roficiency of Arab students enrolled in an ESL course increased more as a function of an informal classroom instructional environment which exposed students to a good deal of conversation with native English speakers or whether the English Language Proficiency of students increased more as a function of the traditional formal classroom environment in which an instructor basically lectured students on English and did not often expose them to conversation with native speakers of English.
The research conducted here may be considered an outgrowth of the existing work in the field on the informal ESL environment. A sampling of this research is here reviewed in order to provide context to the undertaken research.
How do students feel about learning English as a second language and can their feelings be related to the need for a more informal classroom structure which emphasizes conversation with native speakers? In this regard, Perez (1995) conducted a qualitative case study of new and returning foreign students' and second language teachers' beliefs and attitudes toward English as a second language learning and instruction; she also attempted to describe the language learning environment.
Perez's (1995) study was conducted during a ten-week intensive English language summer program. Data were collected from foreign ESL students and their ESL teachers. Students were enrolled in an intermediate composition class (200 level), or an intermediate grammar class (200 level), or an advanced listening class (300 level) in an English Language Institute in the United States. Data were collected through both initial and final interviews with new and returning foreign students, as well as their teachers and other key personnel.
Classroom observations (included videotaping) were also analyzed, and additional data regarding assessment was provided by both the new and returning students, teachers, and other key personnel. Analyses ...