scholarly journals “When I Am Teaching German, I Put on a Persona”: Exploring Lived Experiences of Teaching a Foreign Language

2019 ◽  
pp. 69-90
Author(s):  
Maria Luisa Pérez Cavana
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Lived Experiences

Negative Emotions in the Field: A Narrative Analysis of EFL Researchers’ Experience

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adilur Rahaman ◽  
Shuvo Saha
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Narrative Analysis ◽  
Ethical Dilemma ◽  
Lived Experiences ◽  
Negative Emotions ◽  
Policy Decisions ◽  
Theoretical Concepts ◽  
English As Foreign Language ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Policy Level

<p>Through narrative analysis the present research traces the range and genesis of negative emotions that three English as Foreign Language (EFL) researchers experienced in different research sites. The method of narrative analysis helps depict and interpret the lived experiences of the researchers. This study draws on autobiographical and narrative data to illustrate <i>how</i> negative emotions evolve during fieldwork, a research aspect that is absent in the existing literature (Bondi, 2007). Findings suggest that the researchers experience a wide range of negative emotions namely ethical dilemma, anger, anxiety, guilt, and shame. Thus the study carries implications for establishing theoretical concepts and informing policy decisions. The theory level implication is that the researchers’ negative emotions evolve through and within emotionally charged phases such as ethical dilemma, anger, anxiety, guilt, and shame. As regards policy level implication, the study reinforces the appeal of previous research works that the IRB requirements should be made flexible according to specific contexts.</p>

scholarly journals Professional Development Experiences Of English As A Foreign Language Lecturers At A Vietnamese University

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nga Ngo
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Professional Development ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Lived Experiences ◽  
Professional Growth ◽  
National Language ◽  
Education Reforms ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Vietnamese Higher Education

<p><b>As a consequence of globalisation, English language teaching (ELT) has been identified as one of the key emphases of the national education reforms in Vietnam. Professional development (PD) of teachers attempts to enhance the quality of ELT. However, there is a paucity of research investigating English as a foreign language (EFL) lecturers’ perceptions towards their experiences of PD in order to understand how PD currently functions and could potentially function within the context of Vietnamese higher education. My project has sought to address this gap by contributing insights into tertiary EFL lecturers’ PD experiences. More specifically, this study has drawn on Bronfenbrenner’s (1979) ecological systems theory and Knowles’ (1980) andragogy theory as theoretical frameworks for understanding how tertiary EFL lecturers experience PD as adult learners and the contextual factors which influence their PD experiences. A phenomenological research design as proposed by Moustakas (1994) enabled lecturers’ lived experiences of PD to be explored through phenomenological interviews with 12 EFL lecturers across the three groups of beginning, midcareer, and late-career and four academic managers at one Vietnamese university. The recruitment of the participants from the three groups aimed to examine lecturers’ experiences of PD at their different career stages. The inclusion of both lecturers and academic managers was considered essential in collecting multiple perspectives on the PD experiences. In addition, document analysis was used to collect information from national and institutional documents in order to better understand the contexts within which lecturers experienced PD. </b></p> <p>Evidence from this study highlights that lecturers’ PD is a multidimensional and dynamic activity. Influenced by the national language reforms and important projects such as Project 2020 and Project 911, EFL lecturers had been exposed to a wide range of formal PD activities (e.g., seminars, workshops, and conferences) and job-embedded PD activities (e.g., research projects, textbook and teaching material development, and professional meetings) in the three years prior to data collection. Lecturers expressed their need for further PD activities that were content-focused, on-going, collaborative, and specific to their career-stage. EFL lecturers’ involvement in PD activities was positively influenced by enablers (e.g., the status of English as a global language, national policies and projects, student outcomes, occupational prestige, and personal responsibility), but there were also barriers hampering lecturers’ career development (e.g., top-down national requirements, inappropriate institutional policies, insufficient collegial and managerial support, and time constraints). This study demonstrates that PD initiatives for Vietnamese tertiary EFL lecturers need to be reformed. At the national level, it is important for the Vietnamese government and MOET to understand lecturers’ real needs for PD when implementing any PD activities. At the institutional level, a comprehensive framework with specific requirements and guidelines regarding lecturers’ engagement in PD activities would bring greater coherence and consistency. At the individual level, a proactive role by EFL lecturers would further foster their professional growth along with fulfilling the national and institutional requirements. </p> <p>The findings of this study are represented through an integrated framework of effective PD for tertiary EFL lecturers which combines three main aspects of content, context, and process. This representation helps to shed light on what PD planners and academic managers need to focus on when planning, organising, and implementing PD activities in the setting of Vietnamese education reforms. Implications are drawn for PD planners, academic managers, and EFL lecturers as these groups need to closely collaborate in order to promote lecturers’ PD and improve the quality of ELT in Vietnam. Implications for future research are also discussed. The study makes significant contributions to current literature related to tertiary EFL lecturers’ lived experiences of PD within the Vietnamese higher education context and may be applied to other international contexts.</p>

scholarly journals PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT EXPERIENCES OF ENGLISH AS A FOREIGN LANGUAGE LECTURERS AT A VIETNAMESE UNIVERSITY

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nga Ngo
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Professional Development ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Lived Experiences ◽  
Professional Growth ◽  
National Language ◽  
Education Reforms ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Vietnamese Higher Education

<p><b>As a consequence of globalisation, English language teaching (ELT) has been identified as one of the key emphases of the national education reforms in Vietnam. Professional development (PD) of teachers attempts to enhance the quality of ELT. However, there is a paucity of research investigating English as a foreign language (EFL) lecturers’ perceptions towards their experiences of PD in order to understand how PD currently functions and could potentially function within the context of Vietnamese higher education. My project has sought to address this gap by contributing insights into tertiary EFL lecturers’ PD experiences. More specifically, this study has drawn on Bronfenbrenner’s (1979) ecological systems theory and Knowles’ (1980) andragogy theory as theoretical frameworks for understanding how tertiary EFL lecturers experience PD as adult learners and the contextual factors which influence their PD experiences. A phenomenological research design as proposed by Moustakas (1994) enabled lecturers’ lived experiences of PD to be explored through phenomenological interviews with 12 EFL lecturers across the three groups of beginning, midcareer, and late-career and four academic managers at one Vietnamese university. The recruitment of the participants from the three groups aimed to examine lecturers’ experiences of PD at their different career stages. The inclusion of both lecturers and academic managers was considered essential in collecting multiple perspectives on the PD experiences. In addition, document analysis was used to collect information from national and institutional documents in order to better understand the contexts within which lecturers experienced PD. </b></p> <p>Evidence from this study highlights that lecturers’ PD is a multidimensional and dynamic activity. Influenced by the national language reforms and important projects such as Project 2020 and Project 911, EFL lecturers had been exposed to a wide range of formal PD activities (e.g., seminars, workshops, and conferences) and job-embedded PD activities (e.g., research projects, textbook and teaching material development, and professional meetings) in the three years prior to data collection. Lecturers expressed their need for further PD activities that were content-focused, on-going, collaborative, and specific to their career-stage. EFL lecturers’ involvement in PD activities was positively influenced by enablers (e.g., the status of English as a global language, national policies and projects, student outcomes, occupational prestige, and personal responsibility), but there were also barriers hampering lecturers’ career development (e.g., top-down national requirements, inappropriate institutional policies, insufficient collegial and managerial support, and time constraints). This study demonstrates that PD initiatives for Vietnamese tertiary EFL lecturers need to be reformed. At the national level, it is important for the Vietnamese government and MOET to understand lecturers’ real needs for PD when implementing any PD activities. At the institutional level, a comprehensive framework with specific requirements and guidelines regarding lecturers’ engagement in PD activities would bring greater coherence and consistency. At the individual level, a proactive role by EFL lecturers would further foster their professional growth along with fulfilling the national and institutional requirements. </p> <p>The findings of this study are represented through an integrated framework of effective PD for tertiary EFL lecturers which combines three main aspects of content, context, and process. This representation helps to shed light on what PD planners and academic managers need to focus on when planning, organising, and implementing PD activities in the setting of Vietnamese education reforms. Implications are drawn for PD planners, academic managers, and EFL lecturers as these groups need to closely collaborate in order to promote lecturers’ PD and improve the quality of ELT in Vietnam. Implications for future research are also discussed. The study makes significant contributions to current literature related to tertiary EFL lecturers’ lived experiences of PD within the Vietnamese higher education context and may be applied to other international contexts.</p>

scholarly journals Negative Emotions in the Field: A Narrative Analysis of EFL Researchers’ Experience

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adilur Rahaman ◽  
Shuvo Saha
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Narrative Analysis ◽  
Ethical Dilemma ◽  
Lived Experiences ◽  
Negative Emotions ◽  
Policy Decisions ◽  
Theoretical Concepts ◽  
English As Foreign Language ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Policy Level

<p>Through narrative analysis the present research traces the range and genesis of negative emotions that three English as Foreign Language (EFL) researchers experienced in different research sites. The method of narrative analysis helps depict and interpret the lived experiences of the researchers. This study draws on autobiographical and narrative data to illustrate <i>how</i> negative emotions evolve during fieldwork, a research aspect that is absent in the existing literature (Bondi, 2007). Findings suggest that the researchers experience a wide range of negative emotions namely ethical dilemma, anger, anxiety, guilt, and shame. Thus the study carries implications for establishing theoretical concepts and informing policy decisions. The theory level implication is that the researchers’ negative emotions evolve through and within emotionally charged phases such as ethical dilemma, anger, anxiety, guilt, and shame. As regards policy level implication, the study reinforces the appeal of previous research works that the IRB requirements should be made flexible according to specific contexts.</p>

scholarly journals JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS� LIVED EXPERIENCES OF LEARNING ENGLISH USING BUSUU

2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 85
Author(s):  
Vinindita Citrayasa
Keyword(s):  
High School Students ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Lived Experience ◽  
Junior High School ◽  
Lived Experiences ◽  
Mobile Application ◽  
School Students ◽  
School Time ◽  
Depth Interviews ◽  
Learning English

Researches on MALL mostly focus on how learning by using mobile phones gives significant effect on second/ foreign language skills. However, only few which focus on their lived-experiences of learning English using their smart phones anywhere outside their class and anytime outside their school time that can reveal meanings related to their awareness, beliefs, and actions. This research is then aimed at describing and interpreting the students� lived experience of using a mobile application namely Bussu for learning English. The study is a hermeneutic phenomenology study which focuses on the description and interpretation of the students� lived experiences of using Busuu to learn English. There were two participants interviewed using in-depth interviews and the data was in the form of texts. The result shows the participants� lived experiences showed some empirical meanings: ubiquitous learning, fun learning, and useful English learning assistant. This study also reveals the finding of transcendent meaning that Busuu encouraged them to become more autonomous learners.

scholarly journals PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT EXPERIENCES OF ENGLISH AS A FOREIGN LANGUAGE LECTURERS AT A VIETNAMESE UNIVERSITY

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nga Ngo
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Professional Development ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Lived Experiences ◽  
Professional Growth ◽  
National Language ◽  
Education Reforms ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Vietnamese Higher Education

<p><b>As a consequence of globalisation, English language teaching (ELT) has been identified as one of the key emphases of the national education reforms in Vietnam. Professional development (PD) of teachers attempts to enhance the quality of ELT. However, there is a paucity of research investigating English as a foreign language (EFL) lecturers’ perceptions towards their experiences of PD in order to understand how PD currently functions and could potentially function within the context of Vietnamese higher education. My project has sought to address this gap by contributing insights into tertiary EFL lecturers’ PD experiences. More specifically, this study has drawn on Bronfenbrenner’s (1979) ecological systems theory and Knowles’ (1980) andragogy theory as theoretical frameworks for understanding how tertiary EFL lecturers experience PD as adult learners and the contextual factors which influence their PD experiences. A phenomenological research design as proposed by Moustakas (1994) enabled lecturers’ lived experiences of PD to be explored through phenomenological interviews with 12 EFL lecturers across the three groups of beginning, midcareer, and late-career and four academic managers at one Vietnamese university. The recruitment of the participants from the three groups aimed to examine lecturers’ experiences of PD at their different career stages. The inclusion of both lecturers and academic managers was considered essential in collecting multiple perspectives on the PD experiences. In addition, document analysis was used to collect information from national and institutional documents in order to better understand the contexts within which lecturers experienced PD. </b></p> <p>Evidence from this study highlights that lecturers’ PD is a multidimensional and dynamic activity. Influenced by the national language reforms and important projects such as Project 2020 and Project 911, EFL lecturers had been exposed to a wide range of formal PD activities (e.g., seminars, workshops, and conferences) and job-embedded PD activities (e.g., research projects, textbook and teaching material development, and professional meetings) in the three years prior to data collection. Lecturers expressed their need for further PD activities that were content-focused, on-going, collaborative, and specific to their career-stage. EFL lecturers’ involvement in PD activities was positively influenced by enablers (e.g., the status of English as a global language, national policies and projects, student outcomes, occupational prestige, and personal responsibility), but there were also barriers hampering lecturers’ career development (e.g., top-down national requirements, inappropriate institutional policies, insufficient collegial and managerial support, and time constraints). This study demonstrates that PD initiatives for Vietnamese tertiary EFL lecturers need to be reformed. At the national level, it is important for the Vietnamese government and MOET to understand lecturers’ real needs for PD when implementing any PD activities. At the institutional level, a comprehensive framework with specific requirements and guidelines regarding lecturers’ engagement in PD activities would bring greater coherence and consistency. At the individual level, a proactive role by EFL lecturers would further foster their professional growth along with fulfilling the national and institutional requirements. </p> <p>The findings of this study are represented through an integrated framework of effective PD for tertiary EFL lecturers which combines three main aspects of content, context, and process. This representation helps to shed light on what PD planners and academic managers need to focus on when planning, organising, and implementing PD activities in the setting of Vietnamese education reforms. Implications are drawn for PD planners, academic managers, and EFL lecturers as these groups need to closely collaborate in order to promote lecturers’ PD and improve the quality of ELT in Vietnam. Implications for future research are also discussed. The study makes significant contributions to current literature related to tertiary EFL lecturers’ lived experiences of PD within the Vietnamese higher education context and may be applied to other international contexts.</p>

Employing Latino Value Orientations to Facilitate Success in Stuttering Treatment

2008 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 111-118
Author(s):  
Lourdes Ramos-Heinrichs ◽  
Lynn Hansberry Mayo ◽  
Sandra Garzon
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Therapeutic Relationship ◽  
Service Provider ◽  
Speech Therapy ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
Value Orientations ◽  
Collaborative Partnership ◽  
The Family ◽  
Therapy Services ◽  
Cultural Connections

Abstract Providing adequate speech therapy services to Latinos who stutter can present challenges that are not obvious to the practicing clinician. This article addresses cultural, religious, and foreign language concerns to the therapeutic relationship between the Latino client and the clinician. Suggestions are made for building cross-cultural connections with clients and incorporating the family into a collaborative partnership with the service provider.

Eye Movements of Children and Adults While Reading Television Subtitles

2007 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 196-205 ◽  
Author(s):  
Géry d'Ydewalle ◽  
Wim De Bruycker
Keyword(s):  
Eye Movements ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Age Differences ◽  
Information Sources ◽  
Native Language ◽  
Verbal Information ◽  
Single Text ◽  
Grade 5 ◽  
Reading Patterns ◽  
Attentional System

Abstract. Eye movements of children (Grade 5-6) and adults were monitored while they were watching a foreign language movie with either standard (foreign language soundtrack and native language subtitling) or reversed (foreign language subtitles and native language soundtrack) subtitling. With standard subtitling, reading behavior in the subtitle was observed, but there was a difference between one- and two-line subtitles. As two lines of text contain verbal information that cannot easily be inferred from the pictures on the screen, more regular reading occurred; a single text line is often redundant to the information in the picture, and accordingly less reading of one-line text was apparent. Reversed subtitling showed even more irregular reading patterns (e.g., more subtitles skipped, fewer fixations, longer latencies). No substantial age differences emerged, except that children took longer to shift attention to the subtitle at its onset, and showed longer fixations and shorter saccades in the text. On the whole, the results demonstrated the flexibility of the attentional system and its tuning to the several information sources available (image, soundtrack, and subtitles).

Use of the TOEFL as a Standard for University Admission: A Position Statement by the Canadian Psychological Association

1998 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 261-265 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marvin L. Simner
Keyword(s):  
Academic Achievement ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Position Statement ◽  
Considerable Evidence ◽  
Canadian Universities ◽  
Weak Relationship ◽  
University Admission ◽  
Canadian Psychological Association

Nearly all Canadian universities employ, as a standard for university admission, the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL). In light of considerable evidence indicating only a weak relationship between TOEFL scores and academic achievement, the Canadian Psychological Association recently issued a report containing a position statement that called upon Canadian universities to refrain from employing the TOEFL in this manner. Because the concerns raised in the report are likely to apply to many universities outside Canada, the entire report is reproduced in this article.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document