Students’ Perceptions of Video-based Tasks in the “American English File” Series: a Survey at People’s Security University

2022 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 129-144
Author(s):  
Huu Ngoc Nguyen ◽  
Thi Lam Nguyen
Keyword(s):  
Survey Design ◽  
American English ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Focus Group Interviews ◽  
Main Research ◽  
English Major ◽  
Student Volunteers ◽  
Listening Ability ◽  
Group Interviews ◽  
File Series

This study was a survey design conducted with the aim of exploring non-English major students' perceptions of video-based tasks in listening classes. The data were collected both quantitatively and qualitatively through two main research tools, namely Likert-scale questionnaires and semi-structured focus group interviews respectively. First, quantitative data was collected through the questionnaires delivered to 86 non-English major students with the use of Google forms to investigate how they perceive video-based tasks in the AEF series in terms of three components, namely Goals, Input, and Procedures. Then, qualitative data, which was gathered from two focus groups of student volunteers, was used to confirm and supplement the findings from the first tool. It was then discovered that the student participants' responses to the video-based tasks in American English File (AEF) series are generally positive. Moreover, students can improve their listening ability, have more motivation in listening lessons as well as better acquire real-life input from the videos.

scholarly journals College Students’ Possible L2 Self Development in an EFL Context during the Transition Year

2015 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 41 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ying Zhan ◽  
Zhi Hong Wan
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
Focus Group Interviews ◽  
Efl Context ◽  
Language Learning Motivation ◽  
Self Development ◽  
English Major ◽  
Cyclical Process ◽  
Group Interviews ◽  
Journal Entries ◽  
Academic Year

<p>In the field of second language learning motivation, the studies on process-oriented nature of possible L2 selves are scarce. In order to address this research gap, this study explored how a group of five Chinese non-English-major undergraduates developed their possible L2 selves during the transition year from high school to university. The content analysis of 4 focus group interviews, 202 journal entries, and 50 post-diary interviews show that in the first academic year, the five participants experienced a four-stage cyclical process of developing their possible L2 selves, namely, (a) generating multiple possible L2 selves, (b) selecting a possible L2 self to pursue, (c) realizing the selected possible L2 self, and (d) incorporating the realized possible L2 self into the present self scheme. More specifically, the selected possible L2 self was realized through elaboration of relevant imagination and alignment with a larger community. The study has enriched our understanding of the mechanism of possible L2 self development and shed light on motivating undergraduates to learn English in an EFL context.</p>

scholarly journals Monsters Escaping the Screen: Embodied Narratives of LARPS and Zombie Walks

2017 ◽  
pp. 42-54
Author(s):  
Kristina Stenström
Keyword(s):  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Embodied Experience ◽  
Focus Group Interviews ◽  
Narrative Device ◽  
Cultural Texts ◽  
Narrative Worlds ◽  
To Come ◽  
Group Interviews ◽  
Live Action

This article engages with communities that invite monstrous characters to come to life and invade three-dimensional spaces through real-life bodies. Through focus group interviews with participants in live action role-play (LARP) and zombie walks in Stockholm, this text explores the ways in which participants engage in physical encounters with monstrosity and the surrounding narrative worlds. First, I address how monstrous corporeality not only functions as fiction or escape but most concretely taps into contemporary discourses connected to corporeal change. Through Butler’s performativity and becoming and in connection with discourses of makeover culture, I argue that both LARPs and walks function as both performances and performative acts in which demands connected to idealized corporeal transformation may be concretized,reenacted and renegotiated. Second, the monstrous body here functions simultaneously as an embodied narrative device and a medium. Participants compare the emotional and physical experience of LARPing and zombie walking to that of consuming popular cultural texts in horror or thriller films and television. However, an aspect of zombie walks and LARPs is the concrete physical transformation of those who participate. Furthermore, the use of masks, clothing and jewelry all add tactile dimensions to (or enhance these dimensions in) an embodied experience of a story-world of monsters.

scholarly journals User Experiences with a Virtual Alcohol Prevention Simulation for Danish Adolescents

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (19) ◽  
pp. 6945
Author(s):  
Julie Dalgaard Guldager ◽  
Satayesh Lavasani Kjær ◽  
Patricia Lyk ◽  
Timo Dietrich ◽  
Sharyn Rundle-Thiele ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Pilot Study ◽  
Focus Group ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Initial Study ◽  
Alcohol Prevention ◽  
Focus Group Interviews ◽  
School Students ◽  
User Experiences ◽  
Promising Tool ◽  
Group Interviews

This pilot study explores 31 Danish adolescent user experiences for the newly developed virtual party simulation app—Virtual Reality (VR) FestLab. The main objective of this study was to investigate usability for VR FestLab, which aims to improve alcohol resistance skills for Danish adolescents. A secondary objective was to understand gameplay experiences. The study is a mixed method study that draws on questionnaire data (n = 31) and focus group interviews (n = 10) of boarding school students participating in the pilot study. Descriptive statistics were used to examine quantitative data, and qualitative data were analyzed thematically. Quantitative findings indicated that gameplay experiences of the VR simulation were positive, and all User Experience Questionnaire (UEQ) items were answered positively. The focus group interviews showed that adolescents found the simulation to be realistic. Feedback indicated that the group pressure experienced in the simulation was regarded to be less than in real life. Adolescents had varying approaches to playing the VR simulation, they thought the quality of the simulation was good, and only a few users experienced technical difficulties. These initial study findings indicate that VR FestLab is a promising tool for the prevention of alcohol use among adolescents.

Patient-centred professionalism in pharmacy: values and behaviours

2015 ◽  
Vol 29 (3) ◽  
pp. 413-430 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rebecca Elvey ◽  
Karen Hassell ◽  
Penny Lewis ◽  
Ellen Schafheutle ◽  
Sarah Willis ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Critical Incident ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Pharmacy Practice ◽  
Critical Incident Technique ◽  
Support Staff ◽  
Early Career ◽  
Focus Group Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Group Interviews ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose – Research on patient-centred professionalism in pharmacy is scarce compared with other health professions and in particular with pharmacists early in their careers. The purpose of this paper is to explore patient-centred professionalism in early career pharmacists and to describe reported behaviours. Design/methodology/approach – This study explored patient-centred professional values and reported behaviours, taking a qualitative approach. In all, 53 early-career pharmacists, pharmacy tutors and pharmacy support staff, practising in community and hospital pharmacy in England took part; the concept of patient-centred professionalism was explored through focus group interviews and the critical incident technique was used to elicit real-life examples of professionalism in practice. Findings – Triangulation of the data revealed three constructs of pharmacy patient-centred professionalism: being professionally competent, having ethical values and being a good communicator. Research limitations/implications – It is not known whether our participants’ perspectives reflect those of all pharmacists in the early stages of their careers. The data provide meaning for the concept of patient-centred professionalism. The work could be extended by developing a framework for wider application. Patient-centred professionalism in pharmacy needs further investigation from the patient perspective. Practical implications – The findings have implications for pharmacy practice and education, particularly around increased interaction with patients. Social implications – The data contribute to a topic of importance to patients and in relation to UK health policy, which allocates more directly clinical roles to pharmacists, which go beyond the dispensing and supply of medicines. Originality/value – The methods included a novel application of the critical incident technique, which generated empirical evidence on a previously under-researched topic.

scholarly journals Childhood and Children’s Retrospective Media Consumption Experiences

2017 ◽  
Vol 38 (2) ◽  
pp. 97-112
Author(s):  
Tora Korsvold
Keyword(s):  
New Media ◽  
Consumer Culture ◽  
Research Question ◽  
Media Consumption ◽  
Children's Media ◽  
Focus Group Interviews ◽  
Main Research ◽  
Group Interviews ◽  
Dominant Narratives

Abstract The focus in this article is on childhood and consumer culture with a special view on children’s media experiences retrospective. A historical perspective is applied as history provides an opportunity to reflect on changing processes within contemporary consumer culture, especially with a view on exploring how children grew up within a Norwegian context with the tradition of state regulated media. The following main research question is addressed: What are the dominant narratives on retrospective media experiences (radio and television)? The findings are based on a case study of adults reflecting on media consumption. Their experiences have been collected through focus group interviews as this approach can generate new insights into former experiences and contemporary childhood. The study shows that narratives on childhood in retrospective media experiences are influenced by both contemporary notions of childhood and the new media flow.

Femininities in teaching: dialectic of self and others

2016 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Akram Ramezanzadeh ◽  
Seyyed Mohammadreza Adel ◽  
Ahmad Reza Eghtesadi
Keyword(s):  
Grounded Theory ◽  
Identity Development ◽  
Gender Identity ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Focus Group Interviews ◽  
Main Research ◽  
Theoretical Sampling ◽  
Research Questions ◽  
Group Interviews ◽  
Depth Interviews

Purpose Purpose – The present study based on grounded theory explores the gender identity development of 40 Iranian female EFL teachers teaching at Iranian universities to examine how these women’s gender identity as part of their broader personal identity is developing through actions and inter-actions resulting from their job. Design/methodology/approach Design/methodology/approach–A grounded theory study including theoretical sampling and constant comparison was conducted to address our main research questions. Data were gathered through online focus group interviews, online, asynchronous, in-depth interviews, and reflective memos. Collected data were analyzed through open, axial, and selective coding techniques. Findings Findings – The results of the analysis of data led to the emergence of the final core theme of dialectic of self and others. Participants were in constant conflict of being a true woman, a woman behind the mask of a man, and a human wearing no gender. Originality/value Originality/value –The paper provides a new portrait of gender identity development in line with Wenger’s (1998) communities of practice demonstrating multidimensionality and complexity of femininities. Such a study can shed light on challenges, experiences, and expectations of women working outside the home.

Exploring Student Learning and Leadership through a University-Community Choral Initiative

2018 ◽  
Vol 35 (2) ◽  
pp. 203-216 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ailbhe Kenny
Keyword(s):  
Learning Experience ◽  
Leadership Capacity ◽  
Focus Group Interviews ◽  
Student Focus ◽  
Community Initiative ◽  
Student Volunteers ◽  
Irish Case ◽  
Group Interviews ◽  
University Community

Within a rapidly changing higher education landscape, there is an increased need for universities to look beyond their ‘ivory towers’ and into their surrounding communities in preparing students for the ‘real world’. Findings from an Irish case study explore a children's choral university-community initiative within an urban area of socio-economic disadvantage. The choral initiative involved 14 student volunteers and 150 children. Qualitative research, carried out over two years, involved student focus group interviews and reflective surveys. The research illuminates the multifaceted nature of the learning experience for students and examines to what extent such an initiative can build choral leadership capacity to work in school and community settings.

Management Strategy for Distributing Questionnaires and Interview Guidelines in the Research Data Collection Process

2018 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 104-111
Author(s):  
Po. Abas Sunarya ◽  
George Iwan Marantika ◽  
Adam Faturahman
Keyword(s):  
Focus Group ◽  
Data Collection ◽  
Management Strategy ◽  
Research Data ◽  
Accurate Information ◽  
Focus Group Interviews ◽  
Good Management ◽  
Research Activities ◽  
Data Collection Process ◽  
Group Interviews

Writing can mean lowering or describing graphic symbols that describe a languageunderstood by someone. For a researcher, management of research preparation is a veryimportant step because this step greatly determines the success or failure of all researchactivities. Before a person starts with research activities, he must make a written plan commonlyreferred to as the management of research data collection. In the process of collecting researchdata, of course we can do the management of questionnaires as well as the preparation ofinterview guidelines to disseminate and obtain accurate information. With the arrangement ofplanning and conducting interviews: the ethics of conducting interviews, the advantages anddisadvantages of interviews, the formulation of interview questions, the schedule of interviews,group and focus group interviews, interviews using recording devices, and interview bias.making a questionnaire must be designed with very good management by giving to theinformation needed, in accordance with the problem and all that does not cause problems at thestage of analysis and interpretation.

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