ethanporcaro/eric-fulltext-meta huggingface dataset:
New Perspective on Visual Communication Design Education: An Empirical Study of Applying Narrative Theory to Graphic Design Courses
Author: Yang, Chao-Ming
Date: 2017-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Design,Visual Literacy,Semiotics,Teaching Methods,Experimental Groups,Control Groups,Creativity,Aesthetics,Visualization,Matched Groups,Linguistic Theory,Story Telling,Pretests Posttests,Signs,Graphic Arts,Statistical Analysis,Models,Civil Rights,Scores,College Students,Foreign Countries

Visual communication design (VCD) is a form of nonverbal communication. The application of relevant linguistic or semiotic theories to VCD education renders graphic design an innovative and scientific discipline. In this study, actual teaching activities were examined to verify the feasibility of applying narrative theory to graphic design courses. Matched group design was employed to equally divide 30 participants into experimental and control groups, who participated in distinct activities over a 4-week period. The results revealed that incorporating narrative theory into graphic design courses enabled increasing students' poster design capabilities across various dimensions, including thematic concept, image creativity, and visual aesthetic. Narrative is a storytelling method. Applying narrative techniques to VCD not only facilitates the creativity of designers, but also elicits the audience's visual memory, thereby encouraging a bidirectional communication between the two entities.
Critical Issues in the Evaluation of an International Project Dedicated to Technology-Mediated TBLT (PETALL)
Author: Lopes, António
Date: 2015-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Teaching Methods,Educational Technology,Technology Uses in Education,Program Evaluation,Second Language Instruction,Design,Evaluation Methods,Assignments,Foreign Countries,Questionnaires,Consortia,Quality Assurance

The CEFR encourages teachers to resort to task-based activities in the language classroom. However, some resistance has been offered to this approach, due to lack of appropriate training and difficulty in meeting some basic practical conditions, as well as in finding resources and examples of good practices, as shown in a survey conducted within the scope of ETALAGE. PETALL (Pan European Task-based Activities in Language Learning [2013-2016]) seeks to construct a transnational strategy for ICT-based task design management and aims to design tasks that can be implemented in different educational contexts. This paper offers an overview of the internal evaluation procedures to be followed at different levels and stages of the project, and discusses the objectives, underlying principles and criteria applied.
Bridges to Swaziland: Using Task-Based Learning and Computer-Mediated Instruction to Improve English Language Teaching and Learning
Author: Pierson, Susan Jacques
Date: 2015-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,English (Second Language),Second Language Instruction,Teaching Methods,Computer Assisted Instruction,Assignments,At Risk Students,Professional Development,Cooperative Learning,Discussion (Teaching Technique),Language Usage,Cultural Relevance,Academic Support Services,Workshops,Access to Computers,Program Effectiveness,Questionnaires,Teacher Attitudes,Student Attitudes,Surveys,Elementary Secondary Education

One way to provide high quality instruction for underserved English Language Learners around the world is to combine Task-Based English Language Learning with Computer- Assisted Instruction. As part of an ongoing project, &quot;Bridges to Swaziland,&quot; these approaches have been implemented in a determined effort to improve the ESL program for Orphans and Vulnerable Children at a mission school in Swaziland, Southern Africa. In addition to providing staff development for Swazi teachers and staff, the project director and her students have worked directly with OVC and also created a number of digital tools, designed to encourage discussion, facilitate cooperative learning and inspire English Language use in a meaningful and culturally relevant context. Results, while limited, indicate that application of the two approaches, TBLL and CALL has increased the confidence of teachers and improved student motivation and achievement.
Using LEGO Blocks for Technology-Mediated Task-Based English Language Learning
Author: Gadomska, Agnieszka
Date: 2015-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Manipulative Materials,Teaching Methods,Technology Uses in Education,Educational Technology,English (Second Language),Second Language Instruction,Foreign Countries,Learning Activities,Writing Instruction,Toys,Creativity,Academic Discourse,Telecommunications,Handheld Devices,Integrated Learning Systems,College Students

LEGO blocks have been played with by generations of children worldwide since the 1950s. It is undeniable that they boost creativity, eye-hand coordination, focus, planning, problem solving and many other skills. LEGO bricks have been also used by educators across the curricula as they are extremely motivating and engaging and, in effect, make learning effective. The toy has developed with time, as a result of technology impact as well as users' needs and expectations. This paper describes the transformation of the use of LEGO based activity in the academic writing class in the Institute of English Studies at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities in Warsaw, Poland spanning a period of the last seven years. Originally, the author's idea was just to illustrate in theory the principle of cohesion and coherence on the example of Lego composition instruction, a concept described by Joseph Williams; however, it evolved into a highly successful technology mediated task-based activity. The activity has been conducted since 2008 and in the author's newest 2014/15 version, it involves online writing, digital photography, computer editing programs, animation, e-learning tools and blogging; it boosts, apart from the above mentioned skills, writing, reading, teamwork and IT skills. Its teaching/learning success results also from its multimodality, learner empowerment and authenticity. Moreover, the case illustrates teacher development due to both external and internal class factors, including the impact of learners' competence and skills on the transformation of the activity itself and the resulting teacher training. Finally, the paper focuses on the role of the fast changing ICT technology in the development and adjustment of the English language learning task, the task based on the innovative use of Lego blocks in teaching academic skills to the students of the English studies program.
ESP Learner Self-Generated Feedback as a Technology-Enhanced Task
Author: Plastina, Anna Franca
Date: 2015-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Higher Education,Feedback (Response),English for Special Purposes,Second Language Learning,Second Language Instruction,Teaching Methods,Task Analysis,Audiovisual Aids,Educational Technology,Learning Motivation,Foreign Countries,Student Surveys,Student Attitudes,College Students

In Higher Education, feedback is still largely implemented as an external teacher-centred practice, which has been found to be irrelevant in improving students' language learning. This paper advocates that internal, or self-generated feedback, has a potential role to play in learners' formative processes under the condition that it is implemented as a task-based activity enhanced by suitable technological tools. In an experimental study, learners were engaged in the task of creating screencasts, or digital audio-visual recordings, of oral medical reports for authentic professional purposes. The study surveyed the kind of knowledge restructuring processes learners activated as a result of self-generated feedback enhanced by screencast technology. It also sought to understand learners' perceptions of the experience. Results show that learners used different digital tools for knowledge restructuring leading to readjustment of their initial performances. Screencasts were thus effective in heightened learners' awareness of the gap between their current weaknesses and their expected goals and in taking necessary action to narrow this gap. Learner perceptions further recorded a positive impact of self-generated feedback enhanced by screencasts, suggesting major motivation and interest in learning.
Intermediate Greek EFL Learners' Attitudes to On-Line Teaching Practices: A Blended Task-Based English Language Learning Approach
Author: Liontou, Trisevgeni
Date: 2015-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: English (Second Language),Second Language Instruction,Teaching Methods,Educational Technology,Technology Uses in Education,Longitudinal Studies,Blended Learning,Online Courses,Early Adolescents,Pretests Posttests,Foreign Countries,Junior High School Students,Reading Comprehension,Statistical Analysis,Student Attitudes,Questionnaires

This paper reports on a one-year longitudinal study that adopted a blended teaching approach based on designing and implementing an online EFL course to be used by Greek students aged 13-14 years old along their more traditional face-to-face lessons. The reason for creating a more dynamic learning environment aligned with the rest of the curriculum was to increase EFL learners' engagement and motivation through their exposure to authentic online material and participation in a variety of reading, writing, speaking and listening tasks. Data analysis of pre- and post-achievement tests on English language reading comprehension performance along with students' Computer-Assisted Language Learning (CALL) attitude questionnaire showed that participants generally had a positive attitude toward CALL. At the same time, open online access technologies gave them the opportunity to further develop their EFL reading comprehension skills. The paper concludes by highlighting the fact that online class components were not designed to fit the online tools into a task-based EFL lesson, but rather served the learning objectives of the actual lesson based on a blended teaching approach
Language Tools: Communicating in Today's World of Business
Author: Ribeiro, Sandra
Date: 2015-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: English for Special Purposes,Computational Linguistics,Technological Literacy,Outcomes of Education,Second Language Learning,Second Language Instruction,Translation,Intercultural Communication,Case Studies,Information Sources,Business Communication,Student Projects,Teaching Methods,Course Descriptions,Foreign Countries,College Students

In a society increasingly mediated by technology, the medium has created unparalleled opportunities. As a result, it has refocused educators' attention on how technological literacy is both an essential learning outcome in all higher education programs, and the intermediary, the means to achieve the digital competences expected from employees. In the field of English for Specific Purposes, and at a time when technology is perceived to enable quick and effective access to a vast number of sources of information and knowledge, teaching a language confronts teachers and students with divergent views that converge into what we perceive to be interconnected paths. We critically reflect upon these interconnected paths in order to obtain further insights on how technology, namely Machine Translation and Computer-Aided Translation, is perceived by business communicators who are learning English in an ESP environment. Within the premises that translation is an act of intercultural communication, our case study addresses mirrored perceptions of the English language, the act of translation, and the use of technological tools. Our study draws on both perspectives and discusses how mirrored images of students and teachers converge through project-based approaches, rooted in practical, short visual tasks with a clear and immediately visible purpose.
Digital Storytelling: An Integrated Approach to Language Learning for the 21st Century Student
Author: Ribeiro, Sandra
Date: 2015-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Story Telling,Educational Technology,Technology Uses in Education,Second Language Instruction,College Students,College Faculty,Focus Groups,Program Effectiveness,Literacy Education,Creativity,Audio Equipment,Video Technology,Visual Aids,Workshops,Multimedia Instruction

Societal changes have, throughout history, pushed the long-established boundaries of education across all grade levels. Technology and media merge with education in a continuous complex social process with human consequences and effects. We, teachers, can aspire to understand and interpret this volatile context that is being redesigned at the same time society itself is being reshaped as a result of the technological evolution. The language-learning classroom is not impenetrable to these transformations. Rather, it can perhaps be seen as a playground where teachers and students gather to combine the past and the present in an integrated approach. We draw on the results from a previous study and argue that &quot;Digital Storytelling&quot; as a &quot;Process&quot; is capable of aggregating and fostering positive student development in general, as well as enhancing interpersonal relationships and self-knowledge while improving digital literacy. Additionally, we establish a link between the four basic language-learning skills and the &quot;Digital Storytelling&quot; process and demonstrate how these converge into what can be labeled as an integrated language learning approach.
Significance of Social Applications on a Mobile Phone for English Task-Based Language Learning
Author: Ahmad, Anmol
Date: 2015-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: English (Second Language),Second Language Instruction,Teaching Methods,Telecommunications,Handheld Devices,Technology Uses in Education,Educational Technology,Large Group Instruction,Online Courses,Higher Education,Technology Integration,Computer Oriented Programs

The utter importance of knowing the English language cannot be denied today. Despite the existence of traditional methods for teaching a language in schools, a big number of children are left without the requisite knowledge of English as a result of which they fail to compete in the modern world. With English being a Lingua Franca, more efforts are mandatory to foster the English language learning abilities. This can be achieved by improving the traditional method of teaching by providing alternative means to ameliorate the effort. Keeping these aspects in view, research is being conducted to evaluate the performance of MOOCs (Massive Open Online Course) and MALL (Mobile Assisted Language Learning) to teach a language. However, this particular research will bring into the limelight a set of social networking applications commonly found in a mobile phone, which can serve as potential English Language Learning tools, due to the versatility of their features. Keeping in view the theories of Mastery Learning, Operant Conditioning, Sense of Community and Task-Based Teaching Principles, the social networking applications will be assessed. Therefore, this descriptive research aims to bring awareness on how the applications can be utilized to enhance task-based learning of English Language.
Teaching English Multimodally. The Use of New Travel Websites in EFL Environments
Author: Sindoni, Maria Grazia
Date: 2015-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Second Language Instruction,English (Second Language),Reading Strategies,Access to Information,Electronic Publishing,Technological Literacy,Elementary Secondary Education,Web Based Instruction,Multimedia Instruction,Multimedia Materials,Barriers,Age Groups,Best Practices,Secondary School Students,Travel,Web Sites,Semiotics

This paper reports on the first stage of an Italian national project, Access Thorough Text (ACT henceforth), designed to respond to issues related to reading strategies, textual barriers and online access to web texts in English in educational environments, with specific reference to English as a Foreign Language (EFL). The first stage of the work has been focused on the theoretical foundation on which the project is based, in particular giving suggestions about how digital literacy for learners aged 6-18 can be encouraged and facilitated in web-based multimodal platforms (Jones, Hafner 2012). An inventory of integrative systems has been created to account for a range of devices that help break down barriers in texts (Baldry, Gaggia, Porta, 2011; Gaggia 2012; Porta 2012). The second section of this paper presents the design and administration of a needs analysis for the identification of specific needs for the three targeted age groups of EFL learners (group 1: 6-10, group 2: 11-14; group 3: 15-18). The survey also investigates which best practices can be adopted with regard to a) ease of access; b) awareness of sociocultural and genre-related textual barriers, and c) language problems for EFL learners. This paper will focus on Group 3, i.e. learners aged 15-18, and on how New Travel websites (NTWs) can be used in educational environments through task-based activities. Preliminary findings have shown that the text barriers identified in NTW can be ascribed to different socio-semiotic, multimodal and linguistic areas. Multimodal corpora have been created and annotated for the purpose of unpacking and tackling text barriers. The rationale of corpora selection (Baldry, O'Halloran 2010), replicability of the experiment, issues in categorization and taxonomies involved in NTWs will be discussed, with the final goal of providing guidelines for teachers, parents and other stakeholders in the field of digital literacy.
Analysis of Metadiscourse Markers in Academic Written Discourse Produced by Turkish Researchers
Author: Duruk, Eda
Date: 2017-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Discourse Analysis,Academic Discourse,Interpersonal Communication,Authors,Masters Theses,English (Second Language),Second Language Learning,Second Language Instruction,Language Teachers,Teacher Education,Writing (Composition),Graduate Students,Student Attitudes,Computational Linguistics,Foreign Countries,Interrater Reliability,Statistical Analysis

This study aims at examining the frequency of interpersonal metadiscourse markers in academic written discourse and investigating the way Turkish writers use interpersonal metadiscourse, namely in MA dissertations from one major academic field; English language teaching (ELT). A corpus based research is applied by examining a total of 20 dissertations written recently by Turkish writers writing in a second language. The dissertations were searched for all these expressions and further analysis was made by examining three sections of dissertations-methodology, results, and discussion. In-depth analysis based on the use of interpersonal metadiscourse markers showed that while &quot;hedges&quot;, &quot;empathics (boosters)&quot; and &quot;attitude markers&quot; are all used by Turkish writers to a certain extent, &quot;attitude markers&quot; are found to be the most frequent ones. On the other hand, with respect to the use of personal markers, differences were found among the writers. The analysis of dissertation sections revealed common results.
The Analysis of A1 Level Speaking Exam in Terms of Syntax: The Effect of General Competence on Syntax in A1 Level Speaking
Author: Misir, Hülya
Date: 2017-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Syntax,Course Descriptions,Guidelines,Comparative Analysis,Language Tests,Second Language Learning,English (Second Language),Arabs,Aerospace Education,College Students,Student Attitudes,Foreign Countries,Audio Equipment,Learning Motivation,Grammar,Second Language Instruction,Communicative Competence (Languages),Semi Structured Interviews

This study aims at discovering the relevance of general competence of Turkish and Arab learners who have an A1 level of English proficiency in preparatory school of University of Turkish Aeronautical Association (UTAA) to their speaking skill in terms of syntax by analyzing the recordings of speaking exams in the first semester. One can ask why learners could ever perform a great variety in syntactic structure in spoken performance while the university ensures that all learners get a standardized language education based on the same syllabus and course books to succeed their future academic studies. The answer may seem easy; however, it is difficult to get out thoroughly. Therefore, the paper will try to explain this connection between better performances in terms of syntactic structures in spoken performance comparing to Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) A1 level expectations and these learners' attitudes, motivation, background of education, and world knowledge. During the process, the information falling within the scope of general competence (declarative knowledge and existential competence) is held by one-to-one interviews with 22 randomly chosen learners. The results mainly showed that the learners who invested in developing general competence have their own independent &quot;wordrobe&quot; and a higher level and variety of syntactic structures in their speaking whereas the rest and also the majority of the learners who are not as competent regarding declarative knowledge and existential competence (attitude and motivation) show a standard level of syntax (commonly used structures as defined in ALTE) in speaking.
The Role of Composing Process and Coherence/Cohesion in FFL Writing
Author: Yetis, Veda Aslim
Date: 2017-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Second Language Instruction,French,Writing Skills,Writing (Composition),Knowledge Level,College Students,Essays,Questionnaires,Writing Processes

The aim of this paper is to examine the role of composing process and knowledge about coherence/cohesion in French foreign language writing skill. Research sample consists of 35 Turkish students studying French language teaching at a Turkish university. The participants were first given a test containing of three parts in order to determine their level of knowledge about the rules of coherence-cohesion; then, they were asked to write an argumentative essay to see how good they were at writing. Right after the completion of essays, students were administered a 29-item questionnaire concerning the use of composing process. Findings have revealed the following conclusions: 1-Turkish FFL students who know the rules of coherence/cohesion have better writing skills; 2-The participants with better writing skills are those who can employ the composing process; 3-Knowing only the rules of coherence/cohesion or only employing the composing process is not enough to have advanced writing skills in French: both are necessary to be successful. According to the results, it is possible to suggest that rules of coherence/cohesion and composing process be incorporated into the syllabus of writing course and writing course be heavily based on these two topics. Teachers should explicitly teach the process and rules.