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EFL Students (efl + student)
Selected AbstractsThe Effects of Differences in Point of View on the Story Production of Japanese EFL StudentsFOREIGN LANGUAGE ANNALS, Issue 2 2001Taeko Kamimura Japanese college EFL students wrote two narrative stories based on the same series of pictures, one in the first-person perspective and the other in the third-person perspective. The sample writings were analyzed quantitatively and qualitatively in relation to the students' levels of English proficiency. The results showed that when the perspective was shifted from the first to the third person, the low-proficiency students' writings became poorer in quantity and quality, whereas the high-proficiency students' narratives exhibited no decrease in quantity and a slight decline in quality. On the other hand, when the perspective was switched from the third to the first person, the students' writings showed both quantitative and qualitative development, and this development was more clearly observed in the stories of those with high English proficiency. [source] Discovering EFL learners' perception of prior knowledge and its roles in reading comprehensionJOURNAL OF RESEARCH IN READING, Issue 2 2002Zheng Lin This paper investigates EFL learners' perception of prior knowledge and its roles in reading comprehension. It is based on a survey conducted among 400 EFL students studying at secondary and tertiary levels in China. Through the analysis of the ranked multiple responses to the questions posed in the questionnaire, the paper shows that EFL students in mainland China believe that their command of English vocabulary plays a crucial role in their reading comprehension. However as their linguistic knowledge increases, they tend to attach less importance to their linguistic knowledge, especially the knowledge of English syntax and formal structures. At the same time, conceptual and sociocultural knowledge seems to gain greater importance. Furthermore, the perceived importance of linguistic knowledge seems to start diminishing around the end of secondary education, when EFL students have acquired a vocabulary of about 3000 words and the basic knowledge of English syntax and formal structures. The final replacement of linguistic knowledge by conceptual or sociocultural knowledge as the top factor that affects their reading comprehension seems to take place one year after the beginning of the tertiary EFL course. This may well be considered as an indication of the EFL threshold level for EFL students in China. [source] Extensive reading in English: habits and attitudes of a group of Italian university EFL studentsJOURNAL OF RESEARCH IN READING, Issue 2 2001Belinda Crawford Camiciottoli Although extensive reading is now recognised as an important element of language instruction, it appears that EFL students specialising in business studies do little reading in English beyond course requirements. This study illustrates the findings of a survey of reading frequency and attitudes related to extensive reading in English. A questionnaire administered to 182 Italian EFL students at the University of Florence showed that even if frequency of reading in English is quite low, attitude towards it is clearly favourable. In addition, multiple regression analysis was used to determine potentially influential factors. Reading in Italian and experience abroad were significantly correlated with both reading frequency and attitude. The correlation between past access to English books and reading attitude approached the significance level. A negative correlation was found instead between the number of years of past English study and reading attitude. These findings are useful for defining appropriate instructional actions and identifying areas for further research, with the aim of more effectively promoting extensive reading in English. [source] Developing an Oral Communication Strategy InventoryMODERN LANGUAGE JOURNAL, Issue 2 2006YASUO NAKATANI This study focuses on how valid information about learner perception of strategy use during communicative tasks can be gathered systematically from English as a foreign language (EFL) learners. First, the study attempted to develop a questionnaire for statistical analysis, named the Oral Communication Strategy Inventory (OCSI). The research project consisted of 3 stages: an open-ended questionnaire to identify learners' general perceptions of strategies for oral interaction (N= 80); a pilot factor analysis for selecting test items (N= 400); and a final factor analysis to obtain a stable self-reported instrument (N= 400). The resulting OCSI includes 8 categories of strategies for coping with speaking problems and 7 categories for coping with listening problems during communication. The applicability of the survey instrument was subsequently examined in a simulated communicative test for EFL students (N= 62). To validate the use of the instrument, participant reports on the Strategy Inventory for Language Learning (SILL) were compared with the result of the OCSI. When combined with the oral test scores, it was revealed that students with high oral proficiency tended to use specific strategies, such as social affective strategies, fluency-oriented strategies, and negotiation of meaning. [source] Differing Perceptions of EFL Writing among Readers in JapanMODERN LANGUAGE JOURNAL, Issue 2 2001Carol Rinnert This quantitative and qualitative study investigated perceptions of English compositions among four groups of readers (N= 465) in Japan. Analyses of evaluative criteria and readers' comments yielded the following clear parallel results: Whereas inexperienced English as a Foreign Language (EFL) students attended predominantly to content in both judging and commenting on compositions, more experienced EFL students and nonnative English teachers showed greater concern than the inexperienced students did for clarity, logical connections, and organization. The experienced groups' perceptions tended to be more similar to the perceptions of native English-speaking teachers than those of the inexperienced EFL students. This tendency suggests that there is a gradual change in Japanese readers' perceptions of English composition from preferring the writing features of their first language (L1) to preferring many of the writing features of the second language (L2). The results imply that the particular kind of evaluation and feedback students are asked to provide on their peers' writing should vary according to the amount of L2 writing awareness and experience they have acquired. [source] | ||||||||||