scholarly journals Drama Techniques as Correlators of the Level of English Language Speaking Anxiety

2020 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 98-110
Author(s):  
Edyta Kwiecień-Niedziela ◽  
Krzysztof Polok ◽  
Eva Mala
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Proficiency ◽  
English Language ◽  
Close Correlation ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
Speaking Anxiety ◽  
Research Results ◽  
Academic Level ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
The Impact

Introduction. The study aims to investigate what factors strengthen and weaken personal speaking anxiety. With the use of selected standardized surveys, the research examines how drama techniques affect a learner’s level of English language speaking anxiety. Materials and Methods. The research group includes 17 Polish primary school learners who attended drama classes and prepared two performances in English for other learners and their parents. The questionnaire with the stated research questions was applied, and the data ob tained were statistically analyzed. Results. The research results show that the learners participating in English drama classes had a lower level of speaking anxiety than those who did not practice drama at all. As to the learners´ English language proficiency, the level of speaking anxiety dropped with the rise of academic level. No significant difference was observed either in the level of speaking anxiety between male and female participants or in the level of speaking among learners of different age. The impact of drama techniques implemented into the English language classes is discussed in the study. The research results indicate the influence of drama techniques on the reduction of the level of speaking anxiety. The decrease is very noticeable that should inspire teachers to use drama techniques while teaching a foreign language, especially speaking skills. The analysis also indicates a close correlation between drama classes and the inc reasing level of English proficiency. Discussion and Conclusion. The topic of the article is to meet the interest of foreign language teachers and learners, would-be teachers of the English language.

scholarly journals EFL Students’ and Teachers’ Attitudes toward Foreign Language Speaking Anxiety: A Look at NESTs and Non-NESTs

2016 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
Turgay HAN ◽  
Ahmet Serkan Tanriöver ◽  
Özgür Sahan
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Student Attitudes ◽  
English Language ◽  
Speaking Anxiety ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Efl Students ◽  
English Speaking ◽  
Native English Speaking ◽  
Native English Speaking Teachers ◽  
The Impact

<p class="apa">Native English Speaking Teachers (NESTs) have been employed in various English language teaching (ELT) positions and departments at private and state universities in Turkey, particularly over the last three decades. However, undergraduate EFL students’ attitudes toward NESTs and Non-Native English Speaking Teachers (Non-NESTs) remain seriously under-investigated. The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of communication classes given by NESTs and Non-NESTs on students’ foreign language speaking anxiety (FLSA). Forty-eight undergraduate EFL students attending communication classes taught by (American) NESTs and (Turkish) Non-NESTs were given a questionnaire to examine their attitudes toward foreign language speaking anxiety (FLSA). Further, a sub-sample of students was interviewed to investigate their feelings, beliefs and opinions about the relationship between the FLSA they experienced and their communication classes given by NESTs and Non-NESTs. Similarly, the teachers were interviewed to examine their feelings about the FLSA their students experience in their communication classes. Quantitatively, the results showed no significant difference in attitude toward FLSA between the students who attended classes taught by NESTs and Non-NESTs, although a significant difference was observed between the two classes taught by Non-NESTs. Further, female and male students did not differ significantly in terms of attitudes toward FLSA in NESTs’ and Non-NESTs’ classes. The qualitative findings revealed that both teachers and students had positive attitudes toward mistakes made during the oral production of the foreign language (FL). Finally, the correction strategies employed by the teachers in the classroom are believed to have an impact on student attitudes toward FLSA.</p>

scholarly journals The Impact of Blended Learning on the Twelfth Grade Students’ English Language Proficiency

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Omar Hussein Al Noursi
Keyword(s):  
Blended Learning ◽  
Language Proficiency ◽  
English Language ◽  
English Language Proficiency ◽  
Successful Implementation ◽  
Learning Approach ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Twelfth Grade ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Experimental Group

The blended learning approach utilizes modern technologies and electronic media in teaching to create a technology-based environment. However, it is not an exclusive online environment because the teacher and the students have to be present in a traditional face-to-face classroom. It is widely believed that adopting a blended learning approach will enable learners to have quality educational opportunities and improve their performance. The incentive for conducting the research is to evaluate the effect of the blended learning approach on high school students’ English proficiency. Specifically, the study aimed at answering the question: is there a significant difference in the Twelfth-Grade students’ English language proficiency as measured by IELTS due to the model of delivery (Blended learning model and the traditional delivery model)? To achieve the study’s goal, the researcher applied the experimental method and used IELTS to measure language proficiency. The study sample selected purposively consisted of 63 male twelfth-grade students in one of the private schools in Al Ain, United Arab Emirates (UAE). The study sample was assigned to two groups: the experimental group taught using blended learning consisted of 31 students, and the control group led by the traditional method consisted of 32 students. The results showed statistically significant differences at the level of (a&lt;0.01) between the means of the results of the two groups on the post achievement test in favor of the experimental group. These results illustrated the impact of adopting the blended learning approach in an English Foreign Language (EFL) setting on students’ achievement in standardized tests. However, the successful implementation of blended learning largely depends on how responsible and committed students are towards active learning.

scholarly journals Exploring the Causes of English Language Speaking Anxiety among Postgraduate Students of University of Balochistan, Pakistan

2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 99 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nazeer Ahmed ◽  
Zahid Hussain Pathan ◽  
Faria Saeed Khan
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Quantitative Research ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
English Language ◽  
Official Language ◽  
Speaking Anxiety ◽  
Postgraduate Students ◽  
Statistical Significant Difference ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
The World

English language enjoys its glory as an official language of Pakistan and it is used widely as a medium of instructions across educational institutes. Since anxiety retards the learning process, therefore it has been widely researched in the world and seems under researched in Pakistani context. Thus, the prime aim of this research is to explore the factors that cause English language speaking anxiety among Postgraduate Students of University of Balochistan (UoB), Pakistan. This study also aimed at determining the statistical significant difference if any across gender. The quantitative research design was employed in which a questionnaire comprising of eighteen items was adapted from the study by Horwitz et al. (1986). Both descriptive and inferential statistics were performed in the SPSS (version, 21). The findings revealed that UOB students were experiencing anxiety due to myriad factors in EFL classroom. The findings of the t-test revealed no statistical significant difference across gender. This paper has implications on both teaching and learning of English as a foreign language in Pakistani context.

scholarly journals Omani Students’ Perceptive of Communicative Language Teaching Approach in Higher Education in Oman: Its Practice

Proceedings ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 2 (21) ◽  
pp. 1333
Author(s):  
Mouza Said Al Kalbani ◽  
Josu Solabarrieta ◽  
Ahmad Bin Touq
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Proficiency ◽  
Classroom Practice ◽  
English Language ◽  
Language Teaching ◽  
Communicative Language Teaching ◽  
Teaching Approach ◽  
Clear Understanding ◽  
The Impact

This study aimed to analyze and understand learners’ attitudes towards Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) approach in a foreign language context in higher education in Oman. In the literature review, learners’ attitudes play a strong role in determining the success of innovations in instructional practices (Savignon and Wang 2003). In addition to that, this study is considered as an evaluative study to explore teachers’ implication of CLT and the impact of this implication on students “communicative competence”, which is considered as an ultimate goal of communicative language teaching in a foreign langue context (FL). The importance of this study is due to its significance to come up with a clear understanding of Omani learners’ beliefs considering teaching and learning process. It also aims to specify the impact of CLT as an effective teaching approach in English as a foreign language (EFL) among higher education students and to specify any difficulties or challenges that might hinder CLT implementation in the Omani context. To achieve this, a quantitative study had been used to collect data from both teachers and learners. The participants of this study were 631 students (189 male and 391 female) who were enrolled in Intensive English language programs (IELP) in Foundation Institute (FI) in two Universities (210 students from public university and 421 students from private university) and those participants were from three different English proficiency levels (247 level 1, 155 level 2 and 229 level 3). The analysis revealed that students perceived classroom’s practice to be more oriented towards using strategic and grammatical competence and less towards sociolinguistic and intercultural competences. Additionally, Omani learners reported statistically significant correlation between CLT practice. The students’ gender, language proficiency and education context affected how students perceived classroom practice.

Exploring EFL Learners' Preferences, Perceived Needs, and Perceptions about Language Learning Strategies

2016 ◽  
Vol 7 (6) ◽  
pp. 1128
Author(s):  
Maryam Alsadat Mortazavi ◽  
Hamed Barjesteh
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
Learning Strategies ◽  
English Language ◽  
Language Education ◽  
Language Experience ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
Perceived Needs ◽  
Academic Level ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
The Impact

This study was to investigate the impact of language experience and academic level on the perceived needs of Iranian undergraduate EFL learners. Two groups of Iranian TEFL female students (freshmen and senior) were compared regarding their preferences, perceived needs and perceptions of different activity types about language learning. To collect data, Sihong's (2007) needs analysis questionnaire for English language needs was utilized. Thirty two freshman and twenty nine senior MA students with the age range of 25-35 were considered as the subject of this study. They were asked to fill out the questionnaire through email and they were given the confidence that the collected data would remain anonymous. Results revealed that there was a significant difference between freshman and senior EFL learners in their preferences, needs and opinions about various types of activities, and various aspects of language education. The findings also revealed that freshmen students required more practice in grammar and pronunciation than vocabulary for them. The most difficult components of language were pronunciation, vocabulary and grammar respectively; however, the senior students reported that vocabulary and grammar were the most difficult component of language skill and pronunciation was the least one.

scholarly journals Using English to teach English: Classroom English competence of English language teachers in Vietnam

2017 ◽  
Vol 33 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Vu Hai Ha
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Proficiency ◽  
English Language ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
English Language Teaching ◽  
English Language Teachers ◽  
English Competence ◽  
English Classroom ◽  
Language Teaching Methods

The National Foreign Language Project 2020 (Project 2020) has been laying its emphasis on the development of general English language proficiency and English language teaching methods of English language teachers in Vietnamese schools. This article argues that these focuses might overlook an area which is essential for these teachers to use English efficiently in the classrooms: the development of classroom English proficiency. This argument is corroborated by a case study with qualitative data collected from videotaping 113 teachers in their microteaching sessions. It reveals certain limitations in their classroom English competence, especially linguistic and strategic competence. The article concludes by putting forward certain suggestions for Project 2020 as well as future studies to explore other facets of this competence.

scholarly journals LEVEL OF TEACHERS’ CONCERNS IN THE IMPLEMENTATION OF CEFR (THE COMMON EUROPEAN FRAMEWORK OF REFERENCE FOR LANGUAGES)

2019 ◽  
pp. 39-50
Author(s):  
Siaw Ling Kee ◽  
Zanaton Hj Iksan
Keyword(s):  
English Language ◽  
Teaching Experience ◽  
English Teachers ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
Ministry Of Education ◽  
Stages Of Concern Questionnaire ◽  
Academic Level ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
The Common ◽  
Teachers Attitudes

The Common European of Framework Reference (CEFR) is a standardized measurement recognized by western countries to evaluate English proficiency. Unsatisfactory English level among student should be elevated. Hence, CEFR is being implemented simultaneously throughout Malaysia since 2017 for Year one and Year two students. Each English teacher must be prepared to accept any change in order to manage the changes efficiently and effectively as they are the "implementing group" to commence the change. This study was conducted to examine the level of English language teachers' attitudes towards the implementation of CEFR in Bangsar Pudu, Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur by using survey research. This study adopted the Concern Based Adoptance Model (CBAM) as a theoretical framework. The data were collected from 205 English teachers from 101 schools using questionnaires on Stages of Concern Questionnaire (SoCQ) based on the CBAM model. Through ANOVA One-way analysis, there was a significant difference between teacher concerns in the teaching experience more than 30 years in CEFR compared to other teachers. However, there is no significant difference in the academic level of English teachers. The findings of this study are believed to help the Ministry of Education to identify and improve the implementation of CEFR curriculum.

scholarly journals Cognitive Competences of English Language Teachers and Their Impact on Use of Teaching Methods with Learners at Lower Secondary School

2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 50-68
Author(s):  
Jana Harťanská ◽  
Zuzana Muchálová
Keyword(s):  
Secondary School ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Teaching Methods ◽  
English Language ◽  
Historical Context ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
Lower Secondary School ◽  
Self Evaluation ◽  
Modest Contribution ◽  
The Impact

AbstractIntroduction: The paper discusses the term cognitive competence of foreign language teachers and focuses on their application in practice. It also deals with possible impact of cognitive competences on choice of teaching methods. The paper identifies a list of the cognitive competences which are both expected and needed when conducting English lessons.Methods: For the purposes of the survey, the qualitative method of direct observation was chosen. To maximise valid information about the taught lesson, identical observation and self-evaluation sheets had to be designed first. The findings are analysed, compared, and conclusions drawn for school practice.Results: The survey data show which cognitive competences the teachers of English language use the most and the least when the teaching of pre-intermediate learners from two grades was observed at lower secondary school. The main findings also highlight the necessity of using a wider variety of more up-to date teaching methods and approaches suitable for both target grades of learners, in contrast to still prevailing traditional ones.Discussion: It needs to be admitted that the authors of this paper are not aware of works which deal with similar research of cognitive competences. Though many authors write about social, key and teaching competences in general, cognitive competences are still a kind of Pandora’s box. It is recommended both that deeper research be undertaken in this field and that teachers pay more attention not only to relevant theoretical knowledge within, for example, courses of continual professional development, but also to the impact on their learners’ performance of the cognitive competences being used.Limitations: The authors are aware of the limited number of observed lessons due to objective reasons such as the reluctance of some teachers to participate in the survey. The survey sample of four observed lessons is too small to enable definitive, generalisable statements to be made about the use of cognitive competences and the appropriateness of teaching methods. Additional, observed lessons would yield more valuable and valid results.Conclusion: The survey proves that cognitive competences are a necessary part of teachers’ personalities and abilities and their usage can depend on the proficiency level of learners of English language. The authors assert that the topic of cognitive competences and their impact in foreign language teaching has still not been explored in detail. It is an interesting area involving active metacognitive and cognitive functions influenced by many factors which tend to change according to the teacher’s historical context. This idiographic survey for the purposes of a graduation thesis carried out in a small town school can be regarded as a modest contribution to the topic.

scholarly journals Communicative Competence of College English Language Teachers: Using Results as Basis For An Action Plan

2021 ◽  
Vol 04 (06) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ma . Fe B. Belasoto ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Language Proficiency ◽  
Significant Relationship ◽  
English Language ◽  
Communicative Competence ◽  
Action Plan ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
College English ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
English Language Teachers ◽  
Language Exposure

This study determined the communicative competence of the college English language teachers of Northern Iloilo Polytechnic State College (NIPSC) in the 5th District of Iloilo through a researcher-developed instrument which had undergone validity and reliability testing. Utilizing mixed method approach and with forty-five (45) English language teachers who were chosen through complete enumeration, result showed that the respondents’ level of communicative competence in the areas of grammatical, sociolinguistic, strategic and discourse was “very good”, while the extent of their English language exposure was “sometimes” for the 95.56% and “always” for only 4. 44%. There was no significant relationship between the respondents’ number of years in teaching, written language proficiency, relevant seminars and trainings attended and all areas of communicative competence. Among the four areas of communicative competence, grammatical and sociolinguistic competence had significant relationship with their oral language proficiency and discourse competence had significant relationship with highest educational attainment. There was no significant relationship between their communicative competence and extent of English language exposure. There was no significant difference between the level of communicative competence of the respondents when they were grouped according to campus. The following factors were perceived to contribute to their communicative competence: the practice of the English language inside and outside the classroom, exposure to mainstream media, experience as English teachers, inherent intelligence, seminars or trainings attended, while the extent of their language exposure was perceived to be influenced by time, attitude or preference of the teacher, environment, teaching load, co-workers and students. Based on the result of the study an action plan was proposed to improve the efficiency, competence, and performance of the English language teachers at the College.

scholarly journals Foreign Language Anxiety in Higher Education: A Practical Framework for Reducing FLA

2016 ◽  
Vol 12 (7) ◽  
pp. 193 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hamad H. Alsowat
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Proficiency ◽  
Significant Negative Correlation ◽  
Language Anxiety ◽  
Foreign Language Anxiety ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Academic Level ◽  
English Major ◽  
The Impact

This study aimed at investigating foreign language anxiety level and the factors affecting the anxiety among Saudi English major students at Taif University and exploring the impact of gender and academic level in this regard. It also examined the relationship between anxiety and language proficiency in the Saudi context. Two questionnaires, a modified version of FLCAS (Horwitz et al., 1986) and IFLAF, were administered to 373 English major students (205 male and 168 female). The results revealed that Saudi English major students had moderate level of anxiety. The highest provoking causes of students' anxiety were worrying about consequences of failing, forgetting things they knew and feeling uneasiness during language tests. The analyses of the variables related to foreign language anxiety revealed a significant negative correlation between language anxiety and language proficiency (grammar, speaking, writing, reading and GPA). Gender did not have a significant impact on foreign language anxiety in the current study. Finally, the academic level of students did not affect the level of anxiety indicating that all students, despite their academic level, suffer from the same level of anxiety. The study suggested an EFL practical Model to reduce the negative effects of anxiety. Suggestions and further research were presented.

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