Impact of Peer Correction on Reducing English Language Students' Mistakes in Their Written Essays in PAUC and Learners' Attitudes towards This Technique

2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (11) ◽  
pp. 2068
Author(s):  
Mahmoud J. Itmeizeh
Keyword(s):  
English Language ◽  
Significant Progress ◽  
Careful Monitoring ◽  
Positive Attitudes ◽  
Correction Technique ◽  
English Major ◽  
Language Students

This study aims at investigating effectiveness of peer correction on students' progress in their written essays at PAUC. It also aims to investigate learners’ attitudes towards peer correction technique. Twenty sophomore English major students aged 19-21 years, who are taking Writing II course with the researcher, were selected to be the participants of this study. To achieve the aims of the study, the researcher used three tools: a questionnaire, a pretest-posttest and students' portfolios. The students had to correct and evaluate the essays, and respond to them during the lectures that each lasted for about 90 minutes. Results of the study showed that students have positive attitudes towards peer-correction and that most of the students were either interested or enjoyed this technique. Scores of the students in pretest-posttest showed significant progress in students' abilities in writing essays as they found more mistakes by the end of the semester. Comparison between essay number one and essay number eight showed a plummeting percentage of mistakes. It is recommended that peer correction should be applied in a modest and proper way, with the teacher’s careful monitoring.

scholarly journals Investigating Students’ and Staff Members’ Attitudes Toward the Efficiency of the Language Skills Modules Offered During the Foundation Year

2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (6) ◽  
pp. 24
Author(s):  
Abdulmohsen A. Dashti
Keyword(s):  
English Language ◽  
Basic Education ◽  
Language Skills ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
English Department ◽  
Staff Members ◽  
College Of Basic Education ◽  
Positive Attitudes ◽  
English Major ◽  
English Language Teachers

In the scope of teaching English as a foreign language, and more specifically teaching speaking, reading, and writing, this study investigated the attitudes English language teachers-to-be have towards the three language skills modules, namely, Conversation, Reading, and Basic writing, offered by the College of Basic Education (hereafter CBE) in Kuwait. It also investigated the concerns of staff members at the English department in CBE with regards to the matter. The study utilized two questionnaires, one distributed to the students’ population, i.e., English major students (the sample received was (N 385), and the other one distributed to all staff members in the English department in CBE (N 27). In addition, 20 students were randomly selected and interviewed to verify the questionnaires’ results. The data, then, were analysed both quantitatively and qualitatively. Percentages, means and standard deviations were calculated together with t test and ANOVA. Results showed that even though most students and staff members showed positive attitudes towards most of the questionnaires’ items, others were concerned about a few items.

scholarly journals The Sociolinguistic Significance of the Attitudes towards Code-Switching in Saudi Arabia Academia

2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 79
Author(s):  
Abdulfattah Omar ◽  
Mohammed Ilyas
Keyword(s):  
Saudi Arabia ◽  
English Language ◽  
Language Change ◽  
Code Switching ◽  
World Language ◽  
Positive Attitudes ◽  
Analysis Technique ◽  
Close Relationship ◽  
English Major ◽  
Arabic And English

Code-switching between Arabic and English marks a significant linguistic change in the history and use of Arabic in Saudi Arabia. Any kind of language change, which is an inevitable process in almost every world language, has always been resisted in Saudi Arabia mostly due to a national identity and religious factors. The current study investigated the attitude of the Saudi academia comprising English language instructors and English major students towards code-switching between Arabic and English. The study examined the perceptions of the academia towards the use of varying languages and the attitude that resulted from a perception. A sample size of 10 instructors and 40 students from four universities in the Riyadh region of Saudi Arabia was taken for the purpose of carrying out this qualitative study. Focus Group and interview methods were used to collect data and a content analysis technique was adopted to analyze their transcripts. Findings and Results indicated that there was a close relationship between education and age on one side and the acceptability of code-switching on the other. Positive attitudes towards code-switching were found among the younger participants in their tertiary level of education. The results also revealed that such an attitude affected learners' academic performance since the learners attitude towards each language contributed to their learning and knowledge acquisition.

scholarly journals Exploring Teachers’ and Learners’ Attitude towards Homework: The case of English versus Non-English-Major Teachers’ Homework Practices

2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (4) ◽  
pp. 32-49
Author(s):  
Fatemeh Khonamri ◽  
◽  
Martina Pavlikova ◽  
Keyword(s):  
English Language ◽  
Learning Opportunities ◽  
Classroom Context ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Efl Context ◽  
Positive Attitudes ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
English Major ◽  
Study Participants ◽  
Study Offer

Homework assignments provide a channel of communication between students and teachers especially in an EFL context where there is little exposure to English language out of the classroom context. Thus, exploring attitudes and homework features may provide teachers with useful information to know how to plan their homework assignments to improve students’ learning opportunities. This study aimed to explore both teachers’ and learners’ attitude towards homework; the difficulties faced by both teachers and learners with regard to homework as well as the assignment characteristics of English-major versus Non-English-major teachers. The study participants were 120 randomly selected adult male and female EFL learners and 81 EFL teachers. The data were collected through questionnaires and subsequent semi-structured interviews. SPSS 24 software was used to analyze the questionnaire data and interviews were recorded, transcribed, coded and categorized for further analysis. The results indicated that students had positive attitudes towards homework assignments. There was no significant difference between students’ attitude towards homework given by English Major (EM) and Non-English Major (NEM) teachers. The data showed that teachers do feel that homework is essential to students’ language development. Similarly, there was no significant difference among EM versus NEM teachers in their attitudes toward homework. The results revealed the following reasons for the difficulties that teachers and learners faced in assigning/doing homework assignments respectively. Those reasons varied from not learning the required concept, not knowing the instruction, not enjoying homework, not paying attention when homework assignments were presented, not understanding homework instruction, copying homework or cheating, the absence of related and meaningful tasks, parents’ lack of knowledge, lack of word power and grammar, to anxiety and stress of homework. The findings illustrated that there were some differences between EM and NEM teachers in terms of amount, skill area used, and degree of individualization in their homework assignments. The results of this study offer a number of pedagogical implications for teachers, curriculum developers, and institute managers.

Attitudes toward the use of TELL tools in English language learning among Vietnamese Tertiary English majors

2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (5) ◽  
pp. 581-596
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
Language Proficiency ◽  
English Language ◽  
English Language Learning ◽  
Guided Learning ◽  
Positive Attitudes ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
English Majors ◽  
Very High ◽  
Different Levels

Technology plays a crucial role in the self-guided learning of a second language in general and English in particular. Nevertheless, many students in different contexts still ignore the application of technology-enhanced language learning (TELL) tools in enhancing their foreign language proficiency. Therefore, this study is conducted to investigate the attitudes towards the use of TELL tools in English-language learning (ELL) among English majors at one university in Vietnam. To collect data, 197 English majors participated in finishing the questionnaire, and 20 students were invited to join the interviews. The findings are that the majority of students have positive attitudes towards the use of TELL tools and the frequency of using these tools is very high. In addition, the results also reveal that there is no significant difference in attitudes towards and frequency of using TELL tools in learning English in terms of the year of study. However, students of different levels of academic achievements have different attitudes towards using TELL tools and use TELL tools to learn English differently. Received 2nd May 2019; Revised 16th July 2019, Accepted 20th October 2019

The Language of New Terrorism: Differences in Psychological Dimensions of Communication in Dabiq and Inspire

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matteo Vergani ◽  
Ana-Maria Bliuc
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Study ◽  
English Language ◽  
Terrorist Attacks ◽  
Al Qaeda ◽  
Positive Attitudes ◽  
Terrorist Groups ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Psychological Dimensions ◽  
New Terrorism

We investigate differences in the psychological aspects underpinning Western mobilisation of two terrorist groups by analysing their English-language propaganda. Based on a computerized analysis of the language used in two English-language online magazines circulated by ISIS and al-Qaeda (i.e., Dabiq and Inspire), we found significant differences in their language - the ISIS’ language being higher in authoritarianism and its level of religiousness. In a follow-up experimental study, we found that being high in religiousness and authoritarianism predicts more positive attitudes towards the language used by ISIS, but not towards the language used by al-Qaeda. The results suggest that ISIS’ propaganda may be more effective in mobilising individuals who are more authoritarian and more focused on religion than that of al-Qaeda. These findings are consistent with the behaviour observed in recent homegrown terrorist attacks in the USA and Europe.

Measuring second language proficiency with EEG synchronization: how functional cortical networks and hemispheric involvement differ as a function of proficiency level in second language speakers

2009 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 77-106 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susanne Reiterer ◽  
Ernesto Pereda ◽  
Joydeep Bhattacharya
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Language Processing ◽  
English Language ◽  
Second Language Learners ◽  
Right Hemisphere ◽  
Brain Activation ◽  
Frequency Range ◽  
Second Language Processing ◽  
Language Students

This article examines the question of whether university-based high-level foreign language and linguistic training can influence brain activation and whether different L2 proficiency groups have different brain activation in terms of lateralization and hemispheric involvement. The traditional and prevailing theory of hemispheric involvement in bilingual language processing states that bilingual and second language processing is always at least in some form connected to the right hemisphere (RH), when compared to monolingual first language processing, the classical left-hemispheric language-processing domain. A widely held specification of this traditional theory claims that especially bilinguals or second language learners in their initial phases and/or bilinguals with poor fluency and less experience rely more on RH areas when processing their L2. We investigated this neurolinguistic hypothesis with differently proficient Austrian learners of English as a second language. Two groups of L2 speakers (all Austrian German native speakers), differing in their L2 (English) language performance, were recorded on electroencephalography (EEG) during the processing of spoken English language. A short comprehension interview followed each task. The `high proficiency group' consisted of English language students who were about to complete their master's degree for English language and linguistics, while the `low proficiency group' was composed of non-language students who had only school level performance and less training in English. The age of onset of L2 learning was kept constant: 9 years for both groups. To look for cooperative network activity in the brain, EEG coherence and synchronization measures were analysed for a high EEG frequency range (gamma band). Results showed the most significant group differences in synchronization patterns within the lower gamma frequency range, with more RH involvement (extensive right-hemisphere networks) for the low proficiency group, especially when processing their L2. The results can be interpreted in favour of RH theories of second language processing since, once again, we found evidence of more RH involvement in (late) second language learners with less experience and less training in the L2. The study shows that second language training (and resulting proficiency) and/or differences in ability or state of linguistic alertness can be made visible by brain imaging using newly developed EEG-synchronization techniques as a measure.

scholarly journals The Role of Learning Resource Centers at the Northern Border University in Increasing the Academic Achievement in English Language Courses

2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 139
Author(s):  
Yaser Mohammad Al Sawy
Keyword(s):  
Academic Achievement ◽  
English Language Learners ◽  
English Language ◽  
Strategic Resources ◽  
Northern Border ◽  
Language Courses ◽  
Language Students ◽  
Faculty Of Education ◽  
Constitutive Factor ◽  
The University

The study aims at understanding the relationship between the use of IT applications in the Learning Resources Centers (henceforth, LRCs) at the university and increasing the academic achievement of the English language students at the Faculty of Education and Literature at the Northern Border University? The researcher relied on the research methodology of the field study, which allowed him to collect the views of a random sample of the English language learners at the university to measure and analyze the effectiveness of the use of IT within the LRCs. The study showed that the IT within the LRCs is one of the most important strategic resources at the level of educational institutions and the main factor in the development of its sectors. There is an interest from the Northern Border University on upgrading and supporting the IT infrastructure, especially in education for it is the basis for community development. A high proportion of English Language students at the university are keen on using and applying many of the technological learning media within the LRCs as a constitutive factor in understanding mental processes such as visualization, thinking, learning and creativity which is the first step towards knowledge and innovation.

scholarly journals English as a Foreign Language (EFL) Learners’ Perceptions on the Effectiveness of the Internet to Enhance their Learning

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 25
Author(s):  
Ziad Abdulrahman Al-Muwallad
Keyword(s):  
Reading Comprehension ◽  
English Language ◽  
Vital Role ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
The Internet ◽  
King Saud University ◽  
Learning And Teaching ◽  
Positive Attitudes ◽  
Students Attitudes ◽  
Preparatory Year

This study attempted to investigate the vital role of the internet in enhancing the learning of reading. In addition, the study aimed to measure the students’ attitudes towards the internet and to identify to what extent the internet was employed in their reading classes. Moreover, the study aimed to explore the challenges that they encountered while using the internet in their learning of reading. In order to achieve these goals, the researcher used the descriptive analytical approach and used the questionnaire as the main data collection tool. The study sample comprised 50 Saudi EFL male students in the preparatory year at King Saud University in Saudi Arabia. The findings of the study showed that students perceived that the internet is important in the process of reading comprehension learning and teaching with positive attitudes towards the internet. Results showed that the top challenges of using of the internet for reading learning/teaching are lack of students’ knowledge to know what to read on the internet, the short time of the class, and the students’ lack of the skills and knowledge to use the internet for academic purposes. Furthermore, the results showed that the students mostly used the internet for playing games, social networking, and learning vocabulary. It is recommended that English language teachers should be encouraged to use the internet in their language classes as it is valuable for their students to enhance their reading comprehension skills.

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