scholarly journals Intercultural Interaction in English: Taiwanese University Students’ Investment and Resistance in Culturally Mixed Groups

SAGE Open ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 215824402094186
Author(s):  
Shu-Wen Lan
Keyword(s):  
University Students ◽  
English Education ◽  
Native Speaker ◽  
Standard English ◽  
Reflective Journals ◽  
Intercultural Interaction ◽  
The Rich ◽  
Local Students ◽  
Mixed Groups ◽  
Repeated Contact

Despite increased diversity on campuses worldwide, research has documented a lack of intercultural interaction among university students. Culturally mixed groups have been found to be a promising means of promoting the rich, repeated contact necessary for intercultural interaction, but hardly any studies of local students’ perceptions of such groups have been conducted in the newly internationalized universities in Asia. Through the lens of an expanded model of investment, this study analyzes reflective journals and interviews with Taiwanese college students to examine their perceptions and experiences of culturally mixed groups. Findings indicate that the majority resisted non-native to non-native speaker intercultural interaction in these groups. This resistance was driven by their pro-standard English ideologies, traceable to the earliest stages of their English education, which promoted native-speaker models and unrealistic imagined communities of native-like speakers.

scholarly journals Korean University Students' Usage, Awareness and Attitudes Toward ELF

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 (5) ◽  
pp. 185-197
Author(s):  
Hyojung Shin
Keyword(s):  
University Students ◽  
English Education ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Pedagogical Practices ◽  
Basic Medium ◽  
Standard English ◽  
Global Communication ◽  
Native Languages ◽  
The Real ◽  
Critical Issues

Based on a survey conducted among 77 Korean university students, this article examined their usage and awareness of ELF (English as a Lingua Franca), and observed if problems which previous researches have claimed appeared among them. By analyzing data gathered via 2 simple questions and 4 descriptive questions, this study found that the respondents appreciated English as a basic medium for global communication. The respondents also reported various domestic and foreign situations in which they used English to communicate with different interlocutors who spoke different native languages. However, critical issues, such as ownership of English, idealized attitudes toward Standard English, and bias against the varieties of English spoken, all of which have been reported in several empirical researches, were also detected. As globalization extends throughout all areas of our life, and as L2 speakers excel L1 speakers in number as a result, this article calls for more effort to discuss ELF issues in general English education for university students. It also calls for the development of new pedagogical practices. The findings of this study could provide for a meaningful start in that it looked into the real life situations of the students.

scholarly journals Promoting Intercultural Competence of Thai University Students through Role-Play

2017 ◽  
Vol 8 (6) ◽  
pp. 37 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kanoknate Worawong ◽  
Kanjana Charttrakul ◽  
Anamai Damnet
Keyword(s):  
University Students ◽  
Intercultural Competence ◽  
Rating Scale ◽  
English Education ◽  
Native Speaker ◽  
Body Movement ◽  
Role Play ◽  
Ministry Of Education ◽  
Thai University

The current situation of international communication in globalization context requires intercultural competence (IC) to achieve successful communication (Crystal, 2003). Concerning this intercultural competence, non-verbal communication (NVC) plays a key role to indicate the success of having intercultural competence. On the other hand, Thai Ministry of Education (MOE) has launched the CEFR for the country policy in English teaching and learning (Ministry of Education, 2016). The purpose of this paper is to present major results of an investigation of intercultural competence, that is, the NVC. An innovative program implemented in this study is the CEFR and project- based activities (the CEFR-PBA). The study also examines Thai university students’ attitude towards this innovative class. This paper discusses the IC students learned from role-plays. The participants of the study were 44 students of third year English Education at a Thai Rajabhat University. Research method applies action research (Burns, 1999) and case study (Yin, Case Study Research: Design and Method, 2003). Data collection gained was from 1) videotape recordings of students’ role-play, and 2) the questionnaire. Data analysis for video recordings employed a NVC rating scale evaluated by native-speaker raters; while means, percentage, and SD were used for the questionnaire. Grounded theory’s color coding (Strauss & Cobin, 1990) will be utilized in analyzing the qualitative data from raters’ additional comment. Findings revealed students’ NVC performance were both appropriate on body movement and position as well as vocalic communication. Moreover, their attitude towards the CEFR-PBA was positive.

Understanding and promoting students’ well-being and performance in university studies – effects of a 7-week Acceptance and Commitment Therapy based course (Preprint)

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Henna Asikainen ◽  
Nina Katajavuori ◽  
Kirsikka Kaipainen
Keyword(s):  
Mental Illness ◽  
University Students ◽  
Acceptance And Commitment Therapy ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Pharmacy Students ◽  
Reflective Journal ◽  
Reflective Journals ◽  
Commitment Therapy ◽  
Acceptance And Commitment ◽  
And Performance

BACKGROUND Internationally there have been many studies showing that the number of university students suffering from mental illness is growing and this problem should be addressed OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to examine 41 pharmacy students’ experiences of a small Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) -based intervention that was implemented as a 7-week course with weekly online modules. METHODS Students’ well-being, experiences of stress, organised studying and psychological flexibility were measured with questionnaires at the beginning and end of the course. Students’ experiences of the effectiveness of the course and were analysed from open-ended responses and a reflective journal. RESULTS The results show that students’ well-being and ability to manage time and effort increased during the course(p≤0.003). In their reflective journals, students described how their ability to manage stress in their studies, cope with their thoughts and feelings, focus on the things that are more important to them, and manage their time in studying and their well-being had improved. CONCLUSIONS This study showed that it is possible to foster students’ well-being in their studies. More research is needed to identify the long-lasting effects of these kind of interventions.

scholarly journals Peers to Peers: Developing a Student-Coordinated Conversation Partner Program

2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ron Aaron ◽  
Carmen Cedeño ◽  
Elisabeth Gareis ◽  
Lalit Kumar ◽  
Abhinaya Swaminathan
Keyword(s):  
Student Leaders ◽  
Intercultural Relationships ◽  
Team Members ◽  
Faculty Advisors ◽  
Successful Student ◽  
Similar Program ◽  
The Rich ◽  
Conversation Partner ◽  
Meaningful Interaction ◽  
Repeated Contact

The lack of meaningful interaction between domestic and international students is a persistent concern in international higher education. Conversation partner programs are a promising measure to promote the rich and repeated contact necessary for the development of intercultural relationships and communication skills. This article describes the process of launching and managing a successful student-coordinated conversation partner program with no or minimal funding. The five core team members (two faculty advisors and three student leaders) explain why they created or joined the program, their responsibilities, what worked, what was challenging, and what they recommend should other institutions want to start a similar program.

scholarly journals A Study on Reducing the Sleeping in Class Phenomenon in Japanese Universities through Student Motivation

2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 79
Author(s):  
Kei Mihara
Keyword(s):  
High School Students ◽  
University Students ◽  
English Education ◽  
Vocabulary Test ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
School Students ◽  
Daily Routines ◽  
Study Results ◽  
Group Interviews ◽  
Questionnaire Surveys

Sleeping in class is a common phenomenon among students in Japanese universities. There are several possible reasons for this: tiredness from daily routines such as commuting, difficulty concentrating in 90-minute classes, or a lack of motivation to study. As for English as a foreign language (EFL) classes, it is possible that university students are not as motivated as high school students, considering that English education in Japan is generally aimed at preparing students for university entrance examinations. The main purpose of this study is, therefore, to examine ways to prevent students from sleeping in class by improving their motivation. Based on the results of questionnaire surveys and focus group interviews, this study seeks to identify ways in which student attention and alertness in class can be improved. The participants in this study were asked to take a vocabulary test before completing exercises in their textbook. After four weeks, follow-up research was conducted using questionnaires and semi-structured interviews. The study results showed that taking a vocabulary test at the beginning of class is an effective method of motivating students, but that motivation alone cannot prevent university students from sleeping in class.

Is ELF a variety of English?

English Today ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 47-53 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luke Prodromou
Keyword(s):  
Common Core ◽  
Native Speaker ◽  
Mother Tongue ◽  
Standard English ◽  
Lingua Franca ◽  
The Relationship

ABSTRACTThis article discusses recent attempts to describe English as a lingua franca (ELF). In it, I will consider claims made for ELF as a variety of English ‘with a life of its own’, which is said to be emerging among users of English for whom it is not their mother tongue. I examine a number of weaknesses in the case made for ELF by a school of thinking in mainland Europe, focusing on: the role of the native speaker in ELF; the relationship between ELF and Standard English; and the search for a grammatical common core for contexts in which English is used as an international lingua franca. The article draws on research which suggests that the aspect of Standard English which may be inappropriate for ELF is not in the grammatical system but the area of idiomaticity. I conclude with a consideration of the pedagogic implications of the ELF debate.

Exploring identity construction of student teachers practicing ELF pedagogy in a microteaching course

2016 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 321-339 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nugrahenny T. Zacharias
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Training ◽  
Qualitative Study ◽  
Training Program ◽  
Student Teachers ◽  
Identity Construction ◽  
Teacher Identity ◽  
Positive Relationship ◽  
Local Community ◽  
Native Speaker ◽  
Standard English

This paper reports on the results of a qualitative study that explored the experiences of a group of student-teachers (STs) in Indonesia as they undertook a microteaching course as part of their undergraduate teacher training program. Grounded in the notions of ‘teacher identity as the process of becoming’ (Britzman, 2003) and ‘identity in practice’ (Varghese et al., 2005), the present paper examines how participation in a microteaching course that oriented STs to ELF pedagogy affected the formation of teacher identities amongst one group of STs in Indonesia. Data were gathered from three post-mini lesson interviews with individual STs and STs’ mini lessons. The findings show a positive relationship between ELF pedagogy, STs’ perception of their teacher role and their identity construction. Many STs’ identity construction appears to be informed by their concerns of the hegemonic presence of English in the local community and their role primarily as a revival of Indonesian cultures. Although the majority of STs showed a general agreement towards the need to construct a teacher identity independent of native-speaker norms, a few STs continued to believe the importance of teachers to speak Standard English due to its marketability potential.

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