Australian Review of Applied Linguistics - Volume 36, Issue 2, 2013

This study examines the effect of recognition-based retrieval practice on vocabulary learning in a university Chinese class. Students (N=26) were given practice retrieving new vocabulary (single or two-character words) in a series of simple form recognition tests administered over four weeks. The test sets consisted of target vocabulary that appeared in the previous week’s lesson and distracter items drawn from upcoming vocabulary. Tests were group-administered via PowerPoint and students used a checklist response to indicate whether a given item had appeared in the previous week’s material. Responses relied on episodic knowledge of previous exposure and required no processing of semantic information. Students were able to reliably identify the target items in the retrieval task with performance on these items being found superior to that for supplementary list control words on midterm and final vocabulary tests. The findings indicate that a focus on word forms can have a measurable effect on vocabulary learning in the classroom and underscores the efficacy of retrievalbased testing (the testing effect, Barcroft, 2007; Roediger & Karpicke, 2006) in facilitating vocabulary learning. The implications for recognition-based retrieval practice in vocabulary instruction in the Chinese classroom are discussed.

In this paper we explore English pronunciation teaching within an English as an International Language (EIL) framework, arguing that teaching learners how to produce English phonemes can lead to an improvement in their aural ability. English as an Additional Language (EAL) learners often have difficulty discriminating between and producing specific sounds of the target language; Arabic speakers, for example, typically have difficulty distinguishing between /p/ and /b/ in words such as pin and bin. The research described here indicates that explicit articulatory training in the production of two problematic sounds, /p/ and /b/, improves learners’ ability to perceptually discriminate between the two. Following articulatory training, participants were better at correctly identifying which member of a minimal pair they heard (pack or back, for example), whereas simply providing focused aural exposure to those sounds, as advocated in the non-form focused intuitive-imitative approach, did not lead to similar improvement. This suggests that for sounds that are perceptually difficult for learners, complementing exposure as advocated by the intuitive-imitative approach with articulatory training may produce the best results in terms of segmental discrimination and ultimately target language production. We also point to evidence that accuracy in segmental production is especially relevant in the EIL context.

This paper examines dynamism in students’ situational willingness to communicate (WTC) within a second language classroom. This longitudinal study involved twelve English as a Second Language (ESL) participants who enrolled in an English for Academic Purposes (EAP) programme in New Zealand for five months. Based on data from classroom observations, stimulated-recall interviews and reflective journals, the in-depth analysis of a case study reveals that learners’ situational WTC in second language (L2) classes could fluctuate and dynamically change over time. This involved a process where situational WTC was jointly affected by learners’ cognitive condition and linguistic factors, together with classroom environmental factors. The in-depth qualitative analysis of a single case in individual lessons allowed us to see the dynamic nature of WTC.

Whether Willingness to Communicate (WTC) is a permanent trait or is modified by situational context has previously been investigated in various studies (e.g. Cao & Philp, 2006; Kang, 2005; MacIntyre & Legatto, 2011). However, most research into WTC has been quantitative or conducted in the English as a Foreign Language (EFL) or Study Abroad situation in countries such as Canada, Japan, Korea and China. This article reports on the qualitative component of an exploratory mixed methods study in a New Zealand (NZ) university with participants who are permanent migrants from Iran. These students completed a questionnaire and participated in further in-depth semi-structured interviews. The article provides an overview of previous research into WTC and motivation in Iran and NZ as the context for these three case studies. In this study, six factors, both trait and situational, were identified as having an effect on these students’ WTC in both countries: self-perceived competence; personality; anxiety; motivation and the importance of English; and the learning context. Finally, this article discusses the contribution of this study to the WTC field of research, identifying the implications of these results for teachers of English in the ESL (English as a Second Language or migrant) context and possible avenues for future research.

This study examines stance in cross-cultural media discourse by comparing disaster news reports on the Sichuan earthquake of May 2008 in a Chinese, an Australian Chinese, and an Australian newspaper. The stance taken in the news reports is examined using the Attitude sub-system of Martin and White’s (2005) Appraisal framework. The analysis revealed that stance patterns in the reports from the three newspapers varied systematically, and that the reports from the three newspapers could be placed on a continuum, with the Chinese-Australian news reports taking an intermediate stance, though leaning more towards the Chinese stance. For instance, whereas the Australian reports focused primarily on evaluating the actual earthquake situation, both the Chinese and the Australian Chinese reports focused more on assessing the participants and their behavior during the aftermath of the earthquake. Findings are linked to features of the Chinese and Australian sociocultural contexts, and the implications of the study are discussed for understanding the discourse of migrant ‘sub-cultures’ in relation to the discourse of the cultures to which they are connected.