scholarly journals Engaging EFL Learners in Online Peer Feedback on Writing: What Does It Tell Us?

10.28945/3980 ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 17 ◽  
pp. 039-061 ◽  
Author(s):  
Murad Abou Saeed ◽  
Kamila Ghazali ◽  
Sakina S. Suffian Sahuri ◽  
Mohammed Abdulrab
Keyword(s):  
Social Networks ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Peer Feedback ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Interactive Learning Environment ◽  
Current Case ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
English As Foreign Language ◽  
Writing Courses ◽  
The University

Aim/Purpose: The current case study aimed to investigate the engagement of nine English as foreign language (EFL) learners in online peer feedback on writing in a Facebook group. Specifically, the study focused on the issues of writing addressed in peer feedback and the learners’ perception of peer feedback in the Facebook group. Background: Peer feedback on writing has attracted the attention of many researchers and instructors of writing in English as second/foreign language (ESL/EFL) contexts. More recently, the application of synchronous and asynchronous technologies, including Facebook, has been reported to foster ESL/EFL learners’ engagement in peer feedback. Yet, in the EFL university context, the teacher/instructor still represents the sole resource of feedback, while learners are only passive receivers of feedback. Therefore, it is necessary to encourage EFL learners to be providers of feedback by engaging them in peer work in writing. Methodology: The study was conducted among nine EFL Arab learners beyond the university writing course. As an extension to enhance their writing in the Facebook group, the activities of peer feedback reported in this study were monitored by the course instructor for three months. The learners’ interactional feedback exchanges, text revisions, and written reflections were qualitatively analyzed and the patterns of interaction were quantified. Contribution: The findings contribute to the previous body of knowledge about the role of peer feedback, as well as the application of how asynchronous technological tools such as Facebook facilitate learners’ interactional feedback exchanges in writing. Findings: The learners engaged in interactional feedback exchanges in the revision-oriented discourse (n=1100 (64%)). These comments triggered global text revisions focusing on content, organization, and argumentative genre (n=533 (31%)) and local text revisions focusing on language and mechanics/conventions (n=567 (33%)). The learners also engaged in the non-revision-oriented discourse (n=620 (36%)) that focused on establishing group cohesion in terms of a friendly social context, social support, socialization, social ties, and attachment among them. The learners also perceived the Facebook group as an interactive learning environment that facilitates their peer feedback on writing beyond the university context. Recommendations for Practitioners: The findings of the current study underlie useful pedagogical implications for EFL instructors and lecturers as well university students, specifically how peer feedback can be used by instructors as a way to enhance learners’ writing skills. Moreover, with the increasing access to social networks such as Facebook groups, EFL learners can engage themselves in peer feedback activities beyond the university writing courses for further development in writing. Recommendation for Researchers: Significant insights on EFL learning may be gleaned from analysing peer feedback on learning activities, which are easily facilitated by commonly available social networks such as Facebook. Hence, researchers who are interested in this domain are encouraged to look beyond the traditional teaching medium. Impact on Society: The use of social networks (including Facebook groups) for educational purposes has received much attention from university learners worldwide. This research can facilitate people’s awareness of the value of such networks in creating learning opportunities outside the university context. Future Research: Future research could combine both synchronous and asynchronous technologies in peer feedback and focus on the effect of peer feedback on each learner’s writing.

scholarly journals Syllabus Design for Writing Course: EFL Learners’ Needs

2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 129-135
Author(s):  
M. Fadhly Farhy Abbas ◽  
Hermawati Syarif
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Learning Strategies ◽  
Appropriate Technology ◽  
Learning Materials ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
English As Foreign Language ◽  
Writing Courses ◽  
Descriptive Research ◽  
Writing Course ◽  
Good Learning

Analyzing English as Foreign Language (EFL) learners’ needs in writing courses is an important thing that should be done by teachers. This is done in order to meet what EFL learners needs for writing course, and what should be planned and written in the syllabus. The purpose of this research is to analyze EFL learners’ needs for writing course especially in terms of learning materials, learning strategies, learning supports, and mastery of writing aspects. The design of this research was descriptive research. 50 EFL learners in Universitas Lancang Kuning were involved in this study as respondents of this research. To collect the data, a questionnaire was used with 20 statements available. The data from the questionnaire was analyzed descriptively by giving deep explanation towards the data. The result showed that most EFL learners were chosen response “agree” from the questionnaire. It means that the EFL learners very need good and acceptable learning materials, learning strategies, learning supports, and good competence in terms of writing aspects. In conclusion, the EFL learners’ needs for writing course are varied, but in general, the EFL learners expect good learning environment for writing course such as utilizing appropriate technology, attractive teaching media, and acceptable learning materials.

scholarly journals The Long-term Effects of Instruction on EFL Learners' Use of Complaining Formulas

10.29007/5xsb ◽  
2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alicia Martínez-Flor ◽  
Esther Usó-Juan
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Long Term Effects ◽  
Positive Role ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
Foreign Language Learners ◽  
Over Time

Studies analysing the positive role of pragmatic instruction in formal settings have increased over the last decades. Within this area of interventional pragmatics, some studies have particularly examined whether the effectiveness of the instruction implemented is sustained over time. In order to shed more light on the long-term effects of instruction, this research investigates English as a Foreign Language learners’ use of complaining formulas not only after immediately receiving instruction, but also two months later. Results show that learners keep using a variety of appropriate complaining formulas two months after having participated in the instructional period. These findings are discussed and directions for future research suggested.

scholarly journals Learners’ Attitudes toward Foreign Language Practice on Social Network Sites

2017 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 145
Author(s):  
Jhonny Villafuerte ◽  
Asier Romero
Keyword(s):  
Social Networks ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
English Language ◽  
Ad Hoc ◽  
Basque Country ◽  
Social Network Sites ◽  
Easy Access ◽  
Everyday Activities ◽  
Comprehension Skills ◽  
The University

This work aims to study learners’ attitudes towards practicing English Language on Social Networks Sites (SNS). The sample involved 110 students from the University Laica Eloy Alfaro de Manabi in Ecuador, and the University of the Basque Country in Spain. The instrument applied was a Likert scale questionnaire designed Ad hoc by the researchers, to assess the dimensions: (i) Integration of SNS into learners’ academic everyday activities, and (ii) Learners’ attitudes towards English Language practices on SNS. All the data was analyzed using SPSS V24.00 of IBM. The findings showed corelationships between learners’ attitudes and the factors: learners’ sex, age, and country. The results also confirmed that both Spanish and Ecuadorian university students prefer YouTube, and Google+ for their easy access, and flexibility to strengthen listening, reading and comprehension skills in English. In addition, Facebook, and Whats App can be used to motivate reading, writing, and speaking practices in English.

scholarly journals The Impact of Strategic Notetaking on EFL learners’ Academic Performance in Jordan

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 249
Author(s):  
Ibrahim F. F. Almaagbh
Keyword(s):  
Academic Performance ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Note Taking ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
English As Foreign Language ◽  
Descriptive Research ◽  
The Social ◽  
Independent Variable ◽  
The Impact

This study investigates the impact of strategic notetaking on English as Foreign Language (EFL) learners’ academic performance among university students in Jordan. Thus, we hypothesized that there is a significant and positive impact of strategic note-taking on EFL learners’ academic performance. To confirm this hypothesis, descriptive research design was applied in this study. 384 (three hundred and eighty-four) respondents were randomly selected from the four public universities in Jordan. This study adapted instruments which include strategic note taking and students’ academic performance measurement items and the data obtained was analysed through Statistical Package for the Social Science (SPSS-22). The result showed that the strategic note taking (i.e. independent variable) has significant effects on EFL learners’ academic performance (R2 =.919). Moreover, the strategic notetaking made the significant contribution (Beta= .449; t= 18.714; P <0.05) to the prediction of EFL learners’ academic performance. In line with the findings, this study emphasised and explained the impact of strategic notetaking and how to improve EFL learners’ level of notetaking for better academic performance in Jordan.

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>

scholarly journals The Impact of Discourse Marker Instruction on Fluency, Accuracy, and Complexity Improvement of Iranian Intermediate EFL Learners

2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (5) ◽  
pp. 152
Author(s):  
Ghader Asadzadian ◽  
Rashid Saad ◽  
Fereshteh Asadzadian
Keyword(s):  
Explicit Instruction ◽  
Corrective Feedback ◽  
Discourse Markers ◽  
Discourse Marker ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
Writing Courses ◽  
English Major ◽  
The University ◽  
The Impact

The purpose of the study was to investigate the impact of discourse marker (DM) instruction on fluency, accuracy, and complexity improvement of Iranian intermediate EFL learner’s writing. To this aim, among the two hundred forth year English major learners in Dezful university, Iran, fifty of them who were in the intermediate level, based on the scoring system of the university, were recruited. They were given a topic to write before intervention. Then, the fifty participants passed through twenty-hour instruction on micro and macro DMs, based on Belles-Furtuno’s (2004) classification of discourse markers. The mentioned classification included both sentential and supra sentential markers. In the process of explicit instruction (EI) of DMs, they were given various exercises and activities to apply DMs and learn the function and usage of these units and input flood (IF) was performed along with corrective feedback (CF) with the help of the teacher with their mistakes and misunderstandings of DMs. After intervention, they were given another topic to write to examine if EI+IF of DMs could help them improve fluency, accuracy, and complexity of their writing. To quantify the results the Wolfe-Quintero (1998) method was used and it was unveiled that all the three components of writing improved after intervention, which practically means instruction of DMs could enhance learner’s writing in the three aspects. The findings can be used by teachers and syllabus designers to consider DMs as one of the most crucial components in writing courses.

scholarly journals A Promoting EFL Learners’ Linguistic Competence via Videogame Play-Trace Effects: An Empirical Study

2019 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 56-72
Author(s):  
Rozhgar Jalal Khidhir ◽  
Hussein Ali Wali
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Mixed Method ◽  
English Language ◽  
Linguistic Competence ◽  
Independent Learning ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
Frequent Use ◽  
The University ◽  
Method Approach

The current study is an experimental digital game-based (DGBL) endeavor which tackles potential educational issues beyond the frequent use of games, language learning potentials in particular. It has used a mixed method approach, i.e., quantitative and qualitative. The study aims at exploring the practical effects of videogame play, Trace Effect, on improving the players’ linguistic competence. It is hypothesized that (playing videogame cannot create any difference of performance between groups of subject matters for improving English language learning. The study has concluded the followings; overall inferential statistics confirmed that playing videogame can effectively get into the improvement process of teaching English as a foreign language to the university students. On the other hand, playing the videogame, Trace Effects, has formed the solely major cause of improvement and learning in the following domains, creating friendly fascinating atmosphere, upgrading technological skills, increasing motivation towards learning, making use of homework as a form of external extensive activity, forming semi-independent learning, and practicing and virtual reality of the second/foreign language’s culture.

scholarly journals IMPLEMENTING THE HIDDEN CURRICULUM IN ENGLISH AS FOREIGN LANGUAGE (EFL) CLASSROOM

2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lukman Lukman
Keyword(s):  
Data Collection ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Qualitative Method ◽  
Hidden Curriculum ◽  
Curriculum Implementation ◽  
Qualitative Approach ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
English As Foreign Language ◽  
Cultural Aspect ◽  
Descriptive Qualitative

This research aimed to determine the implementation of the hidden curriculum in EFL learners’ interest. This research was conducted in AL-FITYAN Senior Hight School Gowa. Qualitative approach employed in this study. More specifically, this research employed the descriptive qualitative method. Data collection procedures in this study were the observation, recoding, and interview. Based on the research, it can be seen that the spiritual-cultural aspect of hidden curriculum was implemented in the first class. The findings show that the teacher employed some elements in implementing the hidden curriculum in term of spiritual-cultural aspect. (1) Giving advice and guidance, (2) providing inspiring story and utterance, and (3) applying exemplary. Furthermore, the effects of hidden curriculum implementation can emerge learners’ awareness so that they can be happy, enthusiastic, focus, and avoid their resistance in learning. The result of that, can stimulate the learners’ interest and then construct their attention and motivation.

scholarly journals Attitudes of Saudi EFL Female Students Towards Current Teacher Feedback Practices

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 90
Author(s):  
Khaled Aldossary
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Positive Feedback ◽  
Female Students ◽  
Quantitative Approach ◽  
Teacher Feedback ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
Efl Students ◽  
Current Practices

This study aimed to investigate the attitudes of female Saudi English as a foreign language (EFL) learners towards the current practices and the challenges of teacher feedback. Utilizing a quantitative approach, 87 female Saudi EFL students completed a questionnaire about their experience with teacher feedback and the problems they encountered with this during the semester. The study aimed to explore two main aspects, including the students&rsquo; attitudes towards the current practices of teacher feedback and the challenges encountered, and the students&rsquo; suggestions for improving teacher feedback practices. The study outcomes revealed that the students receive direct and positive feedback. Additionally, the students perceived the teachers&rsquo; feedback to be useful and of good quality. The findings also indicated that students expect and prefer detailed feedback on their written tasks. However, the participants reported some concerns regarding the punctuality of teacher feedback and provided suggestions to improve such practices. The study also presents the limitations and recommendations for future research.

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