Is Library Database Searching a Language Learning Activity?

Abstract

This study explores how non-native speakers of English think of words to enter into library databases when they begin the process of searching for information in English. At issue is whether or not language learning takes place when these students use library databases. Language learning in this study refers to the use of strategies employed by students to develop English vocabulary knowledge. This study found that international students do seem to engage in language learning when using library databases, and it identifies and describes their strategies.ibrary database searching is a key activity that takes place in and through university libraries in North America on a daily basis. As a core activity, searching for information through library databases offers students an important way to access and retrieve relevant material for their academic needs. Library database searching has been the topic of investigation in the library literature mainly through the lens of information-seeking behavior. How people find information is of great interest to the profession both on a theoretical and on a practical level, because a better understanding of their information-seeking behavior may lead to better meeting their information needs.This study looks at the activity of library database searching through a different lens, that of language learning. Language learning as used in this article refers to the use of strategies employed by non-native speakers of English to improve and expand their knowledge of English vocabulary. The key research question of this study is: Is library database searching a language learning activity in addition to being a means for finding information? Why this question may be important is that international students who are nonnative speakers of English comprise a large and growing minority of university students in North America. In the current academic era in which internationalization efforts at universities in both the United States and Canada are intensifying, it might behoove us to better understand how international students use our libraries. An investigation of language learning in this context may underscore our own importance in terms of both supporting students' information needs and in helping them to develop their English language proficiencies to better navigate the academic world. Literature ReviewInternational students who are non-native speakers of English in North America

It takes a community to build a framework: Information literacy within intercultural settings

“…Like studies that are framed by information literacy standards, constructivist research into intercultural settings has consistently focused on international and English as a Foreign/Second Language students [e.g. 40–46]. While constructivist and behaviourist approaches to information literacy assume that it is the individual mind that is at the centre of knowledge creation [47: 83], the emphasis on exploring experience rather than measuring behaviours means that constructivist research tends to focus on the individual in relation to the setting, or the student’s relationship with the environment rather than on expert judgment.…”

Adult learning theories and autoethnography: Informing the practice of information literacy

“…Because I was lucky enough to secure work at a university that recognized librarians as faculty members, I also had the resources to conduct more research of this nature. The information literacy aspects of this work considered how information literacy skills improve as writing skills improve (Bordonaro, 2008), if database searching can be construed as a language learning activity (Bordonaro, 2010), how language teaching strategies can be incorporated into library instruction (Bordonaro, 2011), if the metaphor of scholarship as conversation works with information literacy for ESL students (Bordonaro, 2015), how best librarians can work collaboratively with ESL instructors in supporting library research (Bordonaro, 2018b), and how language learning can intersect very broadly with library learning (Bordonaro, 2014).…”

Information-seeking behaviours of teacher students: A systematic review of qualitative methods literature

“…In an article, non-native English-speaking teacher students' choices of keywords in the initial stage in the search process and other library strategies were investigated as well as whether these contributed to learning English. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews and written answers (Bordonaro, 2010).…”