Search results for: Arab learners of English

Authors: Jordana Lenhardt

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This paperwork aims to promote a reflection on the critical literacy and multiliteracies concepts in the English language teaching, under an emancipatory perspective, in the English language classroom at the Federal Institute of Mato Grosso (IFMT), Rondonópolis Campus. Some Authors place the relationship between the world conscience and the self-conscience in a direct reason, compromising one to the other, and others defend that emancipatory teaching practice must be connected in all the spheres of the social context; with this paperwork, we intend to analyze students’ interactions with the English language, in order to verify if they demonstrate critical conscience about language and the world around them. The study is still at a preliminary level and is grounded in discourse critical analysis and systemic-functional linguistics. We understand that text is irremediable, linked to a context, and that the linguistic selection made by the speaker builds social representations. This research foresees the analysis of some students’ speeches in an interview about their classes at the Federal Institute in the city of Rondonópolis and the methodology being used on them. Discourse critical analysis explains that, through the awareness of the language uses, learners can become more conscious of the coercions in their own language practices, the possibilities of risks, and the costs of the individual or collective challenges, to engage themselves in emancipatory linguistic practice. The critical language conscience contributes, on the other hand, to make students more aware of the practices in which they are involved, as producers and consumers of texts, of the social forces, ideologies, and power relations, their effects on the identities and social relations, as well as the discourse role in the social and cultural processes.

Keywords: multiliteracies, critical literacy, emancipation, social transformation

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Authors: Ailene B. Anonuevo

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The aim of the study was to evaluate the quality of life presently available for the IP students in selected schools in the Division of Panabo City. This further explores their future dreams and current status in classes and examines some implications relative to their studies. The study adopted the mixed methodology and used a survey research design as the operational framework for data gathering. Data were collected by self-administered questionnaires and interviews with sixty students from three schools in Panabo City. In addition, this study describes the learners’ background and school climate as variables that might influence their performance in school. The study revealed that an IP student needs extra attention due to their unfavorable learning environment. The study also found out that like any other students, IP learners yearns for a brighter future with the support of our government.

Keywords: IP learners, learning landscape, school climate, quality of life

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Authors: Jane O`Halloran

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Japanese university students have traditionally shown antipathy towards English due to a generally unsatisfactory language-learning experience at the secondary level with a focus on grammar and translation rather than communication. The situation has become urgent, however, due to the rapid decline in the Japanese population, which will present both difficulties and opportunities as employees will increasingly be forced to use English in the workplace. For university lecturers, the challenge is to overcome the students` apathy and convince them of the need for English in the increasingly diverse workplaces they will be entering. This article will illustrate how English teachers and content teachers at a private science university came together to address this quandary.

Keywords: student motivation, CLIL, globalization, demographics

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Authors: Frieda Amitai

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The field of Translation Studies includes both descriptive and applied aspects, one of which is developing curricula. Within this topic there are theories dealing with curricula aimed at translator training, and theories meant to explore teaching translation as means through which awareness to language is developed in order to enhance language knowledge. An example of the latter is a unique study program in Israeli high schools – Teaching Translation Skills Program (TTSP). This study program has been taught in Israel for more than two decades and is aimed at raising students' meta-linguistic awareness as well as their language proficiency in both source language and target language in order to enable them become better language learners. The objective of the current research was to examine whether the goals of this program are achieved – increase in students' metalinguistic awareness and language proficiency. A follow-up case study was aimed at examining the level of proficiency which would develop most by this way of teaching English. The study was conducted in two stages – before and after participating in the program. 400 subjects took part in the first stage, and 100 took part in the second. In both parts of the study, participants were given the same five tasks in both Hebrew and English in addition to a questionnaire, in which they were asked about their own knowledge of Hebrew and in comparison to that of their peers. Their teachers were asked about the success of the program and about the methodology they use in class. Findings show significant change in the level of meta-linguistic awareness of the students as well as their language proficiency. A comparison between their answers before and after the program shows that their meta-linguistic awareness increased, as did their ability to recognize linguistic mistakes. These findings serve as strong evidence for the positive effect such study program has on the development of meta-linguistic awareness and linguistic knowledge. The follow-up case study tests the change among weaker language learners.

Keywords: comparison, metalinguistic awareness, language learning, translation skills

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Authors: Saman Khairani

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Assessment is a pivotal component of the teaching and learning process, serving as a critical tool for evaluating student progress, diagnosing learning needs, and informing instructional decisions. In the context of English Language Teaching (ELT), effective assessment practices are essential to promote meaningful learning experiences and foster continuous improvement in language proficiency. This paper delves into various assessment strategies, explores associated challenges, and highlights best practices for assessing student learning in ELT. The paper begins by examining the diverse forms of assessment, including formative assessments that provide timely feedback during the learning process and summative assessments that evaluate overall achievement. Additionally, alternative methods such as portfolios, self-assessment, and peer assessment play a significant role in capturing various aspects of language learning. Aligning assessments with learning objectives is crucial. Educators must ensure that assessment tasks reflect the desired language skills, communicative competence, and cultural awareness. Validity, reliability, and fairness are essential considerations in assessment design. Challenges in assessing language skills—such as speaking, listening, reading, and writing—are discussed, along with practical solutions. Constructive feedback, tailored to individual learners, guides their language development. In conclusion, this paper synthesizes research findings and practical insights, equipping ELT practitioners with the knowledge and tools necessary to design, implement, and evaluate effective assessment practices. By fostering meaningful learning experiences, educators contribute significantly to learners’ language proficiency and overall success.

Keywords: ELT, formative, summative, fairness, validity, reliability

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Authors: Ahmad Almohana

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Technology has led to rapid changes in the world, and most importantly to education, particularly in the 21st century. Technology has enhanced teachers’ potential and has resulted in the provision of greater interaction and choices for learners. In addition, technology is helping to improve individuals’ learning experiences and building their capacity to read, listen, speak, search, analyse, memorise and encode languages, as well as bringing learners together and creating a sense of greater involvement. This paper has been organised in the following way: the first section provides a review of the literature related to the implementation of CALL (computer assisted learning language), and it explains CALL and its phases, as well as attempting to highlight and analyse Warschauer’s article. The second section is an attempt to describe the move from CALL to mobilised systems of edutainment, which challenge existing forms of teaching and learning. It also addresses the role of the teacher and the curriculum content, and how this is affected by the computerisation of learning that is taking place. Finally, an empirical study has been conducted to collect data from teachers in Saudi Arabia using quantitive and qualitative method tools. Connections are made between the area of study and the personal experience of the researcher carrying out the study with a methodological reflection on the challenges faced by the teachers of this same system. The major findings were that it is worth spelling out here that despite the circumstances in which students and lecturers are currently working, the participants revealed themselves to be highly intelligent and articulate individuals who were constrained from revealing this criticality and creativity by the system of learning and teaching operant in most schools.

Keywords: CALL, computer assisted learning language, EFL, English as a foreign language, ELT, English language teaching, ETL, enhanced technology learning, MALL, mobile assisted learning language

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Authors: A. Chabert

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The present paper is motivated by the current influence of communicative approaches in language policies around the globe (especially through the Common European Framework of Reference), along with the exponential spread of English as a Lingua Franca worldwide. This study focuses on English language learning and teaching in the last year of primary education in Spain (in the bilingual Valencian region), Norway (in the Trondelag region), and China (in the Hunan region) and proposes a plurilingual communicative approach to ELT in line with ELF awareness and the current retheorisation of ELF within multilingualism (Jenkins, 2018). This study, interdisciplinary in nature, attempts to find a convergence point among English Language Teaching, English as a Lingua Franca, Language Ecology and Multilingualism, breaking with the boundaries that separate languages in language teaching and acknowledging English as international communication, while protecting the mother tongue and language diversity within multilingualism. Our experiment included over 400 students across Spain, Norway, and China, and the outcomes obtained demonstrate that despite the different factors involved in different cultures and contexts, a plurilingual approach to English learning improved English scores by 20% in each of the contexts. Through our study, we reflect on the underestimated value of the mother tongue in ELT, as well as the need for a sustainable ELF perspective in education worldwide.

Keywords: English as a Lingua Franca, English language teaching, language ecology, multilingualism

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Authors: Qusai Alshahwan

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The arbitrator’s duties of independence and impartiality play a significant role in delivering arbitral awards which legitimate the fundamental of arbitration concepts. For this reason, the international and national arbitration rules require arbitrators to be independent and impartial to solve the arbitration disputes fairly between the parties. However, solving the disputes fairly also requires arbitrators to disclose any existing conflicts of interest with the parties to avoid misunderstanding and late challenges. In contrary with the international and national arbitration rules, the English Arbitration Act 1996 does not include independence as a separate ground for arbitrator’s removal, and importantly the English Arbitration Act 1996 is deliberately silent to the arbitrator duty of disclosure. The absence of arbitrator duty of disclosure is an issue had generated uncertainty and concerns for the arbitration community under the English jurisdiction, particularly when the English courts rejected the IBA guidelines of arbitrator conflict of interest such as in case of Halliburton v Chubb for example. This article is highlighting on the legal consequences of the absence of arbitrator duty of disclosure under the English Arbitration Act 1996 and the arbitrator's contractual obligations.

Keywords: arbitration, impartiality, independence, duty of disclosure, English Arbitration Act 1996

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Authors: Shashwat Mookherjee, Shruti Dutta

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This study explores linguistic distinctions among American, Indian, and Irish English dialects and assesses various Language Models (LLMs) in their ability to generate British English translations from these dialects. Using cosine similarity analysis, the study measures the linguistic proximity between original British English translations and those produced by LLMs for each dialect. The findings reveal that Indian and Irish English translations maintain notably high similarity scores, suggesting strong linguistic alignment with British English. In contrast, American English exhibits slightly lower similarity, reflecting its distinct linguistic traits. Additionally, the choice of LLM significantly impacts translation quality, with Llama-2-70b consistently demonstrating superior performance. The study underscores the importance of selecting the right model for dialect translation, emphasizing the role of linguistic expertise and contextual understanding in achieving accurate translations.

Keywords: cross-dialect translation, language models, linguistic similarity, multilingual NLP

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Authors: Mehrab Karimian

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The present research aimed to investigate the problems of teaching and learning English in middle schools in Esfahan, Iran. These problems are associated with the learner, teacher, textbook, syllabus, and language policy. The instrument used was a self-constructed likert scale questionnaire. All the variables had a hand in the problems among which textbook, syllabus and language policy had the most effect. Twenty five problems were distinguished among which some are as follows: students do not consider pair work important; most of the time, most teachers do not speak in English in the classroom; the textbook does not include CDs or cassettes, does not consists of all the English Skills; the syllabus does not include one or two projects for students apart from the midterm or final test, Language Policy being not completely familiar with the steps of EFL teaching, does not selecting the most qualified and proficient teachers in EFL teaching. It can be concluded that the language policy should take a practical step in reducing the problems by changing the textbooks and providing more teaching aids for the teachers.

Keywords: teaching and learning english, problems of teaching and learning english, middle school, Iran

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Authors: Majno Ajbani

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Difficulties in teaching and learning English pronunciation in Sindh province, Pakistan Abstract Sindhi language is widely spoken in Sindh province, and it is one of the difficult languages of the world. Sindhi language has fifty-two alphabets which have caused a serious issue in learning and teaching of English pronunciation for teachers and students of Colleges and Universities. This study focuses on teachers’ and students’ need for extensive training in the pronunciation that articulates the real pronunciation of actual words. The study is set to contribute in the sociolinguistic studies of English learning communities in this region. Data from 200 English teachers and students was collected by already tested structured questionnaire. The data was analysed using SPSS 20 software. The data analysis clearly demonstrates the higher range of inappropriate pronunciations towards English learning and teaching. The anthropogenic responses indicate 87 percentages teachers and students had an improper pronunciation. This indicates the substantial negative effects on academic and sociolinguistic aspects. It is suggested an improper speaking of English, based on rapid changes in geopolitical and sociocultural surroundings.

Keywords: alphabets, pronunciation, sociolinguistic, anthropogenic, imprudent, malapropos

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Authors: Sandra Figueiredo, Margarida Alves Martins, Carlos Silva, Cristina Simões

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This study integrates a larger research empirical project that examines second language (SL) learners’ profiles and valid procedures to perform complete and diagnostic assessment in schools. 102 learners of Portuguese as a SL aged 7 and 17 years speakers of distinct home languages were assessed in several linguistic tasks. In this article, we focused on writing performance in the specific task of narrative essay composition. The written outputs were measured using the score in six components adapted from an English SL assessment context (Alberta Education): linguistic vocabulary, grammar, syntax, strategy, socio-linguistic, and discourse. The writing processes and strategies in Portuguese language used by different immigrant students were analysed to determine features and diversity of deficits on authentic texts performed by SL writers. Differentiated performance was based on the diversity of the following variables: grades, previous schooling, home language, instruction in first language, and exposure to Portuguese as Second Language. Indo-Aryan languages speakers showed low writing scores compared to their peers and the type of language and respective cognitive mapping (such as Mandarin and Arabic) was the predictor, not linguistic distance. Home language instruction should also be prominently considered in further research to understand specificities of cognitive academic profile in a Romance languages learning context. Additionally, this study also examined the teachers representations that will be here addressed to understand educational implications of second language teaching in psychological distress of different minorities in schools of specific host countries.

Keywords: home language, immigrant students, Portuguese language, second language, writing assessment

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Authors: Sebastian Leal-Arenas

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TikTok’s influence on contemporary society is undeniable. The impact of the mobile app transcends entertainment, as shown by the growing presence of specialized accounts dedicated to providing educational content, particularly as it pertains to language learning. However, the prevailing trend on the platform is vocabulary and grammar acquisition, neglecting a critical component: pronunciation. This study examines English pronunciation materials available on TikTok by taking a comprehensive approach that incorporates established assessment tools, such as the Learning Object Review Instrument and the Framework for Language Learning App Evaluation. Furthermore, novel evaluation categories are introduced to provide a more holistic assessment of these educational resources. 60 English pronunciation videos were part of the analysis. The findings reveal that these audio-visual materials present clear audio bolstered by high-quality video content and automatically generated closed captions. These three components enhance the comprehensibility of the input, making these concise videos valuable assets for language learners. Nevertheless, certain deficiencies are observed, such as the lack of emphasis on specific segments and their relationship with articulators. Improvements and refinements are discussed, as well as their potential utility within the language classroom. This study contributes to the ongoing investigation of multimedia materials used for language teaching and emphasizes the need to adapt pronunciation instruction methods to today’s technology.

Keywords: pronunciation, segments, teaching materials, technology

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Authors: Humaira Irfan Khan

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The paper discusses that Pakistan is a multilingual, multicultural, and multiethnic society. The findings from quantitative and qualitative data collected in two public universities look at the importance of English language and the role and status of national and regional languages in the country. The evidence implies that postgraduate students having diverse linguistic, cultural, ethnic, socio-economic, and educational backgrounds display negative attitudes towards the use of English language for academic and interactive functions in universities. It is also discovered that language anxiety of postgraduate students is an outcome of their language learning difficulties. It is suggested that considering the academic needs of students, universities should introduce a language proficiency course to enable them to use English with confidence.

Keywords: Multilingualism, Ethnicity, Cultural Diversity, Importance of English, National language, Regional languages, Language Anxiety

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Authors: Saziye Darendeli

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Motivation has a significant impact on a second/foreign language learning process, so it plays a vital role while achieving the learning goal. As it is defined by Simon (1967, p. 29), motivation is “a goal terminating mechanism, permitting goals to be processed serially.”AccordingtoSimon, if a learning goal is activated and enough attention is given, the learner starts learning. In connection with this view, the more attention is given on a subject, and the more activation takes place on it, the quicker learning will occur. Moreover, today almost every teacher is familiar with the term “distance education” regardless of their student's age group. As it is stated by Visser (2002), when compared to the traditional classrooms, in distance education, the rate and success of language learningdecreasesandone of the most essential reasons is that motivating students in distance education contexts, in which interaction is lower, is much more challenging than face-to-face training especially with young learners(Lim& Kim, 2003). Besides, there are limited numbers of studies conducted on motivational strategies for young learners in distance education contexts since we have been experiencing full time the online schooling process recently, yet online teaching seems to be permanent in our lives with the new technological era. Therefore, there appears to be a need for various strategies to motivate young learners in distance education, and the current study aims to find out the strategies that young learners’ teachers use to increase their students’ motivation level in distance education. To achieve this aim, a qualitative research approach and a phenomenological method with an interpretive design will be used. The participants, who are teachers of young learners, will be interviewed using a structured interview format consisting of 7 questions. As the participants are young learners’teacherswhohavebeenexperiencingteaching online, exploring thestrategiesthattheyusetoincreasetheirstudents’ motivationlevelwillprovidesomesuggestionsaboutthemotivationalstrategiesforfuture online classes. Also, in this paper, I will move beyond the traditional classrooms that have face-to-face lessons and discuss the effective motivational strategies for young learners in distance education.

Keywords: motivation, distance education, young learners, strategies

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Authors: Shereen Yehia El Ezabi

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The transition from the advanced to the superior level of Arabic proficiency is widely known to pose considerable challenges for English speaking students of Arabic as a Foreign Language (AFL). Apart from the increasing complexity of the grammar at this juncture, together with the sprawling vocabulary, to name but two of those challenges, there is also the somewhat less studied hurdle along the way to superior level proficiency, namely, the seeming opacity of many aspects of Arab/ic culture to such learners. This presentation tackles one specific dimension of such issues: religious references in literary texts. It illustrates how carefully constructed translation activities may be used to expand and deepen students’ understanding and use of them. This is shown to be vital for making the leap to the desired competency, given that such elements, as reflected in customs, traditions, institutions, worldviews, and formulaic expressions lie at the very core of Arabic culture and, as such, pervade all modes and levels of Arabic discourse. A short story from the collection “Stories from Our Alley”, by preeminent novelist Naguib Mahfouz is selected for use in this context, being particularly replete with such religious references, of which religious expressions will form the focus of the presentation. As a miniature literary work, it provides an organic whole, so to speak, within which to explore with the class the most precise denotation, as well as the subtlest connotation of each expression in an effort to reach the ‘best’ English rendering. The term ‘best’ refers to approximating the meaning in its full complexity from the source text, in this case Arabic, to the target text, English, according to the concept of equivalence in translation theory. The presentation will show how such a process generates the sort of thorough discussion and close text analysis which allows students to gain valuable insight into this central idiom of Arabic. A variety of translation methods will be highlighted, gleaned from the presenter’s extensive work with advanced/superior students in the Center for Arabic Study Abroad (CASA) program at the American University in Cairo. These begin with the literal rendering of expressions, with the purpose of reinforcing vocabulary learning and practicing the rules of derivational morphology as they form each word, since the larger context remains that of an AFL class, as opposed to a translation skills program. However, departures from the literal approach are subsequently explored by degrees, moving along the spectrum of functional and pragmatic freer translations in order to transmit the ‘real’ meaning in readable English to the target audience- no matter how culture/religion specific the expression- while remaining faithful to the original. Samples from students’ work pre and post discussion will be shared, demonstrating how class consensus is formed as to the final English rendering, proposed as the closest match to the Arabic, and shown to be the result of the above activities. Finally, a few examples of translation work which students have gone on to publish will be shared to corroborate the effectiveness of this teaching practice.

Keywords: superior level proficiency in Arabic as a foreign language, teaching Arabic as a foreign language, teaching idiomatic expressions, translation in foreign language teaching

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Authors: Mutwakel Abdalla Ali Garalzain

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The aim of this study is to develop university EFL students’ communicative competence. The descriptive, analytical method was used in this study. To collect the data, the researcher designed two questionnaires, one for university EFL students and the other for English language teachers. The respondents of the study were eighty-eight; 76 university EFL students, and 12 English language teachers. The data obtained were analyzed by using statistical package for social science (SPSS). The findings of the study have revealed that most of the university EFL students are unable to express their ideas properly, although they have an abundance of vocabulary. The findings of the study have also shown that most of the university EFL students have positive attitudes towards communicative competence. The results of the study also identified the best strategies that can be used to enhance university EFL students’ communicative competence in English language teaching. The study recommends that English language textbooks should be compatible with the requirements of the student-centered approach. It also recommends that English language teachers should adopt the communicative approach’s strategies in the EFL classroom.

Keywords: applied linguistics, communicative competence , English language teaching, university EFL students

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Authors: Aimen Mohamed Almaloul

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The main focus of this study is investigating the interference of Arabic in the use of English prepositions by Libyan university students. Prepositions in the tests used in the study were categorized, according to their relation to Arabic, into similar Arabic and English prepositions (SAEP), dissimilar Arabic and English prepositions (DAEP), Arabic prepositions with no English counterparts (APEC), and English prepositions with no Arabic counterparts (EPAC). The subjects of the study were the first year university students of the English department, Sabrata Faculty of Arts, Azzawia University; both males and females, and they were 100 students. The basic tool for data collection was a test of English prepositions; students are instructed to fill in the blanks with the correct prepositions and to put a zero (0) if no preposition was needed. The test was then handed to the subjects of the study. The test was then scored and quantitative as well as qualitative results were obtained. Quantitative results indicated the number, percentages and rank order of errors in each of the categories and qualitative results indicated the nature and significance of those errors and their possible sources. Based on the obtained results the researcher could detect that students made more errors in the EPAC category than the other three categories and these errors could be attributed to the lack of knowledge of the different meanings of English prepositions. This lack of knowledge forced the students to adopt what is called the strategy of transfer.

Keywords: foreign language acquisition, foreign language learning, interference system, interlanguage system, mother tongue interference

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Authors: A. Olusegun Egunjobi, Samson Sunday Adekunte

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This study investigated the teachers’ and learners’ ICT-readiness assessment for agricultural science instruction in secondary schools in Ogun State, Nigeria. However, the sample population of 6 and 120 agricultural science teachers and learners were randomly selected respectively from 3 public and 3 private senior secondary schools in Ado-Odo/Ota Local Government Area of Ogun State, Nigeria. Descriptive survey design of ex post-facto type was adopted for the study. Two structured questionnaires tagged Teachers’ and Learners’ Questionnaires on ICT-Readiness for Agricultural Science Instruction TQICTRASI and LQICTRASI respectively were used for data collection. The two questionnaires were subjected to Cronbach alpha coefficient with the results 0.86 and 0.82 respectively. Five research hypotheses were tested at 0.05 level of significance. Findings revealed that teachers in private senior secondary school (SSS) were more ready and prepared than their counterparts in public SSS with the result t-value = 4.25 greater than t-critical = 2.77, df = 4 at p<0.05. Also, learners in private SSS were more prepared and ready for the utilisation of ICT-facilities for agricultural science instruction with the result t-value = 3.51 greater than t-critical = 1.98, df = 118 at p<0.05. However, male and female learners in both private and public SSS were equally prepared and ready for the ICT-facilities utilisation for agricultural science instruction, thus, there were no significant differences in their ICT-readiness. Therefore, the study proffered that, both male and female teachers and learners should be more ICT-compliant and always ready to upgrade their skills and knowledge in ICT-facilities, utilisation for agricultural science instruction and even for other school subjects particularly in Ogun State and in generally in Nigeria.

Keywords: ICT-readiness, teachers’ and learners’ assessment, private and public senior secondary schools, agricultural science instruction

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Authors: Yi-Hsuan Gloria Lo

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The educational objective of vocational high schools (VHSs) is to equip VHS students with practical skills and knowledge that can be applied in the job-related market. However, with the increasing number of technological universities over the past two decades, the majority of VHS students have chosen to receive higher education rather than enter the job market. VHS English education has been confronting a dilemma: Should an English for specific purposes (ESP) approach, which aligns with the educational goal of VHS education, be taken or should an English for general purposes (EGP) approach, which prepares VHS students for advanced studies in universities, be followed? While ESP theorists proposed that that ESP can be taught to secondary learners, little was known about VHS students’ perspective on this ESP-versus-EGP dilemma. Scant research has investigated different facets of students’ needs (necessities, wants, and lacks) for both ESP and EGP in terms of the four language skills and the factors that contribute to any differences. To address the gap in the literature, 100 VHS students responded to statements related to their necessities, wants, and lacks in learning ESP and EGP on a 6-point Likert scale. Six VHS students were interviewed to tap into the reasons for different facets of the needs for learning EGP and ESP. The statistical analysis indicates that at this stage of learning English, VHS subjects believed that EGP was more necessary than ESP; EGP was more desirable than ESP. However, they reported that they were more lacking in ESP than in EGP learning. Regarding EGP, the results show that the VHS subjects rated speaking as their most necessary skill, speaking as the most desirable skill, and writing as the most lacking skill. A significant difference was found between perceived learning necessities and lacks and between perceived wants and lacks. No statistical difference was found between necessities and wants. In the aspect of ESP, the results indicate that the VHS subjects marked reading as their most necessary skill, speaking as the most desirable skill, and writing as the most lacking skill. A significant difference exists between their perceived necessities and lacks and between their wants and lacks. However, there is no statistically significant difference between their perceived lacks and wants. Despite the lack of a significant difference between learning necessities and wants, the qualitative interview data reveal that the reasons for their perceived necessities and wants were different. The findings of the study confirm previous research that demonstrates that ‘needs’ is a multiple and conflicting construct. What VHS students felt most lacking was not necessarily what they believed they should learn or would like to learn. Although no statistical difference was found, different reasons were attributed to their perceived necessities and wants. Both theoretical and practical implications have been drawn and discussed for ESP research in general and teaching ESP in VHSs in particular.

Keywords: vocational high schools (VHSs), English for General Purposes (EGP), English for Specific Purposes (ESP), needs analysis

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Authors: Ghazi Alotaibi

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The current study examined and described the views of secondary school students and their parents on their reasons for seeking private tutors in English. These views were obtained through two group interviews with the students and parents separately. Several causes were brought up during the two interviews. These causes included difficulty of the English language, weak teacher performance, the need to pass exams with high marks, lack of parents’ follow-up of student school performance, social pressure, variability in student comprehension levels at school, weak English foundation in previous school years, repeated student absence from school, large classes, as well as English teachers’ heavy teaching loads. The study started with a description of the EFL educational system in Saudi Arabia and concluded with recommendations for the improvement of the school learning environment.

Keywords: english, learning difficulty, private tutoring, Saudi, teaching practices, learning environment

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Authors: Xuan Li

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The English language occupies a crucial position in the Chinese educational system and is officially introduced in the school curriculum from the third year of primary school onward. However, it is worth noting that along with the movement to remove primary-oriented education from preschools, the teaching of English is banned in preschools. Considering the worldwide trend of learning English at a young age, whether this ban can be implemented successfully is doubtful. With an initial focus on the interaction of language-in-education planning and policy (LEPP) at the macro level and actual practice at the micro level, this research selected three private preschools and two public preschools to explore what is taking place in terms of English education. All data collected is qualitative and is gained from documentary analysis, school observation, interviews, and focus groups. The findings show that: (1) although the English ban in preschool education aims to regulate all types of preschools and all adult Chinese participants are aware of this ban, there are very different scenarios according to type of preschool, such that no English classes are found in public schools while private preschools commonly provide some kind of English education; (2) even public schools do not have an English-free environment and parents’ demand for English education is high; (3) there is an obvious top-down hierarchy in both public and private schools, in which administrators make the decisions while others have little power to influence the school curriculum; (4) there is a clear gap in the perception of English teaching between children and adults, in which adults prefer foreign English teachers and think English teaching is just playing, while children do not have a clear preference regarding teachers and do not think English class is just for fun; (5) without macro support, there are many challenges involved in preschool English education, including the shortage of qualified teachers and teaching resources, ineffective personnel management and few opportunities for speaking English in daily life. Hopefully, this research will not only highlight the interaction of LEPP at different levels and the importance of individual agency but also raise the awareness of how to provide qualified and equal education for all children.

Keywords: individual agency, language-in-education planning and policy, micro context, preschool English education

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Authors: Rose Shayeghi, Pejman Hosseinioun

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The Multiple Intelligences theory characterizes human intelligence as a multifaceted entity that exists in all human beings with varying degrees. The most important contribution of this theory to the field of English Language Teaching (ELT) is its role in identifying individual differences and designing more learner-centered programs. The present study aims at investigating the relationship between different elements of multiple intelligence and grammar scores. To this end, 63 female Iranian EFL learner selected from among intermediate students participated in the study. The instruments employed were a Nelson English language test, Michigan Grammar Test, and Teele Inventory for Multiple Intelligences (TIMI). The results of Pearson Product-Moment Correlation revealed a significant positive correlation between grammatical accuracy and linguistic as well as interpersonal intelligence. The results of Stepwise Multiple Regression indicated that linguistic intelligence contributed to the prediction of grammatical accuracy.

Keywords: multiple intelligence, grammar, ELT, EFL, TIMI

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Authors: Zahra Mirsanjari, Mohammad Reza Baradaran, Mehdi Rastegari Ghiri

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Research in the field of education has widely documented that teachers’ sense of efficacy has strong impacts on various aspects of teaching and learning. The present study is an attempt to examine Iranian EFL teachers’ degree of self-efficacy for teaching English. The data required for the study was gathered from Iranian EFL teachers teaching English as a foreign language in different schools and language institutes in Iran. Data were collected using Teacher’s Sense of Efficacy Scale (TSES). Results identified four dimensions of teachers’ English teaching-specific sense of efficacy: instructional strategies, classroom management, student engagement, and oral English language use. It was also found that teachers rated their self-efficacy in teaching English at a moderate level in the dimensions of instructional strategies, classroom management, and student engagement. Results have implications for language teachers and practitioners.

Keywords: Self-efficacy, teaching, EFL, teachers

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Authors: Howard Gomwe, Eunice Seekoe, Philemon Lyoka, Chioneso Show Marange, Dennyford Mafa

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There is arguably a lack of literature regarding body physical fitness and body composition amongst primary school learners in South Africa. For this reason, the study is aimed at investigating and accessing how body composition relates to physical fitness amongst primary school learners in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. In order to achieve this, a school-based cross-sectional survey was carried out among 876 primary school learners aged 9 to 14 years. Body composition indicators were measured and/or calculated, whilst physical fitness was evaluated according to the EUROFIT fitness standards by a 20 m shuttle run, push-ups, sit and reach as well as sit-ups. Out of 876 participants, a total of 870 were retained. Of these, 351 (40.34%) were boys, and 519 (59.66%) were girls. The average age of learners was 11.04 ± 1.50 years, with boys having a significantly (p = 0.002) higher mean age (M = 11.24; SD = 1.51 years) as compared to that of girls (M = 10.91; SD = 1.48 years). The non-parametric Spearman Rho correlation coefficients revealed several significant and negative relationships between body composition measurements with physical fitness characteristics, which were stronger in girls than in boys. The findings advocate for policymakers and responsible authorities to initiate the development of policies and interventions targeted at encouraging physical activity and health promotion among primary school learners in South Africa, especially in girls.

Keywords: BMI, body composition, body fat, children, physical fitness, primary school

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Authors: Yi-Hsiu Lai

Abstract:

The present study aimed to elucidate the lexical-semantic processing for Chinese as second language (CSL) learners. Twenty L1 speakers of Chinese and twenty CSL learners in Taiwan participated in a picture naming task and a category fluency task. Based on their Chinese proficiency levels, these CSL learners were further divided into two sub-groups: ten CSL learners of elementary Chinese proficiency level and ten CSL learners of intermediate Chinese proficiency level. Instruments for the naming task were sixty black-and-white pictures: thirty-five object pictures and twenty-five action pictures. Object pictures were divided into two categories: living objects and non-living objects. Action pictures were composed of two categories: action verbs and process verbs. As in the naming task, the category fluency task consisted of two semantic categories – objects (i.e., living and non-living objects) and actions (i.e., action and process verbs). Participants were asked to report as many items within a category as possible in one minute. Oral productions were tape-recorded and transcribed for further analysis. Both error types and error frequency were calculated. Statistical analysis was further conducted to examine these error types and frequency made by CSL learners. Additionally, category effects, pictorial effects and L2 proficiency were discussed. Findings in the present study helped characterize the lexical-semantic process of Chinese naming in CSL learners of different Chinese proficiency levels and made contributions to Chinese vocabulary teaching and learning in the future.

Keywords: lexical-semantic processing, Mandarin Chinese, naming, category effects

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Authors: Amira Benabdelkader

Abstract:

Communication presents the channel by which humankind create and maintain their relationship with others, express themselves, exchange information, learn and teach etc. The context of communication plays a distinctive role in deciding about the language to be used. The term context is mainly used to refer to the interlocutors, their cultures, languages, relationship, physical surrounding that is the communication setting, type of the information to be transmitted, the topic etc. Cultures, on one hand, impose on humans certain behaviours, attitudes, gestures and beliefs. On the other hand, the focus on language is inevitable as it is with its verbal and non-verbal components, a key tool in and for communication. Moreover, each language has its particularity in how people voice, address and express their thoughts, feelings and beliefs. Being in the same setting with people from different cultures and languages and having conversations with them would call upon the intercultural communicative competence. This latter would promote the success of their conversations. Additionally, this competence could manifest in several ways during their interactions, to the extent that no one can predict when and how the interlocutors would use it. The only thing probably that could be confirmed is that the setting and culture would in a way or another intervene and often shape the flow of their communication, if not the whole communication. Therefore, this paper will look at the intercultural communicative competence of language learners when introducing their cultures to each other in an online language tandem (henceforth OLT) using their second and/or foreign language with the L1 language speakers. The participants of this study are Algerian (use L2: French, FL: English), British (L1: English, L2/FL: French). In other words, this current paper will provide a qualitative analysis of the OLT experiment by emphasising how language learners can overcome the cultural differences in an intercultural setting while communicating online using Skype (video conversations) with people from different countries, cultures and L1. The non-verbal cues will have the lion share in the analysis by focusing on how they have been used to maintain this intercultural communication or hinder it through the misinterpretation of gestures, head movements, grimaces etc.

Keywords: intercultural communicative competence, non-verbal cues, online language tandem, Skype

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Authors: Susanne Shunnaq

Abstract:

During the past decade, an increasing number of higher education institutions in Oman have sought accreditation in an attempt to assure the quality of their programs. Sultan Qaboos University (SQU), the only public university in the country, has also been seeking accreditation. Hence, the university administration has been encouraging departments to evaluate their programs for development purposes. The Department of English, where 100% of the students are learners of English as a foreign language, already produced a self-study report that outlined the strength and weaknesses of the current program. The department came to the realization that due to a changing local and regional job market, transferrable communication skills are high in demand among stakeholders in the public and private sectors. Failure to equip English literature students, for example, with excellent verbal communicative skills in English may have detrimental effects for undergraduate job-seekers who have to compete for jobs in employment sectors with a predominantly English-speaking workforce. Ongoing extensive discussions about restructuring the current literature program by means of partially replacing literature courses with skills courses, hoping to produce higher quality graduates who are equipped with effective communication skills for local and regional markets, have sparked the idea for this research. The researcher, who is an American Literature specialist at SQU, has set out to investigate to what extent senior American literature students have been able to apply transferable communication skills in an advanced literature course. The study also attempts to unearth performance inhibitors and causes for communication breakdown. The primary data source for the study were audio-recordings of 6 in-class peer-group discussions in an advanced contemporary American literature course during the academic year 2016/2017. The significance of this research lies in the rarity of studies focusing on verbal communication skills in Omani higher education literature classrooms at a time when English programs are in the process of being re-visited and revamped both for accreditation purposes and for meeting job-market demands. The results showed a considerable variation in Omani students' verbal communicative abilities and English proficiency levels. The study also raises crucial questions and provides important recommendations for administrators and teachers alike who are in the process of restructuring English programs in the region and in non-English speaking countries worldwide.

Keywords: job-market, literature, Oman, tertiary education, oral communication skills

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Authors: Yan Ma

Abstract:

Parents in China now are of great enthusiasm to outsource extracurricular lessons and activities to ensure their children’s English learning. This study draws on one year of ethnographic observations and interviews with parents and children in 6 families in Shaoxing, a small city in East China, to explore how parents in different social classes differ in their ideology and investment practice towards their children’s English education. Through comparative analysis, the study reveals though all the families acknowledge the importance of English and there are great similarities among families in the same social class, differences are distinct among those in different social classes with regard to how they perceived the importance and what measures they take. The results also reflect China’s sociocultural and socioeconomic factors that underlined the heated wave of English learning as well as the social, cultural and economic conditions of different families that exert a decisive influence on their children’s learning experience.

Keywords: family background, extracurricular English learning, language ideologies, language management

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Authors: Merih Welay Welesilassie, Marianne Nikolov

Abstract:

Research into second and foreign language (L2) acquisitions has demonstrated that L2 anxiety, perceived proficiency, and L2 willingness to communicate (L2WTC) profoundly impact language learning outcomes. However, the complex interplay between these variables has yet to be fully explored, as these factors are dynamic and context-specific and can vary across different learners and learning environments. This study, therefore, utilized a cross-sectional quantitative survey research design to scrutinise the causal relationships between L2 anxiety, English proficiency, and L2WTC of 609 Ethiopian preparatory school students. The model for the L2WTC, both inside and outside the classroom, has been expanded to include an additional sub-scale known as the L2WTC in a digital setting. Moreover, in contrast to the commonly recognised debilitative-focused L2 anxiety, the construct of L2 anxiety has been divided into facilitative and debilitative anxiety. This method allows to measure not only the presence or absence of anxiety but also evaluate if anxiety helps or hinders the L2 learning experience. A self-assessment proficiency measure was also developed specifically for Ethiopian high school students. The study treated facilitative and debilitative anxiety as independent variables while considering self-assessed English proficiency and L2WTC in the classroom, outside the classroom, and in digital settings as dependent variables. Additionally, self-assessed English proficiency was used as an independent variable to predict L2WTC in these three settings. The proposed model, including these variables, was tested using structural equation modelling (SEM). According to the descriptive analysis, the mean scores of L2WTC in the three settings were generally low, ranging from 2.30 to 2.84. Debilitative anxiety casts a shadow on the positive aspects of anxiety. Self-assessed English proficiency was also too low. According to SEM, debilitative anxiety displayed a statistically significant negative impact on L2WTC inside the classroom, outside the classroom, in digital settings, and in self-assessed levels of English proficiency. In contrast, facilitative anxiety was found to positively contribute to L2WTC outside the classroom, in digital settings, and in self-assessed English proficiency. Self-assessed English proficiency made a statistically significant and positive contribution to L2WTC within the classroom, outside the classroom, and in digital contexts. L2WTC inside the classroom was found to positively contribute to L2WTC outside the classrooms and in digital contexts. The findings were systematically compared with existing studies, and the pedagogical implications, limitations, and potential avenues for future research were elucidated. The outcomes of the study have the potential to significantly contribute to the advancement of theoretical and empirical knowledge about improving English education, learning, and communication not only in Ethiopia but also in similar EFL contexts, thereby providing valuable insights for educators, researchers, and policymakers.

Keywords: debilitative anxiety, facilitative anxiety, L2 willingness to communicate, self-assessed English proficiency

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