scholarly journals Benefits and Difficulties of Learning in Group Work in EFL Classes in Saudi Arabia

2017 ◽  
Vol 10 (7) ◽  
pp. 247 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nurah Alfares
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Adult Students ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Group Work ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
Telephone Interviews ◽  
Language Classes ◽  
Emotional Aspects ◽  
Quantitative And Qualitative Methods

This study investigates learners’ perceptions of the benefits and the difficulties of group work (GW) in EFL (English as a foreign language) classes. The purpose of this study is to explore the possible effects of GW, in order to better understand learners’ attitudes towards GW, and to inform language teachers of students’ views of using GW. A mixed-methods approach (quantitative and qualitative methods) was used to collect the required data for the study. Questionnaires were collected from 188 students in five private language institutions. These institutions specialise in teaching EFL to adult students studying in intermediate and secondary schools. From this sample, 20 students were interviewed in more detail in follow-up telephone interviews. The questionnaire examined learners’ general perceptions, and the telephone interviews further explored the questionnaire findings. The findings revealed that many language learners consider the advantages of GW to be mainly related to (1) cognitive aspects, i.e. benefits that help learners in the learning process; and (2) emotional aspects, which are benefits that enhance motivation for learners. However, some learners identified difficulties, mostly related to learners’ behaviours, which can result in uncooperative work in groups. These findings revealed that Saudi learners regard GW as effective in learning, but that some students’ negative behaviours may prevent them from obtaining the benefits of GW.

UNDERSTANDING SECOND LANGUAGE LEARNING DIFFICULTIES.Madeline E. Ehrman. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 1996. Pp. xvii + 346. $25.95 paper.

1998 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
pp. 434-435
Author(s):  
Anna Uhl Chamot
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Adult Students ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Second Language Learning ◽  
Learning Difficulties ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
Esl Students ◽  
Major Focus ◽  
Foreign Language Learners

The purpose of this book is to provide language teachers with insights and tools for understanding some of the reasons why their adult students often encounter less-than-smooth sailing when trying to learn another language. The book explores a variety of case studies that involve real students, thus bringing to life the human dimension of the learning difficulties presented. Although some examples of ESL students are provided, the major focus is on foreign language learners. Ehrman's felicitous writing style ensures that the book reads like an extended and intellectually stimulating conversation with the author.

scholarly journals Assessing the Communicative Use of Literary Texts in EFL Coursebooks

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 68
Author(s):  
Shaima J. Al-Saeed ◽  
Abdullah A. Alenezi
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
Literary Texts ◽  
Unique Contribution ◽  
Authentic Texts ◽  
Language Programs ◽  
Learning And Teaching ◽  
Language Classes

Integrating and utilizing literary texts from coursebooks in foreign language teaching could impact the communicative competence of language learners. The study aims to scrutinize the usage of authentic and inauthentic literary texts found in 44 mainstream English as a foreign language (EFL) coursebooks. The article particularly examines how texts can facilitate communicative language learning and teaching in language classes. To do this, the study proposes a set of principles that can enable using literary texts more appropriately. The analysis of the study indicates that authentic and inauthentic literary texts are used differently, with authentic texts providing great opportunities for communication and offering a unique contribution to the EFL classroom. The study has implications for language teachers and coursebook designers in language programs. Further recommendations are made on how literature can be used communicatively.

Qurʾanic Figurative Language to Develop High Order Thinking Skills (HOTS) and Religious Tolerance among Language Learners

2021 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 173-199
Author(s):  
Mahrus Asʾad ◽  
Ahmad Bukhori Muslim ◽  
Wagdi Rashad Ali Bin-Hady
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Figurative Language ◽  
Foreign Language Learning ◽  
Thinking Skills ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
Religious Tolerance ◽  
Foreign Language Learners

Abstract Similar to other theistic texts, the Qurʾan has some figurative languages which require deep thought for good comprehension. However, how these rhetorical imageries can inspire the development of higher order thinking skills (HOTS) and religious tolerance among language learners, two necessary skills in the information-laden era, is still less known. This study explores how the Qurʾan’s figurative languages serve as an inspiring basis to develop Bloom’s revised taxonomy of analyzing and evaluating thinking skills in foreign language learning. Document analysis shows that many verses in Sura (Chapter) Joseph and other five chapters contain some simile, personification, and metaphor in recounting past prophetical and scientific events humans need to learn for life. Incorporated into learning materials, these figurative languages require the foreign language learners to use their skills of sensing, imagining, and making logical reasoning to discern the real meanings. The discussion of Sura Joseph in the Qurʾan which recounts some prophets of Abraham’s descendants can also increase religious tolerance among young followers of Abrahamic religions. The study recommends some strategies on how language teachers base their teaching and learning practices on these religious scriptures to develop students’ critical thinking and create a more harmonious global citizenship.

scholarly journals African Immigrant Teachers Teaching Young EFL Learners: A Racial Discrimination Study

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 59-76
Author(s):  
Chinaza Solomon Ironsi
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Racial Discrimination ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Structured Interview ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
Mixed Method Research ◽  
African Immigrant ◽  
Immigrant Teachers ◽  
Second Language Teachers

Teaching English language to young learners in an English as a Foreign Language/English as a Second Language context could be challenging especially for African immigrants, as they face varying arrays of challenges ranging from low wages, staff abuse, and other racial discriminations. A lot has been written about racially related issues in our school system yet there are limited works of literature that focus on the challenges of African immigrant English as a Second Language teachers with regards to racial discrimination. To investigate this, a mixed-method research design was used to elicit information from 68 African immigrant English as a Second Language teachers, teaching young English as a Foreign Language learners in 3 countries. The participants were purposively chosen after obtaining written and oral consent from them. A structured questionnaire and semi-structured interview questions were instruments for data collection. Reliability and validity checks were carried out before administering the questionnaire. After analysis, a notable finding was that African immigrant teachers felt unaccepted by the host communities and this made it difficult for the English as a Second Language learners to listen to classroom instructions given by these immigrant teachers. Again, the parents of these learners find it difficult to accept African immigrant teachers teaching their children as they deemed them incompetent to teach them. Other findings of the study were vital in making pedagogical conclusions on racial discrimination issues encountered by African immigrant English as a Second Language teachers. The ways forward for an all-inclusive educational system devoid of ethnic, religious, sexuality and racial issues were suggested.

scholarly journals Reflections on the Practicability of Translation Proper in Foreign Language Classes

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
AWEJ for Translation & Literary Studies ◽  
Youcef BENAMOR
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Ad Hoc ◽  
Foreign Language Learning ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
Foreign Language Learners ◽  
Language Classes ◽  
Translation Techniques ◽  
General Linguistic ◽  
Teaching Learning

Foregrounding the paramount role of translation to boost foreign language learning at all educational strata, this reflective paper investigates whether translation is deemed a means to teach foreign languages or an end to prepare foreign language learners as prospective professional translators. Precisely, this reflective analysis aims to discuss these two research questions: do foreign language teachers simply use some amateur translation activities to upgrade their learners’ linguistic proficiency? Or do they find it necessary to teach translation models and techniques proper, targeting translational proficiency along with linguistic ability? Drawing on the researcher’s experience and specialist authorship, translation approaches and techniques as related to foreign language teaching/learning and 2) translation pedagogy types that govern the appropriate selection of translation techniques are the foundational units of this analytic endeavour. This analysis revealed that the basics of most well-known translation approaches and techniques are genuinely present in diverse foreign language classes. Additionally, teaching these translation approaches and techniques for general linguistic aims and for specific professional purposes are two different contexts where the former is shaped by presenting some mere language-based translation techniques and the latter by teaching much more specialist and profession-related ones. This categorisation inescapably determines the quality and quantity of translation practice and the nature of the teacher-learner pedagogical contract, aiming at foreign language learning per se, translation proficiency or both. According to either context, teachers should be aware of translation basics or translation proper to avoid ad hoc instruction and ‘translationese.’

scholarly journals “I feel like it’s giving me a lot as a language teacher to be a learner myself”: Factors affecting the implementation of a multilingual pedagogy as reported by teachers of diverse languages

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 579-606
Author(s):  
Raees Calafato
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Teacher Development ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Teaching Practices ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Foreign Language Learning ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
Development Programs ◽  
Factors Affecting

To boost the foreign language learning process, language teachers need to know how to implement a multilingual pedagogy, that is, they should be able to draw on their and their students’ knowledge of other languages during lessons. This qualitative study explored the extent to which 21 foreign language teachers in Norwegian and Russian upper-secondary schools were willing and able to implement multilingual teaching practices and the factors that they thought affected this implementation. The findings revealed three main factors, namely, their language knowledge, their positioning as language learners, and the level of support they received, which the participants reported as strongly influencing the extent to which they were able and willing to draw on their and their students’ multilingualism as a pedagogical resource. The findings also indicated that participants did not implement multilingual teaching practices differently based on the languages they taught, although there were differences between the participants from Norway and Russia concerning the teaching of English. The study has important implications for research on language teaching and learning in multilingual environments, educational institutions, and teacher development programs.

scholarly journals Dunkin’ the Donut: A Study on Students’ Patterns of Language Use through Technology Applications in Independent Language Learning

2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 125-132
Author(s):  
Norizul Azida Darus ◽  
Norhajawati Abdul Halim
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
The Other ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Foreign Language Teachers ◽  
Foreign Language Learners ◽  
Language Classroom ◽  
Technology Applications

Any language can be acquired at any time, but to acquire the language, one needs to learn the language. Learning a second or foreign language is not a favourite among second or foreign language learners. This is because learning a language is a very intense time-consuming activity. Learning is often unsuccessful because learners receive impoverished or insufficient input and lack of motivation. To this, second language or foreign language teachers play the most significant role to help and motivate the students to acquire the said language. The preferred method is to be immersed into the actual ecosystem of the target language and become part of the language ecosystem. The other way is to dunk the learners into the artificial ecosystem of the language classroom. In dunking, the learners are immersed temporarily and repeatedly into the simulated ecosystem language. As can be seen now, technology remains the only viable option to get enough interactive contact with the target language. Using interesting software is one of the methods in making learning more interesting. Furthermore, the students are able to practice the language not only during class time, but on their own free time outside of class hours, that is during students’ independent time of learning. The findings revealed that most students found using the applications has improved their language learning. The role of teachers on the other hand is to provide instructions and assist whenever necessary and needed by the students.

scholarly journals Learning Foreign Language: Between Globalization and Hegemony in Indonesia

2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 81-90
Author(s):  
E. Sulyati
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Cultural Values ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Foreign Language Learning ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
Foreign Language Learners ◽  
The People ◽  
Western Values ◽  
Western Hegemony

Implementation of foreign language learning in Indonesia is an effort for the Indonesian people to be able to absorb and follow the development of science and technology in the world, as well as a way to get into the global society. Behind this goal, there is a concern about the infiltration of (Western) values that can erode the identity of foreign language learners as Indonesian. This concern arises because in learning foreign languages contained information about foreign culture (Western) and its cultural values. Western cultural values, if not critically viewed by foreign language teachers and learners, are very likely to change the cultural outlook of learners in Indonesia. Foreign language learning is even suspected of being a Western means of doing hegemony towards the people of Indonesia (East). In this article explained about the situation of foreign language learning in Indonesia, forms of "Western" hegemony against "East" through foreign language learning, Alternative forms of ethnopedagogic and intercultural-based foreign language learning.

scholarly journals POTENSI DAN TANTANGAN PENGINTERNASIONALAN BAHASA INDONESIA DI FILIPINA

Widyaparwa ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 48 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-13
Author(s):  
Bayu Permana Sukma
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Qualitative Method ◽  
English Language ◽  
The Philippines ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
Foreign Language Teachers ◽  
Asean Countries ◽  
Target Country ◽  
Bahasa Indonesia

As one of the ASEAN countries, the Philippines is a strategic target country of Indonesian language internationalization. The internationalization endeavor in the Philippines has begun since 2016 when a number of BIPA (Bahasa Indonesia bagi Penutur Asing (‘Indonesian as a Foreign Language)) teachers were assigned to the country. Up to 2018, there have been 14 institutions facilitated with 898 students. This article aims to describe the potential and challenges of the spread of Indonesian language in the Philippines in terms of linguistic and non-linguistic aspects. This research employed a descriptive-qualitative method. The data in this research were obtained from interviews, questionnaires, observations, and literature studies. The results show that Indonesian language has potential to be internationalized and developed in the Philippines. It is based on several aspects: 1) the similarity between Indonesian language and Filipino, 2) the motivation of Indonesian language learners in the Philippines, 3) the good economic cooperation between Indonesia and the Philippines; and 4) the fairly big number of tourism visits from Indonesia to the Philippines and vice versa. However, the potential is also followed by some challenges. Some of them are 1) language policy in the Philippines, 2) the very strong influence of English language in the Philippines, and 3) the lack of Filipinos’ knowledge on Indonesian society, cultures, and politics. ABSTRAKSebagai salah satu negara ASEAN, Filipina merupakan negara sasaran strategis peng-internasionalan bahasa Indonesia. Penyebaran bahasa Indonesia secara formal di negara ini di-mulai sejak tahun 2016 ketika sejumlah tenaga pengajar BIPA (Bahasa Indonesia bagi Penutur Asing) dikirim ke negara tersebut. Hingga tahun 2018, tercatat sudah 14 lembaga yang terfasilitasi dengan 898 pemelajar. Artikel ini bertujuan untuk memaparkan potensi dan tantangan pe-nyebaran bahasa Indonesia di Filipina ditinjau dari aspek kebahasaan dan nonkebahasaan. Penelitian ini menggunakan metode deskriptif kualitatif. Data dalam penelitian ini diperoleh dari hasil wawancara, kuesioner, observasi, dan studi pustaka. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa bahasa Indonesia memiliki potensi untuk terus disebarkan dan dikembangkan di Filipina. Hal ini didasarkan pada beberapa hal: 1) kemiripan antara bahasa Indonesia dan bahasa Filipino, 2) motivasi pemelajar bahasa Indonesia di Filipina yang besar, 3) kerja sama ekonomi yang baik antara Indonesia dan Filipina, dan 4) jumlah kunjungan pariwisata yang cukup besar dari Indonesia ke Filipina dan sebaliknya. Namun demikian potensi tersebut juga disertai dengan tan-tangan. Beberapa tantangan yang ditemui adalah 1) kebijakan bahasa di Filipina, 2) kuatnya pengaruh bahasa Inggris di Filipina, dan 3) pengetahuan masyarakat Filipina yang masih minim tentang Indonesia, khususnya di bidang sosial, budaya, dan politik. 

scholarly journals The Use of Listening Comprehension Strategies in Distance Language Education

2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (10) ◽  
pp. 62
Author(s):  
Aysel Deregözü
Keyword(s):  
Distance Education ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Listening Comprehension ◽  
Language Education ◽  
State Universities ◽  
Comprehension Strategies ◽  
Foreign Language Learners ◽  
Language Classes ◽  
Academic Year

This study aims to examine the listening comprehension strategies used by foreign language learners who are learning languages through distance education. It also aims to explore how the use of listening comprehension strategies differs in terms of three variables, namely, gender, L2, and department majored. To do this, the Listening Strategy Inventory was administered to students attending English and German language classes through distance education at three state universities in Turkey. The data were collected during the 2020-2021 academic year. The study used quantitative analysis methods. The data were analyzed with descriptive statistics and the statistical analyses independent samples t-test. The findings revealed that students use listening comprehension strategies at a moderate level. The most commonly used listening comprehension strategies were those for while listening and nonverbal strategies, while learners use word-oriented strategies the least. The study also revealed statistically significant differences by gender in foreign language learners’ listening comprehension strategies, but no significant differences for department majored and L2 variables. It is recommended that individual differences be considered when teaching listening comprehension strategies to foreign language learners.

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