scholarly journals The Effect of the Cognitive Research Trust Program for Development of Thinking Skills on the Achievement of the Jordanian English Language Learners

Author(s):  
Samer Radwan Ahmed Hmeadat

Aim: To investigate the effect of the CoRT(Cognitive Research Trust) program for the development of thinking skills on the achievement of the Jordanian English language learners. The length of the program did not exceed more than three months and a half, starting from the warming-up period in the first semester to the achievement test. Methods: The study sample consisted of (86) students from the seventh grade in Al Nahda Islamic Modern Private Schools, The First Directorate of Education in Zarqa District. The subjects were divided into four groups. Two experimental groups consisted of (34) male students who were taught two units in the curriculum (Aim High1) through the CoRT program. The other two control groups consisted of (34) male students who were taught the same content through the conventional strategy. Analysis of ANOVA was performed to test the statistical significance of the differences between the experimental group who was taught through the CoRT and the control group who was taught through the conventional method. Result: It revealed that there was a statistical significant difference at the level (α =0.05) in the mean scores between the experimental group and the control group in favor of the experimental group. Interestingly, the current study adopted the experimental design. Conclusion: There were statistically significant differences between the mean scores of the subjects of the experimental groups who studied through the CoRT as a new instructional model and the control group who studied through the conventional method in favor of the experimental groups.

2017 ◽  
Vol 40 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhou Wen ◽  
Deng Jun

AbstractThe present study investigated the effects of explicit metapragmatic instruction on foreign language learners’ performance of compliment responses (CRs). Eighty-two non-English major students participated in this study. They were randomly assigned to two groups, an experimental group that received explicit metapragmatic instruction on compliment responses and a control group that did not. A pretest-posttest research design was adopted. The data were collected through a written discourse completion task (WDCT) with six scenarios concerning the topics of appearance, performance, and personality. The results revealed that learners who received explicit instruction dramatically decreased their use of Accept strategy and increased Combination (CB) strategy at the macro level; more specifically, a decrease in Appreciation and an increase in Accept + Accept at the micro level. The learners of the control group made little progress in their performance. The study sheds light on pragmatics learning in an EFL setting and provides implications for pragmatics pedagogy.


2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (5) ◽  
pp. 37
Author(s):  
Khalid Mohammed Alwahibee

This study investigated the extent to which scaffolding techniques improve Saudi English-language students’ speaking abilities. The study’s main aims involved determining why most Saudi students do not want to participate in communication tasks and activities and identifying other ways to encourage teachers and students to be more active during speaking classes. A mixed-methods technique, a special rubric, and an attitude questionnaire to collect this study’s data were used. The participants included 50 students from Level 3 in the Department of English Language and Literature at the College of Languages and Translation at Al-Imam Mohammed Bin Saud Islamic University. The experiment lasted for 7 weeks. A teacher met with each group for 2 hours per week. The participants were divided into two groups and experimental and a control group of 25 students each. The experimental group used various scaffolding techniques in each session—which allowed the learners to use their existing knowledge, skills, and strategies in several contexts and for many purposes when speaking. The control group received standard speaking instruction, in which the teacher gave the students time to speak freely without intervention. An independent-sample t test for was used of the analysis. The posttest results showed that the experimental group’s speaking ability improved after the pretest. Moreover, the posttests’ overall results indicated that the experimental group outperformed the control group. This result emphasized the usefulness of using new techniques to teach speaking to nonnative speakers.


Author(s):  
María Villalobos-Buehner

This study measured changes in cultural awareness levels between two groups of US students in their third semester of a Spanish class. One group (experimental group) collaborated via Skype with a group of English language learners from a Colombian university and the other group (control group) did not. The experimental group met seven times during the semester to discuss a variety of cultural topics such as health care and gastronomy. The control group addressed the same topics by examining them among members of the same class. Both groups answered a pre and post self-awareness questionnaire. Mixed factorial analysis of variance (ANOVA) results showed significant differences between the two groups. There was no change in scores from pretest to posttest for the control group, but scores in the trained group increased significantly. Students from the treatment group show substantial gains in skills, knowledge, and awareness of themselves in their interactions with others in one semester.


2016 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 1101-1107 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mahmood Yenkimaleki ◽  
Vincent J. van Heuven

The present study investigates the effect of the explicit teaching of prosodic features on developing word recognition skills with interpreter trainees. Two groups of student interpreters were composed. All were native speakers of Farsi who studied English translation and interpreting at the BA level at the State University of Arak, Iran. Participants were categorized into two groups at random, but with equal division between genders (9 female and 9 male students in each group). No significant differences in English language skills (TOEFL scores) could be established between the groups. Participants took a pretest of word recognition skill before starting the program. The control group received exercises in listening comprehension, while the experimental group spent part of the time on theoretical explanation and practical exercises developing conscious knowledge of prosodic features of English, such as word stress. The total instruction time was the same for both groups, i.e. 8 hours. Students then took a posttest of word recognition skills. The results show that prosodic feature awareness training did yield a statistically significant improvement of word recognition skills. The result has pedagogical implications for researchers in the field of second language teaching, instructors, curriculum designers, conductors of interpreting programs for training future interpreters, material producers and all who are involved in language study and pedagogy.


2007 ◽  
Vol 30 (3) ◽  
pp. 185-195 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sylvia Linan-Thompson ◽  
Paul T. Cirino ◽  
Sharon Vaughn

Using an extant database, we examined three grade 1 criteria for identifying response to intervention (RTI) in English language learners (ELLs): (a) set benchmark criteria with a standard score above 95 (37th %ile) on both decoding and comprehension measures and a raw score of 40 or more correct words per minute (CWPM) on oral reading fluency; (b) discrepancy benchmark criteria, with performance on these measures at or above the mean of not-at-risk peers; and (c) discrepancy slope criteria, with growth during grade 1 on these measures at or above the mean of not-at-risk peers. The sample consisted of 81 students (41 intervention, 40 comparison) who were bilingual (Spanish/English) and were part of a supplemental reading instruction study during first grade. The three grade 1 criteria were evaluated in relation to a set benchmark criteria in grade 2. Results indicated that approximately 80% of the students did not meet any criteria in either year, but that the discrepancy slope criteria in grade 1 were most predictive of set benchmark criteria in grade 2. Recognizing that we applied highly stringent criteria, implications and issues are presented related to using RTI with ELLs to facilitate decision making about further intervention and referral for special education.


2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (9) ◽  
pp. 15
Author(s):  
Ahmet Yusuf ◽  
Filiz Yalçin Tilfarlioğlu

This experimental study is an attempt to bring a new perspective and a new teaching method CDIO (Conceiving, Designing, Implementing, and Operating) to the ELT field. The CDIO method was applied in the 11th grade in a private high school in Diyarbakir, Turkey. The students were subjected to a pretest before the treatment process and to a posttest after the process. The treatment procedures and materials were prepared according to the CDIO curriculum and standards. The treatment process lasted for fifteen weeks for the experimental group while the control group continued learning English without being exposed to the CDIO teaching method. Subsequently, the collected data was analyzed with the assistance of IBM SPSS Statistics 23.0 to see whether the CDIO methodology has effective results on the students’ performance or not. After the data was collected and analyzed, the results showed that the students performed better after learning English using CDIO in the rate of 14.45%, where the mean score of the pretest was 71.66 while the mean score of the posttest was 86.23. Moreover, the results exhibit that the participants’ fulfillment developed in grammar, vocabulary and reading comprehension skills. Accordingly, there is a great improvement in the students’ performance of the experimental group. Also, the outcomes show that the CDIO has played a big role in developing the students’ level and has shown a positive effect on learning English. Finally, it is expected from this research to open the door for schools and faculties of teaching English to adopt the CDIO approach and apply it in their programs.


Author(s):  
Samer R. Hmeadat

    The study sought to investigate the impact of limited and regulated code switching on the achievement of the Jordanian EFL learners. To achieve the aim of study, the use of code-switching was intended to be integrated within the code of conduct which made up the backbone of the class management.  The study sample consisted of (105) students from the eighth and ninth grades in Berein Secondary School, The Second Directorate of Education in Zarqa District. The subjects were divided into four groups; two experimental groups consisted of (51) male students who were taught through using code-switching. The other two control groups consisted of (52) male students who were taught the same content through the conventional strategy. Questionnaires were distributed into (100) male and female English teachers in different public and private schools to know their attitudes toward using code-switching in their daily lessons in EFL classrooms.  To achieve the goals of this study, the researcher chose both the quantitative design (achievement test) and the qualitative design (interviews and questionnaire) to conduct his study. Analysis of One-Way ANOVA was performed to test the statistical significance of the differences among groups. The results revealed that there was a statistical significant difference at the level (α =0.05) in the mean scores between the experimental groups and the control groups in favor of the experimental groups. The result showed that there were statistically significant differences between the mean scores of the subjects of the experimental groups who were taught through the code of conduct and using the code-switching.  


Author(s):  
Mohamad Ahmad Saleem Khasawneh

This study explored the effect of active learning on developing imagination skills among students with learning disabilities in English language in Irbid city, Jordan. The study used the experimental approach and was applied to a sample of 60 female and male students, who were chosen purposefully. The sample was divided into two groups, an experimental, which was taught using the active learning method, and a control group, which was taught according to the traditional method. The results revealed the existence of significant differences between the performance of the experimental group and the control group on the post-imagination test in favor of the experimental group. The findings also showed statistically significant differences between the scores of the two study groups on the post-imagination test due to the gender variable, and the difference was in favor of males. In light of the findings of the study, the researcher recommended preparing training programs on active learning and preparing a guide for teachers, which can be used to teach and learn reading, writing, and imagination skills in the basic stage.


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