The validation of the listening comprehension test tasks in the Certificate of English for Primary Teachers: An extension study

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 111-128
Author(s):  
Margherita Pelleriti
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Primary Schools ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
English Language ◽  
Primary Teachers ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Special Focus ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Relevance ◽  
Emilia Romagna Region

AbstractThis paper investigates the validation of the computer-based listening subtest in the Certificate of English for Primary Teachers (CEPT), which is addressed to in-service primary teachers who work in state Italian schools. Since 2004, these teachers, specialists in other subjects, have been asked by the Italian Ministry of Education to teach English to their pupils. Training courses for different CEFR levels and certification have been devised by Italian universities for in-service teachers who are then allowed to teach English in primary schools. This study will briefly illustrate the new requirements set by the European Council in terms of foreign language teaching and learning from an early age. A profile of the foreign language teacher will then be presented and a more detailed analysis of the Italian situation will be provided. The paper then presents the CEPT administered in the Emilia-Romagna region, Italy, by the Language Centre of the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, with a special focus on the listening subtest. In order to validate the listening test tasks, a mixed methods study was conducted. In particular, the results of the listening subtest administered in June 2015 to 67 candidates and in June 2017 to a new sample of 354 test takers have been statistically analysed and semi-structured interviews have been conducted with a test developer, a teacher trainer and a test taker. In order to shed light on the content relevance and coverage of the CEPT listening subtest under investigation, the judgement expressed by three experienced University English language instructors has been analysed. The results of the quantitative and qualitative data gathered confirm the validity of the CEPT listening subtest. Implications for future research are provided.

scholarly journals THE STUDENTS' LEARNING ACHIEVEMENT AFTER AND WITHOUT STUDYING ENGLISH IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Gusri Emiyati Ali
Keyword(s):  
Elementary School ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Primary Schools ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
English Language ◽  
Native Speaker ◽  
Sampling Technique ◽  
English Learning ◽  
Learning Achievement ◽  
Indonesian Government

The Critical Period Hypothesis by Lenneberg (1976)  states that ages 2 to 12 are ideal ages for achieving foreign language skills such as a native speaker. Based on this hypothesis, the perfect time for children to learn English as a foreign language is in elementary school. Meanwhile, Indonesian government policy through the 2013 curriculum does not require children in primary schools to learn English. Therefore, this study aimed to compare the English learning achievement of students between those who studied and those who did not study English in elementary school. This research is important to be conducted since it can be a reference for the Indonesian government in developing English language teaching and learning policy in elementary schools.  The sample of this research consisted of two groups selected through a purposive sampling technique. They were the groupS of students who studied and who did not study English in elementary school. Data were grouped, presented, and then compared. The results showed that students who studied English in elementary school had better English learning achievement than students who did not study English in elementary school. It is recommended for further related researches to consider many factors those can be influencing the students' English learning achievements such as the English teaching and learning method used by the educators in high school and university, attitudinal factor, and the learning environment. 

scholarly journals Local Epistemological Perceptions that Underlie EFL Literature and Teaching Practices in Colombia

HOW ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 11-31
Author(s):  
Martha Isabel Bonilla-Mora ◽  
Johanna Patricia López-Urbina
Keyword(s):  
Preservice Teachers ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
English Language ◽  
Linguistic Diversity ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Cultural And Linguistic Diversity ◽  
University Teachers ◽  
Critical Knowledge ◽  
Field Data Collection

This study aims to understand the local and updated epistemological perceptions of the teaching and learning of English as a foreign language (EFL) in Colombia from the voices of English language university teachers. This qualitative research emerges as part of a hermeneutical perspective which allowed the authors to analyze experiences, perceptions, and understandings of teachers in the foreign language-teaching field. Data collection instruments included a literature review using framework matrices and semi-structured interviews. After data analysis, three categories emerged: Pertinence and Relevance of Teaching and Learning of EFL, Teaching and Learning of EFL, and The State of Bilingualism. The study concludes with the recommendation of promoting the teaching and learning of foreign languages based on contextualized necessities of Colombia. We draw attention to the cultural and linguistic diversity in our country. In addition, we raise awareness among preservice teachers towards an epistemological reconstruction that involves the ecology of knowledge, engaging them in critical knowledge and practices from outside the Eurocentric vision.

scholarly journals Foreign Language Teaching and Development of Language skills :A Pakistani Perspective

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Dr. Syeda Naureen Mumtaz ◽  
◽  
Dr.Uzma Quraishi ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
English Language ◽  
Language Teaching ◽  
Language Skills ◽  
National Curriculum ◽  
Foreign Language Teaching ◽  
English Language Teaching ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
English As Foreign Language

The study was attempted to explore as to what extent English language teaching in Pakistan has been able to develop language skills among the target learners. The researcher intended to evaluate the limit to which the textbook helps in generating competence of all four integrated skills, especially as laid down in the standards of the National Curriculum (2006). The purpose of this study was to create pragmatic awareness among learners, teachers and educational professionals, working in the field of English as Foreign Language. By method , it was a qualitative study, semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions were the tools used to elicit the data. The participants of this research were selected from public sector schools and organizations including, teachers, policymakers, curriculum developers, subject specialists, and students to examine the effectiveness of grade VIII’s English language textbook on students’ performance . For data analysis themes were developed, coded and summarized in a descriptive mode. The findings of this study reflected that the relevant textbook does not cater to the target learners’ future academic and professional language needs. As a solution to the problems while teaching and learning English as foreign language in Pakistan; this study also offered a model to be followed by the policy makers and practitioners in order to make the existing English language textbook more effectives in terms of foreign language teaching and learning and language skill development.

scholarly journals Learners' attitudes and motivation to learn english

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ιρέν Χοβανισιάν
Keyword(s):  
Primary Schools ◽  
English Language ◽  
Sixth Grade ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Motivation To Learn ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Qualitative Approaches ◽  
Positive Attitudes ◽  
Almost All ◽  
The Impact

The aim of the present study is to examine attitudes and motivation to learn English among Greek learners of the sixth grade of primary school and the third grade of lower secondary school in relation to variables such as age, gender and language attainment level. What is more, this study seeks to explore the extent to which Greek learners are aware of the concept of English as an International Language (EIL) and their attitudes towards and motivation to learn EIL or at least to incorporate some EIL-related features into their English language learning.The data were collected in 27 state schools (13 primary schools and 14 lower secondary schools) in the eastern and western parts of Thessaloniki, Greece. Both quantitative and qualitative approaches were adopted with the overall number of 1,142 survey respondents and the total of 31 interviewees. The data elicitation tools employed were a 71-item attitude/motivation questionnaire, which explored learners’ attitudes towards English, towards learning English at school, towards the native speakers of English and learners’ motivation to learn English for a plethora of reasons; the Oxford Quick Placement Test, which measured the respondents’ language attainment level; and a concise questionnaire used for the short semi-structured interviews. The results of the study highlight that age is the most influential variable across almost all attitude/motivational variables, in which young learners are reported to have more positive attitudes and a higher level of motivation. With regard to the impact of proficiency level, more proficient learners have more positive attitudes towards English and are motivated to learn English for instrumental reasons and for personal enjoyment. In addition, the results show that gender is not influential, and this finding leads to the assumption that, with special reference to English, attitudes and motivation seem to have become gender-neutral. The qualitative data obtained from the short interviews amplified and enriched the findings of the study by providing a more insightful and detailed picture of the learners’ attitudes and motivation.Suggestions for future research and a number of pedagogical recommendations are made on how to increase and sustain learners’ attitudes and motivation and to raise learners’ awareness of EIL, based on the findings of the present study.

scholarly journals In-service Teachers’ Intelligibility and Pronunciation Adjustment Strategies in English Language Classrooms

2016 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 30 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hsueh Chu Chen
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Teaching Strategies ◽  
Primary Schools ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
English Language ◽  
English Classrooms ◽  
Language Classrooms ◽  
English Classroom ◽  
English Language Classrooms

<p>A realistic goal of pronunciation teaching in the second language context is to acquire comfortably intelligible rather than native-like pronunciation. To establish a set of teaching and learning priorities necessary for English teachers and students whose first language is Chinese, the purposes of this study are three fold: (1) Identify the pronunciation aspects that are crucial for intelligible pronunciation in actual second language (L2) Hong Kong (HK) and foreign language mainland (ML) China classrooms from in-service teachers’ points of view; (2) Investigate how teachers help their students successfully understand English classroom input through teachers’ self-reflection on which aspects of their own pronunciation they modify and adapt to make classroom discourse intelligible to students; and (3) explore the most frequently taught pronunciation aspects and the most frequently used pronunciation teaching strategies used by teachers to teach pronunciation in English classrooms. Forty-seven questionnaires were collected and analysed from in-service teachers in primary schools. Four teachers were invited to attend follow-up interviews. In order to further investigate the application of adaptation strategies and pronunciation teaching strategies in real classroom settings, eight classroom videos were collected. The data were triangulated allowing for cross checking.<strong> </strong>The findings will not only help frontline teachers become self-aware of their own pronunciation, rectify students’ recurrent difficulties in using phonological features, and improve mutual intelligibility in English language classrooms but also help explore the ways to integrate phonology courses and pronunciation teaching in second/foreign language teaching and teacher education.</p>

EFL Reformed Curriculum in Vietnam: An Understanding of Teachers’ Cognitions and Classroom Practices

RELC Journal ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 003368822110436
Author(s):  
Nam Giang Tran ◽  
Xuan Van Ha ◽  
Ngoc Hai Tran
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
English Language ◽  
Language Teaching ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Language Curriculum ◽  
Knowledge And Beliefs ◽  
Pedagogic Discourse ◽  
Focus On Forms

Second/foreign language (L2) education reforms have triggered increasing research investigating the effectiveness of and teachers’ cognitions and practices concerning the reformed curricula. This study extends this line of enquiry by employing a sociological perspective, an undertaking that little prior research has demonstrated in L2 teacher cognition literature, to explore teachers’ understanding, knowledge and beliefs about and their actual implementation of a reformed English language curriculum (i.e. task-supported language teaching) in Vietnam. The participants were six experienced English-as-a-foreign-language teachers at a secondary school. The data comprised in-depth semi-structured interviews, informal conversations, lesson plans and classroom observations. The findings showed that the teachers made use of their existing deep-rooted knowledge and beliefs about language teaching and learning to enact the reformed curriculum in their own ways, illustrating a focus-on-forms approach. The study drew on Bernstein's notion of pedagogic discourse to shed light on the teachers’ rationales for their own ways of practice. Pedagogical implications are discussed.

scholarly journals The use of reflective practice towards achieving effective English language teaching at primary schools

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 364
Author(s):  
Siti Noor Aneeis Hashim ◽  
Nurahimah Mohd Yusoff
Keyword(s):  
Reflective Practice ◽  
Learning Process ◽  
Primary Schools ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
English Language ◽  
Language Teaching ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
English Language Teaching ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
English Language Teachers

<span>The purpose of this study was to explore the use of reflective practice by English language teachers in providing effective English language teaching in primary school classrooms. This qualitative case study involving six in-service English language teachers who were selected based on purposive sampling. The data in this study were collected using teachers’ reflection logs and a series of semi-structured interviews with the English language teachers. Thematic analysis was used to identify emerging themes based on the codes gathered from the interviews and teachers’ reflections logs. The results showed that the English language teachers used reflective practice erstwhile in preparing and providing effective English language teaching for the students. They reviewed what has been accomplished and identify constructive guidelines to follow to succeed in the future teaching. They have also been doing variations of changes in teaching based on reflecting on the quality of instruction, levels of instruction, using incentive to motivate the students and managing time equally in teaching and learning process to help the children in learning English language. Since there is no clear guideline for teachers who use reflective practice in their classes, this study provided some insights on the preparations and the use of reflective practice as part of their teaching and learning process.</span>

scholarly journals ELT Online Teachers’ Professional Development During the Covid-19 Pandemic Outbreak: Perceptions, Implications and Adaptations

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (10) ◽  
pp. 1161-1170
Author(s):  
Abdullah Al-Bargi
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Mixed Methods Research ◽  
Online Teaching ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
English Language ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Full Time ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Online Teachers

As lockdown restrictions were implemented in most countries around the world with the subsequent transition to full-mode online teaching and learning, English language teachers (ELTs) in particular, had to adapt and adopt new teaching strategies. These unexpected changes to the medium or mode of teaching necessitated the provision of efficacious and coherent professional development (PD) training in order to smoothly navigate the transition from full-time (or semi full-time) onsite teaching and learning to full-mode online teaching. This research study, based on sequential explanatory mixed-methods research design, is aimed at exploring the availability and provision of ELT PD opportunities at English Language Institutes (ELIs)/English Language Centers (ELCs), at five major universities in Saudi Arabia and the perception of the ELT teachers on its coherence and adequacy. A total of 307 English as a Foreign Language (EFL) male and female teachers participated in a custom designed 20-item questionnaire on a 5-point Likert scale, as well as ten EFL teachers (6 female and 4 male) taking part in 40-minute semi-structured interviews, to explore their perception and opinions of online PD opportunities. Analysis of results of the gathered data indicated that the majority of the teachers felt that there were adequate online PD opportunities while the structures of these opportunities sufficiently addressed most of their needs. However, some teachers voiced concerns regarding the correlation between contextual, full-mode online teaching and the online PD sessions provided. Implications and recommendations for stake holders as well as for future research are given at the end of this study.

GRAMMATICAL CATEGORIES OF VERBS IN ENGLISH AND ALBANIAN

2018 ◽  
Vol 28 (7) ◽  
pp. 2245-2249
Author(s):  
Suzana Ejupi ◽  
Lindita Skenderi
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Learning Process ◽  
English Learners ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
English Language ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Part Of Speech ◽  
Grammatical Categories ◽  
Learning English

Working with English learners for many years, gives you the opportunity to encounter linguistic obstacles that they face while learning English language as a foreign language. Additionally, teaching for 13 years and observing the learning process, it enables you to recognize the students’ needs and at the same time, detect linguistic mistakes that they make, while practicing the target language. During my experience as a teacher, in terms of teaching and learning verbs in general and its grammatical categories in specific, it is noticed that Albanian learners find it relatively difficult the correct use of verbs in context and even more confusing the equivalent use of verbs in Albanian. Since verbs present an important part of speech, this study aims to investigate several differences and similarities between grammatical categories of verbs in English and Albanian. As a result, the Albanian learners of English language will be able to identify some of the major differences and similarities between the grammatical categories of verbs in English and Albanian; overcome the usual mistakes; gain the necessary knowledge regarding verbs and use them properly in English and Albanian.

scholarly journals Measuring Digital Competence and ICT Literacy: An Exploratory Study of In-Service English Language Teachers in the Context of Saudi Arabia

2017 ◽  
Vol 10 (12) ◽  
pp. 38 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ahmed Abdulteeef M. Al Khateeb
Keyword(s):  
Saudi Arabia ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
English Language ◽  
Research Question ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Ict Literacy ◽  
Digital Competence ◽  
Diverse Range ◽  
English Language Teachers

The purpose of this research is to measure in-service English language teachers' digital competence, particularly for the enhancement of teaching English as a second/foreign language in schools in Saudi Arabia. Information and communication technology (ICT) knowledge is currently considered as a vital skill for foreign language teachers in addition to their linguistic competence. Recently, there has been a focus on digital competence, since it can be regarded as a gateway for enriching knowledge, economies, societies and individuals. There is also a massive need for teachers to assess their own digital competence according to non-conventional norms (i.e., having the ability to share content and manage information). In light of this rationale, this paper investigates the following research question: to what extent are English language teachers in Saudi Arabia digitally competent and in what aspects? This study used a standardized questionnaire that was constructed using a validated comprehensive framework. This instrument was designed to assess the professional capability of English language teachers in terms of their willingness and readiness to use ICTs along with their current digital competence used throughout their teaching and educational practices. The research included a diverse range of participants who come from various backgrounds, genders and experiences. The study was concluded with a presentation of useful recommendations and key research questions for future research.

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