Browsing by Subject "SLA"
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- PublicationOpen AccessAge and type of instruction (CLIC vs. traditional EFL) in lexical development(2016-06-28) Agustín-Llach, María PilarThe present paper compares the vocabulary development of a group of CLIL and of traditional EFL learners along three years. The observation that a CLIL approach might provide with larger benefits in the long run vocabulary is the starting point of this study. We had learners in the two groups complete a letter writing task. These writings were then scrutinized for L1 influence in the form of borrowings and lexical creations. The frequency of the words in the letters was also object of analysis. Results revealed that CLIL learners perform slightly better but non-significantly better than traditional EFL along the three years. Furthermore, the evolution of L1 influence and word use also followed an expected improvement pattern as learners went up grade. However, our results do not provide evidence of a growing CLIL advantage with increasing experience. The young age and low proficiency of learners in the present study might be blocking this possible advantage found elsewhere.
- PublicationOpen AccessAn attempt to elaborate a construct to measure the degree of explicitness and implicitness in ELT materials(Murcia, Universidad de Murcia, Servicio de Publicaciones, 2010) Criado, Raquel; Sánchez Pérez, Aquilino; Cantos Gómez, Pascual
- PublicationEmbargoCognitive underpinnings of repetitive practice in the learning of EFL(2010-08-07) Sánchez Pérez, Aquilino; Criado, Raquel; Filología InglesaClassroom practice has traditionally emphasized the value and efficacy of repetition as a means to consolidate learning. It is also well known that some methods (e.g. the Audiolingual method) have relied more exclusively on this technique. Other methods (the Direct Method, the Communicative Approach) have given priority to language use or emphasized content. Thus, repetition practices have been left aside in the last decades, while ‘open’ and ‘free/non controlled activities’ have been encouraged instead. Teaching materials available have followed these trends. Research on knowledge acquisition processes may shed some light on the issue. Studies in the field of neurobiology, neurolinguistics and psycholinguistics have contributed relevant evidence to a more accurate understanding of the structure of the brain and the role of frequency and repetition to allow for incoming information into the short-term memory to pass to and consolidate in the long-term memory. This is a necessary step to reach proceduralization and automatization. As a conclusion, repetitive practice must be present in language teaching/learning. The true methodological issue regarding repetitive practice (as illustrated in the samples here analysed) should therefore be centred on the nature of repetitive activities and on how teachers and teaching materials should administer them.
- PublicationOpen AccessLexical language-related episodes in pair and small group work(2017-06-28) Garcia Mayo, Maria del Pilar; Zeitler, NoraThe present study investigates whether learner set up in interaction, namely in pairs or small groups, influences the frequency and outcome of lexical language-related episodes (LREs) and L2 vocabulary learning. Thirty Spanish English as a foreign language (EFL) university learners took part in the study. They worked in four groups and seven pairs on the same collaborative writing task. Research was carried out on the course of five weeks as a pre- and post- vocabulary task and an individual writing task were administered to assess vocabulary learning and retention. The quantitative analysis of the data showed that there was no significant difference between the performance of pairs and groups, although the latter produced slightly more lexical LREs than pairs and were able to solve most of them correctly. However, from a qualitative point of view, the findings suggest that small group work leads to slightly better results than pair work as the different members obtain benefits from their peers' linguistic knowledge.
- PublicationOpen AccessThe 'Interface Issue' in SLA: Is there a reflection in ELT materials? Rationale for a proposal.(Ediciones de la Universidad de Salamanca, 2012) Sánchez Pérez, Aquilino; Criado, Raquel; Filología InglesaSince Krashen (1981, 1982) raised the question of 'learning' vs. 'acquisition', an increasingly hot debate has gained momentum in SLA. Such a debate is referred to in the literature as the 'interface issue'. Briefly, the interface issue is centered on the role that the explicit and implicit components may play in knowledge acquisition and on whether there is any kind of interaction between them. This issue has been traditionally analysed from the point of view of SLA, but it could also be viewed from the perspective of FLT: do FLT materials also assume the interface position – consciously or not– and are they built on the assumption that explicit and implicit knowledge really interact with each other? In order to answer this question a construct should be designed to discover the potential of teaching activities to promote explicit or implicit teaching, or both. The elaboration of such a construct should be based on a previous definition and identification of the operational features of explicit and implicit knowledge as applied to FLT materials. Our stand is that such a construct is feasible. We offer here the outline of a proposal based on the rationale presented along the paper. ------------------------------------
- PublicationOpen AccessThe universal character of the DEC−>PRO cognitive sequence in language learning and teaching materials.(Asociación Española de Lingüística Aplicada (AESLA), 2009) Criado, Raquel; Sánchez Pérez, Aquilino; Filología InglesaActivity sequencing patterns in teaching materials have traditionally been absent in academic discussions and have received no attention by researchers and language teaching practitioners. More recent studies on cognitive knowledge acquisition suggest, however, that pedagogical sequencing is relevant and may severely affect efficiency in the learning of foreign languages. If knowledge acquisition is governed by specific patterns, the learning –and hence teaching– of foreign languages cannot but comply with those patterns. In this article we will firstly begin with two well consolidated theories on knowledge acquisition –rationalism and empiricism–, and associate them to the general cognitive models most widely recognised nowadays, particularly Anderson’s ACT (1983, 2005). Secondly, we will investigate the types of sequences detected in three samples of teaching materials. The analysis will be carried out comparing the sequencing of activities in sample lessons against the sequencing patterns governing knowledge acquisition. Such a comparison will faithfully indicate whether teaching materials fit or not the general model of knowledge acquisition.---------------------------------------------
- PublicationOpen AccessThe “Communicative Processes-Based Model of Activity Sequencing” (CPM): A cognitively and pedagogically sound alternative to the P-P-P sequencing model in ELT.(Universidad de Almería, 2009-09) Criado, Raquel; Filología InglesaWith the advent of the Communicative Language Teaching Method, the traditional ‘Presentation-Practice-Production model of activity sequencing’ (P-P-P) from Structural Methods became the target of severe criticisms. The P-P-P should not be categorically rejected, since it actually conforms to one of the most infl uential models of skill acquisition in contemporary cognitive psychology: ACT-R (Anderson et al. 2004). Nevertheless, it is necessary to acknowledge the need for an activity sequencing model which respects cognitive learning principles and is explicitly inspired by real communicative processes. In this way, students’ language learning experience can be linked to the world outside the classroom. The ‘Communicative Processes-based model of activity sequencing’ (CPM) is described as a cognitively and pedagogically sound alternative to the P-P-P through the adaptation of a lesson from a well-known 21st century ELT textbook. --------------------------------------------------
- PublicationEmbargoVocabulary in EFL Textbooks. A Contrastive Analysis against Three Corpus-Based Word Ranges(AELINCO, 2009) Criado, Raquel; Sánchez Pérez, Aquilino; Filología InglesaVocabulary teaching and learning is one the most important components in textbooks. Vocabulary knowledge is also frequently associated to language fluency. It is therefore important to investigate how textbooks present vocabulary, and how they comply with the conditions necessary for vocabulary learning. We will take into consideration three perspectives here: the conditions derived from cognitive processes of knowledge acquisition, the role of frequency in language and vocabulary learning and the distribution of new words throughout textbooks. The analysis of a specific EFL textbook and the comparison of the results against the rationale supporting the three perspectives mentioned above will reveal whether the textbook is suitable for efficiently reaching the goals regarding vocabulary teaching/learning.