scholarly journals Online graded assessment of Saudi EFL learners during the Covid-19 pandemic: A successful implication of TAM

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 667-685
Author(s):  
Syed Naeem Ahmed ◽  
Shafiq Ur Rehman ◽  
Said Muhammad Khan
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
English Language ◽  
Forced Response ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
Kingdom Of Saudi Arabia ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
Digital Assessment ◽  
Online Assessments ◽  
English Language Institute

This paper highlights a successful experience of assessing English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learner’s proficiency at Yanbu English Language Institute (YELI), Kingdom of Saudi Arabia during the Covid-19 restrictions. To investigate the existing problem various interventions were introduced such as replacing Google Classroom with Black Board, implementing online proctoring during the exams, and portfolios. The provision of online assessments was a forced response to Covid-19 restrictions, which brought many challenges and risks without any prior experience and precedence. Addressing these challenges and making well-informed decisions that can potentially affect the performance and career of hundreds of learners, requires judicious justification and reasoning. The paper reflects on the well-informed strategy TAM used to deploy and address the challenges of online graded assessments effectively during the current pandemic for EFL learners to continue their progress toward their specializations while maintaining academic rigor and quality. This paper also intends to provide an insight to language teachers, practitioners, and policymakers to tackle similar challenges in the future. One among many other objectives of this research was to address the role of digital assessment for effective teaching, learners’ motivation, achievements, and transferability.

Machine Translation for EFL

Relay Journal ◽  
2019 ◽  
pp. 228-235
Author(s):  
Paul J. Moore ◽  
Phil Murphy ◽  
Luann Pascucci ◽  
Scott Sustenance
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Machine Translation ◽  
English Language ◽  
Foreign Language Learning ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
Technical Developments ◽  
English Language Institute ◽  
Changing Role

This paper reports on an ongoing study into the affordances of free online machine translation for students learning English as a foreign language (EFL) at the tertiary level in Japan. The researchers are currently collecting data from a questionnaire, task performance, and interviews with 10-15 EFL learners in an English Language Institute in a university in Japan. The paper provides some background on the changing role of translation in language learning theory and pedagogy, before focusing literature related to technical developments in machine translation technology, and its application to foreign language learning. An overview of the research methodology is provided, along with some insights into potential findings. Findings will be presented in subsequent publications.

scholarly journals Role of Content Schema in Reading Comprehension Among Saudi EFL Students: EFL Teachers’ Perspective and Use of Appropriate Classroom Strategies

2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 96
Author(s):  
AbdulRahman Al Asmari ◽  
Choudhary Zahid Javid
Keyword(s):  
Reading Comprehension ◽  
Reading Strategies ◽  
English Language ◽  
Reading Skills ◽  
Background Knowledge ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
Classroom Strategies ◽  
English Language Teachers

This empirical survey investigates the perceptions of English language teachers towards the role of content schemata in reading comprehension among Saudi EFL learners. Furthermore, it also attempts to explore the use of appropriate classroom strategies employed by English language teachers to activate content schemata to enhance learners’ reading comprehension. A modified Likert-scale strongly-agree to strongly-disagree questionnaire was administered to 61 male and female EFL faculty from English Language Center (ELC), Taif University to generate data. The findings have reinforced that background knowledge of Saudi EFL learners help them significantly in reading faster with better understanding. It has also been reported that pre-reading strategies of brainstorming, classroom discussions about the topic and questioning are the most favored ones to activate Saudi EFL learners’ background knowledge. It has also been learnt that while-reading strategies of directing the students’ attention to signal words, main idea, important phrases, titles, subtitles and effectively linking the target text to their students’ cultural and social experiences also contribute towards reading comprehension. The findings have also revealed that English language teachers consider low English language proficiency and poor reading skills of Saudi ELF leaners as well as the lack of appropriate teaching aids as the major obstacles in activating the content schemata. Several recommendations have been forwarded which have significant pedagogical implications in materializing much sought-after goal of effective ELT in the KSA by ensuring better reading skills among Saudi EFL learners.

scholarly journals Assessing English Teachers as a Foreign Language (EFL) Telecollaborative Competence: A Case Study from Saudi Arabia

2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 52
Author(s):  
Ahmed Abdulateef Al Khateeb
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
English Language ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
First Century ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Educational Systems ◽  
English Language Teachers ◽  
Future Research Directions

The role of telecollaborative competence has become vital among twenty-first century English language teachers. Yet, the reinforcement of this competence with its establishment within educational systems is not always straightforward; particularly in traditional educational settings. Looking at telecollaborative competence amongst English as a foreign language (EFL) teachers in relation to region, gender and qualification have become central inquiries within this research. The findings have shown correlation among some elements of telecollaborative competence as shown in Tables 1-6. In line with these findings, some recommendations, and future research directions have been suggested.

scholarly journals Vocabulary Barriers Experienced by University Students in the Process of Learning English as a Foreign Language

2021 ◽  
Vol VI (I) ◽  
pp. 173-182
Author(s):  
Muhammad Ahsan ◽  
Shahid Nawaz ◽  
Syed Waseem Azhar Seemab
Keyword(s):  
Public Sector ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
University Students ◽  
English Language ◽  
Social Needs ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
Universities And Colleges ◽  
English Language Teachers ◽  
The Difference

The purpose of this research was to analyze the vocabulary barriers experienced by learners of public sector universities and colleges situated in South Punjab. SPSS version 23 was used to check the frequency and percentage of the responses of the respondents. The bulk of the learners indicated that they fail to achieve sufficient vocabulary to satisfy their educational and social needs due to certain factors such as the scope and magnitude of the assignments given to the students meaning the number of words that L2 learners need to learn is extraordinarily large. Similarly, the difference between spoken and written English becomes challenging on the way of learning L2 properly. To overcome all these barriers, the role of English language teachers is vulnerable as he is regarded as the custodian of L2 classroom, especially in EC and OC Circle countries and Pakistan is included in OC Circle countries.

scholarly journals The Influence of CLL on EFL Learners’ Speaking Skill

2018 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 48-56
Author(s):  
Muhammad Ilyas
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
English Language ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
Post Test ◽  
Speaking Skill ◽  
The Mean ◽  
The University

Some students in the university got some difficulties to express their ideas, especially expressing in foreign language such as English. How to start comunication and interaction sometime need someone to stimulate. The phenomenon often encountered in various levels of education even to the students college. The students tended to be very subjective towards topics, their peer or even partner. In the teaching and learning process, the teacher not only transfer the information to the students but also facilitate the students, stimulate to learn English and provide the technique suitable with the students’ need. Teaching English language might be carried out through several techniques, one of them was CLL (Community Language Learning). In this technique, students were treated as clients who could express their problems to the counselor as well as in the community. In addition, the teacher played the role of translator to help students express themselves using English. This means that learners had enough opportunities to speak without worrying about their limitations in using English. The results showed that CLL helped students to express ideas systematically. The ideas were organized well, understandable, and standardized. In addition, CLL improved the result of students’ score in speaking skill. The mean score increased from 54.74 in pre-test to 72.86 in post-test. It means that CLL gave good influence on students’ speaking skill.

scholarly journals Enhancing Cultural Intelligence and Interpersonal Communication: Multi-Authenticity Exposure in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) Context

2018 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 87
Author(s):  
Anahid Bahrami ◽  
Mehry Haddad Narafshan
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Interpersonal Communication ◽  
Cultural Intelligence ◽  
English Language ◽  
Authentic Materials ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
Efl Context ◽  
Post Test ◽  
Moderate Change ◽  
English Language Institute

<p><em>The current study focuses on authentic exposure, specifically whether multi-authentic tasks affect the nature of L2 learners’ </em><em>cultural intelligence and interpersonal communication in the English as a foreign language (EFL) context of Iran. To this end, </em><em>sixty learners at an English language institute were assigned to control and experimental groups to carry out the M-A tasks. M-A was manipulated by assigning visual, aural, and printed tasks. Descriptive and inferential </em><em>analyses of data, </em><em>a comparison of the control and experimental groups over a four-month period, </em><em>revealed that </em><em>the implementation of authentic materials was successful in raising the cultural intelligence and interpersonal communication of </em><em>EFL learners in the post-test. </em><em>A subsequent ANOVA analysis showed that </em><em>among M-A materials, visual was the most and aural was the least effective one increasing EFL learners’ cultural intelligence. Moreover, the printed material was the most effective one to make a moderate change in interpersonal communication of the participants.</em><em> </em><em></em></p>

scholarly journals Learner Autonomy in Language Learning: Syrian Refugee EFL Learners’ Perceptions and Readiness

2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 115 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nilcan Bozkurt ◽  
Fadime Yalcin Arslan
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
English Language ◽  
Learner Autonomy ◽  
Mixed Method Research ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
Syrian Refugee ◽  
8Th Graders ◽  
And Gender

This study examined Syrian refugee English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners’ perceptions regarding learner autonomy as well as their readiness for autonomy in English language learning. It also investigated the effects of grade and gender on learners’ perceptions. A mixed-method research design was utilized, and findings indicated that neither grade nor gender had caused statistically significant differences in terms of Syrian refugees’ perceptions of learner autonomy in language learning; nevertheless, both had caused statistically significant differences in terms of sub-scales. While the 8th graders in this study perceived themselves as being more autonomous in terms of experience in language learning, the female students seemed more autonomous in terms of their perceptions of the role of teachers and feedback. Additionally, although the learners’ perceptions regarding autonomy were slightly lower than their readiness for autonomy, there was a statistically significant relationship between their perceptions of learner autonomy and their readiness for autonomy in language learning. When their perceptions about learner autonomy increased, their readiness for autonomy also increased.

scholarly journals The Anxiety Factors among Saudi EFL Learners: A Study from English Language Teachers’ Perspective

2017 ◽  
Vol 10 (6) ◽  
pp. 160 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fariha Asif
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
English Language ◽  
Cultural Factors ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
Language Anxiety ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
English As Foreign Language ◽  
College And University ◽  
Efl Teachers ◽  
English Language Teachers

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.

scholarly journals Fostering EFL Learners’ Grammar Achievement Using Recasts and Meta-linguistic Awareness Error Correction Feedbacks

2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 35
Author(s):  
Elham Barzang
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
Error Correction ◽  
English Language ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
Group Design ◽  
Linguistic Group ◽  
Linguistic Awareness ◽  
Post Test ◽  
English Language Institute

The current study examines the effect of recasts and meta-linguistic error correction feedbacks and changes in EFL learners' English language grammar achievement. The participants were fifty (25 in each group) intermediate-level EFL learners at an English language institute. This quantitative experimental study was implemented on the basis of pre-test-post-test equivalent-group design. After administrating the CPT, 50 students (based on the Cambridge Assessment Criteria) who were randomly and equally assigned to recast and meta-linguistic awareness group (25students in each group) were selected as the sample of this study.The data were collected through classroom grammar test (pre- and post-tests). Both groups promoted in terms of grammar achievement, but the findings supported the superiority of grammar development in meta-linguistic group. The results revealed higher scores for explicitly corrected (meta-linguistic awareness) learners than implicitly corrected (recasts) ones. The findings lend support to the argument concerning the role of meta-linguistic awareness in language learning.

scholarly journals Love and enjoyment in context: Four case studies of adolescent EFL learners

2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 73-101 ◽  
Author(s):  
Liana Maria Pavelescu ◽  
Bojana Petrić
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Learning Process ◽  
Positive Emotions ◽  
English Language ◽  
Foreign Language Learning ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
Adolescent Students

This study explores the foreign language learning emotions of four EFL adolescent students in Romania and the ways in which their emotions emerge in their sociocultural context. Multiple qualitative methods were employed over a school semester, including a written task, semi-structured interviews with the learners and their teachers, lesson observations and English-related events outside the classroom. It was found that, while all four participants reported experiencing positive emotions in language learning, a distinction was identified in the intensity and stability of their emotions. Two participants expressed a strong and stable emotion of love towards English, while the other two participants experienced enjoyment in their English language learning without an intense emotional attachment to English. Unlike enjoyment, love was found to be the driving force in the learning process, creating effective coping mechanisms when there was a lack of enjoyment in certain classroom situations and motivating learners to invest greater effort into language learning in and out of the classroom. The findings thus revealed that, unlike enjoyment, love broadened cognition and maintained engagement in learning. The study emphasizes the role of strong, enduring positive emotions in teenage students’ language learning process.

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