Project work in a Basque L2 classroom: students’ perceptions

[EN] Project Work has been acknowledged as an efficient medium for language learning for more than two decades (Stoller, 2006) according to the numerous successful applications of project-based programmes that have been reported. In spite of the lack of sufficient controlled studies to assess the benefits of project work, and the existence of some studies giving evidence of students discontent with project work, the reports given by second language (SL) and foreign language students (FL) who have experienced project based instruction give support to the success attributed to project-based learning, as they recognised having improved language skills, learnt content, developed real life skills, as well as gained in self-confidence and motivation (Sierra, 2008 and 2011; Stoller, 2006). The aim of the present study is to explore some key issues involved in implementing a project-based programme focusing on the students’ perceptions of learning gains, their views on the collaborative assessment scheme used in the programme, and the students’ overall evaluations of the implementation of project work in a post-compulsory secondary education context in Navarre, Spain, with students learning Basque as a second language. A group of 12 students enrolled in a project work based programme participated in the study. Results showed that the students’ perceptions were very positive concerning doing projects, learning gains and group work, although more grammar instruction and teacher-fronted activities were requested by the students. However, the collaborative assessment process and the use of a Notebook/Diary as a reflection tool bore mixed evaluations.

Episodic Memory Use in L2 Vocabulary Processing

[EN] The experiment discussed in this paper is a direct replication of Finkbeiner (2005) and an indirect replication of Jiang and Forster (2001) and Witzel and Forster(2012). The paper explores the use of episodic memory in L2 vocabulary processing. By administering an L1 episodic recognition task with L2 masked translation primes, reduced reaction times would suggest L2 vocabulary storage in episodic memory. The methodology follows Finkbeiner (2005) who argued that a blank screen introduced after the prime in Jiang Forster (2001) led to a ghosting effect, compromising the imperceptibility of the prime. The results here mostly corroborate Finkbeiner (2005) with no significant priming effects. While Finkbeiner discusses his findings in terms of the dissociability of episodic and semantic memory, and discounts Jiang and Forster’s (2001) results to participants’ strategic responding, I add a layer of analysis based on declarative and procedural constituents. From this perspective, Jiang and Forster (2001) and Witzel and Forster’s (2012) results can be seen as possible episodic memory activation, and Finkbeiner’s (2005) and my lack of priming effects might be due to the sole activation of procedural neural networks. Priming effects are found in concrete and abstract words but require verification through further experimentation.