scholarly journals Students’ Perceptions of Teachers’ Motivational Strategies in English Classes

Author(s):  
Xiaolin Xue
2012 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 289-315 ◽  
Author(s):  
YouJin Kim

Ability grouping – defined as a practice that places students into classrooms or small groups based on an initial assessment of their readiness or ability – has received considerable attention in educational research for years in many countries (Ireson & Hallam, 1999, 2001; Slavin, 1987). In Korea, ability grouping has been implemented in elementary, middle, and high school settings for certain subjects such as English. The purpose of the current study was to determine how the ability grouping policy has been implemented in Korean middle school English classes and to examine the perceptions of teachers ( n = 55) and students ( n = 754) regarding this policy. The results showed that schools implemented the policy in a variety of ways (e.g. different number of grouping levels). Teachers and students indicated their concerns regarding students’ emotional problems and showed mixed attitudes towards ability grouping. They also argued that schools need large support to maximize the putative effectiveness of ability grouping in different areas such as curriculum design, materials development, and teacher training. The findings are discussed in terms of pedagogical recommendations for increasing the effectiveness of ability grouping in English classes and other options for future research to investigate this and relevant educational language policies.


Author(s):  
Tat'yana V. Baranova ◽  

The present article is dedicated to the problems of the organization and planning of scientific and research work of students of the University in English classes, gives grounds for the purposes and tasks of such competence-forming activity as part of the “Oriental studies” speciality program, the Russian State University for the Humanities. The article analyzes these competences, as well as forms and methods of their formation and development. The author presents demarcation of scientific knowledge and gives its characteristics: using most general qualities of a subject, objective reasoning, argumentativeness, results verifiability and reproducibility, consistency, practicality, capability to change, anticipating the future, making forecasts, methodological reflection. The author tried to analyze the reflexive component of scientific and research work of students in more detail. The article presents possible reflexive positions in the interaction between the teacher and the student and shows the dynamics of this interaction, i.e. gives a hierarchy of positions which the student can occupy in the educational process depending on how independent they are in their activity. The article also highlights the content of scientific and research work of students of the University in English classes on the basis of work with foreign texts in the macro-discourse for the “Oriental studies” speciality. The given foundations of the organization and content of scientific and research work of students have been regularly used in English language classes, as well as in optional forms of scientific activity. The students have shown good results and passion for this kind of work, which confirms the correctness of this approach.


This article is devoted to the features and benefits of a professionally-oriented approach to teaching a foreign language in non-linguistic high schools on the example of engineering education. According to the latest standards of higher education (FSES 3++), students must have sufficient knowledge of a foreign language for business communication in oral and written forms. However, teachers of high schools face a number of difficulties in the formation of a foreign language communicative competence offuture engineers, namely: a constant decrease of a number offoreign language practical classes in a curriculum of a high school and a weak motivation of students. In our opinion, a professionally-oriented approach to teaching helps to solve these problems and make the process of learning a foreign language more intensive, focused and effective. That is, now, the development of strategies, methodological models and tools for teaching English, with a focus on professional communication, is an actual task for an English teacher at the University. This article presents some methods and techniques that stimulate students of engineering faculty to professionally oriented communication in English. Much attention is paid to both active teaching methods used during practical English classes, and individual work, which allows students to get more useful information and skills within the practical classes given, and also allows students to develop the need for individual knowledge acquisition and comprehension, thereby providing the increased interest of communication in a foreign language and increasing motivation to learn a foreign language.


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