scholarly journals Thinking Maps to Promote Critical Thinking through the Teaching of Literature in the ESL Context

2016 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 23 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ainon Omar ◽  
Intan Safinas Mohd. Ariff Albakri
Keyword(s):  
Critical Thinking ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
English Language ◽  
Ministry Of Education ◽  
Thinking Maps ◽  
Qualitative Research Study ◽  
Global Era ◽  
Response Strategies ◽  
Language Data ◽  
Field Notes

The Malaysian education system has emphasized on the importance of producing students as thinking individuals in order to survive in the global era today. The i-Think program which was introduced in schools consists of eight cognitive teaching tools known as thinking maps that teachers can use to mediate students’ thinking, learning, and promote metacognitive behaviours in their lessons. The purpose of this qualitative research study was to determine whether the teachers’ implementation of the Thinking maps promoted critical thinking during the teaching of Literature in the ESL classroom.  This case-study was conducted in a secondary school which was one of the pioneer schools selected by the Ministry of Education to implement the thinking maps in the teaching and learning of English language. Data were collected through observations, interviews and field notes. The findings revealed that the teachers were able to engage students to think critically through the use of the thinking maps during their literature lessons. The teachers also employed the Reader-Response strategies to complement the thinking maps in promoting critical thinking in the teaching of literature.

scholarly journals Corpora: From theoretical linguistics to language teaching

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
pp. 19
Author(s):  
Ikmi Nur Oktavianti
Keyword(s):  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
English Language ◽  
Teaching Practice ◽  
Language Teaching ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
English Language Teaching ◽  
Materials Development ◽  
Research And Teaching ◽  
English Usage ◽  
Language Data

Corpus has gained its popularity in linguistics over the past five decades, from the computerized storage of English language in Survey of English Usage in 1959 to the ongoing development of Corpus of Contemporary American English. Because of the huge size of actual language data compiled in corpora, many linguists and language teachers working with English language have benefited from them in linguistic research and teaching practice. Up to now, there are innumerable English online corpora recording data from various genres, modes, and regions as well as corpus tools to analyze self-compiled corpus. The massive development of corpora, however, has not been widely discussed among English language researchers and practitioners in Indonesia, let alone in English language teaching. Although linguistics and language teaching are two inseparable and firmly related fields, corpus as a concept and product of linguistics seems ignored or even avoided. This paper then aims to review the nature of corpus and how it is used to assist linguistic analysis. More importantly, this paper discusses another possible application of corpus, e.g., the use of corpus in teaching language. Considering the nature and the benefits of using corpora, it is then important to promote the use of corpus to enhance English language teaching and learning, either directly in the classrooms or indirectly in materials development.

scholarly journals Measuring the Frequency of Critical Thinking in a Second Language Academic Discussion Course

2021 ◽  
pp. 237-268
Author(s):  
Samuel Reid ◽  
◽  
Travis West ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Critical Thinking ◽  
English Language ◽  
Tertiary Education ◽  
Qualitative Difference ◽  
Ministry Of Education ◽  
Spoken Discourse ◽  
Language Courses ◽  
Categorization System ◽  
Objective Reasoning

As technology and globalization increase the chances of exposure to information, learners’ Critical Thinking (CT) and researchers’ ability to measure it will play an important role in developing modern educational experiences. This is particularly the case for English language learners who wish to enter tertiary education in English-speaking countries (Liaw, 2007; Wagner, 2010). Emphasis on such skills is increasingly a facet of language education in Japanese contexts. This can be seen in changes implemented by the Japan Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology which have encouraged a focus on CT in English language courses during recent years (MEXT, 2011). However, it can be difficult for second language (L2) learners to exhibit CT in an L2 (Bali, 2015; Luk & Lin, 2015). Measuring CT in learner output has also proven difficult, which can be an obstacle to further integrating CT in L2 pedagogy. Studies exploring ways of measuring CT in an L2 have largely focused on written work (e.g., Davidson & Dunham, 1997; Floyd, 2011; Stapleton, 2001), while analysis of CT in spoken L2 discourse has seen little attention. As a result, little advice can be found on practical steps for teachers to help learners display CT when speaking in an L2. This chapter describes a study of arguments made during group discussions in an L2 English Discussion course at a Japanese university. A corpus of spontaneous spoken discourse recorded during class was analyzed to measure the frequency of CT displayed in an academic setting where CT was not an explicit focus of the course. Arguments in the corpus were identified using Ramage et al.’s (2016) model of argument criteria, and a categorization system was developed in which discourse was classified as displaying either objective reasoning or subjective reasoning. Participants were found to have used approximately 72% objective and 28% subjective reasoning. However, further analysis revealed an important qualitative difference in arguments identified as incorporating objective reasoning. The results of the study suggest two areas that may help teachers promote an increase in student usage of CT: the importance of question prompts in orienting learners towards CT in their answers, and a specific focus on the role of pronoun usage in taking a subjective or objective stance.

scholarly journals Measuring teachers’ readiness to use technology

2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 7-13
Author(s):  
Jecky - Misieng ◽  
Joseph Ramanair ◽  
Soubakeavathi Rethinasamy
Keyword(s):  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
English Language ◽  
Higher Learning ◽  
Ministry Of Education ◽  
Technology In Teaching ◽  
Language Classroom ◽  
Learning Institutions ◽  
Traditional Class ◽  
Enhance Student Learning ◽  
Better Than

Accepted as an integral part of education, technology in teaching and learning can enhance practice not only in the traditional class but also beyond it. Schooling can now be extended to learning beyond the four enclosed walls of the classroom into the almost limitless possibility of education across time and space accessible via the domain of cyber technology. The significant contribution of technology to education has prompted educational bodies like the Malaysian Ministry of Education to prominently point out that online learning becomes the main pedagogical approach in higher learning institutions in the nation’s educational blueprint. The powerful potential of technology however, can only be realised through informed and purposeful use of it by teachers. Integrating technology in the language classroom requires that teachers not only have knowledge about the Technology but interplay between three components of knowledge – Technology, Pedagogy, and Content Knowledge (TPACK) which determines the essential qualities of teacher knowledge that are required when teachers employ technology in their teaching. The main study is therefore designed to measure teachers’ readiness to use technology in teaching English language in tertiary level classrooms to enhance student learning. To serve this purpose, a pilot study was carried out on 20 English language instructors to evaluate the reliability and the validity of a questionnaire that was adapted to gauge instructors’ readiness in carrying out technology-mediated classrooms at a public university in Malaysia. Correlations among items in the current study reveals lower coefficients compared to a previous study on the same instrument probably due to the smaller sample size in the current study but the correlationships are mostly positive which still suggests convergence validity. The internal consistency of the items was mostly better than two previous similar studies. Five items that seemed to be misbehaving in their respective measures were chosen based on their inter-item correlation and the item-total statistics and scrutinized via cognitive interviews with selected respondents to gain insights into the items but the results of the interviews revealed that the items are functioning as intended.

English-language learners and the Progressive Achievement Test: Mathematics

2013 ◽  
pp. 51-59
Author(s):  
Susan Tung ◽  
Margaret Kitchen
Keyword(s):  
English Language Learners ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
English Language ◽  
Native English Speakers ◽  
Achievement Test ◽  
National Standards ◽  
Assessment Tools ◽  
Current Evidence ◽  
Ministry Of Education

The Progressive Achievement Test of Mathematics (PAT: Mathematics) provides norm-referenced information about students’ level of achievement in the skills and understanding of mathematics. This knowledge guides teachers’ decisions about mathematics teaching programmes and aligns with the current evidence-based approach to teaching and learning. In practice, these assessment tools are also used to inform overall teacher judgements (OTJs) when reporting to parents and to the Ministry of Education against National Standards in numeracy. This article sets PAT: Mathematics within the context of literature on the assessment of English-language learners and reports on one teacher’s exploration of an English-language learner’s experience in sitting PAT: Mathematics. The findings indicate that teachers and schools should be cautious about interpreting results when English-language learners sit assessments developed for native English speakers.

The Negative Effects of Some Non – Governmental Organizations (NGOs) on EFL Teaching and Learning in Sudan

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
Abdulghani Eissa Tour Mohammed ◽  
Khalid Abdurrahman Jabir Othman ◽  
Mohammed Abdalla Abdalgane Mohammed
Keyword(s):  
Data Collection ◽  
Education System ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
English Language ◽  
Ministry Of Education ◽  
Qualified Teachers ◽  
Governmental Organizations ◽  
Non Governmental Organizations ◽  
Efl Teachers ◽  
Learning English

The current study endeavours to investigate the negative impact created due to the existence of the international non-governmental organizations (NGOs) on the overall educational system in Sudan. It also attempts to determine how the great advantages and the big gains inspire EFL teachers to prefer working for these organizations rather than working for ministry of education, and how this situation generally influenced teaching and learning English. Under the umbrella of the humanitarian crises missions, Sudan has witnessed a rush of numerous and funded NGOs during the last two decades, particularly at some high conflict zones such as the Blue Nile, South Kordofan and Darfur states. Most of these organizations adopt English language as a means of communication. They also offer better opportunities to their employees compared to other local institutions including the ministry of education. These gains have motivated many English language professionals including EFL teachers to implement job hunting strategies while attempting to work for these NGOs. In so doing, they are willing and able to work as facilitators, administrators, security officers, secretaries and part-time employees with either long-term or short-term contracts. Among the luckiest ones who successfully managed to get better job opportunities are the EFL teachers. It seems as if working for such internationally recognized and well-paid organizations is better than working for ministry of education for the majority of teachers. Although working for these NGOs creates a good opportunity for the qualified teachers to improve their overall living standard and enables them to provide better life, healthcare system as well as sustainable better education to their families. However, the ministry of education’s loss of the qualified teachers has negatively impact the overall education system in the country. Shortages of English teachers have highly been reported during the last decade, particularly at the public sector. The data collection for the current study goes through designing and distributing a questionnaire to a sample of EFL teachers, students, and some interested parties in Al - Fashir area. The data collection process as well as its analysis resulted into the following:The existence of the international NGOs in Sudan has motivated the qualified EFL teachers to quit their jobs in ministry of education and work for such organizations.Their existence has indirectly and negatively been influencing the education system in Sudan, particularly the process of teaching and learning English language as a school subject.

scholarly journals Investigating the use of a digital library in an inquiry-based undergraduate geology course

2007 ◽  
Vol 33 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Xornam S. Apedoe
Keyword(s):  
Digital Library ◽  
Digital Libraries ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Classroom Practices ◽  
Research Study ◽  
Classroom Observations ◽  
Qualitative Research Study ◽  
Search Mechanism ◽  
Premier Cycle ◽  
Field Notes

This paper reports the findings of a qualitative research study designed to investigate the opportunities and obstacles presented by a digital library for supporting teaching and learning in an inquiry-based undergraduate geology course. Data for this study included classroom observations and field-notes of classroom practices, questionnaires, and audiotapes and transcripts of interviews conducted with student and instructor participants. The findings suggest that although both the instructor and students recognized a number of opportunities presented by the digital library to support teaching and learning (e.g., provides access to various types of data), they encountered a number of obstacles (e.g., difficulty with the search mechanism) that discouraged them from taking advantage of the resources available. Recommendations are presented for (a) developers of digital libraries, and (b) instructors wishing to integrate use of a digital library for supporting their teaching and student learning in an inquiry-based course. Le présent article rend compte des conclusions d’une étude de recherche qualitative élaborée afin d’examiner les occasions et les obstacles que présente une bibliothèque numérique appuyant l’enseignement et l’apprentissage dans le cadre d’un cours de géologie de premier cycle axé sur la recherche. Les données pour cette étude comprenaient les observations effectuées en salle de classe et les notes d’excursion des pratiques en salle de classe, les questionnaires, les bandes audio ainsi que les transcriptions des entrevues menées auprès des étudiants et de l’instructeur participant. Les conclusions laissent entendre que bien que l’instructeur et les étudiants reconnaissent un certain nombre d’occasions que présente la bibliothèque numérique en appui à l’enseignement et à l’apprentissage (p. ex. accès à divers types de données), ils ont dû surmonter un certain nombre d’obstacles (p. ex. difficulté avec les mécanismes de recherche) qui les ont découragés de profiter des ressources disponibles. Des recommandations sont présentées pour les a) développeurs de bibliothèques numériques et b) les instructeurs qui veulent intégrer l’utilisation d’une bibliothèque numérique afin d’appuyer leur enseignement et l’apprentissage de leurs étudiants dans le cadre d’un cours axé sur la recherche.

scholarly journals Incorporating Controversial Issues in Critical Thinking Lesson: A Case Study of EFL Classroom

2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (9) ◽  
pp. 48
Author(s):  
Mannujan Mohini Sudha
Keyword(s):  
Critical Thinking ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Educational System ◽  
Cognitive Skills ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
English Language ◽  
Lesson Plan ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Controversial Issues

This case study investigated the issue of incorporating controversial topics in EFL classroom of pre-university students and their attitude toward such controversial topics namely, E-stalking in terms of their own cultural background. The objective of the study was to bring a new dimension in language teaching and learning in Bangladeshi educational system by introducing controversial issues in critical thinking lesson plan. Bangladeshi educational system is solely dependent on the grammar-translation method where including the controversial issue in a language classroom is a completely new experiment for both the teacher and learners. BRAC Institute of Language (BIL) of BRAC University is trying to come out from this traditional teacher oriented methods by implementing new modern approaches and techniques for language learning. This case study was a part of teaching critical thinking, aiming to improve their English language learning. The rationale that the study adopts for introducing controversial topics in EFL curricula is based on the assumption that it helps learners in developing their linguistic and cognitive skills, social awareness, emotional well-being and critical thinking that are compatible with the new approaches and methods of teaching EFL. The present study analyzed data that was collected from the students of pre-university (pre-intermediate level) program and found that majority of the students welcomed the topic E-stalking and showed their positive attitude throughout the lesson. This paper also revealed the importance and possible challenges of incorporating controversial topics in EFL classroom. This study ended with some recommendations made by the researcher’s own observation while conducting the lesson.

scholarly journals The Integration of Soft Skills in English Language Teaching and Learning Through AL-ASPEM

2021 ◽  
Vol 58 (1) ◽  
pp. 1527-1534
Author(s):  
Patcharobon Jariyathitinant
Keyword(s):  
Critical Thinking ◽  
Language Proficiency ◽  
21St Century ◽  
Learning Process ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
English Language ◽  
Soft Skills ◽  
Language Teaching ◽  
English Language Teaching ◽  
High Level

The purposes of this research were to develop the undergraduate students’ in three domains; the results of Language proficiency mainly in speaking and listening on project presentation, students’ competency (soft skills) in the 21st century, and the satisfaction on Teaching and Learning by AL-ASPEM. The AL-ASPEM is the integrated teaching process and developed under the Active learning (AL) and Problem-based learning (ASPEM) theories and principles. It focuses to develop students’ language proficiency and the process of critical thinking during students’ handling their project presentation. AL-ASPEM was implemented as English language teaching and learning with 94 students in University of Phayao, Thailand who registered in the 1st semester of 2020 for the 2 courses; English for specific purposes (ESP n=43) and English for communication (Eng.-Com n=51). Not only the English language proficiency especially in speaking and listening skills were developed and the soft skills (4CsMIT) refers 4Cs : critical thinking and problem-solving, creativity, communication and collaboration; in addition, MIT stands for media innovation and technology literacy could be enhanced. Students’ language proficiency was continually evaluated and graded by the 4 times of students’ project presentation rubric scores as learning process through AL-ASPEM, and the quality of the products. While the 51.16% from ESP students’ language proficiency was highest level and 48.83% was high level, the project quality was 100% excellent level. Otherwise, the 51 Eng.-Com students 78.43% was in highest level, 23.5% was in High level, and 1.9% was in moderate level of the learning process. But, the products quality showed that 50% was in the excellent level, and 50% was in good level. Moreover, the correlation of students’ competency (4CsMIT) in both the 21st century competency analysis and the developed critical thinking processes through AL-ASPEM found that in the high level in both groups of students; so that, ESP and Eng.-Com class had a positive correlated performance score. It tended to be significantly higher at the .01 level. Finally, for the satisfaction on teaching and learning by AL-ASPEM was assessed under the unit contents, class activities, teaching aids, students project, and students’ social skills. The results showed that all students form both ESP and Eng.-Com satisfied in high level. It tended to be significantly higher at the .01 level.

scholarly journals Unburdening the Pedagogy of the Oppressed: A Case Study of ELT Classrooms at University Level in South Punjab

sjesr ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 223-232
Author(s):  
Dr. Sarwat Jabeen ◽  
Abdul Rashid ◽  
Dr. Samia Naz
Keyword(s):  
Critical Thinking ◽  
Learning Process ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
English Language ◽  
English Language Teaching ◽  
Pedagogy Of The Oppressed ◽  
University Level ◽  
Teaching Learning ◽  
The University

Recently, the concept of Critical thinking got much significance in the teaching and learning process. Thinking creatively and critically in the English language beckons our representation in different domains of development as well. The present study is aimed to investigate the on-going teaching-learning process of English Language Teaching at University Level in South Punjab from the perspective of critical thinking. The theoretical insights have been taken from Freire’s Banking concept of education in his seminal work, Pedagogy of the Oppressed (2018). The findings of the study reveal that our ELT classrooms are lacking the creativity and critical thinking at large. Further in our classrooms, the Banking Model of teaching is being practiced where a student remains passive and the teacher is considered as the ultimate source of knowledge. It points out that our teaching and learning process is moving on some faulty lines which need revisions and amendments. It is suggested that the Problem Posing Model of teaching and learning may be adopted in our ELT Classrooms so that our graduates at the university level may think critically and independently.

scholarly journals English language assessment in Malaysia: Teachers’ practices in test preparation

2013 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Looi Chin Ch'ng
Keyword(s):  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
English Language ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
English Language Teaching ◽  
Classroom Teaching ◽  
Assessment Practices ◽  
Ministry Of Education ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Assessment Guidelines ◽  
English Language Teachers

In the context of English language teaching, many studies that claimed to investigate teachers’ assessment practices were actually exploring their perceptions and belief with little reference to what they were practising in schools. The need to address such a limitation has prompted this study to examine the current formal assessment practices of English language teachers in lower secondary schools. Specifically, this paper reports how the teachers prepare the formal assessments. Extensive structured interviews were conducted with 72 teachers from 24 schools in Kuching division, Sarawak. Relevant documents such as test papers and assessment guidelines were also collected for further analysis. The findings from this study revealed that a majority of the teachers conducted formal assessments mainly due to the requirements of the school and ministry while following pre-determined steps in preparing a test. Furthermore, the findings also revealed teachers’ reliance on commercial reference books in constructing exam questions and sample answers. The outcome of the study provides an insight on the nature of English language teachers’ assessment practices in relation to the classroom teaching and learning at the secondary level.This could help inform the Ministry of Education in providing necessary support for the teachers particularly assessment practices in ESL context as well as in formulating a better assessment policy for schools.

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