Do Group Exams Support English as an Additional Language Student Learning?

2017 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Marion Caldecott ◽  
Esma Emmioglu

AbstractTeam-based learning (TBL) has been shown to improve many aspects of student learning, but no previous research has systematically examined the effects of group exams on English as an Additional Language (EAL) students in university classrooms. This study is a small-scale action research examining the role of students’ English language status in their perceptions of and performance in group exams within TBL. The data were collected from 29 students – (13 EAL) and 16 English as a first language (EL1) – attending a third-year university linguistics class in Vancouver, Canada. Qualitative and quantitative methods were used for the data analysis. Results of the study revealed no statistically significant differences between the two groups in terms of perceptions or performance. Both groups had positive perceptions about group exams and the increase in their performance over the course of the semester was statistically significant. Qualitative results showed that students found group exams helpful for learning and reducing exam anxiety. Students also enjoyed the experience of taking group exams and stated that their attitudes toward the group exams were more positive at the end of the semester.

Author(s):  
Diana Elizabeth Moreno Carrillo ◽  
Gustavo Adolfo León Duarte ◽  
Carlos René Contreras Cázarez

ABSTRACTSociety has been transforming throughout the last years. The easy access to Internet has made two important institutions, family and school, cope to new challenges. Teenagers in different countries have access to Internet. However, understanding how these changes affect them, their families, their education, their community and the risks they cope help us get to empiric research. The main inquiry is to identify the use and the role parents have around the Internet and technological devices. The research is based in a mixed approach, combining qualitative and quantitative methods, using a questionnaire and a focus group to collect data.RESUMENLa sociedad ha venido transformándose durante las últimas décadas. El fácil acceso al Internet ha hecho que dos importantes instituciones, la familia y la escuela, se enfrenten a nuevos retos. En distintos países alrededor del mundo, los adolescentes tienen acceso al Internet. Sin embargo, para entender como estos cambios los afecta a ellos, a sus familias, a su educación, a su comunidad y los riesgos que enfrentan, es posible llevar a cabo la investigación empírica. La pregunta central es conocer el uso y el rol que tienen los padres en torno al Internet y a los dispositivos tecnológicos. Como parte de la metodología, la construcción del objeto de estudio se basa en la implementación de un enfoque mixto. La combinación de enfoques cualitativos y cuantitativos conlleva al diseño de dos fases en las que se utilizarán dos herramientas, la encuesta y el grupo focal. Contacto principal: [email protected]


2018 ◽  
Vol 52 (2) ◽  
pp. 576-608 ◽  
Author(s):  
SAZANA JAYADEVA

AbstractAnthropological studies of India's post-liberalization middle classes have tended to focus mainly on the role of consumption behaviour in the constitution of this class group. Building on these studies, and taking class as an object of ethnographic enquiry, I argue that, over the last 20 years, class dynamics in the country have been significantly altered by the unprecedentedly important and complex role that the English language has come to play in the production and reproduction of class. Based on 15 months of ethnographic fieldwork—conducted at commercial spoken-English training centres, schools, and corporate organizations in Bangalore—I analyse the processes by which this change in class dynamics has occurred, and how it is experienced on the ground. I demonstrate how, apart from being a valuable type of class cultural capital in its own right, proficiency in English has come to play a key role in the acquisition and performance of other important forms of capital associated with middle-class identity. As a result, being able to demonstrate proficiency in English has come to be experienced as a critical element in claiming and maintaining a space in the middle class, regardless of the other types of class cultural capital a person possesses.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anas Abudaqa ◽  
Seena Al Nuaimi ◽  
Hayfa Buhazzaa ◽  
Sumaya Al Hosani

Abstract Objective Scope: ADNOC group of companies introduced the Fursa platform which is an internal online website where HR acquisition partners among the 13 companies can post vacancies and employees from any of the 13 companies can apply to those vacancies. The aim of this initiative is to move ADNOC's employees internally to reskill, fill department gaps, and cross-collaborate to get a project done or hit an organizational goal with minimizing hiring cost and accelerate recruitment process. This study considers the above stated program as an explanatory factor to determine the individual's as well as organizational outcomes in ADNOC group of companies. Methods, Procedure, Process: To address the study objectives, qualitative and quantitative methods are adopted. More specifically, for quantitative approach, structural questionnaire was developed through adopting different items from the literature. Whereas qualitative analysis are conducted while using the information from structured interviews. Results, Observations, Conclusions: The study findings indicates that both individual and organizational outcomes are positively and significantly determined by internal mobility program. Similarly, analyses through qualitative approach confirms that internal mobility program helps to provide learning and development of the employees, productivity and performance in terms of individual outcomes, and sales and growth to reflect the concept of organizational outcomes. It is stated current program Enabled employees to find their next position, project, or mentor internally, and maximized ADNOC workforce potential and unlock the capacity to meet the corporate objectives. Other interesting outcomes are It takes less time and money to source (and saves money on relocation costs and as known during pandemic situation there is a restriction on international movement between countries); it enables faster onboarding and ramping up. Additionally, during internal mobility the company is confident that the candidate shares your mission and vision, and It also implies that you are aware of a candidate's most recent performance. Novel/Additive information: the study is unique in the sense that it is done in one of the giant oil and gas companies which employees working in different aspects of the business; upstream, downstream, and mid-stream. The study introduces modern ways of work in a speedy, natural manner, and the use of MS Teams to do virtual interviews. Fursa platform allows companies to act quickly. It only takes a few seconds to determine where talent should be directed, and a few more seconds to deploy it.


Author(s):  
Salam Omar Ali

This chapter studied the current practices of the principals in Al-Ain school district (in UAE) in supporting their novice teachers in their first years of teaching. It aimed at drawing attention to the urgent need for an effective principal who knows the important role he plays, especially with the newly appointed teachers. The study used a literature review to establish a good base of theoretical ideas about the effective role of principals in supporting novice teachers in their first years of teaching. The importance of induction program and its goals and benefits were tackled as well, in addition to the main aspects of the support provided. Moreover, the conceptual framework of the study discussed the methodology by describing the qualitative and quantitative methods used to gather data. The population and the sample, data analysis and discussion, conclusion and recommendations were presented too. Twenty principals and 30 teachers of public and private schools participated in answering a questionnaire. Some of them were also interviewed.


Case Studies Within Psychotherapy Trials: Integrating Qualitative and Quantitative Methods presents a specific, mixed-methods approach, called the “Cases Within Trials” (CWT) model, to psychotherapy research, combining the results from a randomized clinical trial (RCT) with systematic case studies involving contrasting outcomes drawn from the experimental condition of the RCT; and a synthesis of the two types of knowledge. Chapters 3–6 of the book present four specific and diverse projects that concretely illustrate the CWT method. In Chapter 8 the editors analyze the four chapters and explore emergent themes in the knowledge gained from them. In the process, the editors systematically compare the positive-outcome and negative-outcome cases across the four projects, highlighting, for example, (a) the importance of contextual variables in creating the conditions for change mechanisms to be activated; (b) the multidimensional, reciprocally interactional nature of the therapy process; and (c) the particular role of therapist responsiveness.


Focaal ◽  
2005 ◽  
Vol 2005 (45) ◽  
pp. 56-68 ◽  
Author(s):  
John R. Campbell

This article explores the relation between theory and method in three methodologically innovative studies of rural poverty. The issue is pertinent because the nature of research on poverty has shifted from small-scale qualitative studies to large surveys, and to national-scale studies that combine qualitative and quantitative methods in an effort to inform policy makers on appropriate poverty reduction strategies. The interest in combined methods holds considerable promise for poverty research because it links a search for 'objective' economic concerns to the analysis of 'subjective' and context-specific issues. It is instructive to examine recent studies of poverty that have pursued different theoretical and methodological choices with a view to understand how 'theory' influenced methodological choices, and whether and how such choices influenced their understanding of poverty.


2019 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 267-287
Author(s):  
Gehad Megahed ◽  
Abeer Elshater ◽  
Samy M.Z. Afifi

Purpose This paper focuses on the competencies and skills needed in preparing graduates of urban planning schools to meet the real-world challenges of professional practices. The present work explores the gap between skills and knowledge required to excel in the urban planning discipline and professional practices. Design/methodology/approach This research utilises a mix of qualitative and quantitative methods. This study depends on collecting data from descriptive and statistical analysis based on two streams. The first comes from a survey launched among students of urban planning. The second is interviews scheduled with academics that are also practitioners. Findings The results outline the missing correlation between what Egyptian students learn in schools of urban planning and professional practices. The findings show that academics, students, and graduates share the same experiences about the education system. Academics agreed that graduates need to be more skilful rather than knowledgeable. The discussion shows that the undefined role of the planner in Egypt influenced the mismatching between the current demand and supply of competencies and skills offered by planning schools. The concluded remarks mentioned that communication skills and negotiation skills are the most crucial skills for graduates, in addition to information finding and data-processing skills. Originality/value This research has particular advantages in presenting a model of competencies as results of scanning the expectations of Egyptian students and new graduates vs professional practices. The contribution is in answering the question of what skills students of the urban planning programs should learn in order to meet the continued changes in professional practices.


Land ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (5) ◽  
pp. 167
Author(s):  
Logan Cochrane ◽  
Danielle D. Legault

More than a decade has passed since the triple crises of food, energy and finance in the period 2007–2008. Those events turned global investor interest to agriculture and its commodities and thereafter the leasing of tens of millions of hectares of land. This article reviews and synthesizes the available evidence regarding the agricultural investments that have taken place in Ethiopia since that time. We use a systematic review approach to identify literature from the Web of Science and complement that with additional literature found via Google Scholar. Qualitative and quantitative methods are used to analyze the available literature. In so doing, we raise questions of data quality, by analyzing the evidence base used by many studies (the Land Matrix database) and compare it with data we obtained from the Government of Ethiopia. We find that while the Land Matrix is the largest available database, it appears to present only a fraction of the reality. In critically assessing the literature, we identify areas that have been under-researched or are missing from the literature, namely assessments of gendered impacts, the role of diaspora and domestic investors, interdisciplinary approaches (e.g., integrating climate change, biodiversity, and water), and studies that move beyond technical assessment, such as looking at the impacts on traditional knowledge and socio-cultural systems.


2019 ◽  
Vol 22 (5) ◽  
pp. 770-792
Author(s):  
Jenni Hokka ◽  
Matti Nelimarkka

In our article, we investigate the affective economy of national-populist image circulation on Facebook. This is highly relevant, since social media has been an essential area for the spread of national-populist ideology. In our research, we analyse image circulation as affective practice, combining qualitative and quantitative methods. We use computational data analysis methods to examine visual big data: image fingerprints and reverse image search engines to track down the routes of thousands of circulated images as well as make discourse-historical analysis on the images that have gained most attention among supporters. Our research demonstrates that these existing tools allow social science research to make theory-solid approaches to understand the role of image circulation in creating and sustaining national and transnational networks on social media, and show how national-populist thinking is spread through images that catalyse and mobilise affects – fear, anger and resentment – thus creating an effective affective economy.


2008 ◽  
Vol 41 (2) ◽  
pp. 213-235 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew D. Cohen

This paper starts by giving a rationale for why there is value in explicitly teaching second-language (L2) learners pragmatics in the target language. The importance of a research basis for choosing pragmatic materials to teach is underscored, and the focus is put on sources for materials on pragmatics and the means of data collection. Issues in the teaching of pragmatics are considered, including determining which material to teach, how to prepare teachers to teach it, and the role of teachers in facilitating the learning of pragmatics. Next, L2 pragmatics is viewed from the learners' perspective, in terms of the learning and performance of pragmatics, as well as approaches to assessing what it is that learners are able to do in a pragmatically appropriate way. Finally, consideration is given to the role of technology in making pragmatics accessible to learners, with reference to a website for teachers and curriculum writers and to websites designed for learners of specific languages such as Japanese and Spanish. Recent work on virtual environments for practicing Spanish pragmatics is discussed and preliminary findings from a small-scale study of this effort are reported.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document