Challenges in Language Education in the 21 Century

A special issue of Education Sciences (ISSN 2227-7102).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 October 2019) | Viewed by 26612

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Department of Applied Linguistics, University of Hradec Králové, Rokitanského 62, 500 03 Hradec Králové, Czech Republic
Interests: psycholinguistics; sociolinguistics; teaching English as a foreign language; use of ICT in education; enhancement of cognitive skills among healthy older people; research methodology
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Guest Editor
Department of English, Faculty of Humanities, Fukuoka University,Nanakuma 8-19-1, Jonan Ward, Fukuoka City 814-0180, Janan
Interests: dialogic language theory and pedagogy; dialogic self psychological theory; intercultural communication

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

You are invited to submit your abstract and manuscript for review for this Special Issue of the Education Sciences journal. Currently, under the influence of social, cultural, political, and economic changes, language education is undergoing a number of changes and facing a new set of challenges. These changes and challenges have had a significant impact on the entire process of language teaching and learning, which is reflected in the introduction of new and innovative methods and tools for language teaching, the emphasis on personalized learning, the stimulation of informal learning, and the awareness of the cultural and age diversity of language learners. The aim of this Special Issue is to bring together experts in the field of language education and generate articles that reflect the key challenges that language education currently faces.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Blanka Klímová
Prof. Catherine Matsuo
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Education Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • Innovative methods for language teaching
  • Modern tools and devices in language education
  • Formal and informal language learning
  • Intercultural aspects of language education
  • Age diversity of language learners

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

19 pages, 590 KiB  
Article
A Rolling Stone Gathers No Moss? The Case of Mature Students in Higher Education and Their Plurilingual Repertoires
by Susana Ambrósio, Maria Helena Araújo e Sá and Ana Raquel Simões
Educ. Sci. 2019, 9(4), 271; https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci9040271 - 11 Nov 2019
Viewed by 3469
Abstract
This study diagnoses how the plurilingual repertoires of mature students (MS) in higher education (HE) are constructed throughout their lives. It addresses the main characteristics of MS; the contexts in which they move throughout their lives, and the situations they contact with languages. [...] Read more.
This study diagnoses how the plurilingual repertoires of mature students (MS) in higher education (HE) are constructed throughout their lives. It addresses the main characteristics of MS; the contexts in which they move throughout their lives, and the situations they contact with languages. Data were collected by means of a questionnaire, mostly comprising open-ended questions. The questionnaire was emailed to 485 MS and was filled in by 195 (40.2%). The results highlight the intrinsic relationship between the MS’ life histories and the construction of their plurilingual repertoires. The findings reinforce the relevance of considering the MS’ plurilingual repertoires and life histories in the development of educational linguistic policies in HE. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Challenges in Language Education in the 21 Century)
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9 pages, 207 KiB  
Article
Utilization of Linguistic Aspects of Bloom’s Taxonomy in Blended Learning
by Marcel Pikhart and Blanka Klimova
Educ. Sci. 2019, 9(3), 235; https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci9030235 - 09 Sep 2019
Cited by 20 | Viewed by 6096
Abstract
This paper presents findings from the practical implementation of Bloom’s taxonomy into the class of Intercultural Business Communication that has been taught for several years at the Faculty of Informatics and Management, University of Hradec Kralove, Czech Republic. The class utilizes blended learning, [...] Read more.
This paper presents findings from the practical implementation of Bloom’s taxonomy into the class of Intercultural Business Communication that has been taught for several years at the Faculty of Informatics and Management, University of Hradec Kralove, Czech Republic. The class utilizes blended learning, and recently, Bloom’s taxonomy has been introduced into the online course. Research I tests the students’ satisfaction with the class before introducing Bloom’s taxonomy, and Research II tests the students’ satisfaction with the new approach using the Bloom’s taxonomy. The findings are as follows: the students realized the difference after the implementation of Bloom’s taxonomy into the online course; moreover, the students also evaluated the new course in a much more positive way than the previous one. Bloom’s taxonomy, therefore, proved to be enormously useful in this blended learning environment, and the present paper highlights the importance of such an implementation. As a consequence, blended learning courses using Bloom’s taxonomy will be more systematic and therefore more efficient. The results of this research show that proper linguistic utilization of Bloom’s taxonomy terminology proved to be useful, and the paper stresses the importance of systematic approaches in blended learning courses so that they are creative and attractive for the new generation of online course users. Considering the small number of participants, further studies are needed to confirm the results of this research. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Challenges in Language Education in the 21 Century)
11 pages, 259 KiB  
Article
Mobile Technology and Generation Z in the English Language Classroom—A Preliminary Study
by Petra Poláková and Blanka Klímová
Educ. Sci. 2019, 9(3), 203; https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci9030203 - 31 Jul 2019
Cited by 63 | Viewed by 16565
Abstract
Every generation of students has different characteristics that reflect the conditions of the time period they were growing in. It is important for educators from all fields of study, especially English language teachers, to understand the generational differences and the learning preferences of [...] Read more.
Every generation of students has different characteristics that reflect the conditions of the time period they were growing in. It is important for educators from all fields of study, especially English language teachers, to understand the generational differences and the learning preferences of students in order to create productive learning environments. In today’s technology driven era, students have different learning needs in comparison with their predecessors. To enhance language learning in the new generation, it is recommended to use mobile technology in class. Mobile devices and applications offer a wide range of activities that support language learning. The aim of this study was to discover if the students using mobile devices in the class got higher scores in tests than the students using traditional methods. The methods included pre- and post-tests, as well as a questionnaire survey. The results of this study reveal that the use of a mobile application had a positive effect on students’ achievement results as far as the vocabulary learning was concerned. The students using the app seemed to retain more words than the students in the control group. Furthermore, the results of the questionnaire showed that using the app was more enjoyable for students than the traditional teaching methods. In addition, it contributed to collaborative learning. However, the results also indicate that being a Generation Z student does not make him/her automatically interested in using mobile applications in the process of language acquisition. Considering the small number of participants, further studies are planned to confirm the results from the current preliminary study. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Challenges in Language Education in the 21 Century)
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