scholarly journals EFL Teachers’ Challenges to Write Content and Language Objectives for CBI Lesson Plans at a Mexican University

Author(s):  
Andres Arias de la Cruz

This study aims at documenting the challenges that three Mexican students participating in a Content-Based Instruction (CBI) module from a Master’s (MA) program in English Language Teaching (ELT) face when writing content and language objectives for CBI lessons. Through qualitative research based on a content analysis design, one lesson plan of each MA student (n=3) was analyzed using criteria proposed by well-known researchers. Results revealed that MA students wrote clear content objectives. The major challenge of content objectives was found in the observability of these objectives. Language objectives were less successful, as most of them were rated as not clear. Moreover, language objectives focused almost exclusively on language skills and grammar and language structures. Finally, the verbs used in the language objectives demanded a low-order cognitive category from students. Despite being EFL trained teachers, these MA students had more challenges in writing language objectives than content objectives. Thus, material, examples, and directions provided to students should explicitly draw students’ attention to the most common challenges to help overcome them.

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 66-80
Author(s):  
Arif Nugroho ◽  
◽  
Mariam Haghegh ◽  

A number of research studies have been conducted to examine the practices and challenges of online English language teaching in the age of Covid-19 pandemic. However, research on the teachers’ insights and suggestions to overcome the challenges of the emergency remote teaching still remains unexplored. The present study shed some light on EFL teachers’ teaching activities, challenges, and insights of the emergency remote teaching amidst the global pandemic. The data were obtained from 27 Indonesian EFL teachers (17 female and 10 male) by means of self-written reflection and semi-structured interview. The results revealed that the emergency remote teaching activities were conducted by administering online forum and discussion, integrating social media, and designing interactive exercises. Notwithstanding the facts, the teachers encountered some challenges such as unfamiliarity with digital platforms, inability to provide quick feedbacks, and lack of students’ motivation and engagement during the remote teaching. In responding to the challenges, this study further depicted that joining professional development programs, creating representative lesson plan, and designing interactive online classroom activities could became alternative solution. These results contribute to the realm of English language teaching as fruitful insights and as a ‘wake-up call’ for educational stakeholders in order to enhance the efficacy of online teaching and learning, particularly during the global pandemic.


2021 ◽  
pp. 518-526
Author(s):  
Narendra Kumar Jangir ◽  
Amol R. Bute ◽  
Amit Bansode

English language teaching for the engineering students in under-develop colleges of rural location encounters challenges of resources. Even the task of imparting necessary language skills becomes difficult with the help of traditional classrooms. The syllabuses for professional courses are designed to comprehend the language skill to cop-up with the entire degree course and face the placement process towards the end of the course. Hence, the paper would be discussing the solution to the problem of the lack of facilities in teaching language to the professional undergraduates in under-develop colleges. It would also bring out the scope of discovering beyond basic software programs on the computer like Grammarly and Ginger, instead discusses the implication of new literacies in learning a language in the classroom of professional college.


2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Joshua Gaston

Media literacy education is a field that is fraught with disagreement over definitions, approaches, principles, and purposes, but teaching media literacy is arguably needed now more than ever before, especially for ESL and EFL students. From the research available, it appears as though many ESL and EFL students are not taught media literacy in their home countries. Additionally, much of the research that does exist in regards to teaching media literacy to ESL and EFL students focuses on forms of media that are no longer relevant to most learners. Since ESL and EFL teachers support the development of their students’ English-language skills, it is justifiable that at least some of the responsibility of media literacy education should fall on their shoulders. The widespread transition to virtual learning as a result of COVID-19 presents a unique opportunity for ESL and EFL teachers to teach media literacy to their students. However, because this period also presents numerous challenges to the public’s collective media literacy skills, it is imperative that teachers integrate media literacy education into their pedagogy. Keywords: media literacy, ESL, EFL, COVID-19


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 323-337
Author(s):  
Xinying Li ◽  
Marilyn Fernandez Deocampo

It is generally known that textbook is the first and the most vital tool for teachers to proceed with successful English language teaching activities. Hence, it is indispensable for all language teachers to evaluate books critically and choose a suitable textbook. This article aimed to explore the different features of two famous college English textbooks utilized in the researcher’s school of Wenshan University, Yunnan, China, in alignment with the China Standards English framework, and whether the two books satisfied local students’ needs and proficiency. It is hoped to provide an empirical example of textbook evaluation from a Chinese context and inspire local teachers to make possible improvements during evaluating and selecting a textbook. To achieve the objective, a checklist aligned with the framework and a questionnaire was utilized for the collection of comparable data. Moreover, content analysis and percentage were used during the analysis of the two textbooks and students’ perception about the textbooks, respectively. Results of the evaluation indicated that the two books are not aligned with the China Standards English framework suggested levels. Both textbook levels tend to be lower than the framework demanded levels, namely level five and six. Students also implied that the textbooks are accessible and seem not to help their language skills improvement. The recommendation is that these textbooks need to be adapted and modified for the English educational practices to suit local students’ needs and English proficiency to achieve the China Standards English suggested levels.


Author(s):  
Bilge Akıncı

This chapter presents an example of STEM and English language teaching integration. In this study, it was aimed to improve students' English language skills and increase their engagement with the appliance of STEM. In this descriptive study, a way of integrating STEM into the language teaching process was explained with an applied example. The research is of qualitative design with the implementation of action research method. As a result, the implementation improved students' language skills and gave students the chance of using knowledge of other disciplines in English courses while increasing their engagement. Additively, the implementation developed students' 21st century skills. It is thought this study can be an inspiration for English teachers to apply various approaches in their teaching processes. In addition, the study can be accepted as an example of the contribution of STEM to English language teaching process. Moreover, the study is a representation of teacher research, and this research can be assessed as an inspiration for teachers to turn their practices into research.


Author(s):  
Revathi Viswanathan

With the advancement in technological tools and devices, language teachers can foster learning of communication skills through mobile devices. There is a growing interest among students to use the latest gadgets for getting connected with their peers. It must be admitted that the usage of these devices would bring in a real revolution in the teaching and learning process. It has been widely accepted that mobile learning promotes students' active participation. Teachers also now understand that one of their responsibilities is to create more opportunities to make their students practice language skills. Although numerous researches has been done in the field of English Language Teaching in India, research on mobile assisted language learning is still in an infancy stage. In this chapter, the author discusses the possibility of offering training through mobile apps, based on research she conducted recently.


2016 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 133
Author(s):  
Hussain Ahmad ◽  
Sayyed Rashid Shah ◽  
Emad A. Alghamdi ◽  
Sayyed Rashid Shah

<p>When it is an undeniable reality that learning is at the centre of teaching profession, we assume that the continuing professional development would be a priority for all teachers. EFL teachers like the teachers of other subjects update their skills and knowledge base in order to keep abreast of the new developments and challenges in the field of English language teaching. The present study seeks to explore how EFL teachers in an English language institute at a Saudi Arabian university perceive the effectiveness of Continuing Professional Development in their context as well as the ways in which different modes of CPD can promote and enhance the teachers' learning. This study was conducted at an English language institute of a Saudi university. The study adopted a quantitative approach using online questionnaire. The quantitative data was collected from 50 EFL teachers who were qualified and experienced in the field of TESOL. The findings from the study showed that the teachers viewed external CPD such as courses, seminars, workshops and conferences, and self-directed endeavors like informal discussions, reading professional literature, and self-reflection more beneficial to their development than the internal CPD like classroom observations and other in-house training sessions. This paper concludes that the institution should improve its internal professional development scheme by expanding the professional development unit's role, enhancing the quality of its mentoring program, and establishing communities of practice wherein teachers engage in highly professional practices.</p>


2015 ◽  
Vol 19 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 147-157
Author(s):  
SM Kamruddin Ropum ◽  
Md Yasin Arafat

Smart teacher smart class (STSC) is a portal developed by Dnet which contains curriculum, teachers’ guide, education policy, textbook, lesson plan, multimedia contents, and teaching-learning strategies on different subjects aiming to provide content and pedagogical support to the secondary school teachers in Bangladesh. Making an offline CD, the STSC portal is provided to the respective teachers of secondary schools Dnet works with. The regular use of the STSC portal helps the teachers to improve their knowledge about effective teaching-learning techniques. The study was designed as one group pre-test post-test quasi-experimental method to find the effect of STSC portal on secondary school English teachers’ English language teaching knowledge (ELTK). Twenty eight English teachers from 14 secondary schools were selected purposively to form the group and the tests were administered on them considering 6 months intervention (STSC portal) period. The test was adapted from Cambridge language teaching knowledge (TKT) test focusing on different ELT aspects. The tests scores of the teachers were categorized in 4 knowledge levels: limited, basic, deep and extensive. The findings of the study show that the STSC portal induces a significant improvement of the teachers’ ELTK. Most of the teachers showed better performances in the post-test than the pre-test. Moreover, significance (0.001) and effect size score (0.91) also depict a clear and large effect in enhancing teachers’ ELTK. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/nelta.v19i1-2.12087 Journal of NELTA, Vol 19 No. 1-2, December 2014: 147-157


2014 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 94-103
Author(s):  
Rup Narayan Shrestha ◽  
Bharat Pahari ◽  
Jai Raj Awasti

The present article discusses the importance of language, in general, and English, in particular, in the context of engineering education in Nepal. It mainly discusses the importance and application of language laboratory for the enhancement of skills and proficiency of English language in the learners of Bachelor's level in engineering in Nepal. The main objective of the present article is to highlight the importance of teaching and learning of English language in the B.E. level in engineering by using language laboratory. In course of the present study, literature available in different accessible sources was reviewed for collecting necessary data and designing theoretical framework for the same. From the study, it has been found that language laboratory is tremendously helpful in creating favourable atmoshphere for language learning and helping the learners to acquire necessary language skills useful to them in sharpening their study at present and streamlining their research and innovative activities in their further studies in the future. English language is now the language of worldwide communication, and therefore, it is very essential for the students of engineering to be proficient in communication through English not only for grabbing job opportunities open at present but also to furthering their future research and innovative endeavors and publishing their reports and research articles based on them. Language Laboratory is highly instrumental for attaining ample proficiency in English language, the means of global communication.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/jie.v10i1.10882Journal of the Institute of Engineering, Vol. 10, No. 1, 2014, pp. 94–103


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