VOLUME 7 - ISSUE 1- JUNE 2024
NEW TRENDS IN SECOND LANGUAGE ASSESSMENT AT TERTIARY LEVEL: ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE FRIEND OR FOE?
Roxanne H. Padley
Affiliation: University of Bergamo, Italy
Email: roxanneholly.padley@unibg.it
ABSTRACT
The gradual increase in demand for linguistic communication skills alongside greater citizen mobility has led to a need to adapt and change university level language training. This has therefore led to profound considerations regarding current teaching methodologies and language assessment especially in the wake of the pandemic as well as the rise in generative artificial intelligence (AI) as a tool. This study forms part of a larger research fellowship examining English language standards and assessment at the University of Bergamo, Italy. The study is twofold as it investigates: 1. The adequacy of a current hybrid computerised examination used in current practice; 2. The feasibility of introducing AI not only as a learning resource but also as an assessment one. The results are promising in terms of both current practice and future practice and further investigation is underway.
© Applied Language Studies House Publications 2024. All rights reserved.
Keywords - English language assessment; chatbots; artificial intelligence; tertiary education.
VIRTUAL REALITY IN BASIC EDUCATION
Maria Chatzikonstantinou, Samar Sayed, Sarra El Hallabi
Affiliation: Discovery Path
Email: info@discoverypath.gr
ABSTRACT
Virtual reality (VR) has the potential to transform the way we learn and teach, from providing in-depth knowledge and helping us understand complex subjects to facilitating language immersion and virtual trips. Our team has been experimenting with the use of VR in basic education since June 2021 in Concordia Lycée International Français d’Egypte, in Cairo. Our aim is to integrate VR in the teaching process and provide teachers with a useful tool in and outside the classroom. The results of using VR in language teaching as well as in different disciplines are very encouraging and promising. Our work and experience show that VR and Immersive Learning can create immersive group learning experiences, where students can collaborate and learn together in a virtual environment. This can help students develop teamwork and communication skills, as well as overcome personal obstacles. Immersive learning greatly supports students with learning difficulties and facilitates efficient tutoring. Moreover, Blending Virtual Reality with Traditional Learning can enhance traditional learning methods and can provide visual aids that help students better understand complex concepts, especially in sciences and mathematics by creating unique personal experiences. In summary, VR can create engaging, unforgettable learning experiences in basic education. It can bring abstract concepts to life, develop computing and technology skills, and provide immersive group learning experiences.
© Applied Language Studies House Publications 2024. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Virtual reality (VR); Language immersion; Basic education; Computing and Technology skills
REVIEW OF THE STATE OF ENGLISH AS THE LINGUA FRANCA (ELF), THE PEDAGOGY OF LEXICAL COLLOCATIONS AND THE HARBINGER OF COMPUTER ASSISTED LANGUAGE LEARNING
Edward Eustace
Affiliation: King’s College, London, UK
Email: edhbeustace@gmail.com
ABSTRACT
English is the world’s unparalleled auxiliary language, yet still envisioned as an elite achievement. English as a lingua franca (ELF) accommodates learners’ interlanguage thereby making permutations intelligible. Nevertheless, pedagogic acceptance has proven problematic, especially regarding lexical collocations. This article reviews ELF’s effect on Lexicography and how educators can incorporate Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies with corpora to facilitate communicative competence for their learners to inculcate an accelerated dissemination of the last lingua franca.
© Applied Language Studies House Publications 2024. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Lingua franca (LF); Lexical collocations; CALL; AI technologies
LEXICO-GRAMMATICAL PATTERNS OF CHILDREN'S LANGUAGE USE
Boglárka Vermeki
Affiliation: The University of Belgrade, Serbia
Email: vermekiboglarka@yahoo.com
ABSTRACT
This paper concentrates on the features of Hungarian children’s spontaneous speech productions. The research was conducted on the KorSzak Child Language Corpus, a dynamic corpus with a pedagogical purpose. Currently, the corpus contains the recorded conversations of twenty-nine Hungarian children aged 11–15. The research aims to find the frequently used multi-word expressions in children's spontaneous speech and subtract and investigate lexico-grammatical patterns found in the corpus. The current research findings will inform a Hungarian language book for children who are heritage language speakers learning in Sunday schools worldwide.
© Applied Language Studies House Publications 2024. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Corpus Linguistics; Hungarian language; Child language; Teaching material development; Formulaic language
METAPHOR ANALYSIS REGARDING CONCEPTUAL CHANGES OF COMMUNICATION
Renáta Bernhardt and Laura Furcsa
Renáta Bernhardt
Affiliation: Eszterházy Károly Catholic University Jászberény Campus, Jászberény, Hungary
Email: bernhardt.renata@uni-eszterhazy.hu
Laura Furcsa
Affliation: Budapest Business University, Budapest, Hungary
Email: furcsa.laura@ uni-bge.hu
ABSTRACT
The present study aims to uncover the transformative impact of a semester-long business communication course on first-year college students majoring in various business disciplines and lacking prior exposure to communication skills development courses. Utilizing spontaneous metaphor as our research instrument, participants were prompted to complete the sentence: "Communication is like... because..." This exercise, conducted at the beginning and end of the semester, enabled us to assess the course's influence on students' perceptions and attitudes toward communication. Aftern coding main concept terms and creating conceptual domains, spontaneous metaphor analysis reveals participants' subconscious perspectives, cognitive processes, and concept content. The findings indicate that metaphors changed significantly throughout the semester. Metaphors at the beginning of the semester stressed the importance of communication, while those at the end showed its complexity, difficulties, and variety.
© Applied Language Studies House Publications 2024. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Metaphor analysis; Conceptual change; Communication
LINGUISTIC ASPECTS OF SOCIAL COMMUNICATION WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO WHATSAPP
Prof. Abdullah Khuwaileh
Affiliation: Jordan University of Science & Technology
Email: abaikh@just.edu.jo
ABSTRACT
The central aim of this study is to measure the level of linguistics in social communication among people including their social and academic life as the number of people using digital communication has remarkably increased worldwide. To ensure reliable data and results, we collected our data randomly from the society of the North of Jordan, definitely from Jordan University of Science and Technology (hereafter JUST) and the area surrounding the campus (Irbid area). Samples were both males and females B.A., B.Sc. and M.A. students (200 respondents for questionnaires and 10 educationalists and/or fathers for semi-structured interviews). Moreover, the researcher monitored Jordanian soft and hard mass media to collect observations about people reaction towards the social and digital communication. Tabulating and filtering out the responses given in the questionnaires and interviews revealed that the application of WhatsApp, for instance, have both semiotic negative and positive effect on people depending on users and their purposes. Whereas a considerable number of people saw the WhatsApp application as a source of serious problems like semiotic human addiction, cheating in various educational tests, reducing physical communication and time wasting, etc., many others found it as a very good means of digital, cheap, fast and clarified communication which can carry heavy electronic loads like video clips and images. Our study is concluded with a number of research and practical recommendations.
© Applied Language Studies House Publications 2024. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Digital linguistic communication; Applied Linguistics
Indigenizing Materials: A Case for Decolonizing
Materials for Teaching English
Sangeetha Puthiyedath
Affiliation: The English and Foreign Languages University, India
ABSTRACT
This paper examines the issue of cultural hegemony encoded in English language. Given that English is the language of Globalization, the internet, and to an extend even social media, this can cause cultural overwriting and the loss of cultural identity. There is a need to decolonize materials and include materials that reflect indigenous perspectives and cultures. This might ensure the survival of a pluri-cultural world that does not accord superiority to one set of beliefs and to one culture. This is imperative in an Anthropocene world where languages play a role in perpetuating violence and indigenization might hold a key to slow down the trend.
© Applied Language Studies House Publications 2024. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Cultural hegemony; Globalization; Indigenization; Decolonising materials.
UNIVERSITY STUDENTS’ INTERCULTURAL ENCOUNTER PATTERNS: FINDINGS OF A FOCUS-GROUP INTERVIEW STUDY
Rita Szaszkó
Affiliation: Eszterházy Károly Catholic University, Hungary
ABSTRACT
The present qualitative research aims to explore the characteristics of various forms of intercultural contact of university students specializing in teaching English as a foreign language (EFL). Two focus-group interviews (N=11) were conducted to collect data on students’ experience and perceptions related to their interpersonal and non-interpersonal intercultural encounters both in native and non-native English speaker contexts. An ultimate finding is that the interviewees regard any forms of intercultural encounters beneficial and a suitable means of developing their global, especially intercultural competence, which they regard as crucial.
© Applied Language Studies House Publications 2024. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Intercultural patterns; EFL; Intercultural competence
STUDENT-CENTEREDNESS AS AN ENABLER OF REFORM IN THE HIGHER EDUCATION OF ARMENIA
ABSTRACT
In alignment with European standards and guidelines for quality assurance, the HEIs of the Republic of Armenia have acknowledged the strategic value of learner-centeredness. They are exerting serious efforts to maintain the principles of student-centered learning, which is reflected in the HEIs’ capacity to demonstrate agility and flexibility, enable mobility and recognition.
There is a realization and acceptance on behalf of many HEIs that to be able to show more resilience to challenges, institutions should devise a strategy for developing, exploiting innovative approaches to L&T, as well as empowering students to become co-creators of knowledge and conduct experimental research under the measured guidance and support of the academic staff and representatives of enterprises.
It is imperative that in the era of human augmentation universities redesign, enhance their educational services in a way that they will prepare futureproof specialists.
© Applied Language Studies House Publications 2024. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Student-centeredness; Flexibility; Agility; Mobility; Leadership.
CHALLENGES AND RESPONSES: A QUALITATIVE STUDY ON CERTIFIED FOREIGN LANGUAGE EXAMINATIONS IN HUNGARY POST-COVID
Krisztina Babos, Magdolna Lehmann, Zoltán Lukácsi, Róbert Märcz, Szilvia Matulainé DömÅ‘k, Zsuzsanna Soproni, Szilvia Gróf
Affiliation: Budapest Business University, Hungary
Email: Babos.Krisztina@uni-bge.hu
ABSTRACT
Due to the significant changes in the system of Hungarian state-accredited, certified foreign language examinations in the past five years, this study aims to overview the impact of recent language policy and legislation in 2022, as well as to explore the role of computer-based examinations. Our research questions focus on what tendencies in the system of certified foreign language examinations in Hungary characterize the period of 2018-2023, how certified language test providers perceive the changes and what strategies they plan to follow to accommodate. The participants of the study reported here were examiners and representatives of test-providers in Hungary. Data collection involved two consecutive semi-structured interviews conducted in 2022 and 2023. The findings foreshadow a blurred future of certified foreign language examinations where the focus is shifted to the 14-18-year-old target age group rather than university students.
© Applied Language Studies House Publications 2024. All rights reserved
Keywords: Foreign language certificate; Trends; Computer-based; Age
"/IS ˈSOU ˈDIFIKULT FOR AS/"
AGE MISCONCEPTIONS AND DE-PROFESSIONALISATION OF TEACHING: THEIR ROLE IN THE DIFFICULTY OF BASQUE/SPANISH SPEAKERS IN BISCAY IN LEARNING ENGLISH
Αndroma(c)hi T. Koufogiorgou
Affiliation: Junior High School Vamou, Chania, Greece
Email: mahikouf@yahoo.com
ABSTRACT
This paper forms part of a wider sociolinguistic research whereby historical, cultural, socio-political and economic contexts, attitudes, linguistic and educational policies as well as teaching practices are touched upon in the attempt to interpret the reasons behind why learning English tends to prove difficult for Spanish and Spanish/Basque speakers in Biscay (Basque Country, Spain). The present paper focuses on possible misapplications of theories related to age in language learning/acquisition as well as on the de-professionalisation of English teaching. It is based on qualitative data collected working as a teacher of English (2018-2023)(ages: 4-64) in the private sector (in Biscay).
© Applied Language Studies House Publications 2024. All rights reserved
Keywords: Εnglish; Spanish; Basque; EFL; De-professionalization; Lingua Franca; Sociolinguistics; Bilingual; Minority language; Attitudes; Age