scholarly journals PERCEPTIONS OF EFL LEARNERS REGARDING EFFECTIVENESS OF TWITTER IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNING PROFICIENCY AT UNIVERSITY LEVEL

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 1355-1365
Author(s):  
Irfan Ullah Khan ◽  
Mati Ullah ◽  
Khurshed Iqbal ◽  
Mahraban Alam ◽  
Iftikhar Ahmad
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Language Proficiency ◽  
English Language ◽  
English Language Learning ◽  
Daily Routine ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
Online Social Media ◽  
University Level ◽  
The University

Purpose of the study: Social media and online social media sources play a vital role in our daily routine life. This study's main purpose was to highlight the role of Twitter in English language learning proficiency development at the university level. Methodology: In the study, the researcher analyzed the perception of EFL learners regarding the effectiveness of Twitter in English language learning proficiency at the university level by taking data from sampled respondents through a self-developed questionnaire on a 5-Points Likert scale. John Curry's (1984) sample size rule of thumb, convenient sampling technique, validity, and reliability of the research instrument were ensured in the study. Main Findings: The key findings of the current study revealed that in social media, Twitter has a high positive role in promoting, polishing, and developing English Language learning by using computers, laptops, or smartphones for the teaching-learning process in this regard. The study's main findings indicated that Twitter is very helpful to facilitate teachers and learners regarding the development of the English language as a second language. Applications of this study: The current study may be highly significant and effective for students, parents, teachers, the public, policymakers, and the government to apply it for developing language proficiency via the practical use of Twitter. Novelty/Originality of this study: The study will be a quite novel and original way of promoting and developing language proficiency by using media resources, especially Twitter, to attain the desired objectives, i.e., developing language proficiency via Twitter.

Tertiary English-majored Students’ Perceptions toward the Role of Pronunciation in English Language Learning and their Practicing Strategies

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 264-279
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
English Language ◽  
Vital Role ◽  
English Language Learning ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
The University

Accurate pronunciation has a vital role in English language learning as it can help learners to avoid misunderstanding in communication. However, EFL learners in many contexts, especially at the University of Phan Thiet, still encounter many difficulties in pronouncing English correctly. Therefore, this study endeavors to explore English-majored students’ perceptions towards the role of pronunciation in English language learning and examine their pronunciation practicing strategies (PPS). It involved 155 English-majored students at the University of Phan Thiet who answered closed-ended questionnaires and 18 English-majored students who participated in semi-structured interviews. The findings revealed that students strongly believed in the important role of pronunciation in English language learning; however, they sometimes employed PPS for their pronunciation improvement. Furthermore, the results showed that participants tended to use naturalistic practicing strategies and formal practicing strategies with sounds, but they overlooked strategies such as asking for help and cooperating with peers. Such findings could contribute further to the understanding of how students perceive the role of pronunciation and their PPS use in the research’s context and other similar ones. Received 10th June 2019; Revised 12th March 2020; Accepted 12th April 2020

scholarly journals Establishing Learning Resource Center in the Department of Languages and Translation at the University of Tabuk

2021 ◽  
pp. 8-14
Author(s):  
Dr. Abdulrahman Alfahadi
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
Language Proficiency ◽  
English Language ◽  
Language Skills ◽  
Target Language ◽  
English Language Learning ◽  
Learning Resource ◽  
Resource Center ◽  
Frequent Use ◽  
The University

Language proficiency is best raised through active and frequent use. It is important to provide students with maximum English exposure as well as meaningful and purposeful activities through which they can learn and apply the target language. A rich English language learning environment can be created by making full use of the time and resources both inside and outside the classroom. Based on previous studies and experiences of peer universities, developing learning resource center has become widespread in many universities, colleges, and schools. Accordingly, the current project attempts to develop a learning resource center for the Languages and Translation Department at the University of Tabuk. The project attempts to create a convenient place for the students of Tabuk University to facilitate and develop their language skills through resources and technologies. To achieve this objective of this project, the researcher has designed two questionnaires for the teachers and the students to collect the attitudes toward developing a learning resource center for the Department of Languages and Translation at the University of Tabuk.

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 Effect of Using Flipped Classroom Model to Improve Iraqi EFL Learners’ Pronunciation in English at University Level

2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (40) ◽  
pp. 631-654
Author(s):  
Khaldoon Waleed Husam Al-Mofti
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
Flipped Classroom ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
English Pronunciation ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Quasi Experimental ◽  
University Level ◽  
The University ◽  
And Control ◽  
Experimental Group

For Iraqi EFL learners who are studying English pronunciation in a traditional instruction method often requires more effort and hard work. Thus, using new methods of teaching such as the flipped classroom model (FCM) is necessary to facilitate learning and improve performance. Hence, this study reports on explanatory research that investigates the effect of using the FCM in the teaching of English pronunciation for Iraqi EFL learners at the university level. The study implemented mixed research methods for data collection in a quasi-experimental analysis. Therefore, two tests were conducted on the assigned groups to measure the effect of the FCM before and after the intervention. Besides, a questionnaire and interviews were used on the experiment group students to collect data about their perceptions of the FCM. The study length (lasted)  was 15 weeks and is comprised of 60 students from the department of English, College of Arts at the University of Anbar. The students were divided into two groups, experimental, and control with 30 students in each group. The findings revealed that there was a significant statistical difference between the two groups in favour of the experimental group with better performance, indicating that the FCM has considerably assisted the Iraqi EFL learners to improve their English pronunciation. Moreover, the students expressed their positive feedback and satisfaction on the use of the FCM in their responses to the questionnaire and the interviews. As such, the current study recommends further research to study the effect of applying the FCM in areas and disciplines other than language learning.

Female Saudi International Students Daily Practices on Social Media in Australia

2017 ◽  
Vol 5 (12) ◽  
pp. 39-77 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hanan MOHAMMED ALSHEHAB
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
International Students ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Language Proficiency ◽  
Social Life ◽  
English Language ◽  
Human Life ◽  
Structured Interview ◽  
Digital Identity ◽  
English Language Acquisition

The effect of Social Media (SM) technology on human life in the 21St century cannot be denied; the use of SM platforms can be seen in various fields, such as education, medicine, politics, social life, communication methods, and daily life. The research aimed to investigate SM’s impact on Female Saudi International Students’ (FSIS) English language learning and creation of identities. This study utilized a qualitative method to obtain in-depth knowledge of FSIS’ practices on SM and the effects on their learning and identity. The semi-structured interview was used to collect the data from eight FSIS. Thematic analysis was used to analyze the data. Three main themes were generated: FSIS’ daily practices, FSIS’ digital identity, and FSIS’languages on SM. The findings show that FSIS is active on SM, having accounts on different SM platforms. They communicate with people from Saudi Arabia and of different nationalities. Also, the findings assert that FSIS has a strong digital identity on SM. Moreover, the findings emphasized that using SM helps some of the FSIS to improve their English language proficiency. They use SM as a learning tool for English language acquisition. The limitations and the implications of the study are stated in the Conclusion. For further research, suggestions are made to investigate more phenomena regarding Saudis’ using of SM.

An Empirical Study of Reading Habits and Interests of Saudi University EFL Learners

2015 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hussam Rajab ◽  
Alhasan Al-Sadi
Keyword(s):  
Language Proficiency ◽  
English Language ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Reading Habits ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
Academic Reading ◽  
Preparatory Year ◽  
The University ◽  
L1 And L2

<p align="left">This small-scale, quantitative study investigated the reading habits and interests of Saudi English-as-a-foreign-language (EFL) students at a university-level preparatory year program (PYP). The study aimed to identify certain habits and preferences of EFL learners with regard to various personal practices of the reading process in first language (L1) as well as in second language (L2). The study utilized a custom-designed, 10-item questionnaire on a Likert scale format in order to gain more insights into the manners with which students may or may not approach reading. The participants were newly-registered, male and female students (<em>n=330</em>) on the university PYP course with mixed English Language proficiency. Analysis of the data collected using descriptive statistical tools indicated several issues relating to the reading habits in general, including students’ lack of interest as well as lack of motivation towards ‘academic reading’ in both L1 and L2. However, the analysis revealed a greater level of engagement in reading in social media contexts. The study has several implications for future research and pedagogy in EFL reading as well as implications for the EFL classroom. </p>

The discursive (mis)representation of English language proficiency

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-28
Author(s):  
Agnes Bodis
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
International Students ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
International Education ◽  
Critical Discourse Analysis ◽  
Language Proficiency ◽  
English Language ◽  
English Language Proficiency ◽  
Media Representation ◽  
The Media

Abstract International education constitutes a key industry in Australia and international students represent a third of university students at Australian universities. This paper examines the media representation of international students in terms of their English language proficiency. The study applies Critical Discourse Analysis to the multimodal data of an episode of a current affairs TV program, Four Corners, and social media comments made to the episode. Using Social Actor Analysis, the study finds that the responsibility for declining standards at universities is assigned to international students through representations of their language use as problematic. This is supported by the visual representation of international students as different. By systematically mapping out the English-as-a-problem discourse, the paper finds that the media representation of language proficiency and language learning is simplistic and naïve and the social media discussion reinforces this. This further contributes to the discursive exclusion of international students.

scholarly journals English in an EFL Context: Teachers’ and Learners’ Motivations for English Language Learning

2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (9) ◽  
pp. 17
Author(s):  
Fatemeh Zarrabi
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
Public Discourse ◽  
English Language ◽  
English Language Learning ◽  
Highly Qualified ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
Life Chances ◽  
Efl Context ◽  
Efl Teachers

The present study explores the ways in which English is used in public discourse in Tehran-Iran and the motivations of Iranian - English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners and teachers towards English language learning. The paper begins with an overview of different places in which English is used in Iran, such as media, public signs, traffic signs, advertisements, products, people’s ordinary lives, and education. A cohort of 327 participants, including 168 Iranian EFL learners (male and female) and 159 experienced Iranian EFL teachers (male and female) responded to an English language motivation questionnaire. The results revealed that there is an active presence of English in Iran. In addition, the majority of Iranian EFL learners and teachers involved in the study regard English as an important part of their lives for many and various reasons such as being up-to-date, love, education, learning a new skill, being promoted, having a better and more highly qualified job and increased life chances.

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