scholarly journals Identifying the Problems EFL Students Encounter in Translating Adverbs from English into Arabic

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Eman Abdulsalam AL Khalil
Keyword(s):  
English Language ◽  
Basic Category ◽  
Undergraduate Level ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
Language And Culture ◽  
English Grammar ◽  
Sentence Meaning ◽  
Efl Students ◽  
Contextual Meaning ◽  
Sentential Meaning

While discussing the grammatical problems EFL learners confront in translating between languages, especially in translating adverbs as a basic category in English Grammar, it is significantly highlighting the difficulties these learners encounter and justifying the errors they make when translating adverbs and adverbial phrases from English into Arabic. Obviously, the errors are due to the fact that both languages at hand belong to two sharply distant language families and systems. In other words, language is culture-specific; what might be in one, might not be the same in the other, this leads to the ambiguity and misunderstanding of adverbs real contextual meaning, resulting the displacement of adverbs within sentences. Besides, Arab learners of English are sufficiently competent of English language and culture, thus English adverbs system and adverbial order, and their counterparts in Arabic which in turn affect their translation into their native. The study, therefore, suggests some strategies to be employed by Arab learners when translating English adverbs into Arabic. However, it is hypothesized that EFL students at the undergraduate level have confusion in understanding the adverbs contextual meaning or in other words their sentential meaning, thus err when translating these adverbs from English into Arabic. To prove the hypotheses of the study, two tests, of five sentences each, are set for fifty randomly chosen students at the undergraduate level to do; the first test is set to re-place the adverbs properly within sentences; whereas the second is set to translate English adverbs into Arabic contextually. Then the data of the study are analyzed and the results of the tests are evaluated to show how sentence meaning is affected by the misplacement and mistranslation of adverbs and adverbial phrases. In addition, to prove that the deficiencies in translation are due to the dissimilarities between English and Arabic adverbs meaning and order, and Arabic learner

scholarly journals Exploring the Use of Video-clips for Motivation Building in a Secondary School EFL Setting

2016 ◽  
Vol 9 (10) ◽  
pp. 81 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yujong Park ◽  
Eunsu Jung
Keyword(s):  
Secondary School ◽  
English Language ◽  
School Context ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
Language And Culture ◽  
News Reports ◽  
Video Clips ◽  
Tv News ◽  
Efl Students ◽  
English Program

<p>By employing an action research framework, this study evaluated the effectiveness of a video-based curriculum in motivating EFL learners to learn English. Fifteen Korean EFL students at the secondary school context participated in an 8-week English program, which employed video clips including TED talk replays, sitcoms, TV news reports and movies as its main study material. Results from the motivation surveys (adapted from Gardner, 1985) and interviews with students showed that 1) after taking the class, students became more motivated, especially in terms of gaining a positive attitude for the English language and culture, and 2) competitive group activities that followed the watching of video materials positively influenced student participation. Implications for EFL classrooms with low student motivation are discussed.<strong></strong></p>

Study of Consonant Pronunciations Errors Committed by EFL Learners

2019 ◽  
pp. 48-56
Author(s):  
Ali Akbar Khansir ◽  
Afsaneh Salehabadi
Keyword(s):  
English Language Learners ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
English Language ◽  
Age Group ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
Listening Skill ◽  
English Pronunciation ◽  
Efl Students ◽  
Knowledge Of Language

As the topic suggests, the research paper presents Study of Consonant Pronunciations Errors Committed by EFL Learners. Error analysis always tries to resolve language learners’ problems in acquiring second or foreign language setting. Learning to English pronunciation is perhaps as important as learning listening skill, speaking, and spelling. Errors in English pronunciation create several problems for English language learners in their works. In other words, most of the English language errors of pronunciation are due to the lack of knowledge of language learners. However, all the students in our sample are of age group (16-25) at Bushehr language institute and they are all Iranian nationals. In addition, all of them were female learners. An English pronunciation (consonant) test was used to get information about the knowledge of the learners in English pronunciation. Findings of this article indicated that the first and second hypotheses of this article were accepted, but the third hypothesis was rejected. However, the findings of this paper showed that the Iranian EFL students have problem to pronounce English sounds correctly.

scholarly journals A Review of Studies on Cognitive and Metacognitive Reading Strategies in Teaching Reading Comprehension for ESL/EFL Learners

2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (6) ◽  
pp. 94
Author(s):  
Aziza M. Ali ◽  
Abu Bakar Razali
Keyword(s):  
English Language Learners ◽  
Reading Comprehension ◽  
Reading Strategies ◽  
English Language ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
Written Information ◽  
Efl Teachers ◽  
Correct Reading ◽  
Efl Students ◽  
Metacognitive Reading Strategies

Being able to read well is important for English language learners. Through the process of reading, the learner becomes an active participant in producing an interaction with the writer of the text through predicting, analyzing, summarizing and using other types of reading strategies. However, building such a connection between the reader and the written information of the text is complex and for English as a second language (ESL) and English as a foreign language (EFL) students, it can be quite difficult for them to apply different types of reading strategies. This article provides a review of literature on 27 studies on the teaching of reading strategies (particularly cognitive and metacognitive reading strategies) for ESL/EFL learners, which reveals that ESL/EFL teachers need to keep updating their teaching methods to meet the ESL/EFL students&rsquo; needs, particularly in the use of correct reading strategies. The authors also highlight some of the main issues that prevent ESL/EFL students from improving and developing their reading comprehension. Furthermore, the authors discuss and conclude the article by suggesting to ESL/EFL teachers some teaching strategies to be applied in the reading lesson to improve the ESL/EFL students&rsquo; use of reading strategies.

scholarly journals The Relationship between Morphological Awareness and Vocabulary Knowledge of Thai EFL Students

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 34
Author(s):  
Sarunya Tarat
Keyword(s):  
English Language ◽  
Morphological Awareness ◽  
Northern Region ◽  
Vocabulary Knowledge ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Identification Test ◽  
Efl Students ◽  
Unknown Words ◽  
The Relationship

This study focuses on the relationship between morphological awareness and vocabulary knowledge of English among Thai EFL university students. All participants are taking English language as their major field in the universities situated at the lower northern region of Thailand. The morphological awareness identification test was employed to identify the linkage between morphological awareness and vocabulary gain Thai EFL learners. The test was divided into 2 parts: self-checking and morpheme identification. Fifty English vocabularies in intermediate and upper-intermediate level were used in the test in which the participants were requested to check whether they have seen the vocabularies in the test and also asked to break those vocabularies into morphemic units. The results showed that the participants possessed an adequate level of morphological awareness to break words into morphemes correctly even though they were unknown words of the participants. Additionally, the findings also revealed that there is no significant difference between male and female in acquiring morphological awareness of English and gaining English vocabularies.

scholarly journals Problems in Grammatical Structure: A Case Study of B.Ed. Student at the Education Department

sjesr ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 420-425
Author(s):  
Dr. Gulzar Ahmed ◽  
Dr. Syed Shafqat Ali Shah ◽  
Dr. Muhammad Nisar
Keyword(s):  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Quantitative Research ◽  
English Language ◽  
Text Structure ◽  
Grammatical Structure ◽  
Education Department ◽  
Undergraduate Level ◽  
English Grammar ◽  
Grammatical Structures

English grammar is how words in the English language are translated into text. This includes the structure of words, phrases, clauses, and phrases, up to and including full-text structure. The main objective of the authors is to discover the difficulties of grammatical structures for students at the Department of Teacher Education. Shikarpur Shaikh Ayaz University. The students of B.Ed. undergraduate level of education department was selected as a data population. The fifty students were randomly selected from the education department. There is quantitative research underway. The researchers used a testing tool for a questionnaire. The student's collected data were analyzed by SPSS-Descriptive statistics.  Some of the challenges and problems are facing during the English Grammar lesson of B.Ed. students. The students have used the conditional verb and also the proper use of a phrasal verb that is one of the problems with students. The use of an article is also one of the fundamental problems for undergraduate students. Teachers should make it possible for students to practice these materials either through activity-based teaching or through the CLT method so that they can be more attentive to EFL learning and not focus on translation alone.

scholarly journals “How the Furby Coming is…”: Interference of First Language and Culture in Thai EFL Learners’ Paragraph Writing

2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (10) ◽  
pp. 92
Author(s):  
Sakulrat Worathumrong
Keyword(s):  
English Language ◽  
First Language ◽  
Communication Strategy ◽  
Target Language ◽  
High Exposure ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
Language And Culture ◽  
English Writing ◽  
Low Exposure ◽  
Analysis Models

This study investigated features of first language and cultural interference in Thai EFL learners&rsquo; English paragraph writing on popular culture. Drawing from theoretical grounds of interlanguage, language interference, and rhetorical interference, the sample of 30 English paragraphs of Thai EFL undergraduate learners was examined quantitatively and qualitatively. The English writing included 15 paragraphs from the Thai learners with high exposure to English language (TEH) group, and 15 paragraphs from those with the low exposure to English language (TEL) group. Using analysis models of metadiscourse markers and topical progressions, the findings revealed the preference of both groups in the use of interactive and interactional devices as well as SP, PP, and EPP types of topical progressions. The preference highlights the feature of oral-based, inductive, or reader-responsible writing orientation with a possibility of writing development, especially among the TEHs to reach expectation of the target language readers. The findings encourage assessing the Thai EFL learners&rsquo; writing as a process and raising frequent awareness of both language and rhetorical interferences when writing English texts. As the introductory stage during COVID-19 remote learning, writing to express learners&rsquo; interests could be used as an effective communication strategy for a positive instructor-learner relationship which assists the learners to further engage in the class in a more meaningful way.&nbsp;

scholarly journals Exploring Metadiscourse Use in Thesis Abstracts: A Cross-Cultural Study

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ardi Nugroho
Keyword(s):  
Academic Writing ◽  
English Language ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Writing Studies ◽  
Cultural Backgrounds ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
Language And Culture ◽  
American Students ◽  
Integral Role ◽  
Native Speakers Of English

<p>The use of metadiscourse in academic writing has become a topic of interest in recent years. It can be defined as the words and phrases that writers use in their writing to express their ideas and thoughts to make it easier for readers to process the information presented. It is especially crucial in academic writing since writers are expected to present their arguments in an appropriate and acceptable manner. It has also been said that culture plays a role influencing how arguments and ideas are expressed, especially in academic writing. Although metadiscourse plays an integral role in academic writing, studies have shown how EFL learners often make mistakes in employing this linguistic device. From this, the writer would like to explore the metadiscourse produced by Indonesian EFL learners and compare it with how native speakers of English employ metadiscourse in their writing. In other words, this study is basically an attempt to find out whether the metadiscourse produced by the two groups with different cultural backgrounds are different or similar. The source of data for the current study is the metadiscourse markers from the thesis abstracts of students of the English Language and Culture Department at Bunda Mulia University and American students from a university in the U.S. In order to analyze the metadiscourse markers found in the thesis abstracts of the Indonesian and American students, the writer will make use of the AntConc software version 3.5.6 by Anthony (2018). The result of the study reveals that there are some differences and similarities in the way both group of students employed these markers.<strong></strong></p><strong>Keywords: </strong>metadiscourse, thesis abstracts, Indonesian and American students

scholarly journals EFL Students’ Coherence Skill in Writing: A Case Study of Third Year Students of Bachelors in English Language

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (8) ◽  
pp. 120
Author(s):  
Enas Abdelwahab Eltom RahmtAllah
Keyword(s):  
English Language ◽  
Research Question ◽  
Writing Skills ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
Writing Test ◽  
Study Results ◽  
Efl Students ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Undergraduate Programs

Writing is considered an essential learning tool for all content areas. However, to master and have excellent writing skills for EFL students of undergraduate programs is challenging. Cohesion and coherence are both crucial textual elements to master writing. The present study examined coherence in English essays written by 46 female Saudi EFL third year at Unaizah College of Sciences and Arts, Qassim University. Examination of essays by the subject group designed to answer the research question. 1.) To what extent are EFL students competent in achieving coherence in writing skills? Each student was asked to write two essays (a writing test that included two essay questions). The data were analyzed through SPSS. The study results demonstrated that learners are not competent in achieving coherence in their writing tasks. In light of these results, recommendations are presented. The results also recommend further studies to investigate coherence and action research to improve this crucial skill among undergraduate Saudi EFL learners.

scholarly journals An Analysis of EFL Learners' Vocabulary and Lexical Collocational Knowledge

2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ardi Nugroho
Keyword(s):  
English Language ◽  
Significant Positive Correlation ◽  
Mother Tongue ◽  
Vocabulary Knowledge ◽  
Vocabulary Size ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
Language And Culture ◽  
L1 Influence ◽  
Lexical Collocations ◽  
The Relationship

<p>One of the problems that EFL learners, more specifically Indonesian learners of English, often face deals with collocation. A possible reason for why learners often make inaccurate collocations is the influence of the learners’ L1 or mother tongue. Another likely reason for the learners’ inability to produce native-like collocations is their lack of vocabulary knowledge. So how exactly does one measure learners’ vocabulary knowledge? One way of doing it is by looking at their vocabulary size and depth as well as their receptive and productive vocabulary. From this, the writer has become interested in exploring the relationship between learners’ vocabulary and collocational knowledge, as well as the learners’ L1 influence on their collocation recognition and production. The source of data for the current research is students from the second and fourth semesters of the English Language and Culture department at Bunda Mulia University. In order to measure these variables, the following tools are used: the Vocabulary Size Test (Nation and Beglar, 2007), the Words Associate Test (Read, 1998) and an adapted version of Gyllstad’s (2007) receptive and Nikonzika’s (2012) productive collocation tests. Each of the variables is analyzed using the Pearson product-moment correlation. The findings show that there is a significant positive correlation between the students’ vocabulary knowledge and English lexical collocational knowledge. It is also found that the students’ L1 directly influences their recognition and production of English lexical collocations.</p><p> </p><p><strong>Keywords: </strong> vocabulary size and depth, receptive and productive collocation</p>

scholarly journals Implicit cognitive meanings of the spatial prepositions in, on, and at in English

2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 70-83
Author(s):  
Chunying Wang
Keyword(s):  
English Language ◽  
Conceptual Metaphor ◽  
Document Analysis ◽  
Intimate Relationship ◽  
Cognitive Grammar ◽  
Cognitive Perspective ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
Spatial Prepositions ◽  
Temporal Concepts ◽  
Efl Students

Learning English prepositions is deemed as a difficult task for EFL learners (Cheng, 2006) because some English prepositions have many similar but slightly different meanings (Boers & Demecheleer, 1998; Radden, 1985). EFL leaners face difficulty in using English prepositions because they may only learn the linguistic forms but not the conceptual meanings embedded in prepositions. The purpose of this research is to investigate English spatial prepositions in, on, and at from a cognitive perspective, e.g. the theory of conceptual metaphor (Lakoff & Johnson, 1980) and cognitive grammar (Langacker, 2008). The investigation of the present study was mainly done with document analysis (Bowen, 2009; O’Leary, 2014). After reviewing many primary and previous studies (Dikken, 1995; Freeborn, 1987; Lindstromberg, 1996, 2010; Nishimura, 2005; Radden, 1985), the findings show that English prepositions in, on, and at have not only their prototypical meanings but also implicit meanings, which may be extended by metaphors. It is also found that there is an intimate relationship between the spatial and temporal meanings of prepositions. Besides, the prototypical meanings of in, on, and at can be the foundation to learn other spatial or temporal concepts. Therefore, it is suggested that understanding metaphors and the implicit meanings embedded in prepositions can help EFL students’ learning of English language.

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