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1

AN EXPLORATORY STUDY OF ICT USE IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNING AMONG EFL UNIVERSITY STUDENTS

100%

Tri D. H. , Nguyen N. H. T.

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nr 4

32-46

EN

There has been a large volume of published studies describing the attitudes of teachers and students towards ICT usage to study English; nevertheless, limited research has been conducted to examine the use of ICT in terms of frequency of use, purposes, perceptions, and expectations among EFL students. Thus, the purpose of the current study was to address this research problem. The research used a convenience sample of 149 English major students who were invited to respond to the questionnaire survey. The findings indicated that the participants spent more time using ICT for private purposes than for English learning purposes. Most of them showed their positive attitudes towards ICT use to study English and expected that ICT should be used more frequently in the classroom in order to maximize language learning and teaching. Gaining an understanding of the way the learners employ ICT for their non-educational purposes may help “shed light on how best to determine their educational uses” (Fujimoto, 2012, p.165). Pedagogical implications were also given in this current inquiry.

2

Short communications. eLearning in EFL: Problems and Solutions

80%

Alqurashi F.

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tom 15

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nr 1

107-116

EN

This paper investigates certain problems encountered when technology-based instruction is employed in teaching English as a foreign language. Three EFL specialists from Saudi Arabia are interviewed and their insights on solving those problems are presented. Many academics feel ill-equipped to utilize new technologies in teaching because they are technophobes who fear or dislike technology or do not have sufficient experience in employing computer applications. Other academics found technology-based teaching time-consuming, leading to increased workload, and demanding high levels of technical support. Solutions to face the reluctance to engage in electronic forms of teaching include the provision of instructional support to provide faculty with the necessary technical skills, changing college policies to consider teaching with technology an activity for which faculty receive credit, improving the reward system to motivate faculty to better productivity and higher performance, and addressing critical work-related issues, such as workload.

3

Raná výuka cizích jazyků v České republice na přelomu 20. a 21. století

80%

Najvar P.

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nr 2

37-51

EN

This paper deals with the topic of teaching foreign languages to young learners. Various research approaches and findings are discussed, especially those based on the concept of critical period. The paper also introduces the aims, design, methods and selected results of a study that was carried out by the author in the 2005/06 school year. The study examined the effects of early foreign language instruction upon the achievement of grade 8 pupils.

4

Cultural responsiveness in EFL teaching: reflections from native instructors

80%

Cinarbas H. I. , Hos R.

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tom 4

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nr 2

27-39

EN

In recent years, many international students from different parts of the world have been studying at Turkish universities, which creates a multicultural educational setting. Due to the multicultural educational setting, English has become the most widely used language for exchanging and sharing knowledge, therefore many international universities in Turkey put a great emphasis on English language education and offer English preparatory courses to students. In order to succeed at better language education, universities employ native English instructors to provide a richer language experience with cultural components embedded in language content. In this qualitative case study, cultural reflections of native English instructors at a Turkish university were investigated. Individual and focus group interviews were data sources for the study. Findings indicated that cultural responsiveness was considered to be constructed through time, and a necessity of orientation process was emphasized. However, the native instructors’ presumptions cause intolerance and underestimation of the host culture. In addition, educational issues and students’ misbehaviors, such as cheating and calling their instructors by their first name, were attributed to cultural background of the students.

5

Comparative exploration of learning styles and teaching techniques between Thai and Vietnamese EFL students and instructors

80%

Supalak N.

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tom 4

|

nr 3

103-141

EN

Learning styles have been a particular focus of a number of researchers over the past decades. Findings from various studies researching into how students learn highlight significant relationships between learners’ styles of learning and their language learning processes and achievement. This research focuses on a comparative analysis of the preferences of English learning styles and teaching techniques perceived by students from Thailand and Vietnam, and the teaching styles and techniques practiced by their instructors. The purposes were 1) to investigate the learning styles and teaching techniques students from both countries preferred, 2) to investigate the compatibility of the teaching styles and techniques practiced by instructors and those preferred by the students, 3) to specify the learning styles and teaching techniques students with high level of English proficiency preferred, and 4) to investigate the similarities of Thai and Vietnamese students’ preferences for learning styles and teaching techniques. The sample consisted of two main groups: 1) undergraduate students from King Mongkut’s University of Technology North Bangkok (KMUTNB), Thailand and Thai Nguyen University (TNU), Vietnam and 2) English instructors from both institutions. The instruments employed comprised the Students’ Preferred English Learning Style and Teaching Technique Questionnaire and the Teachers’ Practiced English Teaching Style and Technique Questionnaire. The collected data were analyzed using arithmetic means and standard deviation. The findings can contribute to the curriculum development and assist teachers to teach outside their comfort level to match the students’ preferred learning styles. In addition, the findings could better promote the courses provided for students. By understanding the learning style make-up of the students enrolled in the courses, faculty can adjust their modes of content delivery to match student preferences and maximize student learning. Finally, this research could establish better understanding between language learning natures of people from Thailand and Vietnam.

6

Assessing instructional effects of proficiency-level EFL pronunciation teaching under a connected speech-based approach

80%

Euler S. S.

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tom 4

|

nr 4

665-692

EN

This article discusses the assessment of pronunciation instruction under a new approach to pronunciation teaching centered on the role of connected speech in the prosodic system of English. It also offers a detailed discussion of various empirical problems in teaching-oriented L2 pronunciation research and suggests ways of addressing them in intervention studies. A new explanatory sequential mixed-methods design was developed for this study, which was used to assess 10 advanced EFL learners in Germany before and after 13 weeks of instruction. The results revealed co-occurring developments in learners’ use of prosody and connected speech in line with the rationale of the approach. The findings lead to various implications for language teaching and assessment. For future research, ways are suggested to increase the validity and predictiveness of L2 pronunciation research from both empirical and pedagogical perspectives.

7

Effects of two teaching methods of connected speech in a Polish EFL classroom

70%

Kul M.

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nr 4

389-407

EN

Abe (2010) argues that the Negotiation of Form (NF) instruction exerts positive effects on learning of connected speech by Japanese learners of English, finding that the progres achieved with NF was more significant than for the traditional treatment. The study reported here seeks to uncover the acquisitional value of NF in a Polish classroom. The study hypothesizes that NF, in comparison with the deductive teaching method, effectively promotes learning of assimilation, elision and weak forms. The hypothesis was tested by investigating production and perception of 50 Polish students of English. As for evaluating the effects of the two types of instructions, a classic pretest-posttest design was used. With regard to methodology, acoustic analysis was performed. The results demonstrate that in general, NF proved more effective than NNF. With regard to individual processes of connected speech, NF was more effective in production, whereas no such effect was found for perception.

8

General and Specific Culture Learning in EFL Textbooks Aimed at Adult Learners in Spain

70%

Rodríguez A. R. R. , Espinar Á. M. L.

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nr 1

5-25

EN

Since language teaching in modern-day society is closely linked to cultural instruction, this study employs the model of a cultural learning analysis based on the earlier work of Paige and Lee. Using this model, the authors analysed the cultural content of six B1 and B2-level textbooks for teaching English to adults in Spain, and carried out a comparative study of the results, contrasting the two levels. Findings show that the subjective aspects of culture receive less coverage in textbooks, despite being fundamental to an understanding of the values of a society. Regarding the comparison between B1 and B2 levels, the data indicate that the number of big “C” Culture occurrences is similar for both levels, although there are differences in other cultural aspects. So, for example, culture in general is dealt with more at the B1 level, whereas small “c” culture is dealt with more at the B2 level.

9

The impact of portfolio-based writing instruction on writing performance and anxiety of EFL students

70%

Fathi J. , Derakhshan A. , Safdari M.

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nr 3

226-235

EN

Although the usefulness of alternative assessment in second language (L2) classrooms has been extensively recognized by scholars, the use of the various types of alternative assessment in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) contexts has not received adequate attention by L2 practitioners. To contribute to this line of research, the present research sought to examine the impact of a portfolio-based writing instruction on writing performance and writing anxiety of EFL students. To this end, a number of 41 EFL learners were recruited as the participants of this study. They were then randomly divided to an experimental group (N=21) and a control group (N=20). The participants in the experimental group received portfolio-based writing instruction, whereas the control group received the regular writing instruction with no archiving of students’ drafts in portfolios. Timed-writing tasks and the Second Language Writing Anxiety Inventory (SLWAI) were employed to collect the data. The results obtained from ANCOVA analysis revealed that the portfolio-based writing instruction aided the participants in improving their writing performance more than the control group. Moreover, it was found that the use of portfolios significantly reduced the L2 writing anxiety of the participants while the traditional writing instruction did not have any significant impact on L2 writing anxiety of the control group. The pedagogical implications for portfolio-based writing instruction are discussed finally.

10

Does Scaffolding-Based Instruction Improve Writing Performance? The Case of Jordanian EFL Learners

70%

Obeiah S. F. , Bataineh R. F.

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nr 2

DE

Der Band enthält die Abstracts ausschließlich in englischer Sprache.

EN

The present study examines the potential effect of scaffolding instruction on Jordanian EFL tenth-grade students’ overall writing performance and their performance on the sub-skills of focus, development, organization, conventions and word choice. The study follows a quasi-experimental experimental/control group, pre-/post test design. In the experimental group, 20 female tenth-grade students from the North-Eastern Badia Directorate of Education (Jordan) were taught to generate ideas, structure, draft, and edit their essays using agency scaffolding and the scaffolding principles of contextual support, continuity, intersubjectivity, flow, contingency and handover, within the Zone of Proximal Development. Another group of 28 students was instructed conventionally per the guidelines outlined in the Teacher’s Book. After the treatment, descriptive statistics and ANCOVA were used to analyze the students’ scores on the pre-test and the post test. The results showed that the scaffolding instruction group outperformed the control group (at a≤ 0.05) in their overall writing performance and in their performance on all writing sub-skills except the sub-skill of development.

FR

Le numéro contient uniquement les résumés en anglais.

RU

Том не содержит аннотаций на английском языке.

11

Stress and Motivation in EFL Teaching-Learning Context

60%

Čolović M. M. , Prodanović M. M. , Vejnović E. M.

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2022

|

tom 70

92-103

EN

This paper aims to shed some light on the correlation between teacher stress, on the one hand, and motivation of teachers and students, on the other hand – observed in an EFL environment. The data sample comprising responses given by EFL teachers and students from the primary education cycle was collected via the teacher stress measurement scale and motivation for learning scale, applied for teachers and students, respectively. Apart from the basic descriptive statistics used to describe the relationship between the variables, the paper’s methodology is also characterised by applying the Pearson correlation coefficient. The results led to interesting conclusions; while, as expected, workload directly affects stress levels of teachers, who, following the results, are highly motivated to work with teenagers, contrary to what could be believed, teacher motivation is not directly related to student motivation, what could be further analysed in the future studies.

12

Taking a literature circles approach to teach Academic English

60%

Graham-Marr A. , Pellowe W.

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tom 4

|

nr 1

133-139

EN

Literature circles (LC), an activity framework for classroom discussion, has been adapted for EFL classes to help students engage more deeply with reading texts. In this approach, students read texts outside of class, and discuss the texts in class, using a specified discussion framework. Originally developed for L1 classes as a tool for teaching literature, LC has been adapted for EFL classes, not only to help develop reading skills, but also to help students develop their discussion skills. However, to date, many adaptations of LC have relied on graded fiction as source material, which is not always appropriate for tertiary education. Feeling pressure to match course content with the labour market needs of our contemporary global society, English departments are increasingly being asked to include more academic content in their classes. This requires that non-fiction be used as source material. This preliminary study examines student perceptions of an LC class using non-fiction as source material. The subjects of this short, qualitative, pilot study were engineering students at a university in Japan. Procedures of the class and the issues that emerged are discussed.

13

The Past Perfect in Corpora and EFL/ESL Materials

60%

Vandenhoek T.

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nr 1

113-133

EN

Corpora provide teachers and materials developers with the ability to ensure that the instructions they use in class and in teaching materials correctly reflect natural use. This paper examines the ways in which grammar reference books and two types of EFL/ESL materials present the past perfect aspect and whether they do so accurately. It will be argued that there are several issues concerning how these books present the grammar point. Many of the books surveyed provide incomplete explanations of when and how the form is used and several contain usage guidelines that are not supported by available corpus data. The paper ends with several recommendations to improve how the form is presented to teachers and learners.

14

The impact of portfolio-based writing instruction on writing performance and anxiety of EFL students

60%

Fathi J. , Derakhshan A. , Safdari M.

|

nr 3

15

The use of English language outside the classroom

51%

Sargsyan M. , Kurghinyan A.

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tom 4

|

nr 1

29-47

EN

This article presents a study which aimed to explore in what ways Armenian EFL students use their English language knowledge outside the classroom. The study involved 38 EFL learners of different English proficiency levels, ages, and genders. Data were collected using surveys and in-depth interviews. Findings indicate that most of the Armenian EFL learners use English out of the class very often, especially with social media, listening to songs, watching movies and clips, as well as travelling and searching on the Internet. Based on the findings, specific recommendations are offered to bring the students’ interests into the classroom.

16

TED talks as resources for the development of listening, speaking and interaction skills in teaching EFL to university students

43%

Kozińska K.

Neofilolog

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2021

|

nr 56/2

201-221

XX

The article presents a study conducted on 27 university students and 5 of their teachers in the Winter semester 2020/21. The study was conducted because of recommended online teaching at Polish universities and almost four decades after the first TED event, when the TED community has become worldwide and the recordings of the events can be accessed online cost-free by anybody. The popularity of TEDs and the need to teach online prompted the author to incorporate it in teaching practice and review research literature from the areas of SLA (Second Language Acquisition), EFL (English as a Foreign Language) teaching and learning, socio-constructivism and adult learning. Based on this review, a hypothesis was formulated: TED talks support the development of listening, speaking, and interaction skills when used as a supplementary resource in teaching English as a foreign language to university students. Three supplementary questions were formed to test the hypothesis. Data was obtained in an online questionnaire and analysed using the qualitative data analysis framework of Miles and Huberman (1994). The study confirmed the hypothesis. Lessons with TEDs are valued as varied, interesting, inspiring and supporting oral communication skills’ development. Results are discussed, conclusions drawn and further research explored.

17

Critical, Cultural and Multimodal Approaches to Using Song as Literature in Language Learning

41%

Kennedy V.

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nr No.2

295-310

EN

This paper provides an overview of recent scholarship on the value of using literature and song lyrics to help students of English as a Foreign Language improve their pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar and accuracy, linguistic competence and confidence, motivation, cultural knowledge, empathy and objectivity, and literary awareness. Literature and multimodal materials can help to promote better understanding of the cultural background of the target language, resulting in improved comprehension of context, dialect, and idioms through the use of language as it is spoken by native speakers. Students are more likely to learn if they are given materials that they enjoy, and if they can see immediate benefits from studying, so teachers are encouraged to promote cross-curricular applications of the skills taught in language classes. The paper then provides a case study to illustrate these principles with an analysis of the popular song “Let It Go” from the recent Disney film Frozen.

HR

U radu se donosi pregled novije znanstvene i stručne literature o uporabi književnosti u riječima pjesama kako bi se pomoglo učenicima engleskoga kao stranoga jezika da unaprijede svoj izgovor, rječnik, gramatičku točnost, jezičnu kompetenciju i samopouzdanje, motivaciju, poznavanje kulture, empatiju i objektivnost, kao i književnu svjesnost. Književni i višemodalni materijali mogu pomoći promicanju boljega razumijevanja kulturne podloge ciljnoga jezika, što također vodi boljemu razumijevanju konteksta, dijalekata i idioma u jezičnoj uporabi izvornih govornika. Uspješnost učenja jezika potencijalno je veća ako se učenicima ponude materijali u kojima nalaze zadovoljstvo i ako pritom iskuse neposrednu korist od učenja. Stoga se učiteljima preporuča poticanje primjene vještina usvojenih na nastavi jezika u drugim predmetima. Rad uključuje i analizu pojedinačnoga slučaja popularne pjesme „Let It Go“ iz nedavnoga Disneyeva filma Frozen, kojom se ilustriraju navedena načela.

DE

Der Beitrag bietet einen Überblick über die Ergebnisse der wissenschaftlichen Forschung zur Verwendung von literarischen Texten bzw. Songs als Hilfe beim Erwerb der korrekten Aussprache, des Vokabulars, der Grammatik, der Sprachkompetenz und des Selbstvertrauens, der Motivation, der kulturellen Kompetenzen, der Empathie und der Objektivität sowie der Förderung von literarischen Kompetenzen im Rahmen des englischen FSU. Literarische und multimodale Unterrichtsmaterialien können zum besseren Verständnis des kulturellen Hintergrunds der Zielsprache beitragen, wodurch auch ein besseres Verständnis des Kontextes, der Mundart und der seitens der Muttersprachler verwendeten Idiome gefördert wird. Dabei ist der Erfolg beim Erlernen einer Fremdsprache potenziell größer, bietet man den Schülern Unterrichtsmaterialien an, an denen sie Gefallen finden und anhand deren der Lernnutzen unmittelbar erfahrbar ist. Deshalb wird den Lehrenden empfohlen, die in anderen Fremdsprachen erworbenen Fähigkeiten und Fertigkeiten der Lernenden aufzugreifen. Im Beitrag wird als Beispiel für die Anwendung der angeführten Grundsätze die Analyse der neuerdings durch den Disney-Film Frozen populär gewordene Song „Let It Go“ vorgelegt.