scholarly journals A Computer-Aided Analysis on Word Form Errors in College English Writing — A Corpus-based Study

Author(s):  
Huaqing He

Based on contrastive analysis and computer-aided error analysis, this paper uses qualitative and quantitative methods to explore word form errors committed by Chinese non-English majors in their writing, collected in Chinese Learner English Corpus (CLEC). The aim is to offer English learners some help in the methods to improve their English writing proficiency and yield some suggestions on English language teaching. The main findings are as follows: (1) the word form errors account for 29.42% of the total language errors; (2) there is a negative correlation between word form errors and writing quality; (3) there is a significant difference in word form errors committed by college learners of different writing ability. In the end, the reasons for word form errors are analyzed and some pedagogical suggestions are put forward.

2021 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 52-57
Author(s):  
Mammadova Gunay Aqil

With the lapse of time the two nations- Americans and British always blamed each other for “ruining” English. In this article we aim to trace historical “real culprit” and try to break stereotypes about American English status in teaching English as a second language. In comparison with Great Britain the USA has very short and contemporary history; nevertheless, in today’s world American English exceeds British and other variants of English in so many ways, as well as in the choices of language learners. American English differs from other variants of the English language by 4 specific features: Inclusiveness, Flexibility, Innovativeness and Conservativeness. Notwithstanding, British disapprove of Americans taking so many liberties with their common tongue, linguistic researcher Daniela Popescu in her research mentions the fields of activities in which American words penetrated into British English. She classifies those words under 2 categories: everyday vocabulary (480 terms) and functional varieties (313 terms). In the case of functional varieties, the American influence is present in the areas of computing (10 %), journalism (15 %), broadcasting (24%), advertising and sales (5 %), politics and economics (24%), and travelling and transport (22%). Further on, the words and phrases in the broadcasting area have been grouped as belonging to two areas: film, TV, radio and theatre (83%), and music (17%). The purpose of the research paper is to create safe and reliable image of American English in the field of teaching English as a second language. Americans are accused in “ruining” English and for that reason learners are not apt to learn American English. The combination of qualitative and quantitative methods is used while collecting the data. The study concluded that the real culprits are British who started out to ruin English mainly in in the age of Shakespeare and consequently, Americans inherited this ruin from the British as a result of colonization. Luckily, in the Victorian Age British saved their language from the ruins. The paper discusses how prejudices about American English effect the choices of English learners.


Author(s):  
Rudolf N. Akongoh

Speaking is an important language skill that deserves a place both in English language teaching and English language assessment. However, the assessment of speaking in Cameroonian secondary schools is still neglected in many teacher-based English language tests. Often, attempts made to assess the skill are done either almost always indirectly or informally, leaving a wide gap between tenets professed in the Competency-Based Approach (CBA) to English language teaching and practice in the field. In 2012, the government of Cameroon officially introduced the CBA as the pedagogic paradigm for the teaching of English as a Second Language (ESL), and by extension, assessment in secondary schools. Eight years down the line, little seems to have changed concerning the way speaking has always been assessed, even though the CBA requires that learners practically demonstrate knowledge, skills and values in testing situations. This article set out to evaluate the contribution of teacher training to the assessment of speaking. Data was collected through qualitative and quantitative methods. A total of 259 questionnaires were administered to examiners of the June 2019 marking session of the Cameroon General Certificate of Education (CGCE) as well as members of the Cameroon English Language and Literature Teachers’ Association (CAMELTA). Also, four interviews were conducted with the maximum variation principle in mind. The findings revealed that teacher training, both pre-service and in-service, is a major factor responsible for the neglect of speaking in assessments. It was recommended that teacher-training institutions introduce or expand courses on testing to include direct assessment of speaking and that opportunities be created for in-service teachers to acquire certification on assessment within the framework of the CBA to English language teaching.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 1280-1288
Author(s):  
Abdel Hameed Al Awabdeh

To support the significance of instructor readiness for the adoption of E-learning, it is necessary to examine the factors affecting instructors’ integration of Moodle into their English classrooms, as well as the students' perceptions of those who are learning English by using Moodle. This study had chosen to implement both qualitative and quantitative methods of analysis. The study's subjects comprised 25 lecturers and 150 students. The findings revealed that the lecturers from the University of Amman's School of English used Moodle as part of the English language teaching method. The majority of them used the option of document uploading and sharing function to give assignments to students and encouraged them to access and download the course materials outside of learning sessions to better enhance their competencies in English learning skills. Additionally, it was later discovered that the positive impacts of adopting Moodle during English lessons are as follows: Moodle promotes student-centered learning engagement, anytime-anywhere learning, simplifies course management, and mitigates the expense and time constraint of delivering lessons. The drawbacks of using Moodle in English classes are linked to technological problems, mainly regarding access to the Internet, inadequate professional development given to instructors, and Moodle's efficacy. Students exhibited favorable views regarding English learning by using Moodle as a platform. This is shown through their great computer self-efficacy, system engagement, and user satisfaction.


2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (9) ◽  
pp. 12
Author(s):  
Aynur Kesen Mutlu

Based on the constructivist learning principles, self-assessment has been a targeted topic for many studies in the field of teacher education. Its importance and its leading to learner empowerment have been discussed for long. This current study in this line tries to move one step further by adding a correlative comparison between instructors’ and students teachers’ grading as well as searching into students’ views on self-assessment in Oral Communication Skills Course at English Language Teaching Department of a private university in Turkey. Interrater consistency was examined throughout the study. This study involves 21 student teachers who assessed their speaking performances five times using a micro-analytic rating scale. In the analysis of data, both qualitative and quantitative methods were utilized. Both data sets suggest that there is a high correlation between instructor and student teachers grading. The study has got some implications for curriculum designers, instructors and teacher candidates.


2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 12-19
Author(s):  
Ulrich Orlando Sèna Hindeme ◽  
Katchédé Etienne Iwikotan ◽  
Arlette Joséline Arlette Hounhanou

This paper presents a study on assessing English as a Foreign Language (EFL) students’ language proficiency in Benin secondary schools. Assessment and evaluation are indispensable components of English language teaching. Assessing students is crucial to both learners and teachers themselves in the sense that its basic function is to improve learning. However, much awareness has not been raised on the key roles of assessment in Benin secondary schools. This study aims at investigating how effective teachers’ assessment of their learners’ language abilities is in EFL classroom and to explore EFL learners’ attitude towards assessment. Using qualitative and quantitative methods, 56 EFL teachers and 458 lower intermediate and upper EFL learners in the Atlantic region in Benin participated in this study. The field study revealed that many teachers wrongly mistake assessment for test and thus use both terms to mean the same thing. Teachers have not been able to see tests as a way of assessing their teaching methods and upgrading their students’ language skills. Besides, most teachers stated that testing is the only tool they use in assessing their learners’ language proficiency and it is mostly for the purpose of assigning grades at the end of the terms. Students declared that most tests consist of grammar questions. As this study draws attention to the close relationship between assessment and teaching, training workshops have been recommended to guide and train teachers on how to effectively assess their students so that teaching and learning in the EFL classroom meet expected objectives and goals.


2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (6) ◽  
pp. 372
Author(s):  
Ali Bala ◽  
Emine Bala

Practice teaching for pre-service teachers is a crucial affair before starting their carrier. It is considered one of the fundamental elements of whole teaching programs of education faculties since the teacher candidates find the opportunities to observe and practice their theoretical knowledge through practice teaching programs in schools. Within this context, the present research sought to reveal the reflections of the education faculty’s seniors on practice teaching course utilizing both qualitative and quantitative methods. A private university’s English Language Teaching department’s seniors in Erbil were selected by convenience sampling as research sample, and 31 students participated in the questionnaire. A semi-structured survey used for this study including the parts of demographics, knowledge, skills and dispositions, field experiences and practice teaching, quality of instruction and two open-ended questions. The results indicated that most of the students expressed their positive reflections on their internship program. They believe the internship programs enable them to enhance their teaching skills and prepare them for real classroom atmosphere before graduation.


Author(s):  
Meryem Aherrahrou

Neuro-Linguistic Programming has attracted considerable attention in many different areas of life mainly in education. In this context, the major aim of this paper was to explore the implications and effect of Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) techniques in English language Teaching and Learning in the Moroccan context. Qualitative and Quantitative methods are used. In this study, we included 2 teachers with and without NLP experience as well as 2 groups including 43 students. Our results stated that after implementing NLP techniques in the classroom, teacher and learners participate together to create a positive atmosphere, increase productivity, motivate themselves to achieve excellence and reach their desired outcome not only inside the classroom but also in their personal life.


Author(s):  
Dedi Irwansyah

The emerging interest in using literature to teach English has not yet highlighted the significance of Islamic literature within Indonesian educational context. This article presents the portrayal of Islamic literature in English language teaching (ELT) study area and offers a possible conceptual model of integrating Islamic literature into ELT. Following a library research method, with the corpus consisting of fourteen stories and one poem derived from fifteen books, the findings of this study show that: most works of Islamic literature are designed for fluent readers; the presentation of Islamic literature is dominated by Middle East and Western writers; and the Western writers are not always sensitive to the symbols glorified by Muslim English learners in Indonesia. As to deal with the above findings, this study proposes a conceptual model consisting of input, process, and output elements. Not only does the proposed model strengthen the position of Islamic literature, but it also integrates the Islamic literature into English language teaching so that it could reach both fluent readers and beginning readers. The output of the proposed model, abridged and unabridged texts of the Islamic literature, can be utilized to teach vocabulary, grammar, the four basic skills of language, and Islamic values. 


2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 547-582 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ayşe Öztürk

This study attempts to investigate through causal-comparative research whether socio-scientific argumentation processes of prospective science teachers (PSTs) who had high and low socio-scientific argumentation skills differed from each other in terms of metacognition. The research was conducted with a total of 45 PSTs, 24of whom had high socio-scientific argumentation skills, and 21 had low socio-scientific argumentation skills. Data were gathered using qualitative and quantitative methods. Research results indicated that the PSTs with high socio-scientific argumentation skills displayed more metacognitive behaviors when compared to the PSTs with low socio-scientific argumentation skills and that they used more metacognitive strategies with regard to many components such as planning, decision-making, evaluation, monitoring, and organizing. Furthermore, a statistically significant difference was detected between the scores of the PSTs' metacognitive awareness skills in favor of the PSTs with high socio-scientific argumentation skills. These results demonstrated that the two groups with different socio-scientific argumentation skills differed from each other in terms of metacognition and that the PSTs with high socio-scientific argumentation skills were better in regard with metacognition.


2014 ◽  
Vol 590 ◽  
pp. 916-919
Author(s):  
Yan Juan Huo

As the flourishing of computer technology and the appearing of lots of large-scale and well-designed corpora and concordance software, corpus-based approach, an advanced teaching resources, has been widely employed in language researches of various fields and perspectives. English teaching material, the main source of language input, has the quality and authority in Chinese English language teaching classes. The present study attempts to bring about some innovations in construction and designing of teaching material on the basis of the Corpus of Contemporary American English (COCA). Moreover, the research is intended to effectively improve teacher’s input and introducing data-driven learning (DDL), and to effectively stimulate the motivations of students by using this computer-aided and COCA-based designing.


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