An evaluation of culture teaching and learning in a Uniwide Language Program: Teachers and students’ perspectives

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 357-380
Author(s):  
Salwa Mohamed

Abstract It is generally accepted that culture is inseparable from language. However, the provision of culture in FL courses takes different forms. At Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU), minor route/30 credit language students in the Uniwide Language Programme are allocated 1 h for cultural studies (known as the project hour) in addition to a weekly 2 h language class. This study surveys teachers’ and students’ perceptions of the teaching of culture in MMU Uniwide language courses with the aim of discovering to what extent this promotes students’ intercultural competence (IC) based on Byram, Michael, Bella Gribkova & Hugh Starkey. 2002. Developing the intercultural dimension in language teaching: A practical introduction for teachers. Strasbourg: Council of Europe, model. Byram et al.’s model of IC involves three components: knowledge, skills and attitudes. Teachers and students’ questionnaires were used to collect their views about the project hour and were analyzed both qualitatively and quantitatively. The qualitative data, using thematic analysis showed that teachers and students’ perceptions of culture learning and teaching, in general, were in line with the recent literature on IC. However, the quantitative data did not prove that the project hour fully attends to the components of IC, even though the methods and activities used matched its requirements.

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 27 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kai Li LIU

Globalization has led to the need for incorporating world cultures into foreign language curricula to develop students’ intercultural communicative competence. As a result, intercultural approaches as well as intercultural communicative competence have been widely studied. While there are a number of studies discussing this issue from the perspectives of teachers, the literature finds few studies regarding students’ perceptions. Therefore, the question of whether there are any gaps between teachers’ and students’ perceptions remains unanswered. To help answer this question, this study conducted a survey exploring university students’ perceptions of culture learning and teaching in the English classroom by using a combination of quantitative and qualitative methods. Based on the results of a questionnaire and interviews, this study found the practice and the materials used in EFL teaching might not satisfy the requirements of leaners as users of English as a lingua franca (ELF) for intercultural communication. Thus further research regarding effective teaching methods is needed.


2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Prima Wahyu Titisari ◽  
Febi Acitika Pratiwi

<p><strong>Abstract.</strong> Learning media is a teaching and learning process that tends to be interpreted as graphical, photographic, or electronic tools to capture, process, and reconstruct visual or verbal information. Crosswords are a kind of word play. The learning media developed to facilitate teachers and students in the process of learning and teaching at Junior High School grade VIII. The purpose of this study was to prodice <em>puzzle </em>learning media by crossword <em>puzzle</em> and feasible to be developed as rearning media on human eireulatory system material. Based on the results of the observations that have been carried out, the teacher only uses descourse and less varied learning  which makes students bored in learning. The method used in this study is the research and development (R &amp; D), by ADDIE method, the researcher produced a crossword puzzle and its feasibility will be tested. The results of the study after the media were tested on the validator of media experts and material experts got a very decent category. The results of the research from the science teacher, get a very feasible assessment to be developed. The results of research on peer review get a very feasible category to be tested. And the results obtained during the trial of students with trials of small groups, middle groups and large groups led to a very decent category. To we it can be concluded that, puzzle learning media by crossword puzzles is very feasible to develop.</p><p><strong>Keywords:</strong> Puzzle learning media, crossword puzzles</p>


Author(s):  
Esther Lecumberri ◽  
Victoria Pastor-González

This article explores the use of Learner Generated Digital Content (LGDC) in the context of advanced Spanish language modules. An approach to learning and teaching frequently used and extensively researched in disciplines such as medicine and natural sciences, LGDC has in recent years made a cautious appearance in the area of modern languages (Lambert, Philp, & Nakamura, 2017). In the present case, LGDC becomes a powerful tool to address the challenge of introducing content acquisition in what is primarily a language module. Through the creation and sharing of a range of archivable learner generated digital material (posters and videos), learners and teachers collaborate to develop a living and open access information resource that can be expanded and used by successive cohorts of students in a cumulative process of knowledge generation and knowledge exchange. Scheduled at different points throughout the term and designed to result in texts of increasing linguistic complexity, these tasks encourage students to engage with the process of content acquisition and provide them with opportunities to practise and refine the linguistic skills required for the successful completion of their final assessment (an individual presentation). The introduction of LGDC in the module teaching and learning strategy led to a noticeable increase in student engagement, as evidenced by the results of questionnaires conducted with three consecutive cohorts. By sharing our experience, we would like to encourage fellow practitioners to introduce LGDC in the language classroom.


2017 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 133
Author(s):  
Hongmei Zhang

Nowadays, English plays an increasingly important role in international communication. Vocabulary plays the important role in the process of English learning and teaching. Although the significance of the vocabulary teaching and learning have been noticed by the teachers and students, the current situation of English vocabulary teaching and learning is not satisfactory in most Chinese schools. This paper applies the prototype theory and other related theories, which contains the three levels of categorization and two cognitive mechanism, to vocabulary teaching and learning. The paper aims at exploring the implications that prototype theory indicates in English vocabulary teaching and learning, finding out the crux of English vocabulary teaching and learning. Teachers need to consciously foster students’ metaphorical and metonymical awareness when teaching vocabulary.


Author(s):  
Yin Cheong Cheng

This chapter introduces a new paradigm of learning and teaching that aims to develop students’ contextualized multiple intelligence (CMI) and create unlimited opportunity for students’ lifelong independent learning through a triplization process including individualization, localization, and globalization in teaching and learning. In particular, the chapter illustrates how students’ self-learning can be motivated, sustained, and highly enhanced in an individually, locally, and globally networked human and ICT environment. Different from the traditional emphasis on delivery of knowledge and skills in planned curriculum, the new paradigm pursues the extensive application of ICT and enhancement of teachers and students’ ICT literacy in building up a networked environment for students’ individualized, localized, and globalized learning and CMI development. It is hoped that students equipped with the necessary ICT literacy can become borderless learners with unlimited opportunities for learning and development in a networked environment.


Author(s):  
Marina V. Polevaya ◽  
Elena V. Kamneva ◽  
Sergey A. Polevoy ◽  
Margarita M. Simonova ◽  
Svetlana M. Buyanova ◽  
...  

Relevance. The article discusses the problems of the transition of universities to a distance learning format. The transfer of universities to a remote format due to the spread of the COVID-19 virus allowed students to continue to receive training, which varied significantly due to technologies, the choice of which was determined by the current capabilities of educational institutions. The article analyzes the result of a study of the attitude and assessment of teachers and students organizing and conducting training outside the educational institution with the use of distance technologies. The purpose of the study is to identify the features of teaching and learning in a distance format in higher education during the spread of a new coronavirus infection. The objectives of the study are to identify factors that have influenced the quality of the implementation of educational programs in full in the electronic information and educational environment. The results of the study. A serious influence of the distance learning format on the quality of the teacher-student interaction was revealed (it has significantly decreased), which is undoubtedly one of the factors that reduce studentsʼ motivation to learn. For many respondents, distance learning and teaching was the first experience of a distance learning format, and therefore the attitude towards it is rather complicated. A significant scatter in the format of the classes, their completeness and content within the framework of distance learning, the low proportion of the teaching staff prepared for its implementation, and the generally low level of technical, methodological and legal support show that the majority of Russian universities are not ready to introduce distance learning. The transition to an online training format caused the majority of respondents discomfort and negative emotional experiences.


2016 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 21-27
Author(s):  
Alina Negoescu ◽  
Simona Boştină-Bratu

Abstract The use of information and communication technologies (ICT) in teaching and learning foreign languages has risen sharply among the educational community. Teachers access and implement innovations without always realizing their full implications for them and their students. However, this is not necessarily a negative thing, because if no one used innovations, little progresses would be made and there would be nothing to evaluate. The article presents certain features of ICT that can be used to good advantage in a rich learning environment, and the use of video as an ICT tool in the foreign language class. The paper also discusses the role of the teacher in implementing technologies and we argue that it is the teacher, not the technology who determines the quality of the learning and teaching. There are people who are afraid that the teacher’s role would be compromised if we integrate information communication technologies in education; however we militate for a ‘techno-humanistic’ system, in which teachers, learners and technology would form a lasting meaningful alliance.


2018 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 69
Author(s):  
Xiaoli Jiang

Globalisation and internationalisation have brought culturally diverse classrooms into universities and schools worldwide. There are increasing opportunities for culturally diverse teachers and students to interact and learn from each other. This paper investigates the changes that occur when classrooms are managed by teachers with different cultural backgrounds from that of their students, utilising observations and interviews. The research indicates that when people from both collective and individualist cultures are in the same classroom, the different dynamics require adjustments from at least one cultural group to achieve desirable learning outcomes, in particular from the teacher. This is largely due to, in individualistic and collective cultures, teachers having different roles associated with their respective power structure and social hierarchy caused by various ways of establishing and maintaining individual self-esteem and perceiving self in relation to others. It would appear that the changes are engineered by a teacher’s desire to allow students to learn more effectively and teachers’ belief as to what are effective teaching and learning strategies. However, the changes are also accompanied by many challenges and personal growth on the part of the teachers. Bridging cultural differences should never been taken for granted. Should teachers reflect deeply and adjust to changes in classroom culture, the learning and teaching experiences can be both enriching and enlightening. Intellectual challenges and reflections on different home and host cultural assumptions are required when managing students who are from dissimilar cultural backgrounds.


Author(s):  
Elis Kakoulli Constantinou

Being one of the most important and influential advancements in information technology since the emergence of the Internet, cloud computing has invaded the area of English for Specific Purposes (ESP), among other fields, due to its flexibility, availability, practicality and cost effectiveness. In 2006 Google developed its Apps for Education, currently referred to as “G Suite for Education”, that provide teachers and students with access to different tools, such as Classroom, Mail, Drive, Calendar, Docs, etc., each serving different educational purposes. This paper reports on a research study conducted at the Cyprus University of Technology Language Centre in Fall 2016, in the context of two blended English for Academic Purposes (EAP) courses for first-year students of the Departments of Agricultural Sciences, Biotechnology and Food Science and Commerce, Finance and Shipping, which are based on social constructivist approaches with elements of connectivism and student-centered teaching methods. The study aimed at eliciting data on the students’ views regarding the ease of use of G Suite for Education tools, difficulties encountered during their use, and their efficiency in the teaching and learning process. Data was obtained through an online questionnaire, consisting of Likert scale and open-ended questions, administered to the students at the end of the semester. Findings illustrate that students viewed the use of G Suite for Education tools in their EAP courses very positively, both in terms of ease of use and efficiency in the learning and teaching process, encountering only minor difficulties during their use.


2019 ◽  
Vol 1 (7) ◽  
pp. 13-26
Author(s):  
م.م. فائزة عدنان صالح

This study explores the fulfilment of  teachers and students in utilizing social media as educational platforms at university of Baghdad, Iraq. It aims to investigate whether the actual process of knowledge attainment and communicative interactions is completed at the virtual atmosphere. The current study includes three facets of social media_ engagement, interpersonal teaching and learning, and school performance. Random selection of (180) digital users at some of academic institutions has participated in the study. The results reveal that recruiters require social media platforms to connect teachers and students virtually. They tend to utilize social media for enhancing teaching and learning route which contributes the development of campus community. Virtual platforms completes the actual process of academic attainment in a meaningful way despite the traditional sense of learning and teaching at the academic level. The results conducted maintain its validity and reliability by means of knowledge dynamics, intellectual capital, and educational expertise.The study recommends experiencing technological education for carrying out relevant tools and applications which activate academic communication and empower guidelines and practices of institutional settings.


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