A number of researchers have examined the variables/strategies that affect students’ learning English as a second language. This report identifies some of the learner variables/strategies used by two students in a Hong Kong Technical Institute. The instruments for data collection included observation, interviews and questionnaires. The findings are discussed and some implications highlighted.What makes a "good" language learner "good", and what makes a "poor" language learner "poor" What does this imply for the teaching of language in the Hong Kong context These are the central questions of this assignment. The existing body of research attributes the differences between language learners to learner variables and learner strategies, learner variables include such things as differences in personality, motivation, style, aptitude and age (Ellis, 1986: chap 5) and strategies refer to "techniques, approaches, or deliberate actions that students take in order to facilitate the learning and recall of both linguistic and content area information" (Chamot, 1987: 71). It is important to note here that what we are considering is not the fact that language learners do and can learn, but why there should be such variations in speed of learning, ability to use the target language, and in achieving examination grades, areas which generally lead to the classification of students as being either "good" or "poor".Learner variables and strategies have been the focus of a number of research projects, (O’Malley et al, 1985, Oxford, 1989). However, to the best of my knowledge, this area has not been researched in Hong Kong classrooms. Since I am a teacher of English working in Hong Kong, gleaning a little of what learner variables and strategies seem to work for local students seems to be a fruitful area of research.In discussing learner variables and strategies, we have to keep in mind the arbitrary nature of actually identifying these aspects. As the existing research point out, it is not possible to observe directly qualities such as aptitude, motivation and anxiety. (Oxford, 1986). We cannot look inside the mind of a language learner and find out what strategies, if any, they are using. These strategies are not visible processes. Also, as Naiman and his colleagues (1978) point out, no single learning strategy, cognitive style or learner characteristic is sufficient to explain success in language learning. The factors must be considered simultaneously to discover how they interact to affect success of failure in particular language learning situation.Bearing these constraints in mind, the aim of this assignment is to develop two small scale studies of the language learners attempting to gain an overall idea of what strategies are in use and what variables seem to make a difference to Hong Kong students. According to this passage, research in this area is characterized as ()
A. empirically observable
B. often impossible to observe directly
C. poorly defined in the research literature to date
D. easier to theorize about than to carry out directly
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It has been argued that where schools become bureaucratized, they become bound up with the techniques and implementation of the managerial process, and may concentrate on concem with position and self-advancement.In so doing, they may neglect the purpose for which they were set up. Thus, they do not facilitate the development of those who are part of the school community, and tend to neglect the desires of children, parents and society at large. It is because of such criticisms that there has been an increasing influence in political rhetoric and legislation of free-market theories of organization and society.Such theories suggest that a much more market-oriented, competitive approach is required so that schools reorient themselves towards their"clients".By so doing, it is claimed, not only do they once again address the needs of those with whom they should be primarily concemed, but such an approach also unleashes the benefits of individual responsibility,freedom of choice, and reward. Though much of this sounds attractive, it has its roots as much in an econOmic bodv of thought as in SOCial and political theory,and this must raise the question of whether it can be viablv transferred to an educational context.Indeed, if by"educational"we mean the development of all within the school community,then free—market theory may miss the mark by concentrating on onlv one section, "the consumers".If teachers are seen as part of this community,then their develoDment is just as important. If bureaucratic forms of management face the problem of explaining how their values can be objective when they are in fact the product of a particular value orientation, the forrns of management derived from free—market theories,suggesting an openness to the adoption of different sets of values,are subject to the charge of relativism.In other words,free-market theories,granted that thev are arguing that individuals should be allowed to pursue their own ends,must explain why any set of values,including their own,is preferable to another. The“charge of relativism”mentioned in the last paragraph is meant to show______.
A. me values are too narrow—minded
B. the values are not specific enougn
C. the values are too self-serving
D. the values are not strongly held
This week marks the 10th anniversary of the Alar apple scare, in which many American consumers were driven into a panic following the release of a report by an environmental organization claiming that apples containing the chemical Alar posed a serious health threat to preschoolers. The report was disseminated through a PR (Problem Report) campaign and bypassed any legitimate form of scientific peer re view. Introduced to the American public by CBS "60 Minutes," the unsubstantiated claims in the report led some school districts to remove apples from their school lunch programs and unduly frightened conscientious parents trying to develop good eating habits for their children.Last month, Consumers Union released a report wanting consumers of the perils of consuming many fruits and vegetables that frequently contained "unsafe" levels of pesticide residues. This was especially true for children, they claimed, lake its predecessor 10 years earlier, the Consumers Union report received no legitimate scientific peer review and the public’s first exposure to it was through news coverage.Not only does such reporting potentially drive children for consuming healthful fruits and vegetables, the conclusions were based on a misleading interpretation of what constitutes a "safe" level of exposure. Briefly, the authors used values known as the "chronic reference doses," set by the U.S. environmental Protection Agency, as their barometers of safely. Used appropriately, thee levels represent the maximum amount of pesticide that could be consumed daily for life without concern. For a 70-year lifetime, for example, consumers would have to ingest this ’average amount of pesticide every day for more than 25,000 days. It is clear, as the report points out, that there are days on which kids may be exposed to more; it is also clear that there are many more days when exposure is zero. Had the authors more appropriately calculated the cumulative exposures for which the safety standards axe meant to apply, there would have been no risks and no warnings.Parents should feel proud, rather than guilty, of providing fruits and vegetables for their children. It is well established that a diet rich in such foods decreases the risk of heart disease and cancer. Such benefits dramatically overwhelm the theoretical risks of tiny amounts of pesticides in food. So keep serving up the peaches, apples, squash, grapes and pears. With regard to the pesticides in food, this passage seems to argue that ()
A. parents should keeps their children from the food with pesticicles
B. they should be applied to fruits and vegetables wit caution
C. more research needs to be done on their harmfulness to health
D. they are not as threatening as said to children most of the time
A number of researchers have examined the variables/strategies that affect students’ learning English as a second language. This report identifies some of the learner variables/strategies used by two students in a Hong Kong Technical Institute. The instruments for data collection included observation, interviews and questionnaires. The findings are discussed and some implications highlighted.What makes a "good" language learner "good", and what makes a "poor" language learner "poor" What does this imply for the teaching of language in the Hong Kong context These are the central questions of this assignment. The existing body of research attributes the differences between language learners to learner variables and learner strategies, learner variables include such things as differences in personality, motivation, style, aptitude and age (Ellis, 1986: chap 5) and strategies refer to "techniques, approaches, or deliberate actions that students take in order to facilitate the learning and recall of both linguistic and content area information" (Chamot, 1987: 71). It is important to note here that what we are considering is not the fact that language learners do and can learn, but why there should be such variations in speed of learning, ability to use the target language, and in achieving examination grades, areas which generally lead to the classification of students as being either "good" or "poor".Learner variables and strategies have been the focus of a number of research projects, (O’Malley et al, 1985, Oxford, 1989). However, to the best of my knowledge, this area has not been researched in Hong Kong classrooms. Since I am a teacher of English working in Hong Kong, gleaning a little of what learner variables and strategies seem to work for local students seems to be a fruitful area of research.In discussing learner variables and strategies, we have to keep in mind the arbitrary nature of actually identifying these aspects. As the existing research point out, it is not possible to observe directly qualities such as aptitude, motivation and anxiety. (Oxford, 1986). We cannot look inside the mind of a language learner and find out what strategies, if any, they are using. These strategies are not visible processes. Also, as Naiman and his colleagues (1978) point out, no single learning strategy, cognitive style or learner characteristic is sufficient to explain success in language learning. The factors must be considered simultaneously to discover how they interact to affect success of failure in particular language learning situation.Bearing these constraints in mind, the aim of this assignment is to develop two small scale studies of the language learners attempting to gain an overall idea of what strategies are in use and what variables seem to make a difference to Hong Kong students. The main point of paragraph 5 is ()
A. to describe the existing research in the field
B. to point out the limits of research in this area
C. to describe learning strategies identified as so
D. to summarize the scope of the present article
By far the most common difficulty in study is simple failure to get down to regular concentrated work. This difficulty is much greater for those who do not work to a plan and have no regular routine of study. Many students muddle along, doing a hit of this subject or that, as the mood takes them, or letting their set work pile up until the last possible moment.Few students work to a set time-table. They say that if they did construct a timetable for themselves they would not keep to it, or would have to alter it constantly, since they can never predict from one day to the next what their activities will be. No doubt some temperaments take much more kindly to a regular routine than others. There are many who shy away from the self-regimentatign of a weekly time-table, and dislike being tied clown to a definite programme of work. Many able students claim that they work in cycles. When they become interested in a topic they work on it intensively for three or four days at a time. On other days they avoid work completely. It has to be confessed that we do not fully understand the complexities of the motivation to work. Most people over 25 years of age have become conditioned to a work routine, and the majority of really productive workers set aside regular hours for the more important aspects of their work. The "tough-minded" school of workers is usually very contemptuous of the idea that good work can only be done spontaneously, under the influence of inspiration.Those who believe that they need only work and study as the fit takes them have a mistaken belief either in their own talent or in the value of "freedom". Freedom from restraint and discipline leads to unhappiness rather than to "self-expression" or "personality development". Our society insists on regular habits, timekeeping and punctuality, and whether we like it or not, if we mean to make our way in society we have to comply with its demands. A suitable title for the passage might be ()
Attitudes to Study
B. Study Plans
C. The Difficulties of Studying
D. Study and Self-discipline