Appositeness of Teacher Training for In-Service EFL Teachers in Real Teaching Context

The purpose of this study is to investigate the factors that trigger language anxiety among Saudi learners in English as Foreign Language (EFL) classrooms. The factor of anxiety is especially found among learners while developing proficiency in over all communication and speaking skills as felt by the EFL teachers. The study also seeks to answer the questions like what are the socio-cultural factors as well as psycholinguistic factors that cause language anxiety. Furthermore, this study also explores strategies that can be designed and used to cope with language anxiety successfully. The scope of the study is limited to the college and university English teachers and subject specialists working in public sectors colleges and universities in Saudi Arabia.

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Professional development of English language teachers in Malang, Indonesia: Institutional and individual perspectives

10.26686/wgtn.17060639 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

◽

Anik Nunuk Wulyani

Keyword(s):

Professional Development ◽

Language Proficiency ◽

English Language ◽

English Proficiency ◽

Language Teachers ◽

Ict Skills ◽

Efl Teachers ◽

Teacher Professional ◽

English Language Teachers ◽

The Individual

Two important areas of professional development for teachers of English as a foreign language (EFL) in Indonesia identified in the 2003 Law on National Education System and 2005 Law on Teachers and Lecturers are disciplinary knowledge and ICT skills. The present thesis investigates institutional and individual aspects of EFL teacher professional development (TPD) in Indonesia in relation to the development of these two areas of expertise. Three studies were carried out. The first study measured Indonesian EFL teachers’ target language (English) proficiency as a core component of their professional knowledge and how it is maintained and developed by the teachers. EFL teachers’ language proficiency in this study was operationalised as their lexical, reading and writing proficiency and measured using the Vocabulary Levels Test (VLT), IELTS-like reading comprehension test and IELTS-like academic writing test, respectively. The results showed that the teachers’ length of service correlated negatively with their knowledge of academic vocabulary, as well as reading and writing proficiency, indicating issues with the outcomes of the TPD in this area. To triangulate the test results, teacher perceptions data were also gathered using questionnaires and interviews. It was found that the EFL teachers tended to overestimate their own overall English language proficiency. The second study used a longitudinal blogging activity with the EFL teachers as a form of personal professional development that targeted their English language and ICT skills while reflecting on topics related to their professional (teaching) activities. Qualitative analysis of the blog entries of three EFL teachers suggested that the individual teachers’ blogging, critical reading and reflective writing skills were very uneven. Interviews with nine teachers and 11 educational stakeholders were then conducted to understand their views on blogging as a form of professional development. The results revealed that the perceived obstacles and drawbacks outweighed the perceived benefits of blogging as a form of personal professional development. The third study examined Indonesian national TPD policy documents, how these policies were translated into local professional development programmes in Malang district. It was found that the needs for EFL teachers to maintain their English proficiency and ICT skills were only partially addressed in TPD policy and implementation. In addition, the interviewed teachers and stakeholders perceived the definitions, goals, administration, evaluation, benefits, and challenges of TPD differently. Taken as a whole, the present findings show that institutional implementation of TPD policies in Indonesia needs to better target individual EFL teachers’ English proficiency and ICT skills, and that opportunities for better professional development need to be sought at both personal and institutional levels. At the individual level, self-motivation to continue learning is crucial for English language teachers who want to keep up with change and innovation in English language teaching. At the institutional level, needs analyses and environmental analyses are essential in designing programs for maintaining and developing teacher professional competency.

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A study of EFL teachers’ classroom grading practices in secondary schools and private institutes: a mixed methods approach

Language Testing in Asia ◽

10.1186/s40468-021-00145-2 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Majid Nowruzi

Keyword(s):

Decision Making ◽

Mixed Methods ◽

English Language ◽

Language Teachers ◽

Sequential Mixed Methods ◽

Efl Teachers ◽

Motivation Enhancement ◽

English Language Teachers ◽

Teachers Professional Development ◽

Internal And External Factors

AbstractThis explanatory sequential mixed methods study aimed at exploring the grading decision-making of Iranian English language teachers in terms of the factors used when assigning grades and the rationales behind using those factors. In the preliminary quantitative phase, a questionnaire was issued to 300 secondary school and private institute EFL teachers. Quantitative data analyses showed that teachers attached the most weight to nonachievement factors such as effort, improvement, ability, and participation when determining grades. Next, follow-up interviews were conducted with 30 teachers from the initial sample. The analyses of interview data revealed that teachers assigned hodgepodge grades on five major grounds of learning encouragement, motivation enhancement, lack of specific grading criteria, pressure from stakeholders, and flexibility in grading. Data integration indicated that teacher grading decision-making was influenced by both internal and external factors, with adverse consequences for grading validity. Eliciting explanations for the use of specific grading criteria from the same teachers who utilized those criteria in their grading in a single study added to the novelty of this research. Implications for grade interpretation and use, accountability in classroom assessment, and teachers’ professional development are discussed.

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Teacher Development: Strategies and Perception

Saptagandaki Journal ◽

10.3126/sj.v8i0.18464 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 8 ◽

pp. 69-78

Author(s):

Padam Lal Bharati ◽

Subas Chalise

Keyword(s):

Professional Development ◽

Teacher Development ◽

English Language ◽

Development Strategies ◽

Language Teachers ◽

Efl Teachers ◽

English Language Teachers ◽

English Speaking ◽

Teachers Professional Development ◽

Clear Idea

Aspects of teachers’ professional development in general and EFL teachers in non-English speaking countries in particular are issues that warrant constant research. Although these are widely researched areas internationally, within Nepal grounded professional development studies have been sparsely carried out. A considerable section of practicing English language teachers has no clear idea of the issue although it directly concerns themselves. Against this backdrop, this article explores some EFL teachers’ perception on the concept of teacher development in a relatively sophisticated centrally located town of Nepal.The Saptagandaki Journal Vol.8 2017: 69-78

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Teachers’ Misbehaviours in Class and Students’ Reactions: A Case Study

IAFOR Journal of Education ◽

10.22492/ije.9.3.06 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 9 (3) ◽

pp. 97-114

Author(s):

Reem Alkurdi ◽

Sharif Alghazo

Keyword(s):

English Language ◽

Mean Value ◽

Language Teachers ◽

Communication Style ◽

Communication Styles ◽

Student Teacher Relationship ◽

Efl Teachers ◽

English Language Teachers ◽

The Mean

This study aims to investigate English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers’ misbehaviours in class and their students’ reactions to these misbehaviours. Towards this end, 60 classroom observations of six English language teachers (N=10 each) were conducted at a public school in Jordan. Moreover, a survey was used to elicit 201 students’ reactions to their teachers’ misbehaviours by gauging their satisfaction with the teachers’ communication styles. Finally, the teacher participants were interviewed in order to more deeply understand why such misbehaviours occurred. Analysis of the data is grounded in the Expectancy Violation Theory. The results revealed that when the mean value of teachers’ communication style was more than 3 on a 5-point Likert Scale, the students often perceived their teachers as being positive, and the students compensated most of their teachers’ misbehaviours. However, when the mean value was below 3, the teachers were perceived as being negative, and the students reciprocated for most of the misbehaviours. The results also showed that the students are more tolerant towards their teachers’ misbehaviours as long as the teacher is perceived to be positive. The study provides insights into understanding the student-teacher relationship in EFL classes.

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TRACES OF CRITICAL SPIRITUAL PEDAGOGY IN INDONESIAN EFL TEACHERS’ CHRISTIAN-BASED CLASSES

TEFLIN Journal - A publication on the teaching and learning of English ◽

10.15639/teflinjournal.v31i2/259-276 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 31 (2) ◽

pp. 259

Author(s):

Aurelia Melinda Herka Puspita ◽

Joseph Ernest Mambu

Keyword(s):

Junior High School ◽

Learning Process ◽

English Language ◽

Language Teachers ◽

Spiritual Values ◽

Language Pedagogy ◽

Central Java ◽

Efl Teachers ◽

English Language Teachers ◽

Basic English

The incorporation of critical pedagogical (CP) perspectives into ELT classrooms has been widely discussed in ELT literature, but how English language teachers in Indonesian schools integrate them in their lessons has not been sufficiently documented. This study aims to investigate to what extent CP perspectives are integrated within the learning process to teach four basic English skills, although the teachers were not familiar with CP. Two in-service English teachers from a private junior high school in Central Java, Indonesia, filled in a questionnaire designed to identify their pedagogical identity. They were also interviewed and observed to further investigate their responses in the questionnaire and to explore the realization of the CP practice. The data was classified based on the components of critical language pedagogy proposed by Crookes (2013). The results showed that as students’ wholeness was acknowledged, the learning process integrated cultural and critical contents to teach a particular language feature. During the learning process, there was a great deal of the inclusion of spiritual values as a way of demonstrating the students’ criticality.

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Professional development of English language teachers in Malang, Indonesia: Institutional and individual perspectives

10.26686/wgtn.17060639.v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

◽

Anik Nunuk Wulyani

Keyword(s):

Professional Development ◽

Language Proficiency ◽

English Language ◽

English Proficiency ◽

Language Teachers ◽

Ict Skills ◽

Efl Teachers ◽

Teacher Professional ◽

English Language Teachers ◽

The Individual

Two important areas of professional development for teachers of English as a foreign language (EFL) in Indonesia identified in the 2003 Law on National Education System and 2005 Law on Teachers and Lecturers are disciplinary knowledge and ICT skills. The present thesis investigates institutional and individual aspects of EFL teacher professional development (TPD) in Indonesia in relation to the development of these two areas of expertise. Three studies were carried out. The first study measured Indonesian EFL teachers’ target language (English) proficiency as a core component of their professional knowledge and how it is maintained and developed by the teachers. EFL teachers’ language proficiency in this study was operationalised as their lexical, reading and writing proficiency and measured using the Vocabulary Levels Test (VLT), IELTS-like reading comprehension test and IELTS-like academic writing test, respectively. The results showed that the teachers’ length of service correlated negatively with their knowledge of academic vocabulary, as well as reading and writing proficiency, indicating issues with the outcomes of the TPD in this area. To triangulate the test results, teacher perceptions data were also gathered using questionnaires and interviews. It was found that the EFL teachers tended to overestimate their own overall English language proficiency. The second study used a longitudinal blogging activity with the EFL teachers as a form of personal professional development that targeted their English language and ICT skills while reflecting on topics related to their professional (teaching) activities. Qualitative analysis of the blog entries of three EFL teachers suggested that the individual teachers’ blogging, critical reading and reflective writing skills were very uneven. Interviews with nine teachers and 11 educational stakeholders were then conducted to understand their views on blogging as a form of professional development. The results revealed that the perceived obstacles and drawbacks outweighed the perceived benefits of blogging as a form of personal professional development. The third study examined Indonesian national TPD policy documents, how these policies were translated into local professional development programmes in Malang district. It was found that the needs for EFL teachers to maintain their English proficiency and ICT skills were only partially addressed in TPD policy and implementation. In addition, the interviewed teachers and stakeholders perceived the definitions, goals, administration, evaluation, benefits, and challenges of TPD differently. Taken as a whole, the present findings show that institutional implementation of TPD policies in Indonesia needs to better target individual EFL teachers’ English proficiency and ICT skills, and that opportunities for better professional development need to be sought at both personal and institutional levels. At the individual level, self-motivation to continue learning is crucial for English language teachers who want to keep up with change and innovation in English language teaching. At the institutional level, needs analyses and environmental analyses are essential in designing programs for maintaining and developing teacher professional competency.

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Promoting Learner Autonomy

International Journal of Language and Literary Studies ◽

10.36892/ijlls.v2i2.278 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 2 (2) ◽

pp. 156-167

Author(s):

Said OUSSOU

Keyword(s):

Quantitative Data ◽

Quantitative Research ◽

English Language ◽

Learner Autonomy ◽

Language Teachers ◽

English Language Teaching ◽

Know How ◽

Efl Context ◽

Efl Teachers ◽

English Language Teachers

Learner autonomy has been the concern of a number of researchers in English language teaching. The concept has begun life since the 1980s. It has been considered in the Moroccan EFL context among the priorities of education, which English language teachers try to implement in their classes. Studies revealed that there are correlations between learner autonomy and other variables related to learners, which makes autonomy a subject of interest and thus an ability that should be fostered. As such, the present study aims at investigating the extent to which secondary EFL teachers promote autonomy in their learners. To achieve this purpose, a quantitative research design was employed in the study, generating and analyzing quantitative data. Therefore, a sample of 96 (57 males and 39 females) EFL teachers completed the questionnaire. Drawing on the findings, it was found that EFL teachers promote learner autonomy to a great extent and that the results were conclusive among the teachers’ rates of levels of agreement and disagreement regarding the strategies for promoting learner autonomy. Thus, it is concluded that the study reported on the extent to which teachers employ a number of strategies to promote learner autonomy and that it does not necessarily mean that the study explained the degree to which teachers know how to implement those strategies, as this would be beyond the purpose of the present study.

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Becoming mentors: a narrative exercise to unveil struggles guiding an english language teaching practicum

Revista Boletín Redipe ◽

10.36260/rbr.v10i11.1539 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 10 (11) ◽

pp. 312-324

Author(s):

Pilar Méndez-Rivera ◽

Francisco Pérez-Gómez

Keyword(s):

English Language ◽

Public Universities ◽

Language Teaching ◽

Language Teachers ◽

English Language Teaching ◽

Small Scale ◽

Collaborative Reflection ◽

Teaching Practicum ◽

Narrative Study ◽

English Language Teachers

This paper analyses the memories of two English language teachers recollected about their struggles to break through as practicum mentors in two public universities. This small- scale narrative study emerged from the constant and collaborative reflection upon their long years of experience advising primary and secondary schools’ mentees, and upon the different situations mentors had to experience while performing their job. Findings revealed that despite having worked in two allegedly different settings, both mentors faced similar issues regarding their vision of education, their view on language and their own identity as teachers, which affected their guidance. They also found that the feedback they provided their mentees perpetuated or contradicted dominant visions where inclusion and diversity were neutralized.

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The Relationship between Self-Regulated Strategies and Burnout: A Teacher Analysis in the EFL Context of Iran

Studies in Linguistics and Literature ◽

10.22158/sll.v1n2p186 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 1 (2) ◽

pp. 186

Author(s):

Mojgan Karamooz ◽

Mehry Haddad Narafshan

Keyword(s):

English Language ◽

Self Regulation ◽

Negative Relationship ◽

Predictor Variable ◽

Research Participant ◽

Language Teachers ◽

Efl Teachers ◽

English Language Teachers ◽

Related Stress ◽

The Relationship

The deleterious effects of teacher burnout (academic-related stress) on academic outcomes have been previously established. However, teacher burnout’s relationship with self-regulated strategies as well as underlying factors contributing to their potential relationship is less understood. Consequently, the present study examined the link between Iranian EFL teachers’ self-regulation and burnout at Kerman English language institutes. For this aim, a total of 101 English language teachers teaching in fifteen language institutes in Kerman took part in this study. The research participant selection was according to the convenience sampling. They completed two questionnaires: Teachers’ Self-Regulation Questionnaire (TSRQ) designed by Yesim et al. (2009), based on the model proposed by Zimmerman’s self-regulation (2000), and Teachers’ Burnout Questionnaire (TBQ) extracted from Pines et al. (1981) Burnout Scale. This study was a quantitative correlation survey of issue in which the relationship between predictor variable (self-regulation) and criterion variable (burnout) was analyzed. The findings yielded via correlation analysis documented that there was a significant negative relationship between applying self-regulated strategies and burnout. Subsequent data analyses showed that among the components of self-regulated strategies, goal setting was the best predictor of burnout. It means that EFL teachers who establish goals for their teaching and attempt to accomplish them will be rarely at the risk of burnout.

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