Journal articles: 'Foreign language proficiency'

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Meyer, Doris. "Foreign Language Proficiency." IALLT Journal of Language Learning Technologies 22, no. 4 (February 15, 1990): 21–23. http://dx.doi.org/10.17161/iallt.v22i4.9357.

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Zhang, Dai, and Wang. "Motivation and Second Foreign Language Proficiency: The Mediating Role of Foreign Language Enjoyment." Sustainability 12, no. 4 (February 11, 2020): 1302. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/su12041302.

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Inadequate research attention has been paid to the learning of a third language. For this reason, this study explores senior English major students’ learning of additional foreign languages in seven universities in Shaanxi Province, China. The study examines the relationship between the participants’ motivation and language proficiency through a questionnaire, and the collected data are analyzed using hierarchical linear regression analysis. The results identify that the participants’ instrumental and integrative motivations positively influence their second foreign language proficiency. Further analysis reveals that the connection between the participants’ motivation and language proficiency is mediated by foreign language enjoyment. These findings form the basis of our suggestions for the sustainable learning and teaching of foreign languages in universities.

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Svirina, Ludmila Olegovna. "FORMULAIC LANGUAGE AND FOREIGN LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY." Philology and Culture 55, no. 1 (2019): 97–101. http://dx.doi.org/10.26907/2074-0239-2019-55-1-97-101.

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Sparks, Richard L., Leonore Ganschow, Jon Patton, Marjorie Artzer, David Siebenhar, and Mark Plageman. "Prediction of foreign language proficiency." Journal of Educational Psychology 89, no. 3 (1997): 549–61. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0022-0663.89.3.549.

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Sparks, Richard L., Jon Patton, Leonore Ganschow, Nancy Humbach, and James Javorsky. "Native language predictors of foreign language proficiency and foreign language aptitude." Annals of Dyslexia 56, no. 1 (March 2006): 129–60. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11881-006-0006-2.

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van den Noort, Maurits W. M. L., Peggy Bosch, and Kenneth Hugdahl. "Foreign Language Proficiency and Working Memory Capacity." European Psychologist 11, no. 4 (January 2006): 289–96. http://dx.doi.org/10.1027/1016-9040.11.4.289.

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In this study, the hypothesis that working memory capacity interacts with (foreign) language proficiency was tested on multilinguals, who were native (L1) Dutch speakers, were fluent in their second (L2) language, German, and had recently started the acquisition of their third (L3) language, Norwegian. So far, the results of second-language studies on simple and complex working-memory tasks are mixed. In previous second-language studies, however, languages that belong to different linguistic groups were used. The question arises whether the interaction between working memory capacity and language proficiency is language-specific. In our multilingualism study we, therefore, controlled for this. Both simple (digit-span) and complex working-memory tasks (reading-span task and letter-number ordering) were used. The general results show that differences in performance between L1, L2, and L3 can be found on both simple and complex working-memory tasks, supporting the working memory capacity interaction hypothesis.

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Oganian, Yulia, Hauke R. Heekeren, and Christoph W. Korn. "Low foreign language proficiency reduces optimism about the personal future." Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology 72, no. 1 (May 22, 2018): 60–75. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1747021818774789.

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Optimistic estimates about the personal future constitute one of the best-described and most-debated decision biases related to emotion. Nevertheless, it has been difficult to isolate manipulations that reduce optimistic estimates. Eliciting estimates in a foreign language is a promising candidate manipulation because foreign language use alters decision biases in scenarios with emotional components. Consequently, we tested whether foreign language use reduces optimistic estimates. In a laboratory experiment, participants ( n = 45) estimated their probability of experiencing life events either in their native language or a foreign language, in which they were highly proficient. We found no differences in these estimates or in the updating of these estimates after receiving feedback about the population baseline probability. Importantly, three online experiments with large sample sizes ( ns = 706, 530, and 473) showed that using a foreign language with low proficiency reduced comparative optimism. Participants in the online experiments had diverse proficiency levels and were matched on a variety of control metrics. Fine-grained analyses indicated that low proficiency weakens the coupling between probability estimates and rated arousal. Overall, our findings suggest that an important decision bias can be reduced when using a foreign language with low proficiency.

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Bown, Jennifer, Laura Catharine Smith, and Ekaterina V. Talalakina. "The Effects of an EFL and L2 Russian Teletandem Class: Student Perceptions of Oral Proficiency Gains." Journal of Language and Education 5, no. 3 (September 30, 2019): 35–55. http://dx.doi.org/10.17323/jle.2019.8953.

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In response to the growing demand for highly proficient foreign language (L2) speakers in professional work settings, scholars and educators have increasingly turned their attention to methods for developing greater fluency in their learners who aspire to such jobs. Engaging in persuasive writing and argumentation has been shown to promote both written and oral proficiency among advanced L2 learners (Brown, 2009). This study focuses on the application of the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) proficiency guidelines and standards to the design of teletandem courses in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) and Russian as a Foreign Language developed to promote Advanced and Superior-level language gains. ACTFL Can-Do statements were used to evaluate learners’ self-reported language gains as a result of participating in the course. The results indicated that such an approach can indeed yield significant perceived gains, especially for spoken language, for all the participants regardless of their target language and home institution.

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Sparks, Richard L., Leonore Ganschow, Marjorie Artzer, David Siebenhar, and Mark Plageman. "Language Anxiety and Proficiency in a Foreign Language." Perceptual and Motor Skills 85, no. 2 (October 1997): 559–62. http://dx.doi.org/10.2466/pms.1997.85.2.559.

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Study examined the extent to which there would be differences in oral and written proficiency in a foreign language among groups of low-, average-, and high-anxious high school students. Participants were 60 girls attending a single-sex, college-preparatory high school and completing the second year of a foreign language course. Analysis showed over-all differences on measures of proficiency in the foreign language among the three groups. The results support the hypothesis that anxiety about foreign language learning is likely to represent students' differences in language learning.

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Stankova, Eva, Renata Chlumska, and Dana Zerzanova. "The Relationship between Native and Foreign Language Speaking Proficiency in University Students." Journal of Language and Education 8, no. 2 (June 30, 2022): 122–39. http://dx.doi.org/10.17323/jle.2022.11501.

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Background. There are many factors that affect the development of speaking in a foreign language. Drawing on the theories that state that competencies established in a native language will transfer across foreign languages, this study examines whether there is a relationship between native and foreign language speaking proficiency. Purpose. Although literature research indicates that native and foreign language acquisition processes are interrelated, there is a lack of studies comparing proficiency levels of native and foreign language speaking skills in adult learners. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between speaking competences in English as a Foreign Language and Czech as a Native Language in university students. Methods. A between-group design was used to compare two groups of fifty university students at two different levels of their speaking proficiency in English. Both groups were tested in speaking in Czech. Each test was assessed by an analytical rating scale examining four speaking sub-skills: accuracy, discourse, content and paralinguistics. The scores were analyzed using the F-Test for Equality of Variances and T-Test for the Differences between the Means. Results. The results showed that the group with the lower level of speaking proficiency in English achieved significantly worse scores for their speaking sub-skills in Czech than the group with the higher level of speaking proficiency in English. Implications. The study offers another piece of empirical evidence in support of the theories that state that competencies established in a native language will transfer across foreign languages and suggests the importance of the development of native language competence with regard to later proficiency in a foreign language.

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Huang, Hui, and Chaoqun Ouyang. "Foreign language proficiency in higher education." Asia Pacific Journal of Education 41, no. 3 (March 18, 2021): 631–34. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02188791.2021.1897257.

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Freed, Barbara, and Richard V. Teschner. "Assessing Foreign Language Proficiency of Undergraduates." Modern Language Journal 77, no. 3 (1993): 371. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/329107.

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SPARKS, RICHARD L. "LANGUAGE ANXIETY AND PROFICIENCY IN A FOREIGN LANGUAGE." Perceptual and Motor Skills 85, no. 6 (1997): 559. http://dx.doi.org/10.2466/pms.85.6.559-562.

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Vanyagina, Marina R. "Assessment of foreign language proficiency in higher military schools." Tambov University Review. Series: Humanities, no. 195 (2021): 107–18. http://dx.doi.org/10.20310/1810-0201-2021-26-195-107-118.

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To monitor the effectiveness of arrangement and implementation of foreign language courses in military educational establishments, it is necessary to have integrated criteria for assessing the level of foreign language proficiency of the cadets and students. Foreign language teaching in higher education is professionally oriented and has specific purposes, which should be taken into account when assessing language proficiency. We analyze modern approaches to assessing the level of foreign language proficiency and to present arguments for the technology of assessing the level of professional foreign language communicative competence in higher military schools. There are different assessment systems in foreign languages teaching methods. They are: 5-point (4-point in reality) assessment system generally accepted in the state Russian educational establishments, 100-point assessment system for the Unified State Exam (USE), the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) with a scale of levels from A1 to C2, the English proficiency levels of military specialists according to the international treaty of NATO countries (STANAG 6001) and others. The method of comparative system analysis is applied in the article. The scales of foreign language proficiency levels significant for higher military education are matched. We develop a system of assessing the professional foreign-language communicative competence in higher military school. The system has five levels: low, elementary, basic, high and advanced. According to the modern trends in the development of the foreign language teaching methodology and testology, the assessment system includes self-evaluation and technology of language portfolio.

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Dutra, Rafael, and Ingrid Finger. "AGE AND PROFICIENCY IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE ANXIETY." Caderno de Letras, no. 35 (January 19, 2020): 209. http://dx.doi.org/10.15210/cdl.v0i35.17756.

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This study aimed to investigate how proficiency and age are related to Foreign Language Anxiety (FLA). A total of 88 teenagers and adults with different levels of proficiency answered the Language History Questionnaire and the Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale. The analyses revealed (1) a significant negative correlation between the participants’ mean self-assessed proficiency and their level of FLA; and (2) a significant positive correlation between the participants’ age and their level of FLA. In other words, the lower the proficiency level, the higher the participants’ anxiety level. In addition to that, the older the participant, the higher his anxiety level. The results of the study suggest that Foreign Language Anxiety seems to be related to both proficiency level and learner age. Such results are discussed in light of previous investigations in the field of Applied Linguistics.Keywords: Foreign language anxiety; proficiency; age.

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Jin, Yinxing, Kees de Bot, and Merel C. J. Keijzer. "Factors associated with foreign language anxiety." Dutch Journal of Applied Linguistics 4, no. 1 (August 17, 2015): 67–85. http://dx.doi.org/10.1075/dujal.4.1.07jin.

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This paper reports a study that investigates and compares the effects of foreign language proficiency, social status of a learner’s family, self-esteem, and competitiveness on FL anxiety. Chinese university students (N = 146), who were learning Japanese and English, participated in this study. Social status data were collected once with the Social Status Scale. Other variables were measured twice over a two-month interval, using the Competitiveness Index, the Self-esteem Scale, the English/Japanese Classroom Anxiety Scale, and the English/Japanese Proficiency Scale. Results showed that foreign language proficiency, competitiveness, and self-esteem all significantly predicted foreign language anxiety levels. Foreign language proficiency was the best predictor, followed by self-esteem, then competitiveness. A negative relationship was revealed between these predictor variables and foreign language anxiety. Social status was not related to foreign language anxiety, either directly or indirectly.

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Pateşan, Marioara, and Dana Zechia. "Foreign Language Education in the Military." International conference KNOWLEDGE-BASED ORGANIZATION 24, no. 2 (June 1, 2018): 351–55. http://dx.doi.org/10.1515/kbo-2018-0114.

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Abstract As teachers of English in the military, we totally believe that today’s military should have foreign language skills and cultural expertise besides military competencies, needed to face the challenges of our present security. Foreign languages and cultural awareness can be considered ‘critical capabilities’. But proficiency in a foreign language is difficult to be acquired when you are not allotted sufficient class hours or the linguistic level of your students is pretty low. The English language proficiency training is a complex process involving time as well as human and financial resources. Each army needs literate military in foreign languages that can speak and write, comprehend oral speech or written text, in the literal and figurative forms of the language. Not being able to speak the NATO prime language of communication can be considered a real barrier for any military participant in international missions. The present study is a theoretical approach presenting some priorities in language learning education at home and abroad

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Botes, E’Louise, Jean-Marc Dewaele, and Samuel Greiff. "The Power to Improve: Effects of Multilingualism and Perceived Proficiency on Enjoyment and Anxiety in Foreign Language Learning." European Journal of Applied Linguistics 8, no. 2 (September 11, 2020): 279–306. http://dx.doi.org/10.1515/eujal-2020-0003.

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AbstractThe study examines whether already knowing several languages and feeling proficient in a new foreign language (FL) has an effect on positive and negative emotions during the learning. The emergence of positive psychology in language acquisition studies has led to the examination of positive emotions in the FL learning process, such as Foreign Language Enjoyment (FLE). FLE is a positive emotional state where psychological needs are met and was introduced as the positive emotion counterpart to the oft studied negative emotion, Foreign Language Anxiety (FLA). A international sample of 1622 FL learners were analysed utilising multivariate tests of variance, examining the level of multilingualism and the level of self-perceived FL proficiency as independent variables, with FLE and FLA as dependent variables. Results indicated a very small, but statistically significant interaction effect between the level of multilingualism and self-perceived FL proficiency on the FLA of the language learner, but not on FLE. In addition, higher levels of multilingualism were associated with higher levels of enjoyment and lower levels of anxiety in FL learners. In turn, more self-perceived proficient FL learners indicated higher levels of enjoyment and lower levels of anxiety. Although effect sizes were in some cases very small, the results do indicate the benefits multilinguals and higher proficiency FL learners have when learning a FL.

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Nikolov, Marianne, and Veronika Timpe-Laughlin. "Assessing young learners’ foreign language abilities." Language Teaching 54, no. 1 (July 9, 2020): 1–37. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0261444820000294.

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AbstractGiven the exponential growth in the popularity of early foreign language programs, coupled with an emphasis of evidence-based instruction, assessing young learners’ (YLs) foreign language abilities has moved to center stage. This article canvasses how the field of assessing young learners of foreign languages has evolved over the past two decades. The review offers insights into how and why the field has developed, how constructs have been defined and operationalized, what language proficiency frameworks have been used, why children were assessed, what aspects of their foreign language proficiency have been assessed, who was involved in the assessment, and how the results have been used. By surveying trends in foreign language (FL) and content-based language learning programs involving children between the ages of 3 and 14, the article highlights research into assessment of and for learning, and critically discusses areas such as large-scale assessments and proficiency examinations, comparative and experimental studies, the impact of assessment, teachers’ beliefs and assessment practices, young learners’ test-taking strategies, age-appropriate tasks, alternative and technology-mediated assessment, as well as game-based assessments. The final section of the article highlights where more research is needed, thus outlining potential future directions for the field.

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Richards, Heather, Clare Conway, Annelies Roskvist, and Sharon Harvey. "Foreign language teachers’ language proficiency and their language teaching practice." Language Learning Journal 41, no. 2 (July 2013): 231–46. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09571736.2012.707676.

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Kirova, Alena, and Jose Camacho. "Can You Make Better Decisions If You Are Bilingual?" Languages 6, no. 1 (March 5, 2021): 43. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/languages6010043.

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Studies have shown that “framing bias,” a phenomenon in which two different presentations of the same decision-making problem provoke different answers, is reduced in a foreign language (the Foreign Language effect, FLe). Three explanations have emerged to account for the difference. First, the cognitive enhancement hypothesis states that lower proficiency in the FL leads to more deliberate processing, reducing the framing bias. Second, contradicting the previous, the cognitive overload hypothesis, states that the cognitive load actually induces speakers to make less rational decisions in the FL. Finally, the reduced emotionality hypothesis suggests that speakers have less of an emotional connection to a foreign language (FL), causing an increase in rational language processing. Previous FLe research has involved both FL and non-FL speakers such as highly proficient acculturated bilinguals. Our study extends this research program to a population of heritage speakers of Spanish (HS speakers), whose second language (English) is dominant and who have comparable emotional resonances in both of their languages. We compare emotion-neutral and emotion-laden tasks: if reduced emotionality causes the FLe, it should only be present in emotion-laden tasks, but if it is caused by cognitive load, it should be present across tasks. Ninety-eight HS speakers, with varying degrees of proficiency in Spanish, exhibited cognitive biases across a battery of tasks: framing bias appeared in both cognitive-emotional and purely cognitive tasks, consistent with previous studies. Language of presentation (and proficiency) did not have a significant effect on responses in cognitive-emotional tasks, but did have an effect on the purely-cognitive Disjunction fallacy task: HS speakers did better in their second, more proficient language, a result consistent with neither the reduced emotionality hypothesis nor the cognitive enhancement hypothesis. Moreover, higher proficiency in Spanish significantly improved the rate of correct responses, indicating that our results are more consistent with the cognitive overload hypothesis.

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Xu, Ling, Tina Abdullah, Qian Liu, and Nur Ain Mohd Shahroom. "Effects of Critical Thinking Disposition on Foreign Language Proficiency in Foreign Language Learning: Evidence from China." Arab World English Journal, no. 1 (January 20, 2023): 189–205. http://dx.doi.org/10.24093/awej/comm1.15.

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Critical thinking is among the variables that have recently become increasingly prominent in foreign language learning. However, there is a biased research focus on the role of CT skills, and empirical evidence on the relationships between CT disposition and foreign language learning is scant. This cross-sectional study aimed to bridge this gap by examining the effects of overall CT disposition as well as its sub-constructs (open-mindedness, perseverance, reflectiveness, inquisitiveness, and self-confidence) on foreign language proficiency. The study mainly discussed the research questions of how CT disposition was related to and to what extent it could predict learners’ foreign language proficiency. This research employed Pearson correlation analysis, regression analysis, and one-way ANOVA to analyze the data collected from a sample of 391 Chinese foreign language learners at Jiangxi Normal University and Zaozhuang University. The instrument adopted to assess the participants’ CT disposition was newly proposed in Chinese in the current study. The results demonstrated that both overall and sub-constructs of CT disposition were positively related to learners’ foreign language proficiency. Foreign language learners embracing different levels of CT disposition displayed significant differences in their foreign language proficiency. Except for perseverance, the other four dispositional traits (open-mindedness, reflectiveness, inquisitiveness, and self-confidence) toward CT were found to be significantly positive predictors of learners’ foreign language proficiency in the Chinese context. The positive impacts of CT disposition triggered in foreign language learning in the present research give an empirical grounding to the cultivation of foreign language learners’ CT dispositional factors to facilitate their foreign language development. Implications, limitations, and recommendations for future exploration and research were also discussed.

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Xing, Junjie. "Practical Applications of the Understanding of Foreign Cultures in Japanese-language Teachings." Journal of Contemporary Educational Research 5, no. 6 (June 30, 2021): 19–22. http://dx.doi.org/10.26689/jcer.v5i6.2208.

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Due to differences in cultural patterns, backgrounds, and thinking styles, it is difficult to learn foreign languages. By integrating the understanding of foreign culture into Japanese-language teachings, students may be able to use Japanese in a more standardized manner based on the understanding of Japanese culture; hence, improving their Japanese proficiency. This article explored the practical strategies of understanding foreign cultures in Japanese-language teachings in hope of helping students improve their Japanese proficiency.

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Blanco, Cynthia P., Hoyoung Yi, Elisa Ferracane, and Rajka Smiljanic. "Language proficiency, context influence foreign-accent adaptation." Journal of the Acoustical Society of America 136, no. 4 (October 2014): 2109. http://dx.doi.org/10.1121/1.4899595.

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Morgan, Leslie Z. "Review: Assessing Foreign Language Proficiency of Undergraduates." Forum Italicum: A Journal of Italian Studies 28, no. 1 (March 1994): 162–63. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/001458589402800123.

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BACHMAN, LYLE F., and JOHN L. D. CLARK. "The Measurement of Foreign/Second Language Proficiency." ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science 490, no. 1 (March 1987): 20–33. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0002716287490001003.

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Ma, Lihong, Xiaofeng Du, and Jian Liu. "Intrinsic and Extrinsic Value for English Learning: Mediation Effects of Self-Efficacy in Chinese EFL Context." Chinese Journal of Applied Linguistics 41, no. 2 (June 26, 2018): 150–68. http://dx.doi.org/10.1515/cjal-2018-0009.

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Abstract The present study examined how students’ intrinsic and extrinsic value promotes their foreign language proficiency via the mediation effect of self-efficacy beliefs. A total of 1,036 Chinese eighth graders answered an English proficiency test and questionnaires assessing motivational beliefs. Structural equation modelling results with bootstrapping procedures revealed that intrinsic value can directly and indirectly influence foreign language proficiency via partial mediation effect of self-efficacy while extrinsic value can only directly influence foreign language proficiency with a small magnitude. Moreover, there is no gender difference in the mediation model. Our findings suggested that intrinsic value can help students improve foreign language proficiency by improving their self-efficacy beliefs. The findings contribute to the documents of self-determination theory and hold substantive theoretical and practical implications for foreign language teachers.

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Cenoz, Jasonc. "Age differences in foreign language learning." ITL - International Journal of Applied Linguistics 135-136 (January 1, 2002): 125–42. http://dx.doi.org/10.1075/itl.135-136.06cen.

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Abstract This article is based on the results of a project that analyses the linguistic development of English as a third language at different ages in a bilingual program. Specifically, it examines the influence of the age of introduction of English as a foreign language on general proficiency. Participants were 60 secondary school students who had Basque and/or Spanish as their first language and Basque as the language of instruction except for the subjects Spanish and English. All the students had studied English for six years but they had started learning English at different ages. Half of the students started learning English in grade 6 and the other half in grade 3. All the participants completed a battery of tests and questionnaires including different measures of proficiency in English: story telling, listening comprehension, composition, grammar and cloze test. The results indicate that older learners present a higher level of proficiency in English. The differences between older and younger students are discussed as related to several factors involved in foreign language learning.

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Lien, Hsin-Yi. "Effects of EFL Individual Learner Variables on Foreign Language Reading Anxiety and Metacognitive Reading Strategy Use." Psychological Reports 119, no. 1 (August 2016): 124–35. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0033294116659711.

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Past research has shown an association between foreign language reading anxiety and reading strategy. However, individual variables tend to affect foreign language anxiety and strategy use. The present study examined a hypothesized model that specified direct and indirect effects among English and foreign languages readers’ distinct variables, including academic level; self-perceived English level; and satisfaction with reading proficiency, reading anxiety, and metacognitive awareness of reading strategies. A total of 523 volunteer Taiwanese college students provided 372 valid responses to a written questionnaire (281 women and 91 men; M age = 19.7 years, SD = 1.1) containing the translated versions of Foreign Language Reading Anxiety Scale, Survey of Reading Strategies Inventory, and self-assessment background questionnaire. The results showed that self-evaluation of reading proficiency did not correlate with academic level and readers’ perceptions. Satisfaction had a direct effect on foreign language reading anxiety but not on metacognitive awareness of reading strategies. Results of path analysis demonstrated that the perception learners who had their own reading proficiency predicted their foreign language reading anxiety and was a mediating variable for metacognitive reading strategy use.

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Ayçiçeği-Dinn, Ayşe, Simge Şişman-Bal, and Catherine L. Caldwell-Harris. "Are jokes funnier in one’s native language?" HUMOR 31, no. 1 (January 26, 2018): 5–37. http://dx.doi.org/10.1515/humor-2017-0112.

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Abstract Appreciating the humor in jokes involves incongruity-detection and resolution, which requires good language skills. Foreign language comprehension is challenging, including interpreting words within their sentence context. An implication is that jokes in a foreign language will be more difficult to understand and therefore probably less humorous, compared to native language jokes. To study this question while preserving humor across translations, jokes were selected from Turkish and English websites to minimize language play and cultural references. Turkish university students rated both Turkish and English jokes for humor. Humor for foreign language jokes was positively correlated with ease-of-understanding of specific jokes and also by the individual-differences characteristics of English proficiency and likely career investment (e.g., preparing for a future career as English teacher or translator). We propose the proficiency X investment theory: Foreign language jokes will be experienced as funnier than native language jokes when proficiency levels are high (ranging from good to excellent) and bilinguals have a high level of L2 investment. When proficiency levels are only adequate, and without special investment in L2, native language jokes will be evaluated as funnier than foreign language jokes. With intermediate proficiency and investment, jokes can be experienced as similarly humorous in the two language. Important in this pattern is the proposal that weaker L2-proficiency can trade-off with language investment to bolster L2 humor appreciation.

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Ostovar-Namaghi, Seyyed Ali, and Nahid Rahmanian. "Exploring EFL Learners’ Experience of Foreign Language Proficiency Maintenance: A Phenomenological Study." International Journal of Applied Linguistics and English Literature 7, no. 1 (December 15, 2017): 32. http://dx.doi.org/10.7575/aiac.ijalel.v.7n.1p.32.

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Having developed foreign language proficiency, a large number of EFL learners experience some degrees of foreign language loss later in life since English has no social function in many EFL contexts including Iran. However, there are some language learners who actively maintain and develop their proficiency long after they leave language education programs. This study aims at uncovering techniques applied by this minority group in maintaining their foreign language proficiency. Participants who were willing to share their experience of proficiency maintenance were selected through purposive and snowball sampling and verbalizations of their experience were then analyzed in line with phenomenology research design. Abstraction and thematic analysis of the participants’ experiences revealed that they actively create conditions that are conducive to proficiency maintenance such as reviewing previously learned materials, watching target language movies and actively manipulating subtitles, reading for pleasure, attending discussion groups, and using internet to communicate in the target language. While proficiency loss and attrition is the norm in EFL contexts, maintenance is an exception; hence, the findings of this study have clear and immediate implications for both foreign language teachers and learners since they provide them with down-to-earth, data-driven techniques of proficiency maintenance.

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Rafieyan, Vahid. "Knowledge of Formulaic Sequences as a Predictor of Language Proficiency." International Journal of Applied Linguistics and English Literature 7, no. 2 (March 1, 2018): 64. http://dx.doi.org/10.7575/aiac.ijalel.v.7n.2p.64.

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Formulaic sequences are assumed to play a vital role in foreign language learners' speech fluency and language proficiency as they constitute a major part of foreign language learners' linguistic repertoire. In this respect, the current study examined the relationship between knowledge of formulaic sequences and language proficiency to scrutinize the significance of knowledge of target language formulaic sequences in determining target language proficiency. The participants of the study were 45 Japanese learners of English as foreign language at three different levels of language proficiency: low-intermediate (18 participants), intermediate (12 participants), and high-intermediate (15 participants) at the Intensive English Program of International College of Liberal Arts, Yamanashi Gakuin University. The instrument used for data collection consisted of a 30-item oral-production discourse completion task to test language learners’ knowledge of formulaic sequences. The analysis of Spearman rank-order correlation coefficient (rho) revealed a strong positive relationship between language learners’ knowledge of target language formulaic sequences and their level of language proficiency. The pedagogical implications of the study suggested incorporation of target language formulaic sequences in every foreign language classroom instruction.

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Kozyar, Mykhaylo M., Susanna M. Pasichnyk, Marianna M. Kopchak, Nataliia S. Burmakina, and Tamara Suran. "Simulation-Based Learning as an Effective Method of Practical Training of Future Translators." Journal of Curriculum and Teaching 11, no. 1 (January 17, 2022): 298. http://dx.doi.org/10.5430/jct.v11n1p298.

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The research topicality is determined by the problem of lack of qualified specialists who have a high level of foreign language proficiency and the ability to carry out effective professional foreign language communication. The study involved the following methods: Rokich’s Value Orientations Test, Nemov’s methods for diagnosing the expectation of success level, the Self-Efficacy Scale (R. Schwarzer, M. Jerusalem); testing on the material taught on the Theory and Practice of English Translation, chi-squared test, Mann-Whitney U test. Results: Simulation of real conditions and situations of translation activity is used in almost every lesson (80%), promoting the development of future translators’ professional competencies. The final control in the experimental group found that all students had a high (48.10%) or medium (51.30%) level of foreign language proficiency, which confirms the effectiveness of the simulation method. In the experimental group, the percentage of students with a low level of foreign language proficiency at the end of the research decreased from 26.3% to 0.6%, and the percentage of students with a high level of foreign language proficiency almost tripled. At the same time, in the control group the number of students with a low level of foreign language proficiency decreased from 25% to 10%, while the percentage of students with a high level of foreign language proficiency increased by only 1.6 times. Therefore, the hypothesis of this scientific research was experimentally confirmed. Simulation training promotes the development of foreign language competencies of students majoring in Translation.

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Charkova, Krassimira Dimitrova. "Early foreign language education and metalinguistic development." Annual Review of Language Acquisition 3 (December 31, 2003): 51–88. http://dx.doi.org/10.1075/arla.3.04cha.

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Studies with bilingual and multilingual subjects suggest that bilingualism and multilingualism foster the development of certain aspects of children’s metalinguistic skills. The purpose of the present study was to find out if learning foreign languages facilitates children’s metalinguistic ability to define words. It compared Bulgarian monolingual, bilingual and trilingual subjects on their word-definition performance in the L1. The relationship between L1 definition performance, L2/L3 proficiency, and L2/L3 definition performance within the bilingual and trilingual groups was also investigated. The study found that early foreign language education has a positive effect on the quality of children’s definitions in their L1. The bilingual and trilingual children performed significantly better than the monolingual children. The results specific to the bilingual and trilingual groups showed that second/third language proficiency was a significant and powerful predictor of the performance of the bilingual and trilingual subjects on the word-definition tasks in their second/third language. L1 word-definition ability was a weaker predictor of the subjects’ performance on the word-definition task in their second or third language. However, in the case of genetically closely related languages (Bulgarian and Russian) the transfer was easier as compared to genetically more distanced languages (Bulgarian and English).

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Maklakova, E. "Formation of Foreign Language Communicative Competence in Teaching a Foreign Language in Higher Education." Standards and Monitoring in Education 10, no. 1 (February 7, 2022): 30–34. http://dx.doi.org/10.12737/1998-1740-2022-10-1-30-34.

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The article examines the concepts of competence and competence on the example of foreign language proficiency on the example of higher education; the types of competence are analyzed, attention is paid to the communicative competence of students necessary for effective professional communication with representatives of foreign countries and cultures.

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Razmjoo, Seyyed Ayatollah, and Sina Neissi. "Identity Processing Styles and Language Proficiency among Persian Learners of English as a Foreign Language." Psychological Reports 107, no. 3 (December 2010): 822–32. http://dx.doi.org/10.2466/08.11.28.pr0.107.6.822-832.

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The relationship between identity processing styles and language proficiency in English as foreign language (EFL) was investigated among the Persian EFL learners. 266 Persian candidates taking part in a Ph.D. examination at Shiraz University took part. The Language Proficiency Test was used to measure language proficiency in English. The Identity Styles Inventory was used to measure normative, informational, and diffuse-avoidant identity processing styles. Relationships between normative and informational styles and language proficiency and its subscales (grammar, vocabulary, and reading) were positive and significant. Negative relationships between diffuse-avoidant style and language proficiency and its subscales (grammar, vocabulary, and reading) were observed. There were significant sex differences for diffuse-avoidant style and for vocabulary.

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Debreli, Emre, and Seren Demirkan. "Sources and Levels of Foreign Language Speaking Anxiety of English as a Foreign Language University Students with regard to Language Proficiency and Gender." International Journal of English Language Education 4, no. 1 (December 13, 2015): 49. http://dx.doi.org/10.5296/ijele.v4i1.8715.

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<p>Although foreign language anxiety is a widely explored subject in the area of English as a Foreign Language (EFL), studies that focus on the speaking anxiety in EFL, as well as the gender and language proficiency level–anxiety relationship, are rare. The present study investigates the phenomenon in an EFL context and analyzes the levels of EFL students’ speaking anxiety and the sources that make them anxious. It also explores whether there is any relationship between anxiety and students’ language proficiency level and gender. Data were gathered from 196 Turkish and Turkish Cypriot students through questionnaires (Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale), as well as through semi-structured interviews with 10 students who participated in the questionnaires. The findings indicated that the students generally had low level of speaking anxiety, although students with a higher level of language proficiency had a higher level of anxiety compared with that for students with a lower level of language proficiency. No statistically meaningful difference was observed with regard to students’ gender and anxiety levels. Factors that caused anxiety—such as difficulty in pronunciation, being asked immediate questions by the teacher, not understanding the question asked by the teacher—not found in the current literature also emerged from the present study. Implications for teacher education are also discussed.</p>

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Turner, Jean. "Assessing Speaking." Annual Review of Applied Linguistics 18 (March 1998): 192–207. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0267190500003548.

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The publication of the ACTFL (American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages) Guidelines (1986) and the creation and popularization of the ACTFL Oral Proficiency Interview (ACTFL-OPI) have had a profound effect on foreign and second language instruction and assessment, drawing attention to language students' abilities to use language in performing particular functions and tasks rather than to what they have learned about language. The growing interest in communicative language teaching, with its emphasis on meaningful interaction in the language as opposed to knowledge of linguistic rules, has complemented interest in the ACTFL Guidelines' descriptions of functional language ability and the interview-format oral proficiency interview.

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Panferova, I., and L. Tomchani. "The competence integration of language proficiency in foreign languages teaching process." Education and Development of Gifted Personality, no. 1 (2020): 54–58. http://dx.doi.org/10.32405/2309-3935-2020-1(77)-54-58.

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Archanjo, Renata, Malba Barahona, and Kyria Rebeca Finardi. "Identity of foreign language pre-service teachers to speakers of other languages: Insights from Brazil and Chile." Colombian Applied Linguistics Journal 1, no. 21 (April 23, 2019): 62–75. http://dx.doi.org/10.14483/22487085.14086.

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The aim of this paper is to examine the identity of foreign language (FL) pre-service teachers in two distinct contexts: Brazil and Chile. A multiple case study methodology was used to investigate how foreign language pre-service teachers develop and conceptualize their teacher identity in three different teacher education programs—two in Brazil and one in Chile. The analysis focused on three main issues: emerging identities, the role of foreign language proficiency, and the practicum as a mediating space to develop teacher identity. Results of the two case studies situated in Brazil suggest that FL pre-service teacher identity is shaped by their beliefs on language proficiency. The case study in Chile confirmed that pre-service teachers’ identity oscillates between identifying as students and as teachers. Overall, results of the study suggest that FL teacher identity is shaped by notions of legitimization of the teacher’s role and language proficiency.

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Henry, Kathryn, and Charles J. James. "Foreign Language Proficiency in the Classroom and beyond." Die Unterrichtspraxis / Teaching German 18, no. 2 (1985): 364. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/3530489.

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Ervin, Gerard L., and Charles J. James. "Foreign Language Proficiency in the Classroom and Beyond." Modern Language Journal 69, no. 4 (1985): 403. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/328413.

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Anthony, William, and Diane W. Birckbichler. "Proficiency, Policy, and Professionalism in Foreign Language Education." Modern Language Journal 73, no. 3 (1989): 347. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/327014.

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Leaver, Betty Lou. "Dismantling Classroom Walls for Increased Foreign Language Proficiency." Foreign Language Annals 22, no. 1 (February 1989): 67–74. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1944-9720.1989.tb03145.x.

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Demareva, Valeriia, and Sophia Polevaya. "Behavioral and cognitive correlates of foreign language proficiency." International Journal of Psychophysiology 94, no. 2 (November 2014): 208. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2014.08.840.

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Birjandi, Parviz, and Farzaneh Farahzad. "The ability to translate and foreign language proficiency." Perspectives 5, no. 2 (January 1997): 191–99. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/0907676x.1997.9961309.

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Savicki, Victor. "Relationship of Foreign Language Proficiency to Study Abroad Outcomes and Inputs." Frontiers: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Study Abroad 21, no. 1 (August 15, 2011): 63–85. http://dx.doi.org/10.36366/frontiers.v21i1.304.

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Even though we might expect foreign language proficiency to have an effect on intercultural competence and other study abroad outcomes, the research findings are uncertain. Part of the inconsistency between expectation and research findings with regard to the impact of language proficiency may lie in the different methodologies of language proficiency assessment. The current study seeks to address two related issues. The first is to examine the relationship between three different measures of language proficiency. The second is to discover the relationship between these measures and study abroad outcomes and inputs. Different measures of language proficiency may be useful for different purposes, and the potential predictive connection to outcomes and inputs may be instructive in designing and implementing study abroad programs.

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Markey, Michael. "Learning a foreign language in immersion and second language acquisition contexts – students’ multilingual experiences with French in Ireland." Journal of Immersion and Content-Based Language Education 10, no. 1 (March 28, 2022): 33–61. http://dx.doi.org/10.1075/jicb.19014.mar.

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Abstract This article looks at how bilingual students harness previous language experience when learning a new language. Research generally affirms that higher second language proficiency is linked to higher levels of proficiency in subsequent language learning and greater use of previously acquired language skills. In the Irish context, however, the varied nature of acquiring/learning languages and perceptions of linguistic distance potentially hinder students in mobilizing their experience with English and Irish when learning foreign languages at school. The study presented here examines how bilingual language experience can be harnessed through analysis of quantitative and qualitative data from English-medium and Irish-medium secondary school students in Ireland, focusing on how they identify and deploy elements of this experience when learning French via the elaboration of strategies and use of metalinguistic awareness. Beyond measures of proficiency, findings show the need for pedagogical tools that allow students to fully exploit their previous language experience.

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Ivkina, Margarita, Lyudmila Merkulova, and Olga Martynova. "Foreign Language Learning at a Technical University in the Modern Period." International Journal of Engineering Pedagogy (iJEP) 10, no. 6 (December 8, 2020): 139. http://dx.doi.org/10.3991/ijep.v10i6.13375.

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Abstract Introduction. The article is devoted to the problems of the foreign language learning at a technical university. The theoretical importance of the research is in the analysis of the existing language learning system at a technical university in light of a modern engineer’s professional activity model’s change. Grounding of certain corrections in the language learning system also provides the theoretical importance of the research. The practical importance of our research is in the modification of the existing language learning system based on the environmental and activity approaches. Materials and Methods. While carrying out the research we used a complex of methods; that is: literature analysis, empiric and praxymetric methods, and a modeling method. Results. 4 main types of an engineer’s professional activity are defined in the engineer’s activity model. These types correspond to the main activity types by M.S. Kagan’s concept – value-motivating, cognitive, reorganizing and communicative activities. An engineer’s activity results analysis led to discovering new features in the engineer’s personality structure lying in the communicative competence role increase. It was also found out that successfulness becomes a link between value-motivating and communicative activities. Consequently, we have made a conclusion on the increasing demands to the students’, masters’, post-graduates’ and academic researches’ language proficiency. Foreign language proficiency should provide for the ability to participate in the international conferences, to attend foreign professors’ lectures, and to take part in the students’ exchange programs. All of the above presupposes rather high foreign language proficiency and requires a foreign language learning system creation. The authors analyzed language learning courses at a technical university and carried out a post-graduates’ survey. As a result, lack of syllabuses being able to fill in the gaps in language proficiency and to support speech skills was found out. Basing on the conclusions mentioned above an extra multi-purpose and multi-level structure syllabus was worked out. This syllabus allowed to solve the existing programs, to increase foreign language learning and general learning motivation, to create conditions for self-development and self-realization in the professional activity. The article also describes in detail a foreign language learning system developed by the Department of Foreign Languages and Russian as a Second Language in the general learning environment of a technical university, which acquires for the modernization and reaching the education level corresponding to the leading universities’ level. Conclusion. The learning environment created by the Department of Foreign Languages and Russian as a Second Language of Samara National Research University named after academician S.P. Korolyov and including a compulsory language learning system and a system of extra language learning courses provides for the students’ individual needs in foreign language proficiency satisfaction at various levels. It also provides for their intellectual and moral self-development.

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Isbell, Daniel R., Paula Winke, and Susan M. Gass. "Using the ACTFL OPIc to assess proficiency and monitor progress in a tertiary foreign languages program." Language Testing 36, no. 3 (October 30, 2018): 439–65. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0265532218798139.

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Language tests are useful for many purposes, including monitoring language learning progress and evaluating language programs. This study investigated the interpretations and usefulness of the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) Oral Proficiency Interview – Computer (OPIc) scores across four languages at a large US public university, focusing on (1) the influence of learner backgrounds on oral proficiency variation and growth and (2) patterns in growth across languages. Two years of OPIc score data from 814 students studying Chinese ( n = 143), French ( n = 251), Spanish ( n = 374), and Russian ( n = 46) were collected, together with survey data on language learning experiences and motivation. Each participant had two to four OPIc scores. A growth curve analysis using mixed-effect modeling revealed that language learning experience and motivation explained approximately 43% of variation in initial proficiency and 23% of variation in rates of change over time. The target language had no unique effects on initial proficiency or change over time. On average, learners gained roughly one-third of an ACTFL sublevel per semester of study (while controlling for differences in their backgrounds). Findings are informative for appropriate interpretations and uses of OPIc scores in tertiary educational settings, but also question individual growth-tracking suitability on a semester-by-semester basis.

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Journal articles on the topic 'Foreign language proficiency'

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