Using casual language and a straightforward approach, Better Writing: Beyond Periods and Commas provides students with an easy-to-read and effective guide for developing their writing skills. Rather than intimidate and overwhelm novice writers with vast sets of rules, Travis Koll utilizes simple explanations and examples to demystify the writing process. Armed with this better understanding, one that reaches far beyond the mere mechanics of punctuation and grammar, students can begin to recognize the true nature and significance of writing, its potential impact on their readers, and the importance of their voices in their communities and the world.

Fills a gap in the field of second language teaching, especially in the Chinese as a second language teaching field. includes both research and pedagogical aspects that would attract both practitioners and researchers exploring pedagogical approaches to teaching Chinese listening based on a comparative view of Chinese listening and that of other languages.

Fills a gap in the field of second language teaching, especially in the Chinese as a second language teaching field. includes both research and pedagogical aspects that would attract both practitioners and researchers exploring pedagogical approaches to teaching Chinese listening based on a comparative view of Chinese listening and that of other languages.

This book provides a unique reference and comprehensive overview of the issues pertinent to conceptualizing, measuring, researching and nurturing writing motivation. Abdel Latif covers these theoretical, practical and research issues by drawing on the literature related to the eight main constructs of writing motivation: writing apprehension, attitude, anxiety, self-efficacy, self-concept, learning goals, perceived value of writing and motivational regulation. Specifically, the book covers the historical research developments of the field, the measures of the main writing motivation constructs, the correlates and sources of writing motivation, and profiles of motivated and demotivated writers. The book also describes the types of the instructional research of writing motivation, provides pedagogical guidelines and procedures for motivating students to write, and presents suggestions for advancing writing motivation research, measurement and pedagogy. Detailed, up-to-date, and with a glossary which includes definitions of the main terms used in the six chapters, this book will be of great interest to academics, researchers and post-graduate students in the fields of language education, applied linguistics, psycholinguistics and educational psychology.

This volume is a collection of original essays focusing on the key pedagogical issues behind the teaching of stylistics. Featuring contributions from authors based in the UK, Europe and overseas, it offers an international overview of how stylistics is currently taught and how the teaching of the discipline might be developed in the future. The volume is divided into two main sections, dealing respectively with larger theoretical issues in the teaching of stylistics and examples of classroom practice and detailed text analysis. In addition, the appendices provide an overview of the history of stylistics in the form of a timeline, short biographies of significant figures in the field and substantial lists of further reading. Teaching Stylistics will be of value to postgraduates new to teaching as well as established teachers, particularly those working at the interface between language and literary studies.

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This book unites a range of emerging topics in the burgeoning transdisciplinary fields of second language acquisition and interculturality in a study abroad context. It explores key issues, trends and approaches within each strand and how the strands relate to one another, painting a big picture of the diversity and complexity underpinning second language acquisition in a study abroad context. The chapters highlight themes such as social networks, input and interaction issues, learner identities and study abroad in lingua franca contexts, while also presenting other themes spanning the breadth of second language acquisition and interculturality research, such as individual differences and linguistic development. This comprehensive and cohesive volume showcases the latest innovative research using quantitative, qualitative and mixed method approaches across a range of source and target language learner cohorts, and highlights emerging themes and directions for future research.

Using second language (L2) socialization theory as a theoretical framework, this book investigates the ways in which four advanced learners of Japanese on an immersion program in the USA exercise their agency to pursue their language learning goals. The work presents their learner portraits and documents the different ways in which the four learners negotiate the meaning of their participations in the new community of practice, navigate and shape the trajectories of their learning and eventually achieve their goals of learning from their emic perspectives. The book re-examines Norton's (2000) constructs of investment, investigates its applicability and argues that L2 learners' desires and drives for learning an L2 are more diverse, unique and contextually situated than Norton's notion of investment alone can explain. The research will be of interest to researchers and students in the fields of applied linguistics, second language acquisition, foreign language education and language and literacy education.

Old New Media examines how the introduction of a new medium threatens those accustomed to the old media environment. Taking a media ecology perspective to examine the historical transitions from oral to literate, print, electronic and virtual media environments, the book includes theoretical chapters and case studies in five areas: media ecology; critical media theory; freedom of expression; Eastern thought; and the body and the media environment. The book argues against the "newness" of each new medium, which is often associated with unprecedented technological change, stating that the patterns of change identified with the most recent smartphone or computer are related to the patterns of change in human perception and social affairs that accompany the electronic media environment. It cautions against condemning the new medium with technological horror as the cause of all of our problems or celebrating it as the technological sublime that will cure all our social ills. If we are aware that media are extensions of the human, we can overcome the alienation and shock they cause, and be sensitive to the fluid boundaries between the human and the technological. The book ends by discussing how new media environments disrupt the balance in our lives and suggests strategies to help restore that balance.

Idiomatic expressions are the 'salt and pepper' of any language. They give Spanish its colour and imagery, its richness and variety. From set phrases and idioms to metaphorical expressions and proverbs, these essential components allow users to add humour and spice to their language, vividly embodying Hispanic culture while naturalizing their communication style to more closely resemble that of native speakers. Key features: Includes a selection of the most widely used idioms from Spain and Latin America; Idioms are classified into specific and easy-to-reference categories; Creative activities, exercises, mnemonic devices and learning strategies facilitate the acquisition and mastery of idiomatic language; Connections between the Spanish language and Hispanic culture are explained and illustrated; Reference tables at the end of each section highlight similarities between English and Spanish usage of idiomatic language; Original samples, as well as fragments from various Spanish-speaking countries and well-known literary works, are included to help expose students to the use of idioms in journalistic and literary writing. Practical, informative and highly entertaining, this is the ideal text for all intermediate and advanced learners of Spanish.

The comprehension, retention and production of idiomatic expressions is one of the most difficult areas of the lexicon for second language (L2) learners, even very advanced students, to master. This book investigates this under-researched and interesting aspect of language acquisition, shedding light on both conventional uses of idiomatic expressions as well as creative variant forms. The chapters in the book delve into different aspects of idiomatic mastery: students' comprehension of canonically used idioms in both their first and second language; the effects of multimedia and visualization techniques on learners' comprehension and retention of L2 idioms; students' misinterpretations of L2 idioms; L2 learners' comprehension of creative idiom variants and their use of idioms in free composition writing.

This book offers new insights into the language gains of adult learners enrolled in an English-medium instruction (EMI) degree programme. It provides longitudinal empirical evidence of the phonological gains of the learners; discusses which individual factors contribute to the changes in the learners' pronunciation and investigates whether and to what extent increased exposure to the target language in EMI classrooms leads to incidental learning of second language pronunciation. Furthermore, it expands on the discussions surrounding the Critical Period Hypothesis, the native-speaker norm, foreign language accent and the role of English as a Lingua Franca. The comparative and longitudinal design of the research study fills a significant gap in the literature and the book offers considerable original and important research-informed insights into the fields of EMI, bilingual education and second language acquisition. As such, it is a valuable resource and must-read book for researchers, practitioners and policymakers in these areas.

Study abroad is now both an international industry and an experience that can have a deep impact on students' linguistic, cultural and personal development. This book explores 'the social turn' in the fields of study abroad and language learning strategies. The longitudinal qualitative study reported in this volume investigates the international educational experiences of Arab university students from diverse countries (Iraq, Libya, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Syria and the United Arab Emirates) and represents one of the few empirical studies to capture an in-depth understanding of the study abroad experiences of newly-arrived international students in higher education. Particular attention is paid to their changing learning goals, underlying motivations and strategy uses during their attendance on both short and long academic programmes in a study abroad context. It also examines their past language learning experiences in their homelands retrospectively. Readers will gain a better understanding of international students' study abroad experiences in terms of their expectations, aspirations, diverse difficulties and the strategies they deploy to deal with these difficulties.

This book examines key issues in theories of what language is and what happens in the mind during second language acquisition (SLA), inspiring readers to think in new and exciting ways about language learning and teaching. Chapters, written by both established and rising star scholars, provide cutting-edge insights and new empirical findings on major topics of formal and cognitive linguistics, psycholinguistics and second language development, and offer a coherent, wide-ranging, reader-friendly examination of learner-internal factors in SLA. The first section of the book focuses on issues that are pertinent to our understanding of language acquisition, particularly in relation to syntax. The second section comprises empirical chapters on syntax, the lexicon, phonetics/phonology and language production in English and other languages. These chapters refer to theories and frameworks from within SLA to enable the reader to grasp the key questions and issues that are currently relevant. The final section focuses on research relating to how second language (L2) learners make transitions from one stage of development to the next; it covers state-of-the-art psycholinguistic research concerning how L2 acquisition occurs in real time, and includes discussion of models of L2 development both in and out of the classroom.

This book examines key issues in theories of what language is and what happens in the mind during second language acquisition (SLA), inspiring readers to think in new and exciting ways about language learning and teaching. Chapters, written by both established and rising star scholars, provide cutting-edge insights and new empirical findings on major topics of formal and cognitive linguistics, psycholinguistics and second language development, and offer a coherent, wide-ranging, reader-friendly examination of learner-internal factors in SLA. The first section of the book focuses on issues that are pertinent to our understanding of language acquisition, particularly in relation to syntax. The second section comprises empirical chapters on syntax, the lexicon, phonetics/phonology and language production in English and other languages. These chapters refer to theories and frameworks from within SLA to enable the reader to grasp the key questions and issues that are currently relevant. The final section focuses on research relating to how second language (L2) learners make transitions from one stage of development to the next; it covers state-of-the-art psycholinguistic research concerning how L2 acquisition occurs in real time, and includes discussion of models of L2 development both in and out of the classroom.

Ask teachers about their biggest challenges in elementary and middle school, and many will say the teaching of writing. It is often difficult for students find the joy, discovery, and satisfaction writing can yield. What Lisa Eickholdt and Patricia Vitale-Reilly have found is that adherence to genre studies can get in the way of student collaboration. Believing writing instruction should be more authentic, they offer students more choices, develop better collaboration, and sustain a sense of community, all through the implementation of writing clubs. Writing clubs offer opportunities to Collaborate throughout the process of writing Choose what to write and how to write it Examine mentor texts and study craft techniques across genres Develop speaking and listening skills Celebrate classmates' accomplishments through publication Collaboration is widely recognized as a vital life skill. Lisa and Patty present a plethora of ideas on how gratifying it can be right now, as well as in the future. There's an old proverb that says, 'If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go with others.' In Writing Clubs, we discover that there is no limit to how far young writers can go when teachers show them what it means to collaborate.

The easy way to learn the Korean Hangeul writing system! Fans of K-Pop and Korean dramas as well as beginning students of Korean will love this handy guide to the Korean Hangeul alphabet. Designed for both self-study students and use in a classroom, no prior knowledge of Korean is needed. With this workbook, you'll quickly learn to read, write and pronounce the letters and hundreds of useful Korean words and phrases. Reading and Writing Korean includes: Free online audio recordings to teach you to pronounce all the sounds of the language correctly Fun exercises to help you memorize a broad range of vocabulary--from numbers and Korean foods to pop culture and social media A set of free downloadable flash cards to help you memorize letters and words A complete answer key for all the exercises Mnemonic illustrations to help memorize the sounds of the letters Oxford University instructors Jieun Kiaer and Derek Driggs present the vowels, consonants, syllables and words in a systematic, step-by-step approach which takes you from tracing and copying individual letters to writing complete words and sentences in no time at all!

Recent developments in education, such as the increasing linguistic diversity in school populations and the digital revolution which has led to new ways of being, learning and socialising, have brought about fresh challenges and opportunities. In response, this book shows how technology enriches multilingual language learning, as well as how multilingual practices enrich computer assisted language learning (CALL) by bringing together two, thus far distinct, fields of research: CALL and multilingual approaches to language learning. The collection includes contributions from researchers and practitioners from three continents to illustrate how native languages, previously studied languages, heritage languages or dialects are activated through technology in formal and informal learning situations. The studies in this book showcase multilingual language use in chat rooms, computer games, digital stories, ebook apps, online texts and telecollaboration/virtual exchange via interactive whiteboards. This volume will be of interest to researchers interested in language learning and teaching and to practitioners looking for support in seizing the opportunities presented by the multilingual, digital classroom.

Recent developments in education, such as the increasing linguistic diversity in school populations and the digital revolution which has led to new ways of being, learning and socialising, have brought about fresh challenges and opportunities. In response, this book shows how technology enriches multilingual language learning, as well as how multilingual practices enrich computer assisted language learning (CALL) by bringing together two, thus far distinct, fields of research: CALL and multilingual approaches to language learning. The collection includes contributions from researchers and practitioners from three continents to illustrate how native languages, previously studied languages, heritage languages or dialects are activated through technology in formal and informal learning situations. The studies in this book showcase multilingual language use in chat rooms, computer games, digital stories, ebook apps, online texts and telecollaboration/virtual exchange via interactive whiteboards. This volume will be of interest to researchers interested in language learning and teaching and to practitioners looking for support in seizing the opportunities presented by the multilingual, digital classroom.

How to Dazzle at Reading for Meaning contains 42 photocopiable sheets for use with secondary pupils who are working at levels 1-3 (Scottish levels A-B) of the National Curriculum in English. The sheets use simple language, lively illustrations and adolescent-friendly activities to help pupils to build up an understanding of what they are reading. Strategies include sequencing, cloze procedure and comprehension to help pupils gain fluency and confidence. The tasks are kept fairly short, with text kept to a minimum, so children will experience success and achievement.

Task-based language teaching is now a well-established pedagogic approach but problematic issues remain, such as whether it is appropriate for all learners and in all instructional contexts. This book draws on the author's experience of working with teachers, together with his knowledge of relevant research and theory, to examine the key issues. It proposes flexible ways in which tasks can be designed and implemented in the language classroom to address the problems that teachers often face with task-based language teaching. It will appeal to researchers and teachers who are interested in task-based language teaching and the practical and theoretical issues involved. It will also be of interest to students and researchers working in the areas of applied linguistics, TESOL and second language acquisition.