why “real estate broker” would most likely be translated into Russian as реалтор (“realtor”). Idiomatic expressions (доктор компании/“company doctor,” акционер-диссидент/“dissident shareholder,” черный рыцарь/“black knight,” бизнес-ангел /“business angel,” and ракетный ученый/“rocket scientist”) which are widely used by both English-speaking and Russian business journalists turned out to be vaguely familiar to both groups of economists, though only a few English-speaking participants managed to guess the meanings of some of these idioms correctly. Interestingly enough, their Russian colleagues were unable to make accurate guesses about the meanings of most of the business idioms and marked most of them as unknown. The only metaphoric unit which is quite familiar to the economists of both groups was бык/“bull.” 17 RSI/12 ESI had come across this term, but did not know what it means; 5 RSI/14 ESI knew this term but never used it; and 3 RSI/10 ESI occasionally used this term. Four lexical units on the list seemed more familiar to the English respondents, as they have appeared in Russian quite recently and most of them denote area-specific concepts, such as скальпер/“scalper,” стейкхолдер/“stakeholder,” комплаенс-контролер/“compliance-controller,” and байер/“buyer.” An unexpected result of the study was that two words turned out to be more familiar to the Russian business graduates. These were: рейдер/“raider,” denoting, “an individual or corporate investor who intends either to take control of a company by buying a controlling interest in its stock and installing new management, or to make a quick profit by

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threatening to take control and selling the stock back” (Barron’s Dictionary of Business Terms 2007, 545–6); and гринмейлер/ “greenmailer,” used for people and companies trying to buy their, “stock from a suitor, often for a very high price, to try to prevent a takeover” (LBED 2007, 239). A quick Google search for these loan words in Russian produces quite a list of results (1,100,000 for рейдер and 6,810 for “greenmailer”). Presumably, these concepts are essential for the present Russian economic situation. The analysis of interpretation provided by the participants of both groups shows that approximately a quarter of the terms are interpreted in an identical fashion. The national component is manifested in revealing various distinctive components denoted by associations of concepts based on real-world business experience and knowledge. Most difficulties were caused by polysemous words used to talk about different business subjects. For example, fewer than half of the Russian respondents (23) and 16 English-speaking informants, including almost all experts in the field of transport services, express delivery and logistics, and use the term “provider” in a broad, industry-general meaning; in most cases it is synonymous with the term “supplier”: x an organisation that provides goods and services (RSI) x a legal entity carrying out the supply of material resources or the provision of services on a contract basis (RSI) x the service provider (RSI) x supplier (RSI) x supply company (RSI) x person/organisation/company providing service (ESI) x a company that supplies products or provides services for a particular group or in a particular area (ESI) x a person or organisation who takes responsibility for the provision of goods or services on behalf of another (ESI). Only a few of the Russian participants (8) gave a more narrow interpretation of the term: x a company that provides access to the global use of information systems, and the internet x a company that provides access to internet resources via a modem or high-speed technologies (ISP). Typically, the Russian-speaking informants provided a “combined” definition, incorporating both general business meaning and the

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explanation that the term may be used when talking about a particular subject: x a company that provides any services, most of all a company that provides users with access to the internet (e-mail hosting) x a legal entity that provides certain services; for example, the internet, or telephony. English-speaking respondents followed the same strategy, though indicating several business areas where this term might be used: x a person who provides a service, this term is widely used for those who provide internet access x a company that provides services; internet service providers x a person or company that provides a service. It is frequently used in healthcare to refer to physicians or hospitals x a person that provides a good or service. Often used to describe physicians as “providers” of healthcare. Thus, the interpretation of the term’s general business meaning can be considered similar, while its narrow industry-specific representations differed considerably. Similarly, unlike most of the English-speaking respondents who are more-or-less familiar with the meanings of polysemous terms, the Russian participants tended to define several of them in only one area-specific context. For instance, most use the word девелопер (“developer”) to denote a “company whose business is buying land and building on it” and the word стейкхолдер (“stakeholder”) as a synonym of the word “shareholder,” being unaware of their other senses. To sum up, Russian business graduates sometimes cannot accurately determine the meaning of lexical borrowings or have a different understanding of the economic concepts that are denoted by the borrowed terms. Naturally, this approach to terminological meaning determination cannot ascertain specialist conceptual knowledge to its full extent, as it does not allow the terms to activate the full resources of their meanings. According to Anderson and Naggy (1989), word meanings cannot usually be contained by either a definition or a series of semantic features. Although these may give some sense of a word’s meaning, context plays a large part in filling in the other information necessary to make use of that word. Therefore, a detailed sociolinguistic analysis of the actual usage of

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vocabulary, which may consider the cultural and situational context in which economic terms’ meanings emerge, is required. This may help to determine whether the meanings of certain loan words and their counterparts are similar or significantly/slightly different.

5. Conclusion In this article, a broad range of issues has been briefly introduced, including the differences in structural and semantic characteristics of economic term systems in Business English and Russian which pose major translation challenges and cause problems in vocabulary acquisition. Some problems confronting economics students and their language advisors may be common for ESP students of other countries, as English is the global lingua franca used in business communication today. Difficulties encountered by Russian learners, as reported in empirical studies, show that the main pedagogical emphasis should be on showing connections between the same business term or similar words used in different contexts and situations. The cross-disciplinary approach, which implies compacting of the curriculum in both English and Economics, is supposed to enhance the effects of ESP instruction. Apart from the challenges in vocabulary acquisition caused by disciplinary and stylistic variation in BE, many problems are connected with the integration of the most recent Anglicisms into Russian business and economic terminology. Typically, most of the new borrowings do not have corresponding equivalents in contemporary Russian, and explanatory translations in this case might be the only option, as students find it extremely difficult to determine their meanings. To get a real picture of the impact of Anglicisms on contemporary business Russian in the context of dynamic communication processes, a contrastive sociolinguistic study was carried out. It aimed at revealing some common and distinguishing features in the actual professional usage of lexical borrowings or loan translations denoting persons and their English-language prototypes. The terms were sorted into categories according to the frequency of usage and meaning representation strategies chosen by the informants of each language group. The reasons for lexicalsemantic loan words as well as specific communication problems arising because of violating the necessary correlation between the native and borrowed resources of language were examined, and the possible methods for their solution briefly discussed. At present, methodologists focus on developing students’ vocabulary by incorporating readings from a variety of sources and exercises with

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business-specific terminology. At the same time, university language advisors often find themselves working as ad hoc terminologists and terminographers to help students acquire the specialist lexis that they may require. The challenge of compiling a bilingual business language dictionary for upper-intermediate Russian learners of English is urgent and practical today, although it has not received much attention up to the present. The study also identified the need to create classroom applications aimed at the organisation of business vocabulary in such a way that it will give students insight into the field of economics from the native speaker’s view. Such experience may therefore be necessary as not only the culmination of content and language learning but also for the development of intercultural professional communicative competence. Linguistic, sociolinguistic, and corpus linguistic analyses should be considered in developing such applications.

References Anderson, R. C. and W. E. Naggy. 1989. Word Meanings. USA: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Baker, M. 1992. In Other Words: A Coursebook on Translation. London: Routledge. Bhatia, V. K. 1999. “Disciplinary Variation in Business English.” In Business English: Research into Practice, edited by M. Hewings and C. Nickerson, 129–43. Harlow: Addison Wesley Longman. Boers, F., and M. Demecheleer. 1997 “A Few Metaphorical Models in Western Economic Discourse.” In Discourse and Perspective in Cognitive Linguistics, edited by W. Libert, G. Redeker, and L. Waugh, 115–29. Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins. Boers, F. 2004. “Expanding Learners’ Vocabulary through Metaphor Awareness: What Expansion, What Learners, What Vocabulary?” In Cognitive Linguistics, Second Language Acquisition, and Foreign Language Teaching, edited by M. Archard, and S. Niemeier, 211– 32. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter. Curado Fuentes, A. 2000. “Exploitation and Assessment of a Business English Corpus through Language Learning Tasks.” www.uni.no/icame/ij26/curadofuen.pdf. Friedman, J. P. 2007. Dictionary of Business Terms 2007. Hauppauge, NY: Barron’s. Dubin, F., and D. Bycina. 1991. “Academic Reading and the EFL/ESL Teacher.” In Teaching English as a Second or Foreign Language,

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edited by M. Murcia, 195–215. New York: Heinle and Meinle Publishers. Dudley-Evans, T. and M. J. St. John. 1999. Developments in English for Specific Purposes: A Multi-Disciplinary Approach. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. —. 2006. “Report on Business English: A Review of Research and Published Teaching Materials.” TOEIC research report. http://www.ets.org/Media/Research/pdf/TOEIC-RR-02.pdf. Friedman, J. P. (ed.). 2007. Barons Dictionary of Business Terms 4th edition. USA: Barron's Educational Series. Fries, Ch. 1952. The Structure of English: An Introduction to the Construction of English Sentences. New York: Harcourt, Brace. Irgl, V. 1989. “Synonymy in the Language of Business and Economics.” In Special Language: From Humans Thinking to Thinking Machines, edited by C. Lauren and M. Nordman. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters. James, G., and J. Purchase. 1996. Corpus-based Lexical Analysis of English in Business Studies and Economics. Hong Kong: Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. Kakorina, Y. V. 2000. Inoyazychnoye slovo v uzuse 90-kh godov. Sovremenny russkiy yazyk. Moscow: Yazyki slavyanskoy kultury. Koller V. 2004. Metaphor and Gender in Business Media Discourse: A Critical Cognitive Study Description. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. Krashen, S. 1981. “The Case of Narrow Reading.” TESOL Newsletter 15 (23). Lado, R. 1961. Language Testing: The Construction and the Use of Foreign Language Tests. London: Longman. Bullon, S., and M. Murhpy. 2007. Longman Business English Dictionary. Harlow: Pearson Education Limited. Maximova, T. V. 2007. “English Loan Words in Contemporary Russian Speech.” Vestnik VSU Journal 2 (6). Mitireva, L. N. 2002. Psikholingvisticheskiy analiz neologizmov, zaimstvovannykh iz angliyskogo yazyka. Phd Thesis. Abstract. Moscow Nation, P. 1990 Teaching and Learning Vocabulary. New York: Newbury House. Nation, P., and R. Waring. 1997. “Vocabulary Size, Text Coverage and Word Lists.” In Vocabulary: Description, Acquisition, and Pedagogy, edited by N. Schmitt and M. McCarthy, 6–19. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Krysin, L. P. 2004. Inoyazychnoe slovo v kontekste obshchestvennoi zhizni konza XX veka. Russkoye slovo,

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svoye i chuzhoye. Moscow: Yazyli slavyanskoy kultury. Pickett, D. 1989. “The Sleeping Giant: Investigations in Business English.” Language International 1: 5–11. Pop, Anamaria M., and M. A. Sim. 2009. “The Use of Acronyms and Initialisms in Business English. Annals of the University of Oradea.” Economic Science Series 18 (1): 557–62. Radosavljević, M. 2010. “Contrastive View of Polysemous and Homonymous Terms in Business English Jargon.” www.civitas.fpps.edu.rs/03/article/pdf/Civitas03_article03.pdf. Schmitt, N. 2007. Vocabulary in Language Teaching. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Skorczynska-Sznajder, H. 2010. “A Corpus-Based Evaluation of Metaphors in a Business English Textbook.” English for Specific Purposes 29 (1): 30–42. Stockwell, R., J. Bowen, and J. Martin. 1965. The Grammatical Structures of English and Spanish. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR THE EFFECTS OF TEACHERS’ CARING BEHAVIOUR ON STUDENTS’ LEARNING IN AN EFL CLASS IN HIGHER EDUCATION SEDEN TUYAN

1. Introduction Affective variables have a significant influence on language achievement (Gardner 1985; Skehan 1989; Spolsky 1989; Gardner and MacIntyre 1992; 1993). The teacher-student relationship is considered to be one of those affective variables. Also, affect and cognition are both part of the learner’s whole-person development. Any classroom situation is stimulated by the relationship between learning and affect, but with language learning this is especially fundamental since our self-image is more vulnerable when we don’t express ourselves using the language (Arnold, 2011). Furthermore, as Williams (1994, 77) points out: there is no question that learning a foreign language is different to learning other subjects. This is mainly because of the social nature of such a venture. Language, after all, belongs to a person’s whole social being; it is part of one’s side. One key assumption which is often made about teacherstudent relationship is that teachers’ behavior affects students’ behavior.

In this respect, Teven and McCroskey (1996, 1) suggest that, “the more that students perceive their teacher cares about them, the more the students will care about the class, and the more likely they will be to pay attention in class and consequently learn more course material.” The related researches on teacher caring consistently reveal positive effects on relationships and student learning (Pianta 1992; Perez 2000; Teven 2003; 2007a; Wentzel 1997). According to Teven (2001), university instructors who display friendly manners and interact with students are perceived as caring by students. Gay (2000, 62) states that, “caring teachers are

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distinguished by their high performance expectations, advocacy, and empowerment of students as well as by their use of pedagogical practices that facilitate school success.” Besides which, the three factors advanced which are believed likely to lead students to perceive the teacher as caring about their welfare are emphaty, understanding, and responsiveness (McCroskey 1992).

2. Literature Review 2.1. Second/Foreign Language Learning and Humanism Many individual differences, such as intelligence, aptitude, personality, motivation, and anxiety, have been recognised as contributing to successful second or foreign language learning. With the development of humanistic psychology, which tried to take a holistic approach to learners, the tendency to focus on individuals' emotions and feelings increased. Maslow (1971) suggested that cognitive and aesthetic goals leading to self-actualisation could not be achieved if human physiological needs, the need for safety and security, the need for belonging, and the need for selfesteem hadn’t been satisfied. Rogers (1969) claimed that learning should take place in a supportive environment in which teachers worked collaboratively with their students to achieve mutual goals. He also believed that teachers should seek to create emotionally warm, supportive environments in which students came to “love” learning. Humanistic Language Teaching (HLT) was one of the outstanding movements in language teaching and a type of language education approach, whose prominent proponents were Gattegno (1972), Curran (1972), Moskowitz (1978), and Stevick (1990). This approach views the learner as a whole person who has physical, emotional, and social features as well as cognitive features (Tenemura & Miura, 2011) (all cited in Mehrgan, 2012). Accordingly, Stevick (1980, 4) argued that, "[language learning] success depends less on materials, techniques and linguistic analyses, and more on what goes on inside and between the people in the classroom." As stated by Moscowitz (1978, 109, in Mehrgan 2012, 186): in both the humanistic-psychological approach and the communicative approach, learners are seen not so much as full-time linguistic objects at whom language teaching is aimed, but rather as human individuals whose personal dignity and integrity, and the complexity of whose ideas, thoughts, needs, and sentiments, should be respected. Foreign language teachers must contribute to the self-actualizing process.

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These views in humanist psychology led to the introduction of humanistic principles into the educational system in general, and language teaching in particular (Kerr 2007, in Mehrgan 2012, 186). The fundamental tenets of humanistic education are: (1) Personal growth, including realising one's full potential, is one of the primary goals of education (2) The development of human values is another (3) The learner should be engaged affectively (i.e. emotionally) as well as intellectually (4) Behaviours that cause anxiety or stress should be avoided (5) Learners should be actively involved in the learning process (6) Learners can, and should, take responsibility for their own learning

2.2. Noddings’ Perspective in Caring As defined by Noddings (1992, 15), “a caring relation is, in its most basic form, a connection or encounter between two human beings,” and requires the contribution of both parties. Otherwise, when the connection is broken, caring does not come about. This type of broken connection can easily be seen in the teacher-student relation if one side rejects acknowledging the other. For this reason, teachers need to take a genuine interest to get to know their students beyond their academic settings and build up mutually beneficial relationships with them (Pang 2005). Stern (1983, 386) wrote that, “the affective component contributes at least as much and often more to language learning than the cognitive skills.” However, teachers’ paying sole attention to affect does not mean that they are less concerned with cognition. Noddings (1984), putting an emphasis on the need to study caring, tries to provide an adequate model of the relational nature of a teaching and learning process, since caring can serve as the fundamental basis for learners’ intellectual development. Related to this, Vygotsky’s (1978) theory serves to define intellectual development as happening within social contexts. In particular, his socioconstructivist perspective on learning has changed the role of a teacher from an authoritative figure to that of a coach or facilitator (Leki 1990), and thus research on teacher and learner has shifted its focus from the causal relationship between teacher and student to the nature of the relationship between teacher and student. In spite of the fact that Vygotsky highlighted the part of the affective dimension in teaching and learning from a relational perspective, this matter was not entirely addressed until Nodding’s study (1984). Because

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the nature of teaching and learning involves a very complex interpersonal relationship between teacher and learner (Goldstein 1999), a caring encounter between them is a prerequisite for creating the greatest zone of proximal development. This caring makes the most essential scaffolding available for any kind of learning to occur. Moreover, as Noddings (1984, 178) asserted, caring is a necessary call for teachers because encounters with their students are aimed at nurturing and helping them grow. According to her, a caring teacher has two major tasks: “to stretch the student’s world by presenting an effective selection of the world with which she is in contact, and to work cooperatively with the student in his struggle toward competence in that world.” In Noddings’ view, dialogue is an essential channel for connecting teachers with students, as well as maintaining and enhancing a caring relationship between teacher and student. However, in discussing the relation between teacher and student, the connection between caring and power or control is a concern. In a caring relationship, the teacher and the student work together, and “this working together … produces joy in the relation and increasing competence in the cared-for” (Noddings 1984, 177–8). In the best situation, both the teacher and the student should mutually experience pleasure; however, because of the characteristically unequal relationship between teacher and student, it seems very challenging for a teacher to remain influential but noncontrolling over students. When the teacher presents the world to the student with a gesture of interference, the student does not receive the teacher (Noddings 1984).

3. The Aim of the Study Comprehending the literature reviewed, whilst being aware of the fact that related research on teacher caring consistently reveals positive effects on relationships and student learning, I aimed to explore the possible positive effects of a caring teacher-student relationship on language learning. For this purpose, both as a language teacher who has been teaching English for more than 20 years and a researcher in the ELT field, I collected data from my students on their perceptions of teacher caring using a two-part questionnaire with a Likert scale and open-ended questions developed by Jasin (2010). The data of this study also consist of related semi-structured student interviews and my own reflections on my teaching experience about positive teacher-student interaction, specifically teacher caring and its effects on language learning.

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4. Methodology 4.1. Participants The participants of this study were 14 students in an EFL class at YADYO, School of Foreign Languages at Çukurova University, Turkey. Their ages ranged from 19–24. They were ELT Department students who had enrolled in YADYO for one-year prep education in English. Their level of English was intermediate. Their course load was 20 hours a week and I was their language teacher for 10 hours a week.

4.2. Instruments 4.2.1. Student Questionnaire The last two parts of the three-part questionnaire, with both Likert scale and open-ended questions developed by Jasin (2010, Appendix E, 129– 33), were used for the purpose of this study. The questions in the first part of the student questionnaire were intended to find out which of the teacher’s behaviour and uses of language indicate the presence of caring. With this 15-question Likert scale, each question provided the participants with a four-point response range: (1) not important, (2) somewhat important, (3) important, (4) very important. The questions were based on the categorised results of a study conducted by Wentzel (1997). Wentzel’s categories included four themes: (1) “Modelling” focuses on the teacher’s observable care for their teaching (2) “Democratic interactions” focuses on open and reciprocal lines of communication, listening, engaging, dialogue, honest, fair, and equitable treatment of all students, and keeping promises (3) “Expectations based on individuality” focuses on the students’ nonacademic life, genuine interest in their problems, and recognition of their unique interests, contributions, talents, and abilities (4) “Nurturance” focuses on teachers’ formal and informal evaluation of student work, including specific and thoughtful feedback with praise and/or effort. (in Jasin 2010, 42–3) The second part of the questionnaire consisted of open-ended questions intended to, “capture vignettes about how they knew that their teachers cared for them at school” (Jasin 2010, 43). The participants were asked to

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think of two different times that the teacher was caring towards them and describe in detail what the teacher said and did to let them know that she cared. I administered and collected the questionnaires during one class period. I also asked the students not to write their names or reveal their identities in any of the responses. 4.2.2. Semi-structured Student Interview The semi-structured interview explored the participants’ responses to the first part of the questionnaire to ask for some additional information on the positive effects of their perceptions of my caring behaviour and uses of language regarding their language learning experience. The interviews were held in my office in a friendly atmosphere and lasted for 20 to 25 minutes. During the interviews, I took detailed notes. 4.2.3. My Reflections According to Schön (1983), an effective practitioner reflects on their strengths and weaknesses to develop a repertoire of experience after the event has taken place. A reflection is something that allows teachers to look at themselves and decide to accept what they have done or change it. As the researcher of this study, I reflected on my teaching experience in my class related to my caring teaching behaviour and use of language and their possible positive effects on my students’ language learning experience.

5. Results 5.1 Results of the Student Questionnaires Table 24.1 below presents the number and percentages of the students.

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Table 24.1. Teacher behaviour and uses of language to convey caring, ranked by students in percentages

1

2

3

4

5

6

Teacher’s behaviour and use of language indicate caring Teacher makes an effort to teach lessons in an exciting way Teacher makes an effort to provide different kinds of learning activities that I can choose from Teacher makes class fun Teacher calls on me in class to answer questions and/or share my ideas Teacher takes the time to really listen to what I have to say Teacher is honest and tells the truth

Not important

Somewhat Important

Important

Very Important

n

%

n

%

n

%

n

%

0

0

0

0

5

35.7

9

64.3

0

0

0

0

5

35.7

9

64.3

0

0

2

14.3

9

64.3

3

21.4

0

0

0

0

6

42.8

8

57.2

0

0

0

0

5

35.7

9

64.3

0

0

1

7.1

2

14.3

11

78.6

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7

8

9

10

11 12

13

14

Teacher asks what's wrong and is willing to talk with me about my problems Teacher asks me if I need help and takes time to make sure I understand Teacher checks my work and provides me with written and/or verbal comments about it Teacher tells me when I do a good job and praises my efforts The teacher's rules are fair Teacher is fair and consistent when enforcing rules Teacher shares stories about their own life and personal interests Regarding my learning, the teacher knows my strengths

0

0

0

0

7

50.0

7

50.0

0

0

2

14.3

2

14.3

10

71.4

1

7.1

1

7.1

2

14.3

10

71.4

0

0

1

7.1

3

21.4

10

71.4

0

0

0

0

5

35.7

9

64.3

1

7.1

0

0

6

42.8

7

50.0

0

0

7

50.0

6

42.8

1

7.1

1

7.1

0

0

4

28.6

9

64.3

416

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and weaknesses Teacher takes the time to talk with me about my interests, family, and friends

1

7.1

5

35.7

4

28.6

4

28.6

As seen in Table 24.1 above, along with the students’ responses, out of the 15 statements 8 received the highest importance, with 100% of respondents indicating that it was important or very important. According to my students’ identification, a caring teacher makes an effort to teach the lessons in an exciting way (statement 1) and provide different kinds of learning activities that the students can choose from (statement 2). This kind of teacher calls on the students in class to answer questions and/or share their ideas (statement 4), takes time to listen to what the students have to say (statement 5), and asks what’s wrong and is willing to talk with the students about their problems (statement 7). Besides, as identified by my students, a caring teacher’s rules are fair (statement 11) and they are also fair and consistent when enforcing rules (statement 12). Statement 14, “Regarding my learning, the teacher knows my strengths and weaknesses,” was also perceived to be of 100% importance to my students. In all, 93% indicated that it was important or very important for the teacher to tell them when they do a good job and praise their efforts (statement 10) and be honest and tell the truth (statement 6); 86 % pointed out that they perceived their teacher as “caring” when they asked if they needed help and made sure if they understood (statement 8). The same percentage of the students also considered the teacher’s checking work and commenting verbally about it (statement 9) and making the class fun (statement 3) as “caring.” The least important statement for the students, as shown in Table 24.1, was, “Teacher shares stories about their own life and personal interests” (statement 13), with 50% indicating it was important or very important. The students in my class also reported statement 15 as not important when compared to the other statements (57%). This result shows that students’ perceptions of caring are noticeably related to academics and achievement when considering the fact that the students only indicated statements 13 and 15, which are more about the personal and social lives of both students and teachers, as the least important.

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Part 2 of the questionnaire consisted of open-ended responses. In this part, I asked my students to describe what I did or said that was caring in detail. Table 24.2 below displays the themes that emerged during content analysis, indicating the frequency of each theme across all of the openended responses. Table 24.2. Thematic frequencies of open-ended responses from student questionnaires Themes Sensitive towards our personal and academic needs Active listener Empathetic and understanding Kind but firm Gives constructive, specific feedback Activities are fun, lessons are not boring Friendly, cheerful, humorous Positive and motivating Available in her room, on the phone Helpful inside and outside the class Tolerant and flexible Time outside class, devoted Modest Fair and consistent Shares her memories, experience about a related subject Respectful towards personal and cultural differences

Frequency (f) 6 7 10 3 8 12 5 6 4 13 5 12 2 3 1 3

The findings from the student questionnaire (Part 1 and Part 2) suggest that the perceptions of my students about a caring teacher are congruent to my teacher characteristics in terms of caring. In other words, most of my behaviour captures my students’ understanding of caring. For example, my students like our democratic interactions (Wentzel 1997) based on fair treatment, being listened to and understood in our relationship, my efforts to teach my lessons in a more exciting way and make the class fun, including my cheerful, friendly, humorous personality, my interest about their skills and abilities, my constructive feedback, my genuine interest in their personal and academic problems, and even my sharing stories about my own interests and life.

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5.2. Semi-structured Student Interview In the semi-structured interview, the students were asked to reflect upon the statements according to the degree of importance they gave them, starting from the ones which received the highest importance (important/very important, 100%, 93%, 86%, 57%, and 50%). They were mainly asked to relate their perceptions of a caring teacher to my teacher characteristics and talk about the positive effects of what I did and said as their language teacher to their language-learning experience. The answers given by the students were subjected to content analysis and the following positive effects related to language learning were prevalent among the student responses: x x x x x x x x x x x

Active participation Self-motivation to learn English Regular attendance Enthusiasm towards learning English Better learning and achievement High receptiveness High interest Overcoming anxiety Comfort in speaking, reading comprehension, listening and writing Autonomy Collaboration.

The data elicited from the semi-structured interview revealed clearly that caring teacher behaviours have positive effects on students’ languagelearning experience.

5.3. My Reflections From my point of view, a language teacher’s performance in class certainly affects students’ language learning and achievement. Being a lecturer in a preparatory school of English at a university, I am aware of the fact that some lecturers consider their professional skills solely, neglecting their teaching methodology and students’ affective experience. In my opinion, as a language instructor at a university, a positive teacherstudent relationship can make magical contributions not only to students’ language learning and achievement but also to teachers’ performance in language teaching. University students are considered grown-ups. I believe, regardless of their age, that students deserve to be cared for and

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nurtured with humanistic values such as love, respect, tolerance, and understanding. For this reason: x In order to motivate my students towards better language learning, I always try to consider my students’ needs both as human beings and language learners x With the aim of having a harmonious and dynamic language classroom, I try to lead a warm atmosphere in which students can feel more comfortable and less anxious towards language learning x I meet the students outside the class. We sometimes go to the cinema to see a feature film or have a chat in a café to get to know one another better and strengthen our relationship x My modest behaviour attracts my students’ attention and makes me more approachable. It is never difficult for my students to reach me when they have personal and academic problems x I listen to the students’ problems actively and attentively, and try to show that I care for their effective language learning x I always encourage them to persevere in the face of difficulty and do their best in everything they do, including language learning x I am also honest and always tell the truth kindly and openly before it is too late and it hinders our interaction x Our interaction is always democratic in the way they express their personal opinions and needs and offer suggestions freely, as long as they consider my rights as their teacher and their classmates’ rights as their learning partners x I also try to capture their attention by using various activities from different sources, using music and teaching songs in English, and talking about my personal stories as well as current daily news and world events x Most of my efforts pay off immediately in class. Thanks to my caring relations with my students, I almost never experience discipline problems. The minor ones I experience can be solved over time with the help of my caring approach. This might be because my students pay extra attention to not hurt and/or disappoint me because they also care for me. They sometimes say that even they study English and try to pass their exams to make me a happier teacher.

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6. Conclusion The results of this study are consistent with Noddings’ (1984) assertions about what constitutes a caring communication in class. The overall conclusion we can draw from the results of this study is that a positive teacher student-teacher relationship, and more specifically caring teacher behaviours, play an important role in EFL learners’ language-learning experiences. Therefore, the main implication of this study is that language teachers should take into consideration the role of the affective experience as well as their professional skills and teaching methodology in students’ language-learning process and practice behaviour that demonstrates caring in order to achieve a better learning outcome in class. With this idea in mind, it should never be forgotten that it is the emotional life of teachers and students in the class that makes teaching and learning possible. This study is limited by the context it was conducted in and the number of students who participated. Yet, it served its purpose in expanding the understanding of how teacher caring functions in an EFL classroom.

References Arnold, J. 2011. “Attention to Affecting Language Learning.” Anglistik. International Journal of English Studies 22 (1): 11–22. Gay, G. 2000. Culturally Responsive Teaching. New York: Teachers College Press. Gardner, R. C. 1985. Social Psychology and Language Learning: The Role of Attitudes and Motivation. London: Edward Arnold. Gardner, R. C., and P. D. MacIntyre. 1992. “A Student's Contribution to Second Language Learning. Part I: Cognitive Variables.” Language Teaching 25: 211–20. —. 1993. “A Student's Contributions to Second-language Learning: Part II. Affective Variables.” Language Teaching 26: 1–11. Gattegno, C. 1972. Teaching Foreign Languages at School. The Silent Way. USA: Educational Solutions Worldwide, Inc. Goldstein, L. 1999. “The Relational Zone: The Role of Caring Relationships in the Co-construction of Mind.” American Educational Research Journal 36: 647–73. Jasin, D. D. 2010. "Early Adolescents' Perceptions of their Teachers' Caring Behaviors and Why it Matters to Them" January 1. Dissertations available from ProQuest. Paper AAI3410484.

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Leki, I. 1990. “Coaching from the Margins: Issues in Written Response.” In Second Language Writing: Research Insights for the Classroom, edited by B. Kroll, 57–68. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Maslow, A. 1971. A Farther Reaches of Human Nature. New York: Viking. McCroskey, J. C. 1992. An Introduction to Communication in the Classroom. Edina, MN: Burgess International. Mehrgan, K. 2012. “Humanistic Language Teaching: A Critical Look.” Advances in Digital Media ADMM 1 (4) 184–8. Noddings, N. 1984. Caring: A Feminine Approach to Ethics and Moral Education. Berkeley: University of California Press. —. 1992. The Challenge to Care in Schools: An Alternative Approach to Education. New York: Teachers College. —. 2001. “The Caring Teacher.” In Handbook of Research on Teaching 4 ed., edited by V. Richardson, 99–105. New York: Macmillan. Curran, C. A. 1972. Counseling-learning: A Whole-person Model for Education. New York: Grune & Stratton. Pang, V.O. 2005 Multicultural Education: a Caring-centered, Reflective Approach. Boston: McGraw-Hill. Perez, S. A. 2000. “An Ethic of Caring in Teaching Culturally Diverse Students.” Education 121 (1): 101–5. Pianta, R. C. 1992. “Conceptual and Methodological Issues in Research on Relationships Between Children and Nonparental Adults.” In Beyond the Parent: The Role of Other Adults in Children’s Lives, edited by R. C. Pianta San Francisco: Josey-Bass. Rogers, C. R. 1969. Freedom to Learn. Columbus, OH: Charles Merrill. Schön, D. 1983 The Reflective Practitioner. How Professionals Think in Action. London: Temple Smith. Skehan, P. 1989. Individual Differences in Second-language Learning. London, Arnold. Spolsky, B. 1989. Conditions for Second Language Learning: Introduction to a General Theory. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Stern, H. H. 1983. Fundamental Concepts of Language Teaching. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Stevick, E. W. 1980. Teaching Languages: a Way and Ways. Rowley, M.A.: Newbury House. Teven, J., and J. McCroskey. 1996. “The Relationship of Perceived Teacher Caring with Student Learning and Teacher Evaluation.” Paper presented at the 82nd Annual Meeting of the Speech Communication Association, San Diego, CA.

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Teven, J. 2001. “The Relationship Among Teacher Characteristics and Perceived Caring.” Communication Education 50: 159–69. —. 2003. “Caring Teachers: An Ethnography of Effective Teacher Behavior Inside and Outside of the College Classroom.” Iowa Journal of Communication 35: 233–56. —. 2007a. “Teacher Caring and Classroom Behavior: Relationships with Student Affect, Teacher Evaluation, Teacher Competence, and Trustworthiness.” Communication Quarterly 55: 433–50. Vygotsky, L. 1978. Mind in Society: The Development of Higher Psychological Processes. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Wentzel, K. 1997. “Student Motivation in Middle School: The Role of Perceived Pedagogical Caring.” Journal of Educational Psychology 89: 411–19. Williams, M. 1994. “Motivation in Foreign and Second Language Learning: An Interactive Perspective.” Educational Psychology 91: 76–97.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE FROM ESP TO CLIL: DESIGNING MATERIALS FOR THE UNIVERSITY CLASSROOM MARINA TZOANNOPOULOU

1. Introduction English for Specific Purposes (ESP) is the term that has traditionally been used to refer to courses which aim at teaching the English language necessary for specific situations, mostly related to academic or occupational settings. ESP has a long tradition dating from the 1960s, and over the years there have been several changing trends and developments in the field, mainly connected to three key areas: needs analysis, language analysis, and materials/methodology (Belcher 2009; Dudley-Evans and St John 1998; Hutchinson and Waters 1987). Strevens (1988), in one of the most widely used definitions of ESP, points out that it addresses the needs of the learners and is closely related to the content of particular scientific fields, occupations, and activities. Similarly, in an attempt to highlight the differences between general English and ESP, Dudley-Evans and St John (1998) have offered a perspective which shows English Language Teaching (ELT) as a continuum that ranges from general English to ESP (Table 25.1).

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Table 25.1. Continuum of ELT course types (Dudley-Evans and St John 1998, 9) GENERAL Position 1 English for Beginners

Position 2 Intermediate to Advanced English for General Purposes courses focusing on particular skills

Position 3 English for General Academic Purposes or English for General Business Purposes based on common core language and skills not related to particular fields of study or professions

Position 4 Courses for broad disciplinary or professional areas (e.g. Report Writing for Scientists and Engineers)

SPECIFIC Position 5 (1) An “academic support” course related to a particular academic course (2) One-toone work with business people

It is evident from the table 25.1 above that only in position 5 does the course become really specific. The course can focus on the specific needs of the situation and the students involved, and implement authentic materials of the particular discipline. Moreover, in order to clarify the confusion about what should and should not be considered ESP, Dudley-Evans and St John (1998) have provided a description of the approach by listing absolute and variable characteristics of ESP. More specifically, the main difference between ESP and general English lies in the premise that ESP caters for the needs of learners in specific academic fields other than the arts and languages. In addition, ESP makes use of the underlying methodology and activities of the disciplines it serves and exploits the language (lexis, grammar, register), skills, discourse, and genres relevant to those activities. On the other hand, the variable characteristics are that ESP courses may be related or designed for specific scientific fields and may use a different methodology than that of general English. Furthermore, ESP courses are

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designed mostly for students in a higher institution or professional setting, and students are generally assumed to have a basic knowledge of English. Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) has been defined as, “a dual-focused approach in which an additional language is used for the learning and teaching of both content and language” (Maljers, Marsh, and Wolff 2007, 8). CLIL is seen as a response to the European need for multicultural education, one of its main characteristics being that its major aim is communication rather than producing balanced multilinguals, as opposed to other approaches. The general idea is, “that multiple language proficiency is an ‘added value’ which can be obtained at no cost to other skills and knowledge, if properly designed” (Baetens Beardsmore 2002, 23). CLIL has been widely used in primary and secondary education and there are a growing number of European institutions that are implementing CLIL at the tertiary level. The European Higher Education Area (EHEA) has presented the following objectives for European Universities which also seem to support the idea of language learning and CLIL at university level (Räisänen 2008). These include: (a) to attract national and international students (b) to enhance the institutional profile of the university (c) to develop plurilingualism, and intercultural competence (d) to promote academic, research and professional networking (e) to enhance economic and cultural collaboration with other countries and companies (f) to develop intercultural expertise. Thus, it seems that all the above grounds underlie the implementation of CLIL at the tertiary level. CLIL is a generic term as it describes, “all types of provision in which a second language (a foreign, regional or minority language and/or another official state language) is used to teach certain subjects in the curriculum other than language lessons themselves” (Eurydice 2006, 8). It is well documented in the relevant literature (Fortanet-Gómez 2013) that CLIL draws from other approaches such as immersion programs, bilingual education, content-based instruction, or sheltered content instruction. However, it possesses some unique features, primarily that CLIL is mainly used for the teaching and learning of foreign languages. It is usually adopted in countries where the students use the same L1 but do not have the opportunity to use the target language outside the classroom (DaltonPuffer 2011). Secondly, language and content are integrated in a balanced

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way. The focus is not mainly on the language, as it would be in a language class, or exclusively on the subject matter, as it would be in the case of a content class. Both language and content are expected to receive equal emphasis (Coyle, Hood, and Marsh 2010). Moreover, four key principles (4Cs) have been established as being of paramount importance in CLIL (Coyle 1999): (1) Successful content learning and the internalisation of knowledge and skills through an additional language. The close relationship between language and content requires careful consideration into how content is taught via another language. This would demand a focus on the use of language and methodologies of teaching, with interaction and output being essential (De Bot 2002). (2) Language use leads to learning and communication. Authentic situations are the most desirable for learning, with occasional “scaffolding” when needed. (3) CLIL should activate cognitive processing, thereby enabling learners to develop thinking skills alongside language. (4) CLIL should increase intercultural awareness through learning about other cultures in an additional language. (5) Finally, another characteristic of CLIL is that it promotes collaborative learning; learners are found to achieve better learning results when working in groups. (Jacobs and McCafferty 2006) A careful analysis of the development of Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) shows that although it appeared almost 30 years after the emergence of ESP, it shares a common driving force in the dominant role of English as the international language of communication and the growing demands of global economy. Recent research on CLIL points to the common features shared by both approaches. Räisänen (2008, 5), in a report on a LANGUA subproject on CLIL, claims that, “CLIL should be seen as a continuum of various pedagogical approaches which aim to facilitate learning,” and goes on to describe this continuum as consisting of 6 steps: (1) Non-CLIL: no concern for language learning, no pedagogical collaboration between language and content teachers (2) Language for Special Purposes (LSP)/Discipline-based language teaching: language specialists offering discipline-specific language teaching to support learning; no systematic collaboration with content teachers

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(3) Pre-CLIL (language): pre-sessional teaching of language to support students’ learning of the content; possible collaboration between language and subject specialist; language-learning outcomes specified according to content learning needs (4) Pre-CLIL (content): course programs provided by content specialists; language learning expected due to exposure; outcomes not specified; implicit aims and criteria; collaboration between language and subject specialist rare (5) Adjunct-CLIL: language support integrated in content studies, which takes place simultaneously; joint planning between teachers; specified outcomes for both content and language (6) CLIL: fully dual approach and full integration of language across content teaching by subject teacher or through team teaching; specified outcomes for both content and language. It is clear from the above description that an important step in the CLIL continuum is LSP or discipline-based teaching which in Table 25.1 is placed in position 5, “an academic support course related to a particular academic course.” Indeed, previous research has also highlighted the relationship between ESP and Content-based Instruction (CBI), upon which CLIL draws (Dalton-Puffer and Smit 2007). Coyle, Hood, and Marsh (2010), for example, point out that both CBI and CLIL focus on integrating content and language. Grabe and Stoller (1997, 16) also state that, “English for Specific purposes (ESP) and advanced disciplinary English for Academic Purposes (EAP) contexts provide additional support for advanced level CBI programs.” Moreover, recent research points to the beneficial effect of CLIL in the teaching of ESP as it involves meaningful and authentic language processing (Butkiene and Vilkanciene 2005; Kasper 2000; Orna Montesinos 2006). There are, however, some key differences in these two approaches, mostly related to objectives and learning outcomes. CLIL is mostly a content-driven approach where content-led objectives are of equal or sometimes of more importance to language-learning objectives, whereas ESP is language-led and language-learning objectives constitute the driving force. Furthermore, in CLIL there is more tolerance of the use of L1 and code-switching. Finally, CLIL teachers are usually subject specialists with an appropriate level of proficiency in the target language. In ideal situations, team teaching is carried out where subject and language specialists work together for better results (Jacobs 2007; Räisänen 2004). On the other hand, a typical ESP teacher is a language teacher who usually teaches independently (e.g. through a language centre affiliated to their

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university) and only occasionally co-operates with subject specialists for the selection of materials and the methodology used, such a situation taking place in domain-specific departments within an institution (e.g. computer science) which employ their own ESP staff (Fortanet-Gómez and Räisänen 2008). Bearing in mind that there seem to be more points of convergence than divergence between CLIL and ESP, the present study pursues a twofold objective. First, it presents an attempt to incorporate principles of the CLIL approach in the materials design of an ESP course in a Greek institution. Second, it examines, by means of a questionnaire, the attitudes of students towards the content-based ESP course and the implementation of CLIL on a larger scale.

2. ESP at the School of Journalism and Mass Communications ESP courses in Greece usually run for one semester, and are either obligatory or elective depending on the department. ESP is usually a separate subject taught independently using specially created ESP materials. The ESP program at the School of Journalism and Mass Communications of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki has been running since its establishment in 1992, with the general aim of fostering the presence of foreign languages in the curriculum and preparing future journalists and mass media professionals for an international/multilingual workplace. Special provision was made to include an LSP unit in three languages—English, French and German—and the School employs academic staff to teach these courses. Three ESP/EAP courses are offered: English for Academic Purposes, the core course, and two electives, English for Journalists I and English for Journalists II. The number of students enrolled in the courses are 140 per semester, divided into two groups. The courses assume a good knowledge of basic English (B1 to B2 levels), and they run for a duration of 39 hours each (over 13 weeks). The ESP courses also cater for the needs of Erasmus and international students who visit the school through various bilateral agreements. What should be mentioned here is that the school, alongside its Greek program, also runs a CLIL program in English which caters for the needs of exchange students in particular; Greek students have only recently been given the opportunity to attend these courses and receive the equivalent credits. A diversion should be made here regarding the use of the term CLIL in higher education. The relevant literature on English-medium instruction in tertiary education includes terms such as CLIL (Dalton-Puffer, Nikula, and

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Smit 2010), English-medium instruction (Hellekjaer 2010), and ICLHE or Integrating Content and Language in Higher Education (Wilkinson and Zegers 2007). More recently, focusing on the increasing use of English in higher education globally, the term English-Medium Education in Multilingual University Settings (EMEMUS) has been proposed (Dafouz and Smit 2014). Some studies use these terms interchangeably (Doiz, Lasagabaster, and Sierra 2011), while others differentiate between them, pointing to their different focuses. In this respect, CLIL focuses on the learning and teaching of both content and language though an additional language (Coyle, Hood, and Marsh 2010, 1). ICLHE also falls under the CLIL conceptualisation, while English-medium instruction (EMI) is seen as involving content learning only (Unterberger and Wilhelmer 2011). In the present paper, the terms CLIL and English-medium instruction (EMI) will be used interchangeably following Smit and Dafouz’s (2012, 4) recommendations, which state that while the distinction between CLIL and EMI, “clarifies the pedagogical model adopted, the notion of content and language integration can also be interpreted with regard to discursive classroom practices, whereby the interactants co-construct meaning and their topics.” English-medium instruction in Greece is still a novelty as Greece lags behind its European counterparts in the implementation of the CLIL approach (Eurydice 2012). Indeed, the CLIL program offered by the School of Journalism is one of the first official attempts to launch CLIL in Greek tertiary education. The school’s interest in promoting internationalisation by introducing an English-medium program in order to widen the options for both exchange and domestic students has prompted the researcher to use features of the CLIL approach in the materials design of the ESP courses, as CLIL has shown its wide applicability across national contexts and at all educational levels (Smit and Dafouz 2012). In addition, CLIL has been reported to produce very good results for the learning of foreign languages, especially English, in countries such as Sweden (Räisänen 2008) or the Netherlands (Wilkinson 2004) where universities have adopted the integration of content and language in postgraduate courses.

2.1. ESP/EAP course design Three ESP/EAP courses are currently offered to the students: (1) English for Academic Purposes: core course, duration 39 hours, delivered during the second semester. Its basic aim is to help students

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achieve what Cummins (1979) calls Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency (CALP). CALP refers to the deeper-level language proficiency which is essential for dealing with abstract, academic situations and involves the development of academic literacy skills. Students practice academic reading and writing skills and learn how to take notes, write assignments, cite and attribute sources, and give oral presentations. Special attention is paid to modality, passivisation, hedging, and domain-specific lexis. (2) English for Journalists I: elective course, duration 39 hours, years 2 to 4. The course starts with an overview of the current state of English as the international/global language. This overview enables the students to realise the current dominant position of English in journalism, communication, and mass media and emphasises the need to achieve domain-specific academic literacy in these areas of specialisation. It includes two modules: (a) the print media (newspapers and magazines), and (b) the broadcast media (radio and television). The module on the print media introduces journalistic guidelines and techniques in relation to story structure, writing style, and news values, and focuses on language varieties, newspaper language, and the Associated Press stylebook. News and feature story writing is practiced. The second module introduces characteristics of broadcast news and also focuses on conventions and techniques related to copy-writing style, and presents some elements of phonology useful to anchoring. Script writing for news bulletins is also practised (see Tzoannopoulou (in press) for the materials design of English for Journalists I following the CLIL approach). (3) English for Journalists II: Table 25.2 below presents an outline of this course followed by an analysis of the materials design for which some of the basic principles of CLIL were used. The new materials for this course following the 4 Cs Framework (Coyle 1999) were first introduced in the 2013–14 academic year.

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Table 25.2. Course description (the English for Journalists I and II courses were developed and taught by Asst. Prof. Mary Valiouli, ESP teacher at the School of Journalism from 1998–2013) Course

Topics Interviewing (Writing personality profiles for the print media)

English for Journalists II

Content Journalistic guidelines and techniques related to interviewing Linguistic, paralinguistic and extra-linguistic elements contributing to the establishment and maintenance of rapport between the interviewer and the interviewee The function and timing of various categories and/or types of questions and probes

Elective, 39 hours, years 2 to 4, Number of students: 70 Objectives Developing interviewing techniques and an understanding of conversational routines Understanding the function and timing of various categories of questions and probes in the interviewing process Developing the skills necessary to write a profile for the print media

The role of paraphrasing and simplifying, and of (partial) quotations in profiles for the print media Talk, Interview, and Discussion Programs

Journalistic techniques and guidelines involved in the “semi-scripted” type of televised talk, interview and discussion programs

The development of the skill of writing the script for “semi-scripted” talk, interview, and discussion programs

Elements from Discourse and Conversation Analysis contributing to the establishment and maintenance of a near-native speaker conversational style

The development of language awareness in relation to conversational routines in English

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Conversational routines in English

Developing the skills necessary to host a talk program and to moderate a panel discussion

2.2. Course Methodology English for Journalists II includes two modules: one which focuses on interviewing and writing personality profiles for the print media (newspapers and magazines), and a second which covers talk, interview, and discussion programs for the broadcast media (television and radio). In the first module, the students were expected to conduct an interview with a local personality and subsequently write a personality profile for the school magazine to appear on the school website. This would be their final-term project, counting for 30% of their final grade. In order to ensure the authenticity of the task, as the interviews were to be conducted in English, the students were advised to seek out either native speakers of English or non-native speakers of Greek from the local community (e.g. teachers of English, visiting academic staff, businesspeople, artists). The students were first introduced to a set of guidelines and strategies related to interviewing (Metzler 1997), followed by the analysis and practice of linguistic, paralinguistic, and extra-linguistic devices that a journalist must be able to employ while interviewing (e.g. adjacency pairs, insertion sequencers, initiating a response, turn-taking, following-up, making transactions, and using boundary markers). Moreover, the function and timing of questions and probes (follow-ups) was analysed (probes, open and closed questions, conceptually defining questions, reflective, creative, leading and loaded questions). After the first analysis, the students formed groups of two and interviewed each other following carefully selected samples of authentic interviews recorded from television and radio broadcasts. The next step involved the development of the skills necessary to write a personality profile for the school magazine, for which the students were provided with personality profiles taken from British and American magazines. During this process, the students became familiar with note-taking, selecting, abstracting, reducing, paraphrasing, simplifying, and quoting and attributing sources. This analysis provided students with conceptual knowledge regarding the genre of the personality profile and enabled them to build the competences necessary for the production of a piece of work belonging to the particular genre. The task described above draws on CLIL principles as it pays attention to the authenticity of materials, places emphasis on output, and, via role

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play, allows for more interaction and practice in English, which would be difficult to achieve in a classroom of 70 students. Moreover, the students had the opportunity, during the final phase of the actual interview, to develop intercultural understanding through their contact with non-native speakers of Greek and raise their cross-cultural awareness. CLIL is derived from social-constructivist theories of learning and, as such, places special emphasis on interactive and student-led learning (Coyle, Hood, and Marsh 2010). This type of pedagogy requires scaffolding, which is defined as, “support designed to provide the assistance necessary to enable learners to accomplish tasks and develop understandings that they would not be able to manage on their own” (Hammond and Gibbons 2005, 9). An important feature of scaffolding is its temporary nature. Teacher support should be gradually reduced as the students become increasingly autonomous and more independent in dealing with a task. Scaffolding applies to both language and subject matter and involves the cognitive skills necessary to deal with classroom tasks. The theoretical foundation of scaffolding is to be found in Vygotsky’s (1978) notion of the zone of proximal development, and can be described as the kind of learning which is challenging but within the students’ grasp, provided they get sufficient guidance and support. The teacher’s role is to increasingly build cognitive skills within a student’s zone of proximal development and gradually withdraw support as students become more autonomous. The following tasks were developed as a sequence of scaffolding that would cognitively challenge students and enable them to deal effectively with both content and language learning. In order for the students to gain more practice before the final project they were put into groups of four and given an authentic written profile to work on. They were assigned the following tasks. First, they had to classify all quotations, partial quotations, and dialogues in the profile and draw a table of frequency and length of their occurrence. Second, they were asked to guess, phrase, and classify the questions and probes that were asked during the interview. It should be pointed out here that during the previous weeks the students had already been familiarised with the typology of questions and probes used in the interviewing process as well as with quoting and attributing sources. The teacher facilitated the task by eliciting previous knowledge from the students and guided them through the activity by pointing out specific features of the different types of questions used in the interviews. At this point, a video was played which featured an interview with a celebrity videotaped from an American television channel. The students were then asked to convert the interview they had just watched into a written profile.

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The previous tasks which involved writing questions and probes facilitated the process. By this time, the students were sufficiently exposed to both the language and the journalistic conventions which are considered appropriate for writing a personality profile for the print media. During this process the students were able to internalise their newly acquiredknowledge, synthesise their previous work, and accomplish a real-life task gradually. CLIL requires students to take on a more active role and become responsible for their own learning (Coyle, Hood, and Marsh 2010). As a result, CLIL classes place special emphasis on tasks that explore active negotiation of meaning as this is considered to facilitate the acquisition of the target language and the internalisation of subject matter (Pistorio 2010). In order to explore active learning in the ESP class, project work and collaborative group work were used as a means of making the students more autonomous and responsible for their own learning. In the second module of English for Journalists II, the focus is on talk, interview, and discussion programs for the broadcast media. By the end of the course, the students should be able to host a talk program and moderate a panel discussion. The module starts with an introduction of the journalistic techniques and guidelines involved in the “semi-scripted” type of televised program (interviews, discussions) where the script has a basic outline but the hosts also need to improvise. The students become familiar with conversational routines in English (e.g. expressing agreement, disagreement, doubt, asking for information/clarification, introducing, inviting, following up a question, preventing interruptions). The following series of collaborative tasks was designed with the purpose of fostering active learning. The students first watched a video featuring an authentic panel discussion where the host interviews his guests on the topic of university education. The students were then divided into groups of six, each including one Erasmus student to ensure a more natural conversation into English. Each group was then presented with the transcript of the panel discussion and asked to study the opening and closing parts of the program, identify the linguistic elements that promote the most important functions of talk programs (attracting the audience’s attention, identifying and establishing the scope of the program), classify the probes the host had made use of, and comment on their effectiveness. In addition, they were asked to study the questions delivered by the host and decide whether their phrasing and sequencing were successful and effective. In the next phase, the students had to simulate a panel discussion on the same topic, thereby internalising their new knowledge on the

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particular genre. The students were free to decide among themselves and allocate their roles (interviewer, academic professor, student, businessperson, school headmaster, parent). The teacher provided support and guidelines in order to facilitate the process. The final step involved the recording of the panel discussion in the school’s electronic media laboratory with the help of the technical staff. During the final stage, the students engaged in a real-life task, similar to what the professional community might expect. As Räisänen (2008) points out, to become an expert and a professional means acquiring the language and communication competence necessary for the academic discipline and profession in question, while at the same time being able to use that competence in a confident manner in different environments of language use and with various types of audiences. The tasks described above exploit some of the characteristics of CLIL, as they promote active and collaborative learning, which seems to be helpful in the internalisation of new knowledge, and also feature an element of intercultural understanding which is derived from the presence of the Erasmus students.

2.3. Data Presentation The course was evaluated by means of a questionnaire distributed to the students at the end of the course. A total of 62 students participated in the survey. The questionnaire included 15 items and was administered during class time. It focused mainly on three aspects: (a) self-reported communicative competence in English, (b) effects of the content-based ESP course on the students’ FL competence, and (c) attitudes of the students towards CLIL. An explanation of the CLIL approach was provided for the students both orally and at the top of each questionnaire. Regarding the self-reported communicative competence in English, 43% report an upper-intermediate, 36% an advanced, and 21% a lowintermediate level of English. The participants were also asked to provide information about the effects of the content-based ESP course on their FL competence. More specifically, the students were asked to rank how much their learning experience had improved in relation to specific language areas on a 1–5 Likert-type scale. Table 25.3 below shows the ranking in each language area. The findings show that vocabulary stands out with the highest mean score, 4.2, followed by speaking and listening (3.8 and 3.7, respectively). Grammar exhibits the lowest mean score (2.9). This selfreported improvement in the areas of vocabulary, speaking, and listening appears to be in line with the CLIL principles (Marsh 2002) which

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highlight the importance of developing fluency in a foreign language and improving overall language competence in the four language skills rather than focusing on the teaching of grammar. Table 25.3. Effects of content-based ESP course on students’ FL competence

Vocabulary Speaking Listening Reading Writing Pronunciation Grammar

Mean 4.2 3.8 3.7 3.4 3.2 3.1 2.9

Standard deviation .6 .5 .5 .4 .5 .7 .6

Finally, and in relation to the students’ attitudes towards CLIL, the participants gave a positive rating to interacting with each other in English (4.1 on a 5-point Likert-type scale, SD=.7, n=62), to engaging in authentic, real-life situations (3.9, SD=.6), to acquiring new knowledge in their discipline (3.8, SD=.7), and to understanding other people’s cultures, beliefs and behaviours (3.8, SD=.6). The students were also asked to comment upon the implementation of the CLIL approach with every content subject following the school’s decision to allow Greek students to attend the English-medium courses offered to exchange students. The students believe that the implementation of CLIL on a larger scale depends mostly on the subject matter involved (3.5, SD=.3) and the lecturer’s and student’s English language proficiency (3.7, SD=.5).

2.4. Discussion The analysis of the results shows that students hold a positive attitude towards a more content-based approach in the ESP class, a point which contributes to the overall successful outcome of the course. In the light of these results, it could be suggested that ESP courses would benefit from a more content-based approach. Since speaking is usually considered to be a neglected skill, and given the fact that the students in the present study ranked speaking and interacting with each other in English quite highly, it would not be unwise to suggest that the CLIL approach, with its focus on fluency and productive skills, could deserve a place in a traditional language-centred ESP course. Moreover, the students’ high scores

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regarding the acquisition of content and the engagement in authentic situations provide further evidence for the need to introduce a more content-based approach which would enable students to prepare better for their future studies and/or working lives. In addition, the students gave a positive rating to understanding other people’s cultures, beliefs, and behaviours. Intercultural awareness is a fundamental principle of CLIL. The use of materials which promote intercultural knowledge and skills, such as the ones described above (e.g. conducting an interview in English with a non-native speaker of Greek), would prove an added benefit in an ESP course during this era of increased mobility and internationalisation of academic and professional contexts. However, there is a note of scepticism on the part of the students regarding the introduction of CLIL on a larger scale, as they consider the type of subject matter and foreign language proficiency important for its implementation. It seems that students are rather reluctant to attend content courses in English, something that could be attributed to the difficulty of certain subjects and the level of English of students and teachers, which might not be adequate. Dafouz et al. (2007) reported a similar finding in their study of teachers’ and students’ attitudes towards the implementation of the CLIL approach at two universities in Spain. As a follow-up to the present study, it would be interesting to investigate the attitudes of teachers, lecturers, and administrative staff towards the implementation of CLIL on a larger scale using qualitative instruments (e.g. interviews) and an ethnographic approach, which would offer a better insight into the attitudes of all parties involved. Finally, and in order to touch upon the pedagogical implications of the present study, there is a key question to be addressed regarding tertiary level ESP. How much should ESP be oriented towards the world of professional life and how much towards the world of academia? In addition, should courses focus more on EAP? That is, should they prepare students to deal with academic tasks in the language under study (e.g. reading for study purposes, writing assignments), or should they equip students with the skills necessary to cope with the world of work? The proposed combination of CLIL principles with an ESP approach grants room for both, as it allows students to understand how and why language is used in domain-specific discourse communities and how to actively apply this understanding to real-life situations and, eventually, their future professional lives. As a general reflection on the experience of teaching an ESP course in a more content-oriented way, there are some issues that an ESP practitioner needs to consider when undertaking such a task. ESP teachers

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realise that authentic learning contexts are important when dealing with content courses (irrespective of the language in question), but they also believe that students need to be aware of certain linguistic tools when English is used as a means of instruction. Not all CLIL teachers are aware of this need. An ESP course would usually pay attention to both meaning and form, which should lead to more effective input (Coonan 2007; Lyster 2007), and it is well known that comprehensible input is of paramount importance in all learning contexts, CLIL included (Krashen 1985). Similarly, as interaction and negotiation of meaning seem to play a very important role in the acquisition of language (Long 1996), and given the fact that interactive approaches such as CLIL do not seem to work well in overcrowded university classrooms—which is usually the case with ESP classes—it would appear sensible to make a case for smaller groups and a variety of techniques regarding classroom dynamics, such as the ones implemented in the present study (e.g. group work, or collaborative project work).

3. Conclusion The design of materials in the ESP course presented here reflects an effort to integrate features of the CLIL approach to a mostly language-led program. More specifically, an attempt was made to incorporate elements of the 4 Cs framework in the methodology in a way that would both motivate the students and contribute to the course objectives. Generally, it could be argued that, based on classroom observation and the student evaluation of the course, the implementation of CLIL-based activities seems to facilitate learning as students co-operate actively to produce reallife pieces of work that the professional community expects. The tasks reported here link students’ academic and specific needs with their future professional lives by enabling them to become more confident in managing their learning while at the same time allowing them to develop both their language and content knowledge. This would be in line with the European language policy on the promotion and implementation of multilingualism and the successful employability of higher education graduates in an increasingly globalised world.

References Baetens Beardsmore, H. 2002. “The Significance of CLIL/EMILE.” In CLIL/EMILE: The European Dimension. Actions, Trends and Foresight Potential, edited by D. Marsh, 20–6.

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http://ec.europa.eu/education/languages/pdf/doc491_en.pdf. Belcher, D. D. (ed.). 2009. English for Specific Purposes in Theory and Practice. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press. Butkiene, J., and L. Vilkanciene. 2005. “Integrating Content-based Tasks into a Language Classroom.” ESP-WORLD 2 (4): 1-13. http://www.esp-world.info/Articles_10/content-based.htm. Coonan, M. C. 2007. “Insider Views of the CLIL Class through Teacher Self-Observation-Introspection.” International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism 10 (5): 625–46. Coyle, D. 1999. “Theory and Planning for Effective Classrooms: Supporting Students in Content and Language Integrated Learning Contexts.” In Learning through a Foreign Language, edited by J. Masih,46–62. London: CILT. Coyle, D., P. Hood, and D. Marsh. 2010. CLIL: Content and Language Integrated Learning. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Cummins, J. 1979. “Cognitive/academic Language Proficiency, Linguistic Interdependence, the Optimum Age Question and Some Other Matters.” Working Papers on Bilingualism 19: 197–202. Dafouz, E., and U. Smit. 2014. “Towards a Dynamic Conceptual Framework for English-medium Education in Multilingual University Settings.” Applied Linguistics, first published online 11 July 2014. doi:10.1093/applin/amu034. Dafouz, E., B. Nunez, C. Sancho, and D. Foran. 2007. “Integrating CLIL at the Tertiary Level: Teachers’ and Students’ Reactions.” In Diverse Contexts-Converging Goals. CLIL in Europe, edited by D. Marsh and D. Wolff, 91–101. Frankfurt: Peter Lang. Dalton-Puffer, C. 2011. “Content-and-Language Integrated Learning: From Practice to Principles?” Annual Review of Applied Linguistics 31: 182–204. Dalton-Puffer, Ch., and U. Smit. 2007. “Introduction.” In Empirical Perspectives on CLIL Classroom Discourse, edited by Ch. DaltonPuffer and U. Smit, 7–24. Wien: Peter Lang. Dalton-Puffer, C., T. Nikula, and U. Smit. (eds.). 2010. Language Use and Language Learning in CLIL Classrooms. Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing. De Bot, K. 2002. “CLIL in the European Context.” In CLIL/EMILE: The European Dimension. Actions, Trends and Foresight Potential, edited by D. Marsh, 29–32. http://ec.europa.eu/education/languages/pdf /doc491_en.pdf

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Technology 4 (2): 105–28, http://llt.msu.edu/vol4num2/kasper/default.html. Krashen, S. D. 1985. Second Language Acquisition and Second Language Learning. Pergamon: Oxford. Long, M. 1996. “The Role of Linguistic Environment in Second Language Acquisition.” In Handbook of Second Language Acquisition, edited by W. C. Ritchie and T. K. Bhatia, 413–68. San Diego: Academic Press. Lyster, R. 2007. Learning and Teaching Languages through Content. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. Maljers, A., D. Marsh, and D. Wolff (eds.). 2007. Windows on CLIL: Content and Language Integrated Learning in the European Spotlight. Graz, Austria: European Center for Modern languages. Marsh, D. 2002. CLIL/EMILE: The European Dimension: Actions, Trends and Foresight Potential. Jyväskylä: University of Jyväskylä. Metzler, K. 1997. Creative Interviewing. Needham Heights: Allyn and Bacon. Orna Montesinos, C. 2006. “Designing WebQuests for an English for construction course.” In Proceedings of the 5th International AELFE Conference, edited by C. Pérez-Llantada Auría, R. Plo Alastrué, and C. P. Neumann, 644–58. Prensas Universitarias de Zaragoza, Zaragoza. http://unizar.es/aelfe2006/ALEFE06 /5.newtechnologies/90.pdf. Pistorio, M. I. 2010. “A Blend of CLIL and Cooperative Learning Creates a Socially Constructed Learning Environment.” Latin American Journal of Content & Language Integrated Learning 3 (1): 1–10. Räisänen, C. A. 2004. “Multiple Literacies for the ‘New’ Engineer: Learning to Integrate Content and Language.” In Integrating Content and Language: Meeting the Challenge of a Multilingual Higher Education, edited by R. Wilkinson, 264–74. Maastricht: Universitaire Pers Maastricht. Räisänen, C. A. 2008. “Redefining “CLIL”—Towards Multilingual Competence.” In LANGUA Year 1 Report, edited by A. Greere and C. A. Räisänen. http://www.lanqua.eu/files/Year1Report_CLIL_ForUpload _WithoutAppendices_0.pdf. Smit. U., and E. Dafouz. (eds.). 2012. Integrating Content and Language in Higher Education. AILA Review 25. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. Strevens, P. 1988. “ESP after Twenty Years: A Re-appraisal.” In ESP: State of the Art, edited by M. Tickoo, 1–13. SEAMEO Regional Language Center: Singapore. Tzoannopoulou, M. in press. “Rethinking ESP: Integrating Content and Language in the University Classroom.”

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CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX THE EFFECT OF VOCABULARY KNOWLEDGE IN L2 READING SERKAN UYGUN AND ENISA MEDE

1. Introduction It has been accepted for a long time that vocabulary knowledge plays an important role in the reading process not only in the first language, but also in the second language. Its role in second language learning is more significant because the second language learners start to read in the target language before they have completely mastered their linguistic knowledge, and the acquisition of the second language reading occurs while the learners are improving their linguistic knowledge. Grabe (1991) states that one of the most important areas of research for reading comprehension is research in vocabulary development. Grabe and Stoller (2001) point out the critical role of vocabulary knowledge in reading comprehension. They emphasise that students need to recognise a vast amount of words automatically so that they can become fluent readers. Laufer and Yano (2001, 549) state the vital importance of vocabulary for second language learners, as in academic settings they have to cope with various types of reading materials which are specifically designed and prepared for native speakers, and are expected to comprehend these materials so that they can answer the post-reading questions properly, although their vocabulary knowledge is not as wide as the native speakers. There are two main instruments that measure the vocabulary knowledge of the learners. The vocabulary breadth/size tests measure the amount of words that the language learners know. In contrast, the vocabulary depth tests measure how well the language learners know a word. While the breadth/size tests focus on the quantity, the depth tests focus on the quality of the knowledge.

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The present study, which is a replication of a study conducted by Qian and Schedl (2004), tries to discover the correlation between the in-depth vocabulary knowledge of second language learners in their academic reading performance.

2. Literature Review 2.1. What is Vocabulary? Vocabulary could be defined intuitively as a dictionary or a set of words. This general view is reflected in the lexicographical approach to the traditional way of listing words in a dictionary. However, this interpretation of vocabulary is far too simplistic and limited for the linguistics and second language acquisition theory (Takac 2009, 4). According to the orthographic definition, a word is any sequence of letters (and a limited number of other characteristics, such as hyphens and apostrophes) bounded on either side by a space or punctuation mark (Carter 1992, 4). Carter also emphasises that a word can be defined as the smallest meaningful unit of language based on the semantics point of view. McCarthy (1994) claims that a word, as a free meaningful unit of language, must contain at least one potentially freestanding morpheme. While some consider it as the single most important aspect of foreign language learning (Knight 1994), some researchers view vocabulary as the building block of language (Schmitt, Schmitt, and Clapham 2001, 53). Over the last 20 years, vocabulary has been upgraded as a component of language proficiency, both in the first language and the second language acquisition. Words are seen as the carriers of meaning. Without the knowledge of words, understanding sentences or texts is not possible (Vermeer 2001).

2.2. What is Vocabulary Knowledge? Nation (2006) states that words are not isolated units of language, but fit into many interlocking systems and levels. Because of this, there are many things to know about any particular word and there are many degrees of knowing. Lexical knowledge is a continuum of several levels and dimensions of knowledge from familiarity with the word to the ability to use it correctly in free production (Laufer and Paribakht 1998, 367). Cronbach (1942, in Bogaards 2000, 491) refers to five aspects of vocabulary knowledge: generalisation (knowing the definition),

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application (knowledge about use), breadth of meaning (knowing different senses of a word), precision of meaning (knowing how to use the word in different situations), and availability (knowing how to use the word productively). Nation (1990) proposes four aspects of vocabulary knowledge: form (spoken and written), position (grammatical and collocations), function (frequency and appropriateness), and meaning (conceptual and associative). Laufer’s proposal for the different dimensions of lexical knowledge includes form (phonological, graphic, and morphological), syntactic behaviour, meaning (referential, associative, and pragmatic), and relations with other words (paradigmatic and syntagmatic) (Laufer and Paribakht 1998, 368). Nation (2006) claims that when we know a word well, we access at least nine of the components of word knowledge, involving orthography (spelling), morphology (word family relations), parts of speech, pronunciation, meanings (referential range, variant meanings, and homophones), collocations (what words commonly go with other words), meaning associations (topical links, synonyms, antonyms, and hyponyms), specific uses (technical and common), and register (power, politeness, disciplinary domain, formality, slang, and dialect form). More specifically, Nation (2006, 27) identifies that knowing a word involves the form (spoken, written, and word parts), meaning (form and meaning, concept and referents, and associations), and use (grammatical functions, collocations, and constraints in use such as register and frequency). These distinctions are important because aspects of word knowledge are relatively independent and therefore acquired at various rates, as well as in different sequences. Various studies have shown that possessing one knowledge aspect does not guarantee the acquisition of others (Koda 2005).

2.3. What is a Vocabulary Knowledge Test? Several researchers in the field of vocabulary and reading have underscored the importance and usefulness of measuring vocabulary knowledge; however, it is difficult to reach a consensus on what is involved in word knowledge and how to measure vocabulary knowledge due to the complexity of the construct of what it means to know a word. Numerous efforts to give the correct definitions of what the construct, word, or vocabulary entails in the concept of knowing a word have yet to reach a consensus (Zhang and Annual 2008). Read (1989), Wesche and Paribakht (1996), and Qian (1999) contend that vocabulary knowledge should comprise at least two dimensions,

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which are vocabulary breadth, or size, and depth, or quality, of vocabulary knowledge. Vocabulary breadth/size refers to the number of words of which a learner has at least some superficial knowledge of the meaning (Qian and Schedl 2004, 29). Nation (2006) claims that breadth/size of vocabulary knowledge is considered as referring to the number of words that language learners know at a particular level of language proficiency. Nassaji (2004) states that one widely used measure to assess the size of vocabulary knowledge in the literature is the Vocabulary Level Test (VLT), which has a word-meaning matching format and is composed of words representing different word frequency levels, ranging from high frequency (twothousand word level) to low frequency words (ten-thousand word level). Depth of vocabulary knowledge refers to how well a learner knows a word (Qian and Schedl 2004, 29). According to Qian (1999), the depth dimension should cover such components as pronunciation, spelling, meaning, register, frequency, and morphological, syntactic, and collocational properties. An example of this test is the Depth of Vocabulary Knowledge Measure (DKV). Depth of knowledge focuses on the idea that for useful higher frequency words, learners need to have more than just a superficial understanding of the meaning, and should develop a rich and specific meaning representation as well as knowledge of the word’s formal features, syntactic functioning, collocational possibilities, register characteristics, and so on (Read 2004, 153). In depth tests, vocabulary knowledge is viewed as a complex and multidimensional construct (Koda 2005, 56).

2.4. What is the Role of Vocabulary in Reading Comprehension? Knowing vocabulary is important for ascertaining the meaning of a text. The second-language readers frequently say that they need more vocabulary so that they can understand the meaning of the sentences. Understanding the basics of grammatical structure enables readers to understand the relationship between words, but it does not provide access to the meaning of the sentence. Knowing the meanings of content words (nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs) enables the readers to comprehend the sentence (Richards 1997, 138). The inability to recognise words in text and the presence of a high density of unknown words in a text may impair comprehension (Chall 1987 and Curtis 1987, in Zhang and Annual 2008). Beck, McKeown, and Omanson (1987) remark that, given the complexity of processing involved in comprehending text, a high level of word knowledge may be needed.

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Fast and efficient word recognition, word encoding, and lexical access are necessary for a higher level of meaning construction (Lesgold and Perfetti 1981). Stanovich (1986; 2000) makes a strong argument for a reciprocal causal relationship between reading and vocabulary. That is, vocabulary growth leads to improved reading comprehension, and the amount of reading leads to vocabulary growth. In addition, Carver (2000; 2003) has argued that the relationship between vocabulary knowledge and reading comprehension is so strong that they can produce perfect correlations. Koda (2005, 48–9) explicitly states that successful comprehension is heavily dependent on the knowledge of individual word meanings, and the relationship between vocabulary and reading comprehension points out the crucial role that word knowledge plays in text understanding, not only for the first language learners but also for the second language learners. Research has demonstrated that vocabulary knowledge correlates more highly with reading comprehension than other factors including morphosyntactic knowledge and reading strategies, and vocabulary has been viewed as the dominant enabling factor of reading comprehension. Research has indicated that for acceptable comprehension in unassisted reading, the majority of the text words must be known by the readers. The findings have shown that 98% of vocabulary coverage is needed so that the second language readers can gain adequate comprehension of a text on their own. Nation (2006) argues that about four-thousand word families (plus proper nouns, roughly ten-thousand independent words meanings) are needed for reading instructionally (that is, with instructional support), with approximately 95% of words known in a given text. About ninethousand word families, comprising 98% of words known in a given text, are needed for fluent reading in English. This means that the secondlanguage readers need to develop a large vocabulary knowledge so that they can become independent readers of second-language texts, especially in academic settings.

3. Statement of the Problem Most of the research conducted in the field investigating the relationship of vocabulary and reading comprehension focuses on the breadth/size and depth of vocabulary. For example, Qian (1999) compared the relative impact of vocabulary size and depth on reading comprehension, and the results indicated that scores on the vocabulary size and depth tests correlated highly, and both scores also correlated significantly with reading comprehension.

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The TOEFL 2000 Reading Framework (Enright et al. 2000) stated that vocabulary has a large role to play in determining task and item difficulty of the new TOEFL. The reading framework identifies more than 10 relevant vocabulary variables, which include frequency, meaning, collocability, register and functional constraints, syntactic behaviour, basic forms and derivational possibilities, association with other words in domains of knowledge and use, idiosyncratic features, learning difficulties of certain words (homonymy), and the degree of abstractness versus concreteness. These variables overlap significantly with the components of depth of vocabulary knowledge. Moreover, both of the key aspects assessed by the Depth of Vocabulary Knowledge Measure—meaning and collocation, have been recommended in the TOEFL 2000 Framework as important vocabulary variables contributing to reading performance. In addition, meaning (including synonymy and polysemy) and collocation have both been identified as primary components in almost all the previous frameworks. This suggests that it would be much more sensible to incorporate the concept of depth of vocabulary knowledge into TOEFL reading assessments. This study aims to find an answer to the following research questions: (1) Is there a relationship between the scores of the Depth of Vocabulary Knowledge Measure and the TOEFL reading exam for the intermediate level second-language readers? (2) Is there a relationship between the scores of the Depth of Vocabulary Knowledge Measure and the TOEFL reading exam for the upper-intermediate level second-language readers? (3) Is there a relationship between the scores of the Depth of Vocabulary Knowledge Measure and the TOEFL reading exam for the advanced level second-language readers?

4. Methodology 4.1. Participants The participants in the study were 43 students attending the preparatory program of a private university in Istanbul, Turkey. The students were from three departments: English Language Teaching, English Language and Literature, and Translation and Interpreting Studies. All of the participants were Turkish native speakers; 13 were intermediate level students, 14 upper-intermediate level students, and 16 advanced level

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students. The participants’ age range was between 18 and 22; 11 were male and 32 female.

4.2. Instruments Two main instruments were used in the study: the Reading for Comprehension Measure, and the Depth of Vocabulary Knowledge Measure. The reading part of an IBT TOEFL test was used as the Reading for Comprehension Measure. The test consisted of three reading passages with 39 multiple-choice questions. The first reading text was about the pioneer environmentalist Rachel Carson and had 12 questions. The title of the second reading text was “National Flags” and had 15 questions. The final text was entitled “Solutions to Spam” and had 12 questions. The maximum score was 30 points. The Depth of Vocabulary Knowledge Measure intends to contribute to inferences about the test takers’ depth of receptive English vocabulary knowledge by measuring three main vocabulary items: synonymy, polysemy, and collocation. This measure was originally developed by Read (1993; 1995) and the reliability obtained for this measure has reached .93. The Depth of Vocabulary Knowledge Measure contains 40 items. Each Depth of Vocabulary Knowledge Measure item consists of one stimulus word, which is an adjective, and two boxes, each containing four words. Among the four words in the left box, one to three words can be synonymous to one aspect of, or the whole meaning of the stimulus word, whereas among the four words in the right box, there can be one to three words that collocate with the stimulus word. The instruction sheet for the test taker explains that there are always four correct answers in each item. However, these answers are not evenly spread. Three situations are possible: the left and right boxes both contain two correct answers; the left box contains one correct answer, and the right box contains three correct answers; and the left box contains three correct answers, and the right box contains one correct answer. This arrangement of the measure effectively reduces the chances of guessing. In scoring, each word correctly chosen was awarded one point. The maximum possible score was 160 for the 40 items, and there was no penalty for choosing incorrect words (Qian 2002).

4.3. Procedure All the participants were given the IBT TOEFL Reading test and the Depth of Vocabulary Knowledge Measure at the beginning of the academic year and the results were used as pre-test results. After a 14-

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week intensive English language program consisting of 30 hours per week for each level, the participants were given the same tests and the results were used as post-test results.

4.4. Data Analysis The data of the study was initially analysed by a paired samples t-test to find out the correlation and the differences between the pre-reading and post-reading results and the pre-vocabulary and post-vocabulary results for each level. Next, to be on the cautious side, it was decided to analyse the data with a nonparametric test because the number of participants in the study for each level was below 30. In the nonparametric test, Wilcoxon Signed Rank Tests were used to find out the significance of the results.

5. Results and Discussion The results of the study are presented together with descriptive and Wilcoxon Signed Rank Test analyses for each level that corresponds to each research question.

5.1. Results of Research Question 1 The first research question aimed to discover if there was a relationship between the scores of the Depth of Vocabulary Knowledge Measure and the TOEFL reading exam for the intermediate level second language readers. The results of the descriptive statistics of the pre-reading and postreading tests indicate that there is an increase in the learners’ TOEFL reading test results, and the Wilcoxon Signed Rank Test shows that there is a significant difference between the two test results (the significance was found to be .001 and the correlation was found to be .838). Table 26.1. Descriptive Statistics of the Pre-reading and Post-reading Results for Intermediate Level Students N MPS

Mean

Std. Deviation

Min

Pre-Reading

13 30 11.65

3.03

6.25

Post-Reading

13 30 15.17

3.77

11

MPS: Maximum Possible Score

Max 17.75

20.75

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Table 26.2. Wilcoxon Signed Rank Tests for the Pre-reading and Postreading Results for Intermediate Level Students Post-Reading – Pre-Reading Z

-3.181

Asymp. Sig. (2 tailed)

.001

pҸ0.05 The results of the pre-vocabulary and post-vocabulary tests reveal that there is an increase in the learners’ vocabulary test results, and the Wilcoxon Signed Rank Test shows a significant difference between the two test scores (the significance was found as .001 and the correlation was found as .902). Table 26.3. Descriptive Statistics of the Pre-vocabulary and Postvocabulary Results for Intermediate Level Students N MPS

Mean

Std. Deviation

Min

Pre-Vocabulary 13 160

27.69

14.51

11

64

Post-Vocabulary 13 160

38.84

17.72

17

75

Max

MPS: Maximum Possible Score Table 26.4.Wilcoxon Signed Rank Tests for the Pre-vocabulary and Post-vocabulary Results for Intermediate Level Students Post-Vocabulary – Pre-Vocabulary Z

-3.191

Asymp. Sig. (2 tailed)

.001

pҸ0.05 These results point out that the increase in the Depth of Vocabulary Knowledge Measure results in an increase in the TOEFL reading exam results for the intermediate level second language readers.

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5.2.

Results of Research Question 2

The second research question intended to find out the relationship between the scores of the Depth of Vocabulary Knowledge Measure and the TOEFL reading exam for the upper-intermediate level second-language readers. The results of the descriptive statistics of the pre-reading and postreading tests indicate that there is an increase in the learners’ TOEFL reading test results, and the Wilcoxon Signed Rank Test shows that there is a significant difference between the two test results (the significance was found to be .001 and the correlation was found to be .894). Table 26.5. Descriptive Statistics of the Pre-reading and Post-reading Results for Upper-Intermediate Level Students N MPS Mean Std. Deviation Min Max Pre-Reading

14 30 13.33

1.52

10

Post-Reading

14 30 16.69

1.62

13.25

16 19.25

MPS: Maximum Possible Score Table 26.6. Wilcoxon Signed Rank Tests for the Pre-reading and Postreading Results for Upper-Intermediate Level Students Post-Reading – Pre-Reading Z

-3.305

Asymp. Sig. (2 tailed)

.001

pҸ0.05 The results of the pre-vocabulary and post-vocabulary tests reveal that there is an increase in the learners’ vocabulary test results, and the Wilcoxon Signed Rank Test shows a significant difference between the two test scores (the significance was found to be .001 and the correlation was found to be .940).

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Table 26.7. Descriptive Statistics of the Pre-vocabulary and Postvocabulary Results for Upper-Intermediate Level Students N MPS Mean Std. Deviation Min Max Pre-Vocabulary 14 160

71.14

25.47

28

127

Post-Vocabulary 14 160

85.14

23.52

36

135

MPS: Maximum Possible Score Table 26.8. Wilcoxon Signed Rank Tests for the Pre-vocabulary and Post-vocabulary Results for Upper-Intermediate Level Students Post-Vocabulary – Pre-Vocabulary Z

-3.297

Asymp. Sig. (2 tailed)

.001

p˂0.05 These results point out that the increase in the Depth of Vocabulary Knowledge Measure results in an increase in the TOEFL reading exam results for the upper-intermediate level second-language readers.

5.3.

Results of Research Question 3

The third research question aimed to explore if there was a relationship between the scores of the Depth of Vocabulary Knowledge Measure and the TOEFL reading exam for the advanced level second-language readers. The results of the descriptive statistics of the pre-reading and post-reading tests indicate that there is an increase in the learners’ TOEFL reading test results, and the Wilcoxon Signed Rank Test shows that there is a significant difference between the two test results (the significance was found to be .000 and the correlation was found to be .811).

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Table 26.9. Descriptive Statistics of the Pre-reading and Post-reading Results for Advanced Level Students N MPS Mean Std. Deviation Min Max Pre-Reading

16 30 16.85

5.16

10

24

Post-Reading

16 30 20.54

3.77

11.75

26.50

MPS: Maximum Possible Score Table 26.10. Wilcoxon Signed Rank Tests for the Pre-reading and Post-reading Results for Advanced Level Students Post-Reading – Pre-Reading Z

-3.518

Asymp. Sig. (2 tailed)

.000

p˂0.05 The results of the pre-vocabulary and post-vocabulary tests reveal that there is an increase in the learners’ vocabulary test results, and the Wilcoxon Signed Rank Test shows a significant difference between the two test scores (the significance was found to be .000 and the correlation was found to be .948). Table 26.11. Descriptive Statistics of the Pre-vocabulary and Postvocabulary Results for Advanced Level Students N MPS Pre-Vocabulary

Mean 16 160

Post-Vocabulary 16 160

90.93

MPS: Maximum Possible Score

Std. Deviation 71.31 27.28

29.07 40

Min 24 130

Max 116

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Table 26.12. Wilcoxon Signed Rank Tests for the Pre-vocabulary and Post-vocabulary Results for Advanced Level Students Post-Vocabulary – Pre-Vocabulary Z

-3.517

Asymp. Sig. (2 tailed)

.000

p˂0.05 These results point out that the increase in the Depth of Vocabulary Knowledge Measure results in an increase in the TOEFL reading exam results for the advanced level second-language readers.

5.4.

Discussion

The results of the study have indicated that vocabulary knowledge plays an important role in reading tests and reading comprehension for secondlanguage learners. In the present study, the learners from intermediate, upper-intermediate, and advanced levels have shown improvement in their depth of vocabulary knowledge, and this improvement is strongly and positively correlated with their reading test results. Up to now, many researchers have investigated the role of vocabulary knowledge in reading and reading comprehension in the second language and identified vocabulary knowledge as the most important indicator for the comprehension of both the spoken and written language. For example, Qian (1999; 2002) and Qian and Schedl (2004) have discovered that the depth of vocabulary knowledge is positively and closely associated with the performance on reading comprehension by concluding that the depth of vocabulary knowledge is a reliable predictor of reading comprehension. The results of the present study correlate with the previous research findings because the second-language learners’ reading test scores show parallels with their depth of vocabulary knowledge. The learners with higher vocabulary knowledge get higher grades in reading tests. Also, the study reveals that the failure of 2% of vocabulary coverage can affect the second-language readers negatively in gaining adequate comprehension of a text on their own, because even the advanced level learners were not able to comprehend the reading texts accurately. None of the advanced level second-language learners was able to attain full points from the reading tests and the depth of vocabulary knowledge tests. This

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means that the advanced level learners fail to cover 98% of vocabulary items in the texts and were not able to comprehend the texts accurately on their own. In addition, the learners’ proficiency level significantly affects their performance on the Depth of Vocabulary Knowledge Measure. The intermediate level learners do not have adequate knowledge of vocabulary to take the Depth of Vocabulary Knowledge Measure because this knowledge increases as the proficiency of the learners improves by being exposed to the second language for longer periods (Kaivanpanah and Zandi 2009). As the advanced level learners have a higher level of proficiency in the target language, and as they are exposed to the target language for longer periods than the intermediate level learners, they were able to get higher grades both in the Depth of Vocabulary Knowledge Measure and the reading tests. It should not be forgotten that as the learner increases the proficiency level of the target language, the vocabulary knowledge also increases as a by-product. Furthermore, the learners who had a larger vocabulary repertoire were better able to comprehend the texts successfully. The advanced level learners got higher grades both in the Depth of Vocabulary Knowledge Measure and the reading tests than the upper-intermediate and intermediate level students. It can be inferred that the learners who know more words tend to have more knowledge about the words, which includes its meaning, use, and collocation. The advanced level learners appeared to know the individual words in greater depth because they have a higher proficiency level, they have been exposed to the target language for longer periods, and they have been continuously exposed to the words in different contexts. The repeated exposure to a word in different contexts especially increases the possibility of acquiring the word for the second language learners. As vocabulary support comprehension and vocabulary limitation cause inadequate comprehension, frustration, and slow learning progress (Koda 2005), it is not surprising to discover that the intermediate level learners get the lowest results in the reading tests while the advanced level learners get the highest. Finally, the second-language readers feel themselves more secure and confident while reading a text in the target language if they have an adequate knowledge of vocabulary. Learners with a rich knowledge of vocabulary can process the texts better and faster, so they do not overload their working memory with processing and can focus on the storage. This means that these learners can comprehend the text better and more accurately. However, learners with less vocabulary knowledge can face some problems while processing the text, and this can affect the

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appropriate functioning of their working memory. When the working memory does not function properly, the learners will not be able to comprehend the text successfully. Comprehension is the ability to interpret and vocabulary has a crucial role in text-content understanding, which means vocabulary will remain as an important component of reading comprehension.

6. Conclusion The main purpose of this study was to find out if there was a relationship between the scores of the Depth of Vocabulary Knowledge Measure and the TOEFL reading exam for second language learners from three different levels. The results of the study show that vocabulary knowledge plays a very important role in comprehension and that the depth of vocabulary knowledge and reading comprehension are strongly and positively correlated. The depth of vocabulary knowledge also makes a significant contribution in predicting the scores of reading comprehension.

6.1 Implications An important implication of the present study is that it is necessary to teach a word’s meaning, use, and collocation at the same time because knowledge in one area does not enhance the knowledge of other areas, so it is especially important to focus on these three aspects of a word while teaching vocabulary to second-language learners. Another crucial implication is the use of the Depth of Vocabulary Knowledge Measure as an instrument in assessing the vocabulary knowledge of the learners. This test focuses on the quality of vocabulary knowledge rather than the quantity, as it assesses the knowledge of polysemy and collocation of a word instead of just the meanings of the target word.

6.2. Limitations A number of limitations need to be noted regarding the present study. First of all, the Depth of Vocabulary Knowledge Measure only covers three components of the depth of knowledge, so it is obvious that the depth of vocabulary knowledge was only partially used in the study. Secondly, during the 14-week training, the learners improved their grammatical knowledge and were trained in reading skills and strategies

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including previewing and making predictions, scanning, skimming, looking for the topic, distinguishing the main idea, finding the pattern of organisation, making inferences, thinking skills, activating background knowledge, guessing the meaning, distinguishing fact from opinion, and critical reading. This training would also affect the increase of the learners’ reading test scores, but their effect is not taken into consideration in the study. Finally, the number of participants was not adequate enough to get generalisable results from the study. It is important to have at least 30 learners in each level in order to obtain more generalisable results.

6.3. Recommendations for further research This study has several recommendations for further research. Initially, the other components of the Depth of Vocabulary Knowledge Measure can be added so that the depth of vocabulary knowledge can be assessed completely. Also, the depth of vocabulary knowledge instrument can be complemented by the Vocabulary Level Test to see the relationship of breadth/size and depth of vocabulary knowledge and reading comprehension. In addition, the effect of grammatical knowledge and training on reading skills and strategies can also be inspected together with vocabulary to find the extent of their effect in reading comprehension. And finally, it is important to conduct the study with a large number of participants to get more generalisable results.

References Beck, I. L., M. G. McKeown, and R. C. Omanson. 1987. “The Effects and Uses of Diverse Vocabulary Instructional Techniques.” In The Nature of Vocabulary Acquisition, edited by M. G. McKeown and M. E. Curtis, 147–63. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum. Bogaards, P. 2000. “Testing L2 Vocabulary Knowledge at a High Level: The Case of the Euralex French Tests.” Applied Linguistics 21 (4): 490–516. Carter, R. 1992. Vocabulary: Applied Linguistics Perspectives. London and New York: Routledge. —. 2000. The Causes of High and Low Reading Achievement. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum. —. 2003. “The Highly Lawful Relationship among Pseudoword Decoding, Word Identification, Spelling, Listening, and Reading.” Scientific Studies of Reading 7: 127–54.

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Enright, M. K., W. Grabe, K. Koda, P. Mosenthal, P. Mulcahy–Ernt, and M. Schedl. 2000. “TOEFL 2000 Reading Framework: A Working Paper.” http://www.ets.org/Media/Research/pdf/RM–00–04.pdf. Grabe, W. 1991. “Current Developments in Second Language Reading Research.” TESOL Quarterly 25 (3): 375–406. Grabe, W., and F. L. Stoller. 2001. “Reading for Academic Purposes: Guidelines for ESL/EFL Teachers.” In Teaching English as a Second or Foreign Language, edited by M. Celce–Murcia, 187–203. Boston: Heinle & Heinle. Kaivanpanah, S. and H. Zandi. 2009. “The Role of Depth of Vocabulary Knowledge in Reading Comprehension in EFL Contexts.” Journal of Applied Sciences 9 (4): 698–706. Knight, S. 1994. “Dictionary use While Reading: The Effects on Comprehension and Vocabulary Acquisition for Students of Different Verbal Abilities.” Modern Language Journal 78 (3): 285–99. Koda, K. 2005. Insights into Second Language Reading. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Laufer, B., and T. S. Paribakht. 1998. “The Relationship between Passive and Active Vocabularies: Effects of Language Learning Context.” Language Learning 48 (3): 365–91. Laufer, B., and Y. Yano. 2001. “Understanding Unfamiliar Words in a Text: Do L2 Learners Understand how Much they Don’t Understand?” Reading in a Foreign Language 13 (2): 549–66. Lesgold, A. M., and C. A. Perfetti. 1981. “Interactive Processes in Reading: Where do we Stand?” In Interactive Processes in Reading, edited by A. M. Lesgold and C. A. Perfetti, 387–407. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum. McCarthy, M. 1994. Vocabulary. Oxford: Oxford University Press Nassaji, H. 2004. “The Relationship between Depth of Vocabulary Knowledge and L2 Learners’ Lexical Inferencing Strategy Use and Success.” The Canadian Modern Language Review 61 (1): 107–34. Nation, I. S. P. 1990. Teaching and Learning Vocabulary. New York: Newbury House. —. 2006. Learning Vocabulary in Another Language. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Qian, D. D. 1999. “Assessing the Roles of Depth and Breadth of Vocabulary Knowledge in Reading Comprehension.” Canadian Modern Language Review 56 (2): 282–308. —. 2002. “Investigating the Relationship between Vocabulary Knowledge and Academic Reading Performance: An Assessment Perspective.” Language Learning 53 (3): 513–36.

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Qian, D. D., and M. Schedl. 2004. “Evaluation of an In-depth Vocabulary Knowledge Measure for Assessing Reading Performance.” Language Testing 21 (1): 28–52. Read, J. 1989. “Toward a Deeper Assessment of Vocabulary Knowledge.” Paper presented at the 8th World Congress of Applied Linguistics. Sydney, Australia. Retrieved from the ERIC database ED301048. —. 1993. “The Development of a New Measure of L2 Vocabulary Knowledge.” Language Testing 10: 355–71. —. 1995. “Validating the Word Associates Format as a Measure of Depth of Vocabulary Knowledge.” Paper presented at the 17th Language Testing Research Colloquium. Long Beach, CA, USA. —. 2004. “Research in Teaching Vocabulary.” Applied Linguistic 24: 146– 61. Richards, J. C. 1997. From Reader to Reading Teacher: Issues and Strategies for Second Language Classrooms. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Schmitt, N., D. Schmitt, and C. Clapham. 2001. “Developing and Exploring the Behavior of Two New Versions of the Vocabulary Level Test.” Language Testing 18 (1): 55–88. Stanovich, K. 1986. “Matthew Effects in Reading: Some Consequences of Individual Differences in the Acquisition of Literacy.” Reading Research Quarterly 21: 360–407. Stanovich, K. 2000. Progress in Understanding Reading: Scientific Foundations and New Frontiers. New York: Guilford Press. Takac, V. P. 2009. Vocabulary Learning and Foreign Language Acquisition. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters Ltd. Vermeer, A. 2001. “Breadth and Depth of Vocabulary in Relation to L1/L2 Acquisition and Frequency of Input.” Applied Linguistics 22 (2): 217–34. Weshe, M., and T. S. Paribakht. 1996. “Assessing Second Language Vocabulary Knowledge: Depth versus Breadth.” Canadian Modern Language Review 53: 13–40. Zhang, L. W. and S. B. Annual. 2008. “The Role of Vocabulary in Reading Comprehension: The Case of Secondary School Students Learning English in Singapore.” Regional Language Center Journal 39 (1): 51–76.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN ENGLISHES AND ELF: IMPLICATIONS FOR CLASSROOM PRACTICES AND TEACHER EDUCATION PAOLA VETTOREL

1. Introduction The increasingly widespread use of English as the lingua franca of communication (ELF) in several domains has questioned, among other issues, traditional English Language Teaching (ELT) models both from a theoretical and an operational point of view. Traditionally, notions of language standards and correctness have constituted the main, and often only, reference model in ELT, didactic materials, classroom practices, and teacher education alike. However, the ways and contexts in which English is used nowadays have deeply changed compared to even a few decades ago, when—similarly to other foreign languages—integrativeness and contact with native speakers represented the main motivations to learn English. Today, interaction among non-native speakers through English as a lingua franca is frequent, not least in demographic terms, and the ELF field of research has greatly expanded over the last two decades. Furthermore, the plurality into which the English language has developed has been extensively documented by studies in World Englishes (WE henceforth), so that Inner Circle varieties—albeit themselves in their plurality—are but one among the different Englishes spoken in the world. Studies in WE and, more recently, ELF have problematised several topical issues—from the primacy of (idealised) standard models and norms, to the construct of the “native speaker,” both traditionally set against a monolingual framework of reference. As Graddol (2006, 114– 15) remarks, in a perspective where English is used as an international language of communication, “native speakers may increasingly be

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identified as part of the problem rather than the source of a solution” on several grounds. Besides the “cultural baggage” they bring with them, “native speaker accents may seem too remote from the people that learners expect to communicate with; and as teachers, native speakers may not possess some of the skills required by bilingual speakers, such as those of translation and interpreting.” Furthermore, “[a]s the English-speaking world becomes less formal, and more democratic, the myth of a standard language becomes more difficult to maintain.” The deep modifications in the language(s) use in our globalised and increasingly multilingual world, together with the spread and diversification of English, have impacted on issues related to language learning and teaching, where several traditional Second Language Acquisition (SLA) tenets have been questioned. Amongst them are the attainability and appropriacy of an (idealised) native-like proficiency, with reference to both learning and teaching goals, and the role and professional identity of non-native—or bilingual—teachers of English (Jenkins 2006; Seidlhofer 1996; 1999). The implications for ELT have been investigated not only with reference to possible classroom practices, but largely, and in parallel to, teacher education. Indeed, what teachers and prospective teachers know and believe important, and worth being taken into account in their didactic practices, is of primary relevance for any potential repercussion in ELT of the pluralistic perspective brought about by WE and ELF studies. Several projects have recently been set up in pre-service (e.g. Lopriore 2010; Pedrazzini and Nava 2013; Pedrazzini, forthcoming) and in-service teacher education (e.g. Teacher Development - ELF-Ted; Bayyurt and Sifakis 2013; forthcoming) to familiarise prospective and experienced teachers with the above issues, thus fostering reflection on both current/actual and future teaching practices. What is more, concepts related to WE, Global English, and English as a lingua franca have to some extent been incorporated (since 2008) in teacher-training programmes like DELTA (Diploma in English Language Teaching to Adults) by Cambridge ESOL (Dewey 2012; Dewey and Leung 2010). It is also worth noting that WE and ELF have recently been included as required knowledge areas for would-be EFL secondary school teachers by the Italian Ministry of Education, University and Research (MIUR 2012). Given that in most European state schools (as in many other parts of the world—see McKay 2002, 41ff.) teachers of English are non-native, their self-perceptions as competent and bilingual language users and

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instructors represent an important issue, too. The relevance of EFL teachers’ opinions as to their (non-) nativeness is twofold: on the one hand, it is related to their—positive or negative—perceptions as effective, and thus realistic, bilingual models for their students (Jenkins 2007). On the other, it connects with a (positive) value attached to bilingualism and multicompetence (Cogo and Jenkins 2010), seen as an enlarged repertoire of strategies that can effectively contribute to successful communication in realistic contexts of language use, with, “correctness giving way to negotiated, collaborative use of linguistic resources, and application of grammatical rules becomes less important than developing language learners’ ‘metalinguistic awareness’” (Canagarajah 2005, xxv, in Dewey and Leung 2010, 10). Fostering awareness among experienced and trainee teachers of the modified and enlarged contexts where English is actually employed today, given its increased variability and plurality, therefore appears fundamental; such awareness can lead to reflection and reflective action on how pedagogic practices can cater for ELF/L2 users’ communicative needs in “real” language use, as well as foster awareness of the, “relationship between language models—which are necessarily abstractions—and the variable nature of language in interaction” (Jenkins, Cogo and Dewey 2011, 306). As will be seen in the following sections, the aim of this paper is to illustrate and discuss how Italian EFL primary and lower-secondary school trainee teachers view the potential implications of WE and ELF in ELT pedagogic practices.

2. Description of the Study: Research Design, Methodology and Participants The present research study investigates primary school and TFA (Tirocinio Formativo Attivo) trainee teachers’ opinions about the implications that the spread of English and its lingua franca role have for their prospective classroom practices. This is a follow-up to a previous study, where experienced primary teachers’ opinions were investigated by means of a questionnaire, individual interviews, and a focus group (Vettorel 2013b, forthcoming a). The sample of participants for the present study is set in two different but complementary contexts. The first includes Scienze della Formazione Primaria 4th year students (Primary trainee teachers [PTT]), who attended the Didattica della Lingua Inglese (English Didactics) course in Academic Year (AY) 2012/13 and 2013/14 at the University of Verona (Italy). Some

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lessons during the course were dedicated to awareness-raising activities on WE and ELF and their implications for ELT. Among the 20 questionnaires distributed during the course in the first AY, nine were handed in. Five students who had attended the Symposium “New Frontiers in Teaching and Learning English” (focused on the implications of ELF research in ELT, see below) also wrote a brief report, which in some cases included their personal and professional reflections on the topic. Eight out of the nine students who filled in the questionnaire had studied English since primary school, one since lower secondary school; none had professional teaching experience at primary school level (although one had taught for a short period in a nursery school). Only a few were specialising in the area of foreign languages, but they were all required to attend the Didattica della Lingua Inglese course. As to AY 2013/14, 12 questionnaires were handed in; six respondents had studied English since primary, and six since secondary school. Trainees were also required to include in their final exam lesson plan at least one activity related to WE/ELF. As to the second set of informants, they were all Tirocinio Formativo Attivo (TFA) trainee teachers who were attending a specific university course to become secondary-school EFL teachers. In Italy, from 1999 to 2009, prospective secondary-school teachers were trained through a twoyear post-graduate course at SSIS (Scuola di Specializzazione all’Insegnamento Secondario); since AY 2010/11, would-be teachers have to attend a one-year practicum course, the TFA. These trainee teachers can be placed mid-way between younger primary school trainees and experienced teachers, since most of them already have long or mediumterm experience as temporary teachers. The TFA trainees attended the above-mentioned “New Frontiers in Teaching and Learning English” Symposium, too.

2.1.

The Questionnaire

The trainee teachers’ beliefs were mainly investigated through a precourse questionnaire; issues were then further expanded through discussion in relation to the Module on WE and ELF, both in class and in the online Moodle e-learning platform dedicated space. The questionnaire aimed at investigating several areas: sections 1 and 2 were dedicated to the informants’ personal and professional experience with English. Part 3 dealt with varieties of English in ELT materials and with the teachers’ opinions as to the inclusion of more than one variety in their didactic practices; this section also looked into teachers’ perceptions of their pupils’ opportunities for contact with English and their future needs. In

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Section 4 trainees were asked to provide a definition of English as a Global language, World Englishes, and English as a lingua franca (Dewey 2012); they were also asked which aspects they believed ought to be taken into account in teacher education. Those respondents who had attended the above-mentioned symposium were asked whether they were familiar with WE and ELF before attending the day and what key aspects it had helped to clarify; the same was done with reference to the course modules for AY 2013/14. Finally, all participants in the study could add further comments in the last open part of the questionnaire. Despite the relatively small number of participants (21 PTT and 7 TFA trainees), the findings show interesting elements for reflection, some of which also emerged in the study with experienced primary teachers (Vettorel, forthcoming a), in line with other recent research in this area, particularly as to pre-service teacher training (Bayyurt and Sifakis; 2013; forthcoming; Grau 2008; Matsuda 2009; Pedrazzini and Nava 2011; 2013; Pedrazzini, forthcoming), and appear consistent with other perspectives (Dewey 2012; Jenkins 2007; Suzuki 2011; Floris 2013).

3. Results of the Study: Findings Results concerning some of the areas investigated in the study will be discussed in the next sections. First, the varieties that trainee teachers have experienced along their educational and professional training will be taken into account, together with their present use of English, as well as their awareness of the contexts in which students may (and will) use English. The participants’ awareness of concepts related to the spread of English (English as a global language, WE, and ELF) and their beliefs as to the potential implications these issues can have in didactic terms—that is, how favourable our respondents are in terms of broadening the scope of exposure to English varieties in classroom practices—will then be examined.

3.1. Englishes and ELF in Trainee Teachers’ Educational and Personal Experience As shown in Table 27.1 below, the great majority of participants were trained in British rather than American English (19 out of 21 for primary trainees—henceforth PTT), although several TFA trainees mention both British and American English.

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Varieties: training Table 27.1. Varieties in training (N 21/7)

These figures seem to confirm that British English continues to represent the main reference model in formal education, even in recent years. As will be seen, this mono-referential attitude in ELT may also account for more sceptical stances towards the possibility, and possible advantages, of taking into account varieties other than Standard (British) English. When coming to their present contact with British or American varieties, while primary trainee teachers seem to use English prevalently with nonnative speakers (see Table 27.2 below), the majority of TFA trainees indicate both native (henceforth NSs) and non-native (henceforth NNSs) speakers. Similar results emerged for experienced teachers, particularly as to interaction with both NSs and NNSs (Vettorel 2013b; forthcoming a).

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Trainee teachers use English with … Table 27.2. Trainee teachers’ use of English to communicate with Native/Non-native speakers (N 21/7)

As Table 27.3 below shows, both PTT and TFA participants stated that they largely use English in contexts related to tourism, followed by social networks and blogs. Trainee Teachers use English for/in … Table 27.3 Trainee teacher contexts where they use English (N 21/7)

These figures point to the extensive contact these trainee teachers seem to have with NNSs particularly; this is likely to take place in ELF contexts, often in personal relationships, but also for professional aims. As to the latter, they are sensibly higher for TFA trainees who have more teaching experience and thus presumably have had greater opportunities for contact

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with foreign colleagues (e.g. conferences, Comenius/European school partnerships), thus experiencing the role of ELF user themselves.

3.2. The Role of English(es) and ELF in the Students’ Lives Part 3 of the questionnaire investigated the informants’ opinions in relation to contact with English(es) and ELF in their (prospective) students’ lives. The findings are summarised in Table 27.4 below. According to Trainee Teachers Students have contact with English for … Table 27.4. Trainee teachers’ awareness of pupils’ contact with English outside of school (N 21/7)

The findings suggest that these trainee teachers are well aware that their students experience extended contact with English in the outside-school environment, in different face-to-face and virtual contexts, which increasingly takes place from an early age all over Europe (Enever 2011; Giorgis 2013). All participants acknowledge leisure and the web as major sources of contact with English, together with holidays and, to a lesser extent, meeting tourists. As to online and offline gaming, TFA trainees rank it higher than PTT trainees, similarly to experienced teachers (Vettorel, forthcoming a) and, in a way, to Ranta’s (2010) and D’Andrea’s (2012) findings concerning Finnish and Italian secondary school teachers, respectively. This may also be due to the older age of the students (11–14) for TFA trainees. A marked difference may be noticed in the area of “tourism” and the internet, where trainee teachers in this study express much higher figures than experienced teachers, probably with reference to their own experiences, as seen above.

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The findings for future contexts where students will employ English are summarised in Table 27.5 below. According to Trainee Teachers, Students will use English for/with … Table 27.5. Future contact with NSs / NNSs (N 21/7)

These trainee teachers seem well aware that their students’ future needs will include interaction with non-native speakers of English, in both faceto-face and online environments. TFA trainees rate contact with nonnative speakers, both face-to-face and online, higher than PTT trainees, for whom face-to-face contact with NSs seems to be more relevant. It is worth noting that study and work are similarly highly ranked by both categories of respondents. To sum up, similar to findings for experienced teachers (Vettorel, 2013b; forthcoming a), these trainees show awareness of their (prospective) students’ present and future contact with English in the outside-school environment, not least with non-native speakers. They are also aware that this will take place in several contexts, from leisure to tourism and online activities.

3.3. Trainees’ Awareness of English as a Global Language, WE, and ELF In Section 4 of the questionnaire, participants were asked to provide their own definitions of English as a global language, World Englishes, and English as a lingua franca (Dewey 2012). It was deemed interesting to investigate how these sociolinguistic key notions were conceptualised and

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understood, not least since these areas had been introduced during the course, and in AY 2012/13 trainees could attend the aforementioned symposium “New frontiers in Teaching and Learning English.” All definitions for English as a global language highlight its global, international dimension as a common code allowing communication at a world level. As to World Englishes, while most definitions relate WE to the idea of different varieties and variation at several linguistic levels (pronunciation, lexis, grammar), two conflate it with a language which is spoken globally, and two with the official status that English retains in British ex-colonies, and thus to Outer Circle varieties. When coming to English as a lingua franca, all definitions underscore its communicative function as a shared means of communication, seven adding that it is used among people of different L1s (and cultures), two mentioning different contexts and communication purposes, and six referring to non-native speakers. Five definitions contain the word “language” and two “contact language,” while only two refer to ELF as a “variety.” Two PTT respondents stated that they had not heard of WE and ELF before attending the symposium (PTT2, PTT7), although one said she was familiar with the fact that there are different varieties of English in the world (“I knew there are a lot of countries that speak English like India, Canada, Australia, America, Britain and some African countries,” PTT7); the same trainee also added that, having studied Japanese at university, she “had to learn a strange and different way of pronouncing and speaking English and be able to understand it.” All trainees in AY 2013/14 stated that they were not aware of the “changes in the English language in the world” (PTT10), although some had heard about ELF and WE (see Table 27.6 below). As to the TFA trainees, who all attended the Symposium but one, five out of seven were somewhat familiar with ELF as a means of communication in international contexts, either because they had dealt with this area for their MA theses or out of personal interest.

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Were you amiliar with WE/ELF before attending …? Table 27.6. Were you familiar with WE/ELF before attending the Symposium/Module? (N 21/7)

Most importantly, all trainees stated that attending the symposium helped them to clarify the potential implications of WE and ELF studies in didactic terms. TFA teachers highlighted that the symposium had provided them with the opportunity to reflect upon the implications ELF can have for ELT in terms of standard language, language change, and teaching materials. Several PTT trainees mentioned the “intercultural aspects of teaching English today” (PTT2), and the importance of exposing students to several varieties, given that they (will) use English to communicate mostly with non-native speakers. One respondent also added that before attending the symposium she had, “never thought and reflected about which type of English to teach at school, for me it was Britain,” and that in teaching terms, “it is important not to be fixed just on British and American English” (PTT7). In the follow-up report, which constituted an opportunity for further reflection, one trainee underscored the need for teachers to develop attitudes of openness in order to respond to the language changes brought about by globalisation, pointing out that English teachers should first of all foster the development of, “effective communication competence to allow students to use English in its lingua franca and intercultural function, so that they can become citizens of the world” (PTT7). Two TFA trainees highlighted the importance of teacher education in order to be familiar with issues related to the pluralisation of English, and how this constitutes a fundamental step to foster a WE- and ELF-informed

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approach to teaching practices, for both language and cultural issues. The same point was reiterated in class discussions and the Moodle e-learning platform dedicated space, and also by PTT trainees: most comments pointed to how both teachers and students should be made aware of the plurality of English, ELF included. At the same time, several comments problematised the relationship (and balance) between teaching Standard “correct” English and fostering effective communication in teaching practices, relating it above all to the students’ expectations to be “corrected.” Most TFA trainees reckoned that ELT materials ought to cater more adequately for the current diversity in the English language both in terms of varieties (accents, above all) and intercultural skills. The same point was articulated by PTT trainees in the online forum (AY 2013/14). Dealing with different (WE) cultures and providing students with opportunities to communicate with other learners in “realistic” communicative contexts (international school exchanges, eTwinning projects, emails, and web-conferences were mentioned) would boost motivation and foster intercultural communication skills. Such an approach could also promote reflection on the English(es) pupils encounter in their outside-school environment. These findings suggest that these trainees are aware of the widespread function of lingua franca that English plays today. Most respondents highlighted the importance of teacher education in fostering and supporting reflection on the implications these issues can have in pedagogic practices. Teacher education, both pre- and in-service, thus seems to emerge as a priority in familiarising foreign-language educators with these concepts and issues which would allow the development of WE- and ELF-informed pedagogic practices. According to one of the participants, “teachers should know the meaning of ELF and the implications for ELT methodology” (PTT1) in order to, “change the Europe-centric view to a more multicultural one and also to understand and be exposed to different kinds of English. Not to be fixed on pronunciation and grammar norms but to concentrate on meaning and communication” (PTT7). Indeed, the inclusion of informative and reflective moments during the course, as well as the possibility to attend the symposium, seem to have allowed these trainee teachers to take on board the idea that English is not “only British” (or American) English— not least in connection with its presence in the environment and in language-use terms—and that more inclusive and pluralistic perspectives can be accounted for in reflective didactic practices.

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Findings, on the whole, seem in line with other studies (Jenkins 2007, Ch. 4, for an overview; D’Andrea, 2012, 179–81; Dewey 2012, 150–1; Floris 2013), and appear to point towards an openness in the recognition of the multifaceted ways and contexts in which English is used today. This is certainly a promising element to build upon in teacher education, so that active reflection on WE- and ELF-informed pedagogic choices can be taken into account in the ELT classroom.

3.4.

Favourable to More Varieties in Class

The possibility of including different varieties of English in classroom practices was also investigated in the questionnaire. As shown in Table 27.7 below, favourable views were expressed by all informants, and particularly by TFA trainee teachers: Favourable to More Varieties Table 27.7. Trainee teachers—how favourably do you view the inclusion of several varieties in teaching practices? (N 21/7)

Trainees were asked to choose from among some Inner and Outer circles varieties, and English as used in the Expanding Circle, as to what they thought should be included in textbooks. Regarding PTT trainees, British English (in three cases British and American) was considered the main variety that ought to be taken into consideration in listening tasks, while other Inner and Outer Circle ones should be included “occasionally” in

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tasks related to skills and civilisation. Nevertheless, eight primary respondents stated that ELF should play a primary role in materials, and two that it should be included occasionally. Two trainees (PTT9, PTT20) added that a pluralistic approach would also allow for greater inclusiveness in respect of students of non-Italian origin both in terms of language varieties and cultures; inclusiveness was also mentioned by several trainees as an advantage in incorporating more varieties in classroom practices. As to TFA trainees, exposure to different Englishes was considered very important, given its global spread and differentiation; the range of varieties chosen was rather broad. One possible reason for the PTTs’ narrower choice may reside in the view that, “primary school is too early to take into account different varieties, so better focus on British English” (PTT3). In general, however, the need for a broader exposure to varieties in order to familiarise students with the plurality they are likely to encounter in real life, particularly in intercultural terms, was expressed; as one trainee summarised, “students can realize how English is no longer 'the Queen's English' because it is the global language. Traditional native speakers are no longer the only model they can refer to. This aspect reduces the pressure to be native-like speakers and enhances the opportunity to let the students speak freely in order to communicate” (TFA7, emphasis in original). Respondents were also asked to reflect upon the advantages and disadvantages entailed by a plurilithic and more inclusive approach to Englishes in their plurality in didactic practices. As to advantages, a connection with a “real use of English” (PTT1) was generally stressed, since because, “students will communicate mainly with NNSs, [they] should be prepared to hear and recognize different varieties, get accustomed to different accents, ways of using and speaking English, to communicate with people from different countries” (PTT7). Problematic issues were mentioned too, and most answers contained elements that had also been highlighted by experienced teachers; in particular were: the choice among varieties in reference to local contexts (“what English should we teach?” 3 PTT respondents), curricula and classroom materials (3 PTT and 2 TFA), testing and international language proficiency exams, teacher training (4 PTT and 1 TFA), and attitudes towards non-standard language forms and potential “confusion” as to norms and grammar above all (13 respondents, 9 PTT, and 4 TFA). It is worth noting that the issue of acceptability of standard/non-standard language forms was also highlighted in Grau’s study with reference to accent in particular (2008:

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266), and by experienced primary EFL teachers (Vettorel, forthcoming a; Sifakis and Sougari 2010).

4. ELF-aware Lesson Planning Awareness-raising activities for the plurality of Englishes were included by TFA trainees in their final exam lesson plan, either as an expansion activity or as a main teaching aim, and two plans focused specifically on the global spread of English. The aim of the first lesson plan “The English Language” was to make “students understand where English is spoken in the world and for what purposes”; several activities were included through reading passages and speaking tasks in order to foster awareness of the role and developments of English in its plurality and, above all, world presence as the global means of communication. The “English: the Global Language” lesson plan included in its aims “being aware of different varieties in the world” and “reflecting upon the use of English as a Lingua Franca.” After a brainstorming session about the students’ personal experiences with English in the outside-school environment and their motivations for learning English, a video made by other students interacting with tourists was shown. The video was accompanied by activities, and was followed by the reading of a short passage about varieties of English. As to primary trainees, one teacher in AY 2012/13 included in her plan a broader cultural view in relation to festivals and celebrations in different parts of the world, first in the brainstorming session, then focusing on Diwali and the Chinese New Year. In AY 2013/14, most trainees included a reference to ELF and WE: some did so in more general terms, referring to the valuable opportunities offered by virtual international school exchanges (such as eTwinning), others focusing on intercultural aspects, such as world food and festivities in several cultures. The fact that many trainees developed their lesson plans with the aim of arousing interest in and awareness of Englishes and/or ELF, not least to increase motivation and provide connections with English as experienced by learners, as pointed out by most trainees, can certainly be considered as a positive step forward. Besides having tackled these issues during the course, the opportunity to attend the symposium also contributed to raising awareness of the spread and plurality of English, the role of lingua franca it increasingly plays, and the pedagogic implications these developments can have; almost half of the PTT trainees (44.4%) who attended the symposium stated they had not had any knowledge of ELF before, and the same was true for 42.9% of TFA trainee teachers; similarly, they declared

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that the course modules on WE/ELF helped to broaden their knowledge. This further points to the importance of teacher education in fostering knowledge and awareness of the current changes in the English language and their pedagogic implications (Bayyurt and Sifakis, forthcoming; Lopriore 2010; Pedrazzini and Nava 2013; Pedrazzini, forthcoming; Floris 2013), as highlighted by most participants in this study too.

5. Discussion of Findings and Concluding Remarks The findings illustrated in the previous sections seem to point towards a positive openness on several levels. First of all, all informants were largely aware that their (prospective) students use English to communicate with non-native, or with both native and non-native speakers—not least as L2 (ELF) users themselves. They were also well aware that their students use, and will use, the English they are learning to communicate in an array of situations and contexts, and that the current sociolinguistic developments of English entail contact with a plurality of speakers, accents, and varieties—lingua franca English included. This awareness could set the basis for acknowledging and taking such changes into account in pedagogic classroom practices, whereby it would seem, “crucial not to teach ESL/EFL students one single accent or model, but rather present them with a large array of English varieties,” including the ones spoken by teachers (Moussou and Llurda 2008, 331; Crystal 1999). As language specialists—and this applies even more to prospective language teachers since they will be the next generation of educators— teaching English today should be informed by current WE and ELF studies in sociolinguistics (Bayyurt 2013); even more importantly, reflective practices exploring the kind of implications for classroom practices these research areas have should be encouraged and promoted (Seidlhofer 2011, Chapter 8). As Matsuda (2009, 186) points out, if trainee teachers, “are equipped with the analytical and reflective skills to interpret their encounter with these new concepts, they will not only gain a knowledge base but also be able to use the exposure to these concepts to (re)shape their perception of English and English speakers.” This would allow them to take informed decisions in their classroom practices, and, “decide whether/to what extent ELF is relevant to their learners in their context” (Jenkins 2012, 492), also taking into account contact with, and use of, English outside the classroom walls (Ranta 2010), not least in motivational terms.

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Teacher education can indeed play a relevant role. Similarly to experienced teachers (Vettorel, forthcoming a), most trainees underlined that EFL teachers should be made familiar with the developments of English in order to include Englishes and ELF-informed choices in their teaching practices and be equipped with the knowledge necessary to acknowledge options other than rely on native-speaker orientation only (Dewey 2012; Llurda 2009; Seidlhofer 2011; Sifakis 2007). As Dewey (2012) has recently pointed out, a series of objectives would have to be accounted for in order to foster such diversity in ELT practices: investigation of the “sociocultural contexts where English(es) will be used,” exposure to the “diverse ways in which English is used globally,” including its variants, and critical reflection on these differences, valuing intelligibility over ENL forms, fostering the development of communicative strategies (163–4). One of the main objectives in teacher education would thus be to familiarise experienced and prospective teachers alike with issues and concepts related to the sociolinguistics of Englishes and ELF, so that the linguistic, cultural, and pragmatic dimensions can be taken into consideration. In this perspective, native, non-native, and localised elements would have the ultimate aim of developing effective and appropriate communication and intercultural competence skills, tailoring them to specific teaching realities (Qiufang 2012; Matsuda 2009; 2012; Matsuda and Duran 2012; Seidlhofer 2011, 201–8; papers in Alsagoff et al. 2012; Lopriore and Vettorel, forthcoming). The findings illustrated above suggest that such opportunities for reflection are welcomed by trainee teachers in order to open up the possibility to make informed pedagogical choices. A second and subsequent step would be to foster guided reflection on how teaching (and learning) practices can include opportunities to come into contact with a plurality of communicative contexts, from exposure to different accents and varieties, to an active use of the language in situations that are projected into the “real” world, fostering an, “ability to adapt, negotiate, and mediate communication in dynamic and context-sensitive ways” (Jenkins, Cogo and Dewey, 2011, 306, referring to Baker 2011). This shift in perspective is likely to also involve non-native teachers’ perceptions about their role as multicompetent bi-/multilingual speakers of the language they are teaching. Seidlhofer (1999, 235) describes the many strengths of bilingual teachers of English, defining them as “double agents” since they, “are at home with the language(s) and culture(s) they share with their students, but they also know the relevant terrain inhabited by the target language.” This makes them, Seidlhofer continues, “uniquely suited to be agents facilitating learning by mediating between the different languages

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and cultures through appropriate pedagogy” (ibid.). Furthermore, and as importantly, bilingual L2 teachers can provide their students with language models that are relevant to their own social and cultural experiences, thus authenticating the English they are learning and using, both within and outside the classroom (Seidlhofer 1996; Llurda 2004; McKay 2002; Moussou and Llurda 2008). Provided they are offered adequate training, teachers as bilingual users of English can provide students with an effective model as L2 communicators—a figure that students are more likely to meet in their (future) uses of English—rather than being continuously confronted with an NS model only. This would also connect trainee teachers’ experiences as ELF users, which, as we have seen, are diversified (Grau 2008, 270–1). As Llurda (2009, 131) points out, if teachers: can (1) personally experience the diversity of English language usage, (2) reflect critically on language learning and teaching and (3) perceive the current turn in society towards multilingualism and the international acceptance of English as a language for international communication, rather than as a culturally loaded national language, they will successfully overcome the paradox of being denied the right to own the language and still love it. They will become rightful and powerful free users and teachers of English as an International Language.

The curiosity and openness shown by the informants in this study can certainly be seen as a starting point towards the inclusion of topics and issues aimed at fostering this kind of awareness in teacher education. Such a perspective would most likely allow teachers to, “become more aware of the variety/ies of English they actually master and teach” (Pedrazzini and Nava 2011, 280), taking into consideration Englishes and ELF-informed choices in their pedagogic practices. This could lead to more flexible attitudes and a critical evaluation of prevalently norm-focused methodological approaches, which are still widely presented in textbooks and didactic materials, fostering pedagogic choices that can be locally tailored and attuned to their students’ present and future needs and contexts of use for English, something trainee teachers already seem well aware of. It would possibly allow them to (re)connect their own experiences as ELF users with those of their learners, and to value and sustain what can be “done” with language (and how language that is learnt is put into practice; Seidlhofer 2011; Widdowson 2012) in a real communicative “outside-the-class” perspective, rather than seeing it as “only” a school subject, both in language and (inter)cultural terms. The pedagogic implications of the findings in the areas of WE and ELF, such as the ones illustrated in this paper, can certainly be currently

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considered one of the most challenging and vibrant research areas in applied linguistics, with an ongoing upsurge of interest (Alsagoff et al. 2012; Matsuda 2012; Bowles and Cogo, forthcoming; Vettorel, forthcoming b). It will be particularly interesting to see how the future research contributions in these areas will impact on teacher education and teaching practices in terms of awareness and change.

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International Perspectives on ELF–oriented Teaching, edited by H. Bowles and A. Cogo. London: Palgrave MacMillan. Matsuda, A. 2009. “Desirable but not Necessary? The Place of World Englishes and English as an International Language in English Teacher Preparation Programs in Japan.” In English as an International Language: Perspectives and Pedagogical Issues, edited by F. Sharifian, 169–89. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters. Matsuda, A. (ed.). 2012. Principles and Practices of Teaching English as an International Language. Bristol: Multilingual Matters. Matsuda, A., and C. S. Duran. 2012. “EIL Activities and Tasks for Traditional English Classrooms.” In Principles and Practices of Teaching English as an International Language, edited by A. Matsuda, 201–37. Bristol: Multilingual Matters. McKay, S. L. 2002. Teaching English as an International Language. Oxford: Oxford University Press. MIUR. 2012. “Decreto del direttore generale per il personale scolastico n. 82, 24 settembre 2012: indizione dei concorsi a posti e cattedre, per titoli ed esami, finalizzati al reclutamento del personale docente nelle scuole dell’infanzia, primaria, secondaria di I e II grado.” Moussou, L., and E. Llurda, E. 2008. “Non-native English-speaking English Language Teachers: History and Research.” Language Teaching 413: 315–48. Pedrazzini, L. forthcoming. “Raising Trainee Teachers’ Awareness of Language Variation through Data-based Tasks.” In New Frontiers in Teaching and Learning English, edited by P. Vettorel. Newcastle upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars Publishing. Pedrazzini, L., and A. Nava. 2011. “Researching ELF Identity: A Study with Non-native English Teachers.” In Latest Trends in ELF Research, edited by A. Archibald, A. Cogo, and J. Jenkins, 269–84. Newcastle Upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars Publishing. Pedrazzini, L., and A. Nava. 2013. “Raising Trainee Teachers’ Awareness of Language Variation through Data-based Tasks.” Presentation given at the symposium “New Frontiers in Teaching and Learning English,” University of Verona, February 15, 2013. http://prin–confs–2013. dlls.univr.it/prin/newFrontiers.html. Qiufang, W. 2012. “English as a Lingua Franca: a Pedagogical Perspective.” Journal of English as a Lingua Franca 12: 371–6. Ranta, E. 2010. “English in the Real World vs. English at School: Finnish English Teachers’ and Students’ Views.” International Journal of Applied Linguistics 202: 156–77.

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Seidlhofer, B. 1996. “‘It is an Undulating Feeling …’ The Importance of being a Non–native Teacher of English.” Views 5 (1–2): 63–80. —. 1999. “Double Standards: Teacher Education in the Expanding Circle.” World Englishes 182: 233–45. —. 2004. “Research Perspectives on Teaching English as a Lingua Franca.” Annual Review of Applied Linguistics 24: 209–39. —. 2011. Understanding English as a Lingua Franca. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Sifakis, N. C. 2004. “Teaching EIL—Teaching International or Intercultural English? What Teachers should Know.” System 32: 237–50. —. 2007. “The Education of Teachers of English as a Lingua Franca: a Transformative Perspective.” International Journal of Applied Linguistics 173: 355–75. Sifakis, N. C., and A.-M. Sougari. 2010. “Between a Rock and a Hard Place: an Investigation of EFL Teachers' Beliefs on what Keeps them from Integrating Global English in their Classrooms.” In EIL, ELF, Global English: Teaching and Learning Issues, edited by C. Gagliardi and A. Maley, 301–20. Bern: Peter Lang. Suzuki, A. 2011. “Introducing Diversity of English into ELT: Student Teachers’ Responses.” ELT Journal 652: 145–53. Vettorel, P. 2010. “Englishes, ELF, Xmas and Trees: Intercultural Communicative Competence and English as a Lingua Franca in the Primary Classroom.” Perspectives XXXVII (1): 25–52. —. 2013a. “ELF in International School Exchanges: Stepping into the Role of ELF Users.” Journal of English as a Lingua Franca 21: 147–73. —. 2013b. “Primary School Teachers’ Perceptions: Englishes, ELF, Classroom Practices and International Partnerships.” Presentation given at the Symposium “New Frontiers in Language Teaching and Learning,” University of Verona, February 15, 2013. http://prin– confs2013.dlls.univr.it/prin/newfrontiers/programme.html. —. forthcoming a. “Primary School Teachers’ Perceptions: Englishes, ELF and Classroom Practices—between ‘Correctness’ and ‘Communicative Effectiveness’.” In New Frontiers in Teaching and Learning English, edited by P. Vettorel. Newcastle upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars Publishing. —. forthcoming b. New Frontiers in Teaching and Learning English. Newcastle upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars Publishing. Widdowson, H. G. 2012. “ELF and the Inconvenience of Established Concepts.” Journal of English as a Lingua Franca 11: 5–26.

LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS

Nazl Baykal started teaching in 1987 and worked in several universities in Turkey. She completed her PhD at Hacettepe University, Ankara in the English Linguistics Department. She currently works in the Education Faculty, ELT Department of Süleyman Demirel University, Isparta. She teaches linguistics, first and second language acquisition, teaching English to young learners, and teaching Turkish as a foreign language courses. She also teaches Sociolinguistics and Language Teaching, and Applied Linguistics in an MA programme in the same department. Her research interests include sociolinguistics, the relationship between language and identity with reference to newspapers and political discourse, and language use and spatial relationship with reference to gentrification projects. Kagan Büyükkarc has an MA from Selçuk University, and a PhD from the Çukurova University ELT department. He is currently working as an Assisstant Professor at Süleyman Demirel University, Faculty of Education, ELT Department. Cem Can has been teaching at the ELT Department of Faculty of Education, Çukurova University since 1989. He received his PhD in Applied Linguistics in speaking in an adult second language acquisition from a generative linguistic perspective. He has conducted research studies on SLA from a generative linguistic perspective, learner corpora, and English Language Teaching. He has coordinated and participated in many EU educational projects with various European universities. He has also compiled a Turkish International Corpus of Learner English and has been coordinating VESPA and LONGDALE Turkish subcorpus in Turkey. Çise Çavuúo÷lu completed her BA degree in English Language Teaching and her MEd degree in Educational Sciences at Eastern Mediterranean University. She received the Fulbright FLTA scholarship and worked at Binghamton University, State University of New York for one academic year. After completing her PhD in Education at King’s College London in 2010, she returned to Near East University as a lecturer in education and the Vice Chair of the Department of ELT. Her research interests cover the relationship between ethnicity, culture, everyday language use, and

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List of Contributors

attitudes of participants towards learning and teaching English in multicultural settings. Stephen Crabbe joined the School of Languages and Area Studies in 2011 after completing an AHRC-funded PhD in Applied Linguistics. He teaches and supervises undergraduate and postgraduate (MA and PhD) students in technical, professional, and business communication. He also teaches Japanese to English translation. His research interests include controlled languages, technical/professional writing for an international readership, and the historical development of technical/professional writing. He is the Deputy Course Leader of a new MA in Communication and Language that will be offered from 2016 Marek Derenowksi received his PhD in applied linguistics from Adam Mickiewicz University in PoznaĔ. He is a teacher and a teacher educator working at the English Department of the Faculty of Pedagogy and Fine Arts of Adam Mickiewicz University (Kalisz, Poland). He also works at the Institute of Modern Languages of Konin State School of Higher Professional Education. For the last seventeen years, he has also been a teacher of English in senior high-school. His major interest is in teacher education and professional development, the place of target language culture in the foreign language education, and learner autonomy. Suparada Eak-in is a lecturer of English at Mahanakorn University of Technology. She has been teaching English to Engineering students for five years. She is also a PhD candidate in the English Language Studies program at Thammasat University. Her research regards corpus-based learning and teaching in an ESP context. Her research interests are corpus in language learning and teaching, corpus linguistics, second language writing, and ESP teaching. Souâd Hamerlain completed her PhD on the Pragmatics of Translating Algerian Arabic Drama and Popular Poetry into English at Sidi Belabbes University (Algeria). She teaches Linguistics, Discourse Analysis, and Translation at the department of English (Mostaganem University). She has taken part in a number of naional and international conferences. Her recent publications include: “Towards a Model of Tradaptation,” in Studies in English (2011), and “The Cognitive Marketplace at the Crossroads of the Labyrinthine Text and the Reader/Detective Translator,” in Aktuelle Tendenzen der Sprachwissenschaft (2013).

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øsmigül Hatipo÷lu received her MA in English Language Teaching (ELT) at Yeditepe University. She currently works as an EFL instructor for the Preparatory School at Bilgi University. Her research interests include bilingual and adult learners, assessment, motivation, and materials design in EFL. Yuka Iwata is an Assistant Professor of Japanese Language at the University of Guam where she teaches and researched second language acquisition and intercultural communication. She received a PhD in Curriculum and Instruction in TESOL from the University of Mississippi and has taught Japanese and related courses at universities in the USA for the last 12 years. She is the author of Japanese for Tourism Professionals (2010), a textbook written for English speakers wishing to acquire Japanese language skills and cultural knowledge linked to tourism and hospitality. Rym Jamly holds a bachelor of Arts in the English language from the Higher Institute of Languages of Gabes, Tunisia; and a Master of Arts in ESP from the Faculty of Social and Human Sciences of Tunis, Tunisia. Her research interests are ESP, needs analysis, curriculum design, and assessment. She has two years of teaching experience. The subjects she has taught are oral expression, pronunciation, and legal English. Erkan Karabacak obtained his PhD in Applied Linguistics at Northern Arizona University. He teaches as an assistant professor in the ELT department at Yeditepe University, Istanbul. His research interests include academic writing, formulaic language, and terminology development. He uses corpus methodology and move analysis in his studies. Mustafa Naci Kayao÷lu, Assoc. Prof. Dr., having received his MA from Bilkent University, holds a PhD from Bristol University, United Kingdom. He is the author of Language Learning Starategies: Theory, Practice and Issues (2011). He is the coordinator of the Applied Linguistics Graduate Programme (MA) and has supervised graduate studies. He has also published numerous articles and contributed to various projects. His research interests include educational technology, psychology of learning, cognition and learning, corpus linguistics, EFL writing, teacher development, and translation. Anna Kozioá graduated from Opole University in 2011. Currently, she is a PhD student in the Department of Philology at Opole University. She is

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List of Contributors

researching the topic of group dynamics and language success in junior high schools, taking into consideration the aspect of gender. She also works as an English teacher at a primary and a junior high school. Incorporating innovative methods of teaching into the foreign language classroom together along with stimulating and motivating teaching techniques are in her field of research interest. Ihor Lubashevsky, Professor, PhD (candidate of Science Degree, Physics and Mathematics) from the Moscow Institute for Physics and Technology, 1980; Doctor of Science (Habilitation in Physics & Mathematics) from Lomonosov Moscow State University, 1993. Main research theme: Nonlinear stochastic processes, Self-organization phenomena, Anomalous transport phenomena, Multi-element systems where human beings or living beings play crucial roles. Enisa Mede has been in the field of English language teaching for 12 years. Currently, she is working as an Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Educational Sciences, Department of English Language Teaching at Bahcesehir University, Istanbul. Her chief research interests are curriculum development and evaluation, early bilingualism, bilingual education, and learner autonomy. Anna MichoĔska-Stadnik, Prof., works at the Institute of English Studies, University of Wrocáaw in Poland and at the Philology Section of the Karkonosze Higher State School in Jelenia Góra. She is a graduate of the University of Wrocáaw (1977) and Victoria University of Manchester, UK (MEd TESOL in 1985). Professor Stadnik teaches mostly diploma courses, MA and BA, and ELT methodology. She is a member of IATEFL, of the Modern Language Association of Poland (deputy chair), and the Wrocáaw Scientific Society. Her scholarly interests include psycholinguistics, SLA studies, foreign language teacher training, and SLA research methods. She has published five books and more than sixty research articles in Poland and abroad. Oksana Nazarova is an English language teacher at the AmericanBashkir InterCollege in the Russian Federation. She also works with talented teens from economically disadvantaged sectors through the US Embassy’s Access Microscholarship Program. Oksana obtained her first professional (specialist) degree in Journalism from Bashkir State University and did her MA in English Language Teaching at the Near East

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University. Her main interests lie in the application of techniques used by journalists in education. Neslihan Önder Özdemir is teaching and coordinating medical English courses in the Faculty of Medicine at Uluda÷ University, Turkey. After receiving a double major undergraduate degree, she studied for a postgraduate degree in English for specific purposes at the University of Essex, United Kingdom. Her main research interests include English for specific/academic purposes, medical English, technical English, academic writing, corpus linguistics, needs analysis, research ethics, and critical pedagogy. Ali ùükrü Özbay has been working at the Department of English, Karadeniz Technical University, since 2001. He holds a BA in English Language and Literature from Ankara University and an MA from KTU, Applied Linguistics Program. His main areas of interest include corpus linguistics and learner corpora, translation studies, listening comprehension strategies, academic writing, and error analysis. He has presented papers at several international conferences. He is currently working on his PhD thesis with the title “Corpus Analysis of the Support Verb Construction Development of the Advanced Learners of English in a Tertiary Level EFL Setting in Turkey.” Katarzyna Papaja works at the State University of Applied Sciences in Konin, Poland. She received a PhD in applied linguistics. She specialises in methods of teaching English as a foreign language and bilingual education. She has taken part in many conferences abroad and in Poland. She has published widely on bilingual education methodologies (mainly content and language integrated learning [CLIL]). She was part of the team that conducted groundwork leading to the publication of the “Profile Report: Bilingual Education (English) in Poland.” She was also awarded various scholarships and as a result was able to gain teaching experience in countries such as the United Kingdom, the United States, Germany, and Switzerland. At the moment she is working on the development of a CLIL syllabus. Jingjing Qin received her PhD in applied linguistics from the Northern Arizona University, United States. Her research focuses on English academic writing and written discourse analysis. Her recent publications have appeared in System, Language Teaching Research, and TESOL

488

List of Contributors

publications. Currently, she is an assistant professor in ELT at Yeditepe University, Istanbul, Turkey. Célia Quintas is a lecturer at ESCE IPS—Escola Superior de Ciências Empresariais do Instituto Politécnico de Setúbal (September 2012 to present) and at UAL Universidade Autónoma de Lisboa (October 1992 to present). She is a researcher at Review Organizações e Trabalho (September 2005 to present), Universidade Autónoma de Lisboa. She has conducted several studies in the field of learning in higher education and on working conditions, market orientation, innovation, and entrepreneurship. She teaches courses in the area of organisational learning and human resource management. She is also an assistant in the office of self-rating for the quality of the Autonomous University of Lisbon, where she conducted several studies on students' perceived satisfaction with teaching. Debopriyo Roy is a senior associate professor at the Center for Language Research,University of Aizu, Japan. His research deals with information design, technical writing, and usability for CALL in an EFL context. He focuses on the cognitive and behavioral aspect of writing design for print and the online medium for non-native speakers. He obtained his PhD in technical communication and rhetoric from the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY, and MA degrees in communication and economics. He is an active board member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) chapters in Japan, directs his own laboratory in technical communication, supervises research projects, and is an active researcher with numerous publications in leading journals and conference proceedings. Ali Safari, Assistant Professor, BA in TEFL at the University of Qom, IR, MA in general linguistics at the University of Tehran, IR, PhD in general linguistics at the University of Tehran, IR. His recent publications are: “Frame Semantics and LVC alternation in Persian,” Journal of Lingual Inquests (Tarbiat Modares University, 2014); English for Future (Qom, Entekhab, 2014); “Causative Alternation in Persian,” Journal of Language Research 4 (Tehran University, 2013); “Locative Alternation in Persian,” Journal of Research in Linguistics 1 (University of Isfahan, 2012). Isabel Fernandes Silva has a PhD in English literature from the university of Salamanca, Spain, but she has dedicated most of her academic career to teaching English (including English for specific

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purposes) and translation at Universidade Autónoma de Lisboa, a private university in Lisbon, Portugal. She has published several papers on English as a foreign language, technology-enhanced learning, multimodality, and translation. She is a journal reviewer and translator as well as a member of international scientific organisations, namely of the European Translation Society and of the International Council for Educational Media. Anja Šariü earned her Bachelor’s degree in English language and linguistics at the University of Novi Sad. She is currently finishing her research Master’s program in linguistics at Utrecht University. Her main field of interest is syntax, but she also researches various areas of psycholinguistics. More specifically, she is interested in cognitive aspects of bilingualism, as well as L1 and L2 acquisition, especially that of syntactic structures. In September, Anja is starting her PhD studies in theoretical linguistics at the University of Novi Sad. Artur ĝwiątek holds a PhD in English linguistics. He represents The Pedagogical University of Krakow, Poland, where he holds a position of Assistant Professor in the Institute of Neophilology, Department of English Philology. His main interests revolve around general linguistics (function words and their meanings in different languages), L1, L2 acquisition, contrastive linguistics and translation. He is also a certified translator of English, and is therefore very willing to commence international cooperation with many universities within the fields of linguistics and translation Ana Luísa Teixeira holds a PhD in African Literature (Fulbright grantee at Temple University, Philadelphia, USA: 1996–2001). After concluding her doctorate, Dr Teixeira’s main research focus has been on the interplay of gender and culture and its impact on the production of literature by Mozambican women. Her main research interests are African literature, gender studies, and teaching ESL. Dr Teixeira is an assistant professor at Universidade Europeia, Laureate International Universities, in Lisbon, Portugal. Tergui Sofiène has been an EFL university teacher since 2003. He holds a BA in English and a TEFL certificate from Colchester English Study Centre, United Kingdom. His MA is in specialised translation. He started his teaching career as an ESP teacher and enriched his English language teaching experience by participating in workshops and training both in

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List of Contributors

Tunisia and abroad. He started teaching English and translation (from and into English, Arabic, and French) in 2007 at the University of Manar, Tunis. Currently, his main focus is on reconsidering and developing the translation teaching methods at the tertiary level. Natalia Troufanova has been English an language advisor and lecturer in linguistics at Bauman Moscow State Technical University since 1999. In 2000–1 she was assistant professor at Indiana University, Summer Workshop in Slavic and Eastern European languages. She was educated at Moscow State University, Philological Faculty (her degree is in theoretical and applied linguistics), and received her PhD at the Russian Academy of Science (with a thesis on contrastive linguistics: “Lexical Units Denoting Persons in Business English and Russian Languages,” defended in November 2006). Her research interests lie primarily in LSP and sociolinguistics. Her publications include articles on EFL teaching and Russian LSP dictionaries in various national journals and edited volumes. Seden Tuyan completed her MA and PhD at Çukurova University, English Language Teaching Department. Currently, she is working as the syllabus coordinator and a language instructor at YADYO, The School of Foreign Languages at Çukurova University, Turkey. Her major interests are classroom management, classroom methodology, personal and professional development, neuro-linguistic programming, character education, and emotional intelligence. Marina Tzoannopoulou is a lecturer at the School of Journalism and Mass Communications, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. She holds an M. Phil. in applied linguistics from Trinity College Dublin and a PhD in Linguistics from the School of English, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. She has taught English as a foreign language for 15 years at all levels of education. She currently teaches courses in academic writing and English for specific purposes. Her research interests lie in the areas of second language acquisition, psycholinguistics, ESP, and CLIL. Serkan Uygun is currently a lecturer at Yeditepe University, østanbul, Turkey. He has been teaching English since 2000 and Turkish since 2009. He holds a BA in English language teaching from østanbul University, østanbul, Turkey, an MA in English language education from Yeditepe University, østanbul, Turkey, and is currently writing his PhD dissertation in psycholinguistics and bilingualism at Yeditepe University, østanbul. His

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main research interests are English language teaching management, psycholinguistics, bilingualism, and second language acquisition. Paola Vettorel is an assistant professor at the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures, University of Verona. Her main research interests include ELF and its implications for ELT. Among her recent publications are: “ELF in International School Exchanges: Stepping into the Role of ELF Users,” Journal of English as a Lingua Franca 2 (1) (2013), and “Connecting English wor(l)ds and classroom practices,” Textus 1 (2014). Gülin Zeybek has been working as an English Instructor in Süleyman Demirel University since 2009. She was teaching at the Foreign Language Education Department between 2010 and 2014. After receiving her MA from the Foreign Language Education Department, she is planning a PhD in the same field.