Addressing the challenge of over-crowdedness in English First Additional Language (EFAL) classrooms

2021 ◽  
Vol 55 (1) ◽  
pp. 151-173
Author(s):  
Sekanse Abiner Ntsala ◽  
Mamosebatho Julia Ramabenyane ◽  
Mariette Koen ◽  
Irma Loock
Keyword(s):  
Intermediate Phase ◽  
Explicit Instruction ◽  
Poor Performance ◽  
Process Approach ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Free State Province ◽  
Selective Approach ◽  
Efl Teachers ◽  
Constructive Teaching ◽  
The Impact

This paper lends itself to extenuating the impact of over-crowdedness in the intermediate phase EFAL classrooms. An in-depth  investigation into the causes of poor performance in the intermediate phase EFAL classrooms revealed over-crowdedness as one of the main possible causes. The pedagogical impediments that result from this phenomenon affect the intermediate phase EFL teachers more due to the curriculum requirements of this subject. The study was conducted in the Motheo Education District, in the Free State Province. The data was collected qualitatively, through the use of a group interview, semi-structured interviews and observations. The interviews focused on both well-performing and poor performing schools, while the observations focused on the well-performing schools. The data, which was analysed thematically, revealed the following practices that can benefit EFAL teachers working in overcrowded intermediate phase classrooms: effective planning and preparation, the integration of skills, constructive teaching, explicit instruction, a selective  approach, notetaking and the process approach. The study was premised on the theory of hope, as the insights from well-performing  schools expound the importance of not losing hope and remaining motivated to mitigate contextual factors.

Enhancing EFL Teachers’ Pronunciation Pedagogy Through Professional Learning: A Vietnamese Case Study

RELC Journal ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 003368822095247
Author(s):  
Loc Tan Nguyen ◽  
Jonathan Newton
Keyword(s):  
Professional Learning ◽  
Classroom Practice ◽  
Teaching Practice ◽  
Teaching Skills ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Teachers Perceptions ◽  
Efl Teachers ◽  
Teacher Professional ◽  
Teachers Professional Development ◽  
The Impact

The role of teacher professional learning (TPL) in assisting teachers to teach pronunciation in English as a second/foreign language (ESL/EFL) contexts has received little attention. The study reported in this paper extends this line of research by investigating how six EFL teachers at a Vietnamese university transform and integrate the pronunciation pedagogical knowledge they received from a TPL workshop into teaching practice. It then examines the teachers’ perceptions of the impact of the workshop on their knowledge gains and pronunciation teaching skills. Data were collected from seven lesson plans designed by the teachers, video recordings of 24 subsequent classroom observations, and six individual semi-structured interviews. The study adopted a content-based approach to qualitative data analysis. The findings show that the teachers were all able to translate TPL into classroom practice of pronunciation teaching. The findings further show that workshops designed and implemented in accordance with research-based TPL principles can be effective for promoting teachers’ knowledge of pronunciation pedagogy and refining their pronunciation teaching skills. The study has implications for ESL/EFL teachers’ professional development in pronunciation teaching.

scholarly journals ONLINE COLLABORATIVE ACTION RESEARCH IN AN EFL CONTEXT: THE EFFECT ON TEACHERS’ REFLECTIVE PRACTICE

2021 ◽  
Vol 84 (4) ◽  
pp. 158-175
Author(s):  
Zahra Fathian ◽  
Majid Farahian
Keyword(s):  
Action Research ◽  
Reflective Practice ◽  
Teaching Practice ◽  
Online Discussion ◽  
Collaborative Action Research ◽  
Discussion Groups ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Collaborative Action ◽  
Efl Teachers ◽  
The Impact

Technology can be integrated in teacher education and, hence, be used to empower teachers to extend learning beyond their classrooms. Therefore, the present study was an attempt to investigate English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers’ perceptions of action research and explore the impact of their collaborative action research in an online discussion group on their reflective practice. In addition, we were interested to know how online collaborative research action research contributes to their promotion of reflective thinking.The participants of this study were 23 Iranian EFL teachers who were recruited based on convenience sampling. The design of the study was a pre-test post-test design. As such, two questionnaires were given to the participants at the beginning and end of the study. As the next step, the participants took part in online discussion groups for 10 sessions in which they read and watched some essays and videos, wrote about some topics, and shared their ideas and experiences. To consolidate the findings, semi-structured interviews were held with 12 participants. The result of the study indicated that most of the participants of the study had optimistic views regarding action research. In addition, participating in online discussion groups enabled them to think more about their teaching practice and gain higher levels of reflectivity. The results of the qualitative phase indicated that the online courses had effect on the teachers’ practice and reflectivity in different ways. Despite all studies conducted on action research in Iran, contradictory results have been found regarding teachers’ perception of action research. In addition, to the researchers’ knowledge, no study has investigated the use of online collaborative action research on teachers’ reflection. As such, it seemed necessary to conduct a study to explore the role of action research as a framework for improving reflective practice.

scholarly journals Turkish EFL teachers’ attitudes towards online instruction throughout the Covid-19 outbreak

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 87
Author(s):  
Mustafa Civelek ◽  
Işılay Toplu ◽  
Levent Uzun
Keyword(s):  
Online Instruction ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Adequate Knowledge ◽  
Efl Teachers ◽  
Teacher Training Programs ◽  
Service Training ◽  
Research Questions ◽  
Teachers Attitudes ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Instruction Methodology

The purpose of the present study is to shed light on the attitudes of Turkish EFL teachers towards online instruction (OI), the impact of training on their attitudes, the obstacles they encounter, and the strategies to deliver OI more successfully throughout the Covid-19 outbreak. The participants were 70 EFL teachers (52 female, 18 male). The data was collected through a questionnaire and semi-structured interviews. The data were analyzed by using SPSS 26. Descriptive statistics of each item was calculated and an independent sample t-test was conducted to answer the research questions. For the analysis of the interview data, the responses of the participants were transcribed and the recurring themes were identified. The results revealed that the attitudes of Turkish EFL teachers, who experienced online instruction during the Covid-19 outbreak, are not as positive as expected regarding some of the results of the related research in the literature. The interview findings revealed that EFL teachers do not feel capable of delivering online instruction effectively since they do not have adequate knowledge and necessary skills to do that. In view of the findings, it’s suggested that online instruction methodology should be integrated into teacher training programs and teachers should receive an in-service training about the related subject.

scholarly journals A Qualitative Study of Organisational Response to National Quality Standards for 7-Day Services in English Hospitals

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Sutton ◽  
Julian Bion ◽  
Russell Mannion ◽  
Janet Willars ◽  
Elizabeth Shaw ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Poor Performance ◽  
Organisational Culture ◽  
National Standards ◽  
Local Context ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Improvement Strategy ◽  
Senior Staff ◽  
National Quality ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Background National standards are commonly used as an improvement strategy in healthcare, but organisations may respond in diverse and sometimes negative ways to external quality demands. This paper describes how a sample of NHS hospital trusts in England responded to the introduction of national standards for 7-day service (7DS), from an organisational behaviour perspective. Methods We conducted 43 semi-structured interviews with executive/director level and clinical staff, in eight NHS trusts that varied in size, location, and levels of specialist staffing at weekends. We explored approaches to implementing standards locally, and the impact of organisational culture and local context on organisational response. Results Senior staff in the majority of trusts described a focus on hitting targets and achieving compliance with the standards. Compliance-based responses were associated with a hierarchical organisational culture and focus on external performance. In a minority of Trusts senior staff described mobilising commitment-based strategies. In these trusts senior staff reframed the external standards in terms of organisational values, and used co-operative strategies for achieving change. Trusts that took a commitment-based approach tended to be described as having a developmental organisational culture and a history of higher performance across the board. Audit data on 7DS showed improvement against standards for most trusts, but commitment-focused trusts were less likely to demonstrate improvements on the 7DS audit. The ability of trusts to respond to external standards was limited when they were under pressure due to a history of overall poor performance or resource limitations. Conclusions National standards and audit for service-level improvement generate different types of response in different local settings. Approaches to driving improvement nationally need to be accompanied by tailored support for improvement that takes into account local context and organisational culture.

A Bourdieusian analysis of the educational field and professional identity of EFL teachers

2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 156-170
Author(s):  
Hamidreza Hashemi Moghadam ◽  
Seyyed Mohammad Reza Adel ◽  
Saeed Ghaniabadi ◽  
Seyyed Mohammad Reza Amirian
Keyword(s):  
Professional Identity ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Social Field ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Hermeneutic Phenomenological ◽  
Dynamic Representation ◽  
The Social ◽  
Efl Teachers ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Educational Field

PurposeInformed by the Bourdieusian construct of the social field, the purpose of this paper is to explore how different aspects of the educational field and the sub-field of English language teaching in Iran influence diverse components of the professional identity of high school EFL teachers. To this aim, the impact of the power hierarchization structure, distribution of capitals and field autonomy, as important aspects of the social field theory, is investigated in relation to Iranian EFL teachers’ professional identity construction.Design/methodology/approachVan Manen’s (1990) hermeneutic phenomenological research method was adopted to analyze the data obtained through the semi-structured interviews and reflexive journals from 15 Iranian EFL teachers at high schools.FindingsThe hermeneutic phenomenological analysis of the data yielded to the extraction of one global, three organizing and six basic themes. The global theme was the educational field and professional identity. The resulting organizing themes were: first, autonomous field and teachers’ commitment; second, asymmetric power relation and teachers’ autonomy; and, finally, cultural capital and teachers’ motivation. This study revealed how the complex and multi-dimensional nature of the power relations between the field of education and power influenced the professional identity of EFL teachers.Research limitations/implicationsThis dynamic representation of the inherent complexities of the educational context contributes to a more profound understanding of the role of the micro and macro contextual factors in formulating teachers’ professional identity. The implications of this study are further explained.Originality/valueHereby, the authors declare that all the procedures of data collection and analysis have been just done by the researchers.

scholarly journals The Influence of Linguistic Insecurity on Thai EFL Teachers’ Teaching Performance

2021 ◽  
Vol 3 (8) ◽  
pp. 35-44
Author(s):  
Palatee Jantri ◽  
Pilanut Phusawisot
Keyword(s):  
English Language ◽  
Poor Performance ◽  
English Language Teaching ◽  
Teaching Performance ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Study Approach ◽  
Public Secondary School ◽  
Efl Teachers ◽  
Academic Year ◽  
Linguistic Insecurity

Using a case study approach, this study focused on teachers’ linguistic insecurity. The purpose of this study was to investigate the influences of Thai EFL teachers’ linguistic insecurity on their teaching performance. The data were obtained from classroom observation and semi-structured interviews. Using a purposive sampling, the participants were two Thai EFL teachers who were in-service teachers at a public secondary school in the northeastern part of Thailand. The study was conducted in the second semester of the 2020 academic year. Data were analyzed by using content analysis to identify themes. The results of the study indicated that the participants perceived that linguistic insecurity influenced their teaching performance in three aspects: lack of confidence about English knowledge, poor performance in English language teaching, and negative self-concept toward their English language ability. The discussion of findings, pedagogical implications, and recommendations for further investigations were also discussed.

scholarly journals Teacher cognition and the teaching of EFL reading in Norwegian upper primary classrooms

2014 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Trine Mathiesen Gilje
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Education ◽  
Language Learner ◽  
Teacher Cognition ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Primary Classrooms ◽  
Diverse Classrooms ◽  
Reading Materials ◽  
Efl Teachers ◽  
Mental Constructs ◽  
The Impact

This article is about a qualitative study of teacher cognition and the teaching of EFL reading in Norwegian upper primary classrooms. Teacher cognition, defined by Borg (2003, p.81) as ‘what teachers think, know, and believe and the relationships of these mental constructs to what teachers do in the language teaching classroom’, is a relatively new field of research, with few studies focussing on its link to the teaching of EFL reading skills in state schools or in young language learner classrooms. The study therefore aimed to explore upper primary EFL teachers’ reading-related materials and practices, what knowledge, attitudes and beliefs formed the basis of their choices, and the role of teacher education in this context. The method was semi-structured interviews with eight randomly selected 6th grade EFL-teachers. The study showed that the teachers primarily based their teaching of EFL reading on textbooks, used them in similar ways, but also used additional reading materials to varying extents. The teachers thus appeared to be heavily guided by their textbooks, in addition to intuition and routines. The impact of formal teacher education varied from teacher to teacher. Nevertheless, it was argued that pre-service and in-service teacher education will play an important role in helping future EFL teachers make and understand the choices they make about reading materials and pracices, so that they can meet the demands of increasingly diverse classrooms due to differences in linguistic, social and national backgrounds between pupils.

Impact and Challenges of Centres for Education and Community Action in Cameroon’s North West Region

2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 51-74
Author(s):  
Fonteh Athanasius Amungwa
Keyword(s):  
Rural Development ◽  
Economic Crisis ◽  
Formal Education ◽  
Community Education ◽  
Sampling Technique ◽  
Community Action ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
North West ◽  
West Region ◽  
The Impact

This paper examines the impact of community education and challenges facing Centres for Education and Community Action as a rural development strategy in Cameroon. The study was conducted in the North-West Region of Cameroon, employing field observations, semi-structured interviews with key informants using a convenient sampling technique and through elaborate review of documents. These research instruments were blended into what is termed triangulation and the data collected was analysed descriptively. The main focus of qualitative analysis is to understand the ways in which people act and the accounts that people give for their actions. This paper posits that extreme dependence on the provision of Western formal education cannot solve the problems of a rapidly changing society like Cameroon, which is facing a long-term economic crisis and persistent unemployment issues of graduates. Consequently, education should be redefined in the context of the prevailing economic crisis to make it responsive to the aspirations of rural communities. Findings showed that community education had contributed towards rural development immensely but has suffered many challenges due to neglect of the field in the policy agenda. This paper recommends the integration of community education with formal education to facilitate group and community betterment in particular and rural transformation in general.

A general practice provider federation in a mixed health economy in England: a case study investigation

2018 ◽  
Vol 68 (suppl 1) ◽  
pp. bjgp18X696929
Author(s):  
Jill Mitchell
Keyword(s):  
General Practice ◽  
Shared Vision ◽  
Health Economy ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
The North ◽  
Common Strategy ◽  
Common Purpose ◽  
Collaborative Working ◽  
The Impact

BackgroundThere is an emerging debate that general practice in its current format is out-dated and there is a requirement to move to a federated model of provision where groups of Practices come together. The emergence of federations has developed over the past 5 years but the factors that influence how federations develop and the impact of this new model is an under researched area.AimThe study explored the rationale around why a group of independent GP practices opted to pursue an alternative business venture and the benefits that this strategy offered.MethodA single organisational case study of a federation in the North of England was conducted between 2011–2016. Mixed methods data collection included individual and group semi-structured interviews and quantitative surveys.ResultsFederations promote collaborative working, relying on strategic coherence of multiple individual GP practices through a shared vision and common purpose. Findings revealed many complexities in implementing a common strategy across multiple independent businesses. The ability of the federation to gain legitimacy was two dimensional – externally and internally. The venture had mixed successes, but their approach to quality improvement proved innovative and demonstrated outcomes on a population basis. The study identified significant pressures that practices were experiencing and the need to seek alternative ways of working but there was no shared vision or inclination to relinquish individual practice autonomy.ConclusionOrganisational development support is critical to reform General Practice. Whether central funding through the GP Five Year Forward View will achieve the scale of change required is yet to be evidenced.

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