scholarly journals The Comparative Effect of Teaching Concept Mapping in Reading on Extrovert and Introvert EFL Learners' Self-Regulation

2017 ◽  
Vol 6 (5) ◽  
pp. 161
Author(s):  
Mania Nosratinia ◽  
Fatemeh Abbasi
Keyword(s):  
Concept Mapping ◽  
Language Proficiency ◽  
English Language ◽  
Self Regulation ◽  
English Language Proficiency ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
Proficiency Level ◽  
Teaching Concept ◽  
Efl Teachers ◽  
Pre Treatment

The present study attempted to compare the effect of teaching concept mapping in reading on extrovert and introvert English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners' Self-Regulation (SR). The participants were 60 female EFL learners at the intermediate level of English language proficiency, between 18 and 20 (Mage = 19). The Preliminary English Test was employed in order to select homogeneous participants in terms of English language proficiency level, followed by administering Eysenck's Personality Inventory (1985). The language-wise homogeneous introvert (n = 30) and extrovert (n = 30) participants were assigned randomly into two experimental groups of 30. To identify the pre-treatment and post-treatment levels of participants' SR, the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (1991) was administered twice. The two groups were instructed using the same material and implementing Harris and Graham’s (1996) concept mapping instruction model. The analysis of the scores using an Independent-Samples t-Test revealed that extrovert participants exhibited a significantly higher SR level as a result of being exposed to concept mapping. The study concludes with a discussion on the obtained results and the probable reasons leading to them, followed by presenting some implications for EFL teachers, learners, and syllabus designers. 

scholarly journals Scope of Cooperative Learning (CL) Strategies in Teaching English to Saudi Adult EFL Learners: A Study of Practical Barriers and Possible Implications

2017 ◽  
Vol 6 (7) ◽  
pp. 110 ◽  
Author(s):  
Muhammad Ishtiaq ◽  
Muhammad Sabboor Hussain
Keyword(s):  
Saudi Arabia ◽  
Cooperative Learning ◽  
Language Proficiency ◽  
Educational Administration ◽  
English Language ◽  
English Language Teaching ◽  
Teaching English ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
Proficiency Level ◽  
Efl Teachers

This study aims at investigating the teachers’ practices and perceptions in teaching English in Saudi Arabia by viewing their stance on Cooperative Learning (CL) — an innovative teaching approach proposed to raise the language proficiency level of adult EFL learners. The study has been conducted in Qassim University, Saudi Arabia—a vibrant and flourishing EFL context. A quantitative tool (a questionnaire) has been used to collect data and to serve qualitative purposes. It reports 80 EFL teachers’ (40 males and 40 females) perceptions about CL using a 17-items comprehensive survey covering all the possible barriers in the way of implementing CL strategies in EFL classes. The survey items also explore how the EFL teachers in Saudi Arabia foresee the implications of making such an innovative move in their classes. The responses have been analyzed on a 5-point Likert scale which ranges from strongly disagree-disagree-neutral-agree-strongly agree. Major findings are that CL strategies have practical barriers but their implications are far more positive. The barriers are mainly due to the wrong learning habits of the adult EFL learners in Qassim University and lack of will and vision of the educational administration. The study recommends that CL strategies need to be given due consideration and support by the administrators and policy makers to raise the proficiency level of adult EFL learners. The study also allays the misconception that majority of the practitioners in English language teaching field are not ready to practice and implement CL strategies in their classes.

The Effects of Cross-Cultural Distance Learning Model on the Linguistic and Affective Domain of EFL Learners in Korea

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 76-89
Author(s):  
Bok-Myung Chang
Keyword(s):  
Distance Learning ◽  
Language Proficiency ◽  
Cultural Awareness ◽  
English Language ◽  
Cultural Distance ◽  
English Language Proficiency ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
Test Form ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
Native Speakers Of English

This article is based on a Cross-Cultural Distance Learning (CCDL) model between university students in Korea and Japan during the 1st semester of 2016 and this lesson model consists of synchronous and asynchronous CMC activities focusing on the interactions between non-native speakers of English. This article shows that EFL learners in Korea can develop English language proficiency through this lesson model. The learners' development of English language proficiency was evaluated by using the TOEIC test as a proficiency test form. Also, this article proves that these kinds of CMC activities can motivate EFL learners to enhance cultural awareness for foreign countries and practice English inside and outside of the classroom. The questionnaire was used to survey the students' cultural awareness and attitude for this model at the final session of the semester.

scholarly journals Relationship between Teachers’ Competency Level in Teaching English Language and Students’ English Language Proficiency in Secondary Schools in Rwanda

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (7) ◽  
pp. 104-122
Author(s):  
Girimbabazi Serge ◽  
◽  
Mrs Adegoke Oyebimpe ◽  
Dr. Hesbon Opiyo Andala ◽  
◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Secondary Schools ◽  
Language Proficiency ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
English Language ◽  
English Proficiency ◽  
English Language Proficiency ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
Teaching English ◽  
Proficiency Level ◽  
English Language Teachers

The improvement of students’ English proficiency depends on the level of teaching English language and the competency of teachers in teaching career. The purpose of this study therefore, was to investigate the relationship between teachers’ competency in English language and students’ English language proficiency within secondary schools of Karongi in Rwanda. The study adopted correlation research design research design. Data collection tools were questionnaire and interview guide. The target population was 1794 people comprised of 1560 students, 14 Sector Education Officers, 20 Head Teachers, 200 teachers. A simple random sampling and purposive sampling techniques were used to get a sample size of 395 respondents. The study findings revealed that majority of the students with a total of 290 (91.2%) agreed that in their school, teachers are not competent enough in English language. Moreover, almost 292 (91.8%) of the respondents agreed that in their school, students English reading, writing, listening and speaking proficiency level is low and 70 (90.9%) of key informants agreed that both in public and private secondary schools of Karongi District, students’ English language proficiency level in reading, writing, speaking and listening is low. The correlation results showed the association between between teachers’ inability to teach in English, teachers’ inability to read classroom interactions in English language, teachers’ incompetency in English language, teachers’ inability to express themselves in English language as well as teachers’ inability to develop English language educational materials) and dependent variables (students’ reading, writing, speaking and listening English language proficiency and students’ English language proficiency (reading, writing, speaking and listening English proficiency) is positive. The study recommended the Ministry of Education through Rwanda Basic Education Board to avail enough English teaching and learning materials, including charts, textbooks and dictionaries which are adequate in enhancing English language proficiency mastery among students at an early age. All stakeholders of the education sector are recommended to support English teaching and learning activities in Rwanda, as it is the only and one shortcut for making Rwandans master the English language. Keywords: Teachers’ competency, English Language, English proficiency, Rwanda

scholarly journals EFL Learners’ Learning Styles and Self-regulated Learning: Do Gender and Proficiency Level Matter?

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 616-623
Author(s):  
Jahanbakhsh Nikoopour ◽  
Mohammad Shaker Khoshroudi
Keyword(s):  
Learning Styles ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Language Proficiency ◽  
Self Regulation ◽  
Moderator Variable ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
Self Regulated Learning ◽  
Proficiency Level ◽  
Regulated Learning

The present study attempted to investigate the interdependence of self-regulated learning and language learning styles among three levels of language learners. Their gender and language proficiency level were also taken into consideration to find out the interaction between these variables. To carry out the study, the subject was selected based on the multi-stage sampling procedure. From five universities, 200 EFL learners studying TEFL, Literature, and Translation were randomly selected. Based on their scores on the TOEFL test, the participants were divided into beginner, intermediate, and advanced levels. From each level, 30 subjects were randomly selected. The research instruments were used to collect the required data for the study. After analyzing the data, the results showed a significant relationship between the EFL learners’ learning styles and their self-regulation. It was disclosed that the higher the learners’ scores on language learning styles were, the more self-regulated they were. When gender was taken into account as a moderator variable, no significant correlation between language learners’ learning styles and their gender was detected. It was found that both male and female learners were self-regulated in the same way. In addition, EFL learners’ proficiency level significantly made a difference in their self-regulation; however, it did not affect their learning styles.

scholarly journals The Effect Of Viewing Subtitled Videos On Vocabulary Learning

2010 ◽  
Vol 7 (9) ◽  
Author(s):  
Madhubala Bava Harji ◽  
Peter Charles Woods ◽  
Zhinoos Kamal Alavi
Keyword(s):  
Language Proficiency ◽  
English Language ◽  
Vocabulary Learning ◽  
Instructional Video ◽  
Specific Test ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
Treatment Groups ◽  
Second Language Development ◽  
Proficiency Level ◽  
The Mean

Second language development could be achieved through various teaching or learning processes; however, employing multimedia has recently intruded the process in easing or complicating manners. This study has focused on the effectiveness of English subtitles on the EFL learner’s vocabulary learning. The participants were 92 Iranian degree university students studying Translation at Islamic Azad University of Mashhad, Iran. Having set two homogenized groups on the basis of their English language proficiency level, each was randomly assigned to be control and treatment groups. They were given two different instructions, one practicing instructional video episodes with subtitles and the other without subtitles. Their vocabulary learning was tested by a Content Specific Test (CST). The mean scores of the two groups were compared through a t-test. The findings illustrated that participants viewing the videos with subtitles could obtain a significantly higher mean score of the CST vocabulary tests than that of the ones who viewed the videos without subtitles. The findings of this research can get educators well informed of the effectiveness of subtitles on EFL learners’ better vocabulary learning.

Script Familiarity and Its Effect on CAPTCHA Usability

2012 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 74-87 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ashraf Khalil ◽  
Salam Abdallah ◽  
Soha Ahmed ◽  
Hassan Hajjdiab
Keyword(s):  
Language Proficiency ◽  
English Language ◽  
User Study ◽  
Research Area ◽  
English Language Proficiency ◽  
Web Based ◽  
Interactive Proofs ◽  
Proficiency Level ◽  
New Research ◽  
Human Interactive Proofs

Many web-based services such as email, search engines, and polling sites are being abused by spammers via computer programs known as bots. This problem has bred a new research area called Human Interactive Proofs (HIP) and a testing device called CAPTCHA, which aims to protect services from malevolent attacks by distinguishing bots from human users. In the past decade, researchers have focused on developing robust and safe HIP systems but have barely evaluated their usability. To begin to fill this gap, the authors report the results of a user study conducted to determine the extent that English language proficiency affects CAPTCHA usability for users whose native language is not English. The results showed a significant effect of participants’ English language proficiency level on the time the participant takes to solve CAPTCHA, which appear to be related to multiple usability issues including satisfaction and efficiency. Yet, they found that English language proficiency level does not affect the number of errors made while entering CAPTCHA or reCAPTCHA. The authors’ results have numerous implications that may inform future CAPTCHA design.

A moving and mystifying target language?

English Today ◽  
2008 ◽  
Vol 24 (4) ◽  
pp. 2-2 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kingsley Bolton ◽  
David Graddol ◽  
Rajend Mesthrie
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Language Proficiency ◽  
English Language ◽  
The United States ◽  
English Language Proficiency ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
South Korean ◽  
Cultural Constraints ◽  
Selection Of

This issue presents a selection of articles on English in various contexts and settings, with a significant focus on education in the first four. Susan Van Rooy describes the language experiences of South Korean academics and their families in a small town in South Africa, and the consequences of their stay abroad for their English language proficiency. She reminds us that not all EFL learners of English have the ‘Inner Circle’ mainstream as their model: Potchefstroom, South Africa offers a mix between Inner and Outer Circle, probably having more features of the latter. Christian Burrows writes about methodologies of EFL classrooms in Japan, where cultural constraints make TBL (Task-Based Learning) more challenging than its Western proponents realise. The next two articles emphasise the need to pay attention to colloquial spoken language. Manfred Markus writes about the need to focus on phonetic accuracy in EFL teaching, or at least to try and replicate mainstream norms as much as possible. Fan Xianlong contributes a paper on the ever-changing spoken norms of the mainstream, based on his experiences as a visiting scholar in the United States. Although many of the features he describes are well known to Western sociolinguists, the article presents a refreshing perspective of how complex the notion of ‘target language’ must be to users of ESL and EFL. More often it is a moving and mystifying target, with its cultural and political minefields that find their way into everyday usage.

scholarly journals Saudi Female Teachers’ Perceptions of the Use of L1 in EFL Classrooms

2017 ◽  
Vol 10 (6) ◽  
pp. 12
Author(s):  
Bayan Al-Hashemi Al-Amir
Keyword(s):  
Language Proficiency ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
English Language ◽  
First Language ◽  
English Language Proficiency ◽  
Teachers Perceptions ◽  
Efl Teachers ◽  
Students First ◽  
Efl Classrooms ◽  
L1 Use

In the literature of second language teaching and learning, the use of students’ first language (L1) has been an issue of debate for many years. Despite the changing state of teaching and learning aspects over the years, the belief that L1 should not be used in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) classrooms has stood the test of time. Nevertheless, many studies have recently started to put this belief under question and to give the effectiveness of L1 use, the benefit of doubt. This paper investigates EFL teachers’ perceptions of the use of students’ first language at one of the universities in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, given the fact that those teachers speak students’ native language and have different English language proficiency levels. The data gathered through a questionnaire were analyzed using the IBM Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS)® to find frequencies, percentages and mean scores. The overall results of the study show that the majority of teachers agree to the use of students’ first language in their EFL classrooms. Moreover, when investigating the relationship between teachers’ English language proficiency level and their perceptions of L1 use, the results suggest that there is no correlation between the two. Furthermore, the results of the study conclude that EFL teachers are selective when it comes to the areas of language teaching where L1 is used.

Non-native EFL teachers’ email production and perceptions of e-(im)politeness

2020 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Economidou-Kogetsidis ◽  
Helen Woodfield ◽  
Christine Savvidou
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Proficiency ◽  
English Language ◽  
Native Speaker ◽  
English Language Proficiency ◽  
Efl Teachers ◽  
Politeness Strategies

AbstractThe present study investigates the nature of email requests to faculty produced by non-native speaker (NNS) teachers of English as a foreign language (EFL), the importance attached by these teachers to linguistic forms designed to achieve email politeness and status-congruence, and the extent to which perceptions and evaluations by the NNS teachers and native-speaker (NS) lecturers might differ with regard to these emails. The study found that the non-native speaker teachers (NNSTs) evidenced a developed sense of sociopragmatic knowledge in high imposition L2 requests for action, and employed politeness strategies that were indicative of a concern to maintain social and face relationships in virtual consultations. It is argued that despite their advanced English language proficiency, the teachers’ reliance on directness, excessive formality, and lengthy grounders could still put them out-of-status and render their emails as pragmatically inappropriate. The study further confirmed significant differences in how the two groups perceive appropriateness and politeness in direct and unmodified student email requests to faculty. Overall, while the NSs judged the emails primarily according to their content and, to a lesser extent, according to their form and framing devices, the NNSTs focused almost exclusively on form and framing devices (in/formality, in/directness, nature and extent of mitigation, opening/closing moves, forms of address).

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