scholarly journals Palestinian EFL University Students’ Problems with the Reading Sections of the TOEFL Internet-based Test and the Revised TOEFL paper-delivered Test

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Enas Abdullah Hammad
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
University Students ◽  
Reading Speed ◽  
Structured Interview ◽  
Research Area ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Testing Service ◽  
Educational Testing Service ◽  
Linguistic Proficiency ◽  
Language Context

Despite Palestinian university students’ problems with the Test of English as a Foreign Language Internet-based Test, no researchers approached this research area in the Palestinian English as a Foreign Language context. The present study attempted to answer a question focusing on Palestinian university students’ problems with the reading sections of the Test of English as a Foreign Language Internet-based Test and the revised Test of English as a Foreign Language paper-delivered test. The participants were 65 fourth-year students studying English at Al-Aqsa University. The researcher employed four instruments: a test, a group semi-structured interview, and two individual semi-structured interviews. Results showed the students’ problems with the reading sections of the two types of tests, such as the irrelevance of the topics of the tests to the students’ content background knowledge, students’ lack of exposure to lengthy passages, students’ slow reading speed, and the students’ lack of linguistic proficiency. Additionally, the study offered many recommendations for Educational Testing Service experts and Al-Aqsa university students and instructors.

scholarly journals Palestinian EFL University Students’ Problems with the Reading Sections of the TOEFL Internet-based Test and the Revised TOEFL paper-delivered Test

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 51-65
Author(s):  
Enas Abdullah Hammad
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
University Students ◽  
Reading Speed ◽  
Structured Interview ◽  
Research Area ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Testing Service ◽  
Educational Testing Service ◽  
Linguistic Proficiency ◽  
Language Context

Despite Palestinian university students’ problems with the Test of English as a Foreign Language Internet-based Test, no researchers approached this research area in the Palestinian English as a Foreign Language context. The present study attempted to answer a question focusing on Palestinian university students’ problems with the reading sections of the Test of English as a Foreign Language Internet-based Test and the revised Test of English as a Foreign Language paper-delivered test. The participants were 65 fourth-year students studying English at Al-Aqsa University. The researcher employed four instruments: a test, a group semi-structured interview, and two individual semi-structured interviews. Results showed the students’ problems with the reading sections of the two types of tests, such as the irrelevance of the topics of the tests to the students’ content background knowledge, students’ lack of exposure to lengthy passages, students’ slow reading speed, and the students’ lack of linguistic proficiency. Additionally, the study offered many recommendations for Educational Testing Service experts and Al-Aqsa university students and instructors.

scholarly journals The Influence of Educational Programme on Teachers’ Error Correction Preferences in the Speaking Skill: Insights from English as a Foreign Language Context

2016 ◽  
Vol 9 (6) ◽  
pp. 76
Author(s):  
Emre Debreli ◽  
Nazife Onuk
Keyword(s):  
Student Achievement ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Error Correction ◽  
Corrective Feedback ◽  
Educational Programme ◽  
Classroom Observations ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Efl Teachers ◽  
Speaking Skill ◽  
Language Context

<p class="apa">In the area of language teaching, corrective feedback is one of the popular and hotly debated topics that have been widely explored to date. A considerable number of studies on students’ preferences of error correction and the effects of error correction approaches on student achievement do exist. Moreover, much on teachers’ preferences of error correction approaches has also been explored. However, less seems to be done with regard to teachers’ practices of error correction approaches, especially in the area of English as a Foreign Language (EFL). The present study explored EFL teacher’s preferences of error correction approaches in the speaking skill, and further focused on whether the teachers were able to employ the approaches they preferred in their classrooms. Data were collected from a group of 17 EFL teachers, through semi-structured interviews and classroom observations. The findings revealed that although the teachers had clear preferences for error correction approaches, they could not employ them in their classrooms owing to the educational programme constraints. Furthermore, it was observed that they often had to adopt approaches that they were not actually in favour of. Implications for programme and curriculum designers are further discussed.</p>

scholarly journals The Tourism Students’ Awareness of Communicative Competence in an English as a Foreign Language Context

2018 ◽  
Vol 14 (5) ◽  
pp. 184
Author(s):  
Ercilia Loera Anchondo
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Communicative Competence ◽  
Structured Interview ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Ciudad Juarez ◽  
Mixed Method Research ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Foreign Language Learners ◽  
Language Context

The present research aimed to find out the students’ awareness towards the concept of communicative competence and to discover if exposure serves as a tool in the development of the latter. Applying a mixed-method research design, quantitative and qualitative data were gathered with three different instruments: a face-to-face questionnaire, a semi-structured interview, and a structured observation. The subjects consisted of forty-six English as a Foreign Language learners in the intermediate and advanced levels in the Tourism major at the Universidad Autónoma de Ciudad Juárez. Eleven questions were designed to find out the students’ awareness on communicative competence and its components. The interview was based on the elements of communicative competence and the activities related to exposure to the target language. The observation considered details in regards to the students’ performance in the linguistic and pragmatic components of communicative competence. Results indicated that participants are aware of the concept under study and its components. Their answers to the interview and their performance in the observation proposed that exposure to the target language have been used towards the development of certain elements in their communicative competence. Recommendations derived from the present study include making students comprehend what the acquisition of a communicative competence encompasses, which is to manage the target language through the use of the four skills. Secondly, it is of great importance to promote in students the habit of practicing the target language outside the classroom. Finally, it is necessary to pay attention to phonological features such as word stress, pitch, and intonation to improve pronunciation.

scholarly journals Language testing

2005 ◽  
Vol 38 (2) ◽  
pp. 91-93
Keyword(s):  
Middle School ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Educational Testing ◽  
Self Assessment ◽  
Testing Service ◽  
World Languages ◽  
Research Journal ◽  
Response Formats ◽  
Educational Testing Service

05–178Carrel, Patricia L. (Southern Illinois U, USA; [email protected]), Dunkel, Patricia A. (Georgia State U, USA; [email protected]) & Mollaun, Pamela (Educational Testing Service, USA; [email protected]), The effects of notetaking, lecture length and topic on a computer-based test of ESL listening comprehension. Applied Language Learning (Monterey, CA, USA) 14.1 (2004), 83–105.05–179Cheng, Hsiao-fang (National United U, Taiwan, China), A comparison of multiple-choice and open-ended response formats for the assessment of listening proficiency in English. Foreign Language Annals (Alexandria, VA, USA) 37.4 (2004), 544–555.05–180Grindsted, Annette (U of Southern Denmark, Denmark; [email protected]), Interactive resources used in semi-structured research interviewing. Journal of Pragmatics (Amsterdam, the Netherlands) 37.7 (2005), 1015–1035.05–181Huempfner, Lisa (Illinois State U, USA), Can one size fit all? The imperfect assumptions of parallel achievement tests for bilingual students. Bilingual Research Journal (Tempe, AZ, USA) 28.3), 379–399.05–182Kondo-Brown, Kimi (U of Hawaii at Manoa, USA), Investigating interviewer–candidate interactions during oral interviews for child L2 learners. Foreign Language Annals (Alexandria, VA, USA) 37.4 (2004), 602–615.05–183Lokai Bischof, Deborah (Educational Testing Service, USA), Baum, David I., Casabianca, Jodi, M., Morgan, Rick, Rabiteau, Kathleen A. & Tateneni, Krishna, Validating AP modern foreign language examinations through college comparability studies. Foreign Language Annals (Alexandria, VA, USA) 37.4 (2004), 616–622.05–184Mathews, Thomas J. & Hansen, Cheryl M. (Weber State U, USA), Ongoing assessment of a university foreign language program. Foreign Language Annals (Alexandria, VA, USA) 37.4 (2004), 521–533.05–185Milton, James (U of Wales Swansea, UK; [email protected]), Comparing the lexical difficulty of French reading comprehension exam texts. Language Learning Journal (Rugby, UK) 30 (2004), 5–11.05–186Shultz, Deborah, L (Mechanicsburg Middle School, USA) & Willard-Holt, Colleen, Promoting world languages in middle school: the achievement connection. Foreign Language Annals (Alexandria, VA, USA) 37.4 (2004), 623–629.05–187Tan, Kelvin (Temasek Polytechnic, Singapore), Does student self-assessment empower or discipline students?Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education (Abingdon, UK) 29.6 (2004), 651–662.

scholarly journals USING CONVERSATION WEBSITES FOR IMPROVING INTERCULTURAL EXCHANGE AND MAINTAIN INTERPERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS OF UNIVERSITY STUDENTS IN EDUCATION 4.0

2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 71
Author(s):  
Dita Septiana ◽  
Nurhadianti Nurhadianti ◽  
Dinar Purwati ◽  
Didik Murwantono
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Interpersonal Relationships ◽  
Communication Skills ◽  
Interpersonal Relationship ◽  
Structured Interview ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Educational Challenge ◽  
Language Communication ◽  
Technological Developments ◽  
Students Attitudes

The reality of education 4.0 is undeniably true of contemporary higher education systems. This is demonstrated by technological developments and online-based developments. This phenomenon is a challenge of any kind, particularly for students to adapt to the creation of learning processes. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to explore the students ' improvements in their communication exchange skills and establish interpersonal relationship skills through the use of conversation exchange websites. There were six females and four males of students that has been using conversation exchange from some countries taken as participants. This survey was carried out using the video call feature in the Application tool. The semi-structured interview was used to obtain information from students on the specific theme of fun and easy conversation exchange in foreign language communication as a part of the educational challenge 4.0. By using the structural analysis, ten students have fully agreed to the use of a conversation exchange website to improve foreign language communication skills. All males and females were 90% willing to use the conversation exchange website as a measure of the effects of the use of conversation exchange through semi-structured interviews with three questions. The results show that the students ' attitudes have been welcomed by the conversation exchange website to enhance their communication skills in foreign languages. Therefore, the use of conversation exchange should be widely introduced to increase the ability to communicate in a foreign language.

scholarly journals Text syntax as a factor in fostering communicative competence of non-linguistic university students

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 103-107
Author(s):  
Olga L. Petrova ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
University Students ◽  
Communicative Competence ◽  
Linguistic Proficiency

Linguistic proficiency is an important component of communicative competence. Turning to such linguistic concepts of the text as colligation, collocation, cohesion significantly facilitates a comprehensive acquisition of foreign language constructions, and is a kind of a launching platform for teaching communication in a non-linguistic institution of higher education.

scholarly journals Foreign Language Enjoyment and Anxiety as the Correlates of the Ideal L2 Self in the English as a Foreign Language Context

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jalil Fathi ◽  
Farnoosh Mohammaddokht
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Structural Model ◽  
Research Area ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Measurement Models ◽  
English Major ◽  
Ideal L2 Self ◽  
Language Context

Learners’ emotions in learning a foreign language are claimed to shape complicated dynamic associations contributing to their motivational and linguistic outcomes, as evidenced by recent research in this area. In order to advance this research area, this study sought to investigate the foreign language enjoyment (FLE) and foreign language classroom anxiety (FLCA) as the predictors of ideal L2 self in Iranian English as a Foreign Language (EFL) context. The total number of 195 English-major students from various universities completed an online survey containing the three scales in question. The measurement models were first verified using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Then, the structural model for the relations among the variables was tested employing structural equation modeling (SEM). The SEM results showed that although FLE and FLCA significantly predicted ideal L2 self, FLE was a stronger predictor of ideal L2 self than FLCA. This study provides significant pedagogical implications for EFL practitioners.

scholarly journals Drivers Affecting the Acceptance and Use of Electronic Learning Among Ugandan University Students in the COVID-19 Era: A Cross-Sectional Survey Among Three Universities

SAGE Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 215824402110299
Author(s):  
Nelson Twinamasiko ◽  
Julius Nuwagaba ◽  
Anna Maria Gwokyalya ◽  
Innocent Nakityo ◽  
Enock Wasswa ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
University Students ◽  
Structured Interview ◽  
Information And Communications Technology ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Cross Sectional Survey ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Electronic Learning ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Positive Attitudes ◽  
E Learning

COVID-19 is an emerging and highly infectious disease that is becoming a global health challenge affecting all sectors. To prevent COVID-19 transmission, all education institutions were closed and advised to turn to online learning. The present study sought to determine the factors affecting the acceptance and use of electronic learning among Ugandan University students in three universities. The study relied on two data collection instruments: a questionnaire and a semi-structured interview. An online cross-sectional survey was conducted on a population of students in three pre-selected universities: Kyambogo (KYU), Makerere (MAK), and Kampala International University (KIU). Of the 614 questionnaires returned, 578 were valid; 65.4% of the respondents were males; 60.7% were from MAK and the majority being in their third year of study (49%). Overall, 69.2% had good knowledge, 22.5% had positive attitudes toward e-learning. The semi-structured interviews revealed connectivity and skills challenges as the main barriers to the implementation of e-learning. For better implementation of e-learning by Universities, effective planning needs to be done with active students’ involvement to avert negative attitudes. We recommend more studies be done on the Universities’ preparedness for the implementation of e-learning. Universities should collaborate with telecommunication companies to provide subsidized prices for internet costs and information and communications technology (ICT) equipment to students.

UKRAINIAN UNIVERSITY STUDENTS IN CANADA: CULTURAL CAPITAL AND EDUCATIONAL EXPERIENCES

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Max Antony-Newman
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Research ◽  
University Students ◽  
Cultural Capital ◽  
Social Inequality ◽  
Extracurricular Activities ◽  
Social Reproduction ◽  
Educational Experiences ◽  
Pierre Bourdieu ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Print Access

This qualitative research involving semi-structured interviews with Ukrainian university students in Canada helps to understand their educational experience using the concept of cultural capital put forward by Pierre Bourdieu. It was found that Ukrainian students possess high levels of cultural capital, which provides them with advantage in Canada. Specific patterns of social inequality and state-sponsored obstacles to social reproduction lead to particular ways of acquiring cultural capital in Ukraine represented by a more equitable approach to the availability of print, access to extracurricular activities, and popularity of enriched curriculum. Further research on cultural capital in post-socialist countries is also discussed.

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