scholarly journals Student Insights Related to the Use of Simultaneous Speech Translation for Video Lectures in a University English Course

STEM Journal ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (4) ◽  
pp. 59-74
Author(s):  
Christopher Irvin

For native English-speaking teachers, the ability to overcome communication issues caused by not having the same first language as their pupils is a challenge, especially with low-level students. The increased use of video lectures due to COVD-19 has made this even more difficult. This study was conducted to investigate whether the use of Artificial Intelligence-powered interlingual Simultaneous Speech Translation subtitled video lectures could be a practical solution to overcome this challenge. To that end, 14 participants from a first-semester prerequisite General English course took part in this study. A semi-structured interview was combined with surveys and descriptive statistics, and data was analyzed through qualitative means of thematic, descriptive, and inductive procedures that relied on simultaneous analysis and category construction. Key findings were as follows: First, respondents found the subtitled videos to be highly satisfactory and fairly accurate. Second, respondents reported greater content understanding as the main advance and less emphasis on improving listening ability as the primary disadvantage. Third, the use of English instead of Korean subtitles or subtitling only certain sections of the video in Korean were the main suggestions for the future. Specific responses from the student interviews and future implications are discussed.

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arab World English Journal ◽  
Sureepong Phothongsunan

To allude to the ‘native speaker’ concept and investigate the native speaker effects, this research looks into the perceptions of 25 Thai EFL university students towards native English speaking teachers. How native English speaking teachers influence the participants’ learning behaviours and motivation to learn English are also perceptually reported. Two research instruments, the survey questionnaire and the semi-structured interview, are employed for this study. The findings indicate overall positive perceptions towards native English speaking teachers, pointing that their classes are mostly fun, interactive and motivating. The flexible and interactive teaching methods and styles used by native English speaking teachers are found to be most favoured, followed by their approachable personality traits and the students’ vast opportunity to practice oral and written English. Most participants, if given an option to choose a teacher, have a salient preference to study with native English speaking teachers in which case neither teachers’ age nor gender matters. There seems to be a strong relationship between studying with native English speaking teachers and the participants’ learning behaviours and motivation to learn English.


2018 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 137-147
Author(s):  
Kurniawati Kurniawati ◽  
Dini Rizki

This paper discusses possible advantages of having Non-Native English-Speaking Teachers (NNESTs) to teach English as a Foreign-Language (EFL) especially in Asian countries when they are often regarded as inferior to their Native English-Speaking Teachers (NESTs) counterparts. A native speaker fallacy has emphasized that NESTs are better teachers of EFL and have put NNESTs at a disadvantage. Actually, NNESTs possess advantages that can make them better teachers for teaching English in an EFL/ESL setting connected with their own EFL learning experiences and with sharing the same first language and cultural background with their students. While considered to have lower English language proficiency and lower self-confidence compared to NESTs, NNESTs who have made the effort to become quality teachers can position themselves as ideal English teachers in their own environment.


Languages ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 106
Author(s):  
Gillian Wigglesworth ◽  
Melanie Wilkinson ◽  
Yalmay Yunupingu ◽  
Robyn Beecham ◽  
Jake Stockley

Phonological awareness is a skill which is crucial in learning to read. In this paper, we report on the challenges encountered while developing a digital application (app) for teaching phonological awareness and early literacy skills in Dhuwaya. Dhuwaya is a Yolŋu language variety spoken in Yirrkala and surrounding areas in East Arnhem Land. Dhuwaya is the first language of the children who attend a bilingual school in which Dhuwaya and English are the languages of instruction. Dhuwaya and English have different phonemic inventories and different alphabets. The Dhuwaya alphabet is based on Roman alphabet symbols and has 31 graphemes (compared to 26 in English). The app was designed to teach children how to segment and blend syllables and phonemes and to identify common words as well as suffixes used in the language. However, the development was not straightforward, and the impact of the linguistic, cultural and educational challenges could not have been predicted. Amongst these was the inherent variation in the language, including glottal stops, the pronunciation of stops, the focus on syllables as a decoding strategy for literacy development and challenges of finding one-syllable words such as those initially used with English-speaking children. Another challenge was identifying culturally appropriate images which the children could relate to and which were not copyrighted. In this paper, we discuss these plus a range of other issues that emerged, identifying how these problems were addressed and resolved by the interdisciplinary and intercultural team.


2018 ◽  
Vol 42 (6) ◽  
pp. 414-421 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jiasheng D Guo ◽  
William F Vann ◽  
Jessica Y Lee ◽  
Michael W Roberts

Objective: There is a gap in the literature regarding optimal methods for the dental team to help address the childhood obesity epidemic; accordingly, this investigation sought to identify preferred communication approaches the dental team can rely upon to initiate dialogue with caregivers regarding the weight of their children. Study Design: A structured interview guide containing seven potential Healthy Weight Counseling (HWC) approaches and eight follow up questions was developed, pilot-tested, revised and utilized as a structured interview guide. Interviews were conducted at the Children's Clinic at the School of Dentistry at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC-CH) with 50 participants who are English-speaking caregivers of children ages 4–12. Results: Ninety-four percent of the participants were receptive to HWC in the dental setting. Caregivers indicated varying levels of acceptance for the seven HWC-approaches based on specific word choices in each approach. Sixty percent preferred HWC to be delivered with the child not present while 34% preferred the child's presence and 6% had no preference. Conclusions: Caregivers were open to weight-related conversations in the dental setting but to be well received, the dental team must choose their approach carefully and establish the proper doctor/patient relationship prior to HWC delivery. An individualized HWC-approach tailored to the specific needs of each family is indicated.


2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arab World English Journal ◽  
Susilo Susilo ◽  
Bibit Suhatmady ◽  
Dyah Sunggingwati ◽  
Hany Farisa ◽  
...  

The study aims at investigating the effect of second language (L2) exposure environment on NNESTs’ teaching skills and beliefs about EFL learning beyond the classroom. This is a survey for non-native English speaking teachers (NNESTs) of Indonesian Senior High Schools ( or in Indonesian terms ‘SMA’) from different L2 environments, namely: 1) urban-region exposure environment schools (n=40), and 2) rural-region exposure environment schools (n=40). There were two instruments used in the present study, i.e. 1) observation scaling checklist, and 2) questionnaire. The observation scaling checklist was used for assessing the respondents’ performance when they were teaching in class. Meanwhile, the questionnaire using a four-point Likert scale was used to elicit data. The researchers used a series of independent t-test to analyze the data. The result reveals that: 1) there is a significant difference between teaching skills of NNESTs from the urban region schools and those of NNESTs from rural region schools, t (78)= 19.499, p=0.000; and 2) there is a significant difference between beliefs about English as a foreign language (EFL learning beyond the classroom of the NNESTs from urban region schools and those of NNESTs from rural region schools, t (78)= - 4.925, p=0.000


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ronald Maraden Silalahi

<p>In the last decade, the development of information technology confirms English as a Lingua Franca used by native English speakers and nonnative English speakers. English in a global context has triggered the emergence of new English variants, resulting from the assimilation of English into a local language known as World Englishes. On the other hand, Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEAFL) in Indonesia is still oriented towards the ideology of nativespeakerism which believes that TEAFL should be done by Native English-Speaking Teachers (NEST) because they are believed to have better linguistic competence and contextual understanding than Nonnative English-Speaking Teachers (NNEST). This article is directed to determine the perceptions of English teachers in Indonesia regarding the world Englishes phenomenon. This research is qualitative research with 20 informants consisting of 10 Nonnative English-Speaking Teachers and 10 Native English-Speaking Teachers. Four Focus Group Discussions (FGDs), each consisting of 5 informants, will be conducted to gather as much information as possible related to teachers’ perceptions. This research is expected to provide an overview of foreign language teaching in Indonesia. The results showed that nativespeakerism has a strong correlation with the world Englishes phenomenon. In the Indonesian context, this is shaped by the stigma that forms in society. This research is expected to enrich teaching studies, specifically in teaching foreign languages.</p>


2021 ◽  
pp. 1-35
Author(s):  
Haneen Saad Al Muabdi

Motivation is one of the crucial aspects of second language acquisition. Students’ motivation can be influenced by their teachers. The present study aims to investigate the impact of the two types of teachers on EFL learners’ motivations to learn English. These are NESTs (Native English-speaking teachers) and NNESTs (native English-speaking teachers). Hence, it examines learners’ attitudes and perceptions towards the two types of teachers. This study employed a mixed method by distributing a questionnaire contains quantitative and qualitative tools. It consists of twenty items of Likert scales and two open-ended questions. The present study subjects are 31 female students at King Abdulaziz University in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The results of the study demonstrate that learners have a positive attitude toward NESTs and NNESTs. Despite that, the tendency to learn with NNESTs is higher than NESTs. The findings also show that both types of teachers motivate students to learn English. Moreover, it suggests that the methodology and teachers’ personalities are more important than the teachers’ nativeness.


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