scholarly journals EFL Program Management in Turkish Cypriot Educational Context

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 25-36
Author(s):  
Chinaza Solomon Ironsi

This study is carried out to examine EFL program managers’ working conditions, eliciting information on their views on EFL program management within the Turkish Cypriot context. This study also upholds that an understanding of their perceptions as EFL program managers will help create a better working condition and improve EFL programs and instruction, characterized by excessive proliferation of language centers that put profit-making as their utmost priority. Two research questions were utilized to investigate EFL program managers’ challenges and barriers while managing foreign language institutes and centers. The study adopted a qualitative research design approach; 45 EFL program managers and coordinators with international qualifications with over ten years of experience were purposefully sampled and recruited as participants for this study. A semi-structured interview was the instrument for data collection, which experts validated to ensure it measures what it purports to measure. Data collected were transcribed and analyzed through thematic analysis to uncover themes used to define and interpret findings. This study’s findings indicate that the absence of professional expertise, training/retraining programs, resource availability, and competition from other universities were the significant challenges EFL program managers face while carrying out their duties. It was also unveiled that over monetization of EFL programs within institutions brings about challenges in program management. Recommendations were given to bridge these gaps.

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 84-94
Author(s):  
Ade Tuti Turistiati ◽  
Baby Poernomo

This study aims at answering the questions what causes many junior high school students fall into drug abuse, and what kind of treatment  must be done so that students have self-control and are not subject to drug abuse. This study employed a phenomenological approach of a qualitative research design.  In this study a semi-structured interview is used to understand how participants experienced the phenomenon. The research revealed that the interpersonal communication has a major role in students' self-control so as not to fall into drug abuse. This study contributes significantly to educational field particularly teachers in secondary schools so that it can be used as a reference to provide counseling to parents about the importance of interpersonal communication to build students’ self-control to prevent teens from falling into drug abuse.


2019 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
pp. 581
Author(s):  
Asysyfa Asysyfa ◽  
Ayu Maulidia Handyani ◽  
Siska Rizkiani

This study investigated the students’ speaking anxiety in the first grade of vocational high school. It emphasized on the level, the causal factors and the strategy to reduce the anxiety. It applied descriptive qualitative to answer the research questions. The data were obtained through questionnaire and interview. The Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (FLCAS) questionnaires and interview were administered to 30 students. It was revealed that [a1] the factors that make students feel anxious in speaking in English were lack of preparation, afraid of left behind in understanding the material or what the teacher talks about, afraid of making mistakes, afraid of being laughed by his/her friends, unconfident to spell, pronounce and select the words in English. It was also found that there were eight students in level Relaxed, twelve students in level Mildly Anxious, and ten students in level Anxious. Last, the strategies that students should do to reduce their anxiety are do more preparation before speaking, try to be more confident in saying English words, and pronunciation practice. Keywords:   Speaking, Speaking anxiety, EFL Classroom. [a1]It was revealed that


ReCALL ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 33 (2) ◽  
pp. 143-160
Author(s):  
Zsuzsanna Bárkányi

AbstractThis paper examines the role of motivation, anxiety, and self-efficacy beliefs and their interplay with regard to speaking on beginners’ Spanish LMOOCs. It answers three research questions: (1) what are learners’ motivations and goals for joining these LMOOCs and how do these relate to foreign language speaking anxiety; (2) how do learners’ self-efficacy beliefs and anxiety levels change as a result of course completion; and (3) is there a correlation between motivation, foreign language speaking anxiety, and self-efficacy beliefs in this context? A mixed-methods research design used quantitative and qualitative data gathered from self-reflective questionnaires and forum discussions. The results reveal that learners with intrinsic motivation are more likely to complete the courses than those who sign up to manage a personal situation or advance in their career or studies. No direct correlation was, however, found between motivation and the other variables under scrutiny. Learners present higher self-efficacy beliefs at the end of the courses than at the beginning, while anxiety levels are affected to a much smaller degree by course completion. Although spoken interactions in this learning environment are not synchronous, apprehension and anxiety prevent many learners from fully participating in the speaking activities.


2020 ◽  
Vol 43 (2) ◽  
pp. 150-168
Author(s):  
Peter Yongqi Gu ◽  
Guoxing Yu

Abstract This article aims to help teacher-researchers engage in empirical research on classroom-based assessment for formative purposes. We will first introduce the key features of classroom-based formative assessment (CBFA), and analyze the research questions asked in round-one projects funded by the Fund for Assessment Research (FAR) in Foreign Language Education in China. Next, we will illustrate how some research questions can be answered by analyzing a video-taped lesson from a round-one FAR project. We conclude by calling for more teacher-led research and argue that research on CBFA by teachers will not only produce valid interpretations and applicable findings, but also constitute a viable model for teacher professional development.


2020 ◽  
pp. 002076402098419
Author(s):  
Kwamina Abekah-Carter ◽  
George Ofosu Oti

Background: Homelessness among people with mental illness has grown to become a common phenomenon in many developed and developing countries. Just like in any other country, the living conditions of homeless people with mental illness in Ghana are unwholesome. Despite the increased population of these vulnerable individuals on the streets, not much is known about the perspectives of the general public towards this phenomenon in Ghana. Aim: This research was conducted to explore the perspectives of community members on homeless people with mental illness. The main study objectives were (a) to find out the impacts of the presence of persons with mental illness on the streets and (b) to ascertain the reasons accounting for homelessness among persons with mental illness. Method: Utilizing a qualitative research design, twenty community members were sampled from selected suburbs in Nsawam and interviewed with the use of a semi-structured interview guide. The audio data gathered from the interviews were transcribed verbatim and analysed thematically. Results: Majority of the participants asserted that homeless people with mental illness had no access to good food, shelter, and health care. They further stated that some homeless people with mental illness perpetrated physical and sexual violence against the residents. Moreover, the participants believed that persons with mental illness remained on the streets due to neglect by their family members, and limited access to psychiatric services. Conclusion: This paper concludes by recommending to government to make mental health services accessible and affordable to homeless persons with mental illness nationwide.


2015 ◽  
Vol 36 (2) ◽  
pp. 56-62 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adriana Ferreira da Silva ◽  
Helena Becker Issi ◽  
Maria da Graça Corso da Motta ◽  
Daisy Zanchi de Abreu Botene

OBJECTIVE: To reveal the perceptions, expertise and practices of multi-professional teams providing palliative care to children in a paediatric oncology unit. The research questions were based on everyday care, facilitations and difficulties, essential aspects of professional approaches, and the inter-disciplinary focus of care for children in palliative care and their families. METHOD: Qualitative, exploratory and descriptive research. Data were collected from June to October 2013 from nine professional multidisciplinary team members by means of a semi-structured interview submitted to thematic analysis. RESULTS: The following four themes emerged from analysis: palliative care: conceptions of the multi-professional team; the construction of singular care; the facilitations and difficulties experienced by the team and significant lessons learned. CONCLUSIONS: The subjects revealed that the team also suffers with the death of a child and, like the family, moves toward the construction of coping mechanisms for the elaboration of mourning. Paradoxically, the team shares knowledge to determine the foundations of a singular therapeutic project and inserts the family in this process so that it can be the protagonist of the child's care.


2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 145-152
Author(s):  
Dina Rasmita

Cancer that occurs in children does not only affect children, but also parents. Parents experience anxiety, stress, fear of losing their children, and helplessness in caring for their children, so that parents are less than optimal in caring for their children. Parent empowerment can increase parents' knowledge, confidence, and ability to care for their children. Previous research found several obstacles to parent empowerment carried out by nurses so that parent empowerment was not optimal in its implementation. Knowing barriers and supports in implementation of parent empowerment in caring for children with cancer can support implementation of parent empowerment to be more optimal. The purpose of this study was to explore barriers and supports in parent empowerment in caring for children with cancer based on the nurse's perception. The design of this study was qualitative research design with a phenomenological approach. The data was collected by in-depth interview method using semi-structured interview guidelines on six nurses who were selected by purposive sampling technique. The data analysis was carried out by thematic analysis with the analysis stage according to Colaizzi. The results of this study were resulted in four themes, namely parental attitudes, parental characteristics, attitudes of nurses, availability of nurses and facilities. This study concluded that implementation of empowering parents to care for children with cancer became more optimal by knowing the barrier and supports in empowering parents care for children with cancer and nurses could make more effective planning in caring for children with cancer.


Author(s):  
Van Huynh Ha Le ◽  
Huy Ngoc Nguyen

Foreign language anxiety (FLA) has a debilitating influence on the oral performance of EFL speakers. Over the past decade, most research in MALL has emphasized the use of mobile applications on improving language skills, but little research has explored the impact of using video recording tool to decrease foreign language speaking anxiety (FLSA). Hence, this study examines the effect of using video recording tool on students' EFL speaking anxiety. Twenty-eight pre-intermediate freshmen at Van Lang University, Vietnam, participated in a seven-week project. In this research, mixed method was used in combination with three data collection instruments: questionnaire, observation notes, semi-structured interview. The results indicated that video recording tool significantly lowers EFL speaking anxiety. Therefore, this study makes a major contribution to research on FLA by exploring freshmen's anxiety causes and its impacts on learners' oral performance and offering a technique to help them overcome that phobia: mobile phone video recording.


Prominent ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-18
Author(s):  
Listyani Listyani ◽  
Onie Pradina

Vocabulary mastery is a key aspect of foreign language leaning. Various methods can be used to improve vocabulary mastery. This present study was conducted to find out what strategies the learners of the Extensive Reading Course used in mastering the vocabulary in an English Language Education Program (ELEP) at a private university in Central Java, Indonesia, based on the Schmitt (2000) theory. The strategies discussed in this study are the determination, metacognitive, cognitive, memory and social strategy. In this study, a qualitative research design was applied to collect the data using questionnaire with open-ended questions. There were fifty-six participants of three Extensive Reading classes for this study. The result of the study showed that the determination strategy was the most preferable. Most of the participants used that strategy to enrich their vocabulary, while the social strategy was the least used. It was found that most of ER learners used determination strategies to mastery vocabulary.


Author(s):  
Behnam Behforouz ◽  
Anca Daniela Frumuselu

This paper investigates the efficiency of text messaging as an English as a Foreign Language (EFL) instructional tool to enhance learner autonomy and perception at the Islamic Azad University-South Tehran Branch, Iran. The study considers seventy-four learners to participate in the study after the administration of an Oxford Placement Test to measure their proficiency level. Participants are randomly assigned in experimental and control groups, including 37 participants each. A questionnaire is used as a pretest and posttest to measure learners` autonomy. Participants from the experimental group use text messaging (the treatment) to receive instructions, whereas those from the control group receive traditional classroom instructions in a face-to-face channel. A semi-structured interview is also used to collect date on experimental group participants` perception in using MALL in classrooms. The results reveal remarkable differences between the experimental and control groups’ means on their learner autonomy scores. However, the impact of the independent samples t-test has shown that there is no statistically meaningful gender difference among the learners regarding their autonomy scores. The findings based on the semi-structured interview showed complimentary views on MALL. The current study is beneficial since its outcomes could be relevant for EFL curriculum developers and English language teachers in the use of mobile learning and text messaging in the English classroom.


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