scholarly journals Analysis of Phonetic and Phonological Constraints of Saudi EFL Learners

2019 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 63
Author(s):  
Atalah Mohammad Al-Rubaat ◽  
Hammad Ali Alshammari

This study explores the pronunciation difficulties experienced by Saudi EFL learners at Jouf University (JU) in the north of Saudi Arabia. To achieve this purpose, two main instruments were implemented: an experiment of pronunciation sensitivity response and two interview formats. The sample of this study was selected randomly and consisted of (n=20) students studying English major in their sixth level at JU, and (n=10) English language instructors from the same institution. A mixed-method approach was employed to find out the phonetic and phonological difficulties that participants encountered during the implementation of the experiment of pronunciation sensitivity response, and to interpret participant's responses to the interview formats. The findings revealed that EFL learners experienced six phonetic and phonological problematic patterns related to mispronunciation of: initial consonant cluster, final consonant cluster, multi-syllabic words, unfamiliar sounds, vowels, and voiced or voiceless phonemes. It was also found that EFL learners and instructors had different views regarding these phonetic and phonological issues. The limited time for practice, the lack of authentic materials and tasks, and the need for immersion classes, and effective instruction and learning were all found to be responsible about the phonetic and phonological problems EFL learners encountered and at the same time they were found to be the motives for overcoming these issues. It is believed that the implications and recommendations included in this study would improve the performance of Saudi EFL speaking abilities once they are incorporated effectively in their English learning settings.

2019 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 56-72
Author(s):  
Rozhgar Jalal Khidhir ◽  
Hussein Ali Wali

The current study is an experimental digital game-based (DGBL) endeavor which tackles potential educational issues beyond the frequent use of games, language learning potentials in particular. It has used a mixed method approach, i.e., quantitative and qualitative. The study aims at exploring the practical effects of videogame play, Trace Effect, on improving the players’ linguistic competence. It is hypothesized that (playing videogame cannot create any difference of performance between groups of subject matters for improving English language learning. The study has concluded the followings; overall inferential statistics confirmed that playing videogame can effectively get into the improvement process of teaching English as a foreign language to the university students. On the other hand, playing the videogame, Trace Effects, has formed the solely major cause of improvement and learning in the following domains, creating friendly fascinating atmosphere, upgrading technological skills, increasing motivation towards learning, making use of homework as a form of external extensive activity, forming semi-independent learning, and practicing and virtual reality of the second/foreign language’s culture.


2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 18
Author(s):  
Ratna Purwanti ◽  
Asmi Rusmanayanti

AbstrakDi dalam proses pembelajaran pengajar perlu mengubah media pembelajaran dengan menggunakan ICT (Information and Communication of Technology) untuk meningkatkan kualitas dan efisiensi di dalam proses pembelajaran, salah satunya yaitu Mata kuliah Bahasa Inggris Untuk AUD. Di Indonesia, belajar bahasa asing adalah proses yang terintegrasi. Akan tetapi, permasalahan yang terjadi adalah banyak siswa menganggap Bahasa Inggris sulit untuk dipelajari, terutama belajar di luar jam sekolah. Sehingga, dengan penggunaan media berbasis ICT dapat mengurangi pemikiran secara bertahap tentang sulitnya Bahasa Inggris. Adapun tujuan dari penelitian ini adalah untuk mengeksplorasi penggunaan media berbasis ICT baik komputer atau perangkat seluler dalam meningkatkan keterampilan Bahasa Inggris di proses pembelajaran Mata kuliah Bahasa Inggris Untuk AUD. Penelitian ini menggunakan pendekatan metode campuran dengan subyek 35 siswa yang dijadikan sampel di Mata kuliah Bahasa Inggris Untuk AUD kelas VI A tahun 2019/2020, PG PAUD FKIP ULM. Data akan dikumpulkan melalui kuesioner dan wawancara serta observasi yang dilakukan di kelas oleh dua penilai yang berbeda untuk menghindari bias. Hasil penelitian menunjukan bahwa siswa memiliki tanggapan positif terhadap penggunaan ICT (aplikasi MALL) di dalam pembelajaran Mata kuliah Bahasa Inggris Untuk AUD. Hasil penelitian ini dapat digunakan sebagai alternatif dalam pembelajaran Mata kuliah Bahasa Inggris Untuk AUD dengan menggunakan ICT.Kata Kunci : ICT, Pembelajaran Bahasa Inggris              Abstract In the learning process educators need to change learning media by using ICT (Information and Communication of Technology) to improve quality and efficiency in the learning process, one of which is Mata kuliah Bahasa Inggris Untuk AUD. In Indonesia, learning a foreign language is an integrated process. However, the problem that occurs is that many students consider English difficult to learn, especially learning outside of school hours. Thus, the use of ICT-based media can gradually reduce thinking about the difficulty of English. The purpose of this research is to explore the use of ICT-based media both computers or mobile devices in improving English language skills in the "Mata kuliah Bahasa Inggris Untuk AUD" learning process. This study uses a mixed method approach with the subject of 35 students being sampled in Bahasa Inggris Untuk AUD kelas VI A tahun 2019/2020, PG PAUD FKIP ULM. Data will be collected through questionnaires and interviews and observations made in class by two different assessors to avoid bias. The results showed that students had a positive response to the use of ICT (MALL applications) in learning Mata kuliah Bahasa Inggris Untuk AUDs. The results of this study can be used as an alternative in learning Mata kuliah Bahasa Inggris Untuk AUD using ICT.Keywords: ICT, English learning


Author(s):  
Dr. Mamona Yasmin Khan ◽  
Syeda Aeliya Raza ◽  
Farhana Yasmin

Communicative approaches and methods are still found to be inadequate in addressing the pedagogical issues of EFL learners. In developing countries, there is a dire need for EFL teachers to make the students understand and deconstruct ideologies embedded in the English language. The study sets out to define and explore the ways and dimensions of Critical Discourse Analysis that will assist EFL teachers to reveal and teach power constructions embedded in language. This study focuses on The Ideological Square Model of CDA proposed by Van Dijk (2000). Following a mixed-method approach, twenty tweets of Donald Trump are selected through random sampling dated from 27th May to 5th October 2020. The analysis reveals that Trump’s tweets expose polarization, use of pronouns (54% in-group pronouns, and 46% Out-group pronoun) emphasize positive In-Group representation. These ways expose the stances of extreme power use, criticism, and discriminatory attitude towards Out-Group and reveal that the centralizations of all authorities are entitled to In-Group that holds the status quo. The research implies that EFL learners will be better able to aware of ideological constructions of language by the CDA in teaching. This study can be expanded by adopting CDA as a teaching tool in EFL classes, which can be used to expose and deconstruct many other ideologies like, Feminism, Racism, and Marxism etc. that are rooted in language.


2021 ◽  
pp. 1-35
Author(s):  
Haneen Saad Al Muabdi

Motivation is one of the crucial aspects of second language acquisition. Students’ motivation can be influenced by their teachers. The present study aims to investigate the impact of the two types of teachers on EFL learners’ motivations to learn English. These are NESTs (Native English-speaking teachers) and NNESTs (native English-speaking teachers). Hence, it examines learners’ attitudes and perceptions towards the two types of teachers. This study employed a mixed method by distributing a questionnaire contains quantitative and qualitative tools. It consists of twenty items of Likert scales and two open-ended questions. The present study subjects are 31 female students at King Abdulaziz University in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The results of the study demonstrate that learners have a positive attitude toward NESTs and NNESTs. Despite that, the tendency to learn with NNESTs is higher than NESTs. The findings also show that both types of teachers motivate students to learn English. Moreover, it suggests that the methodology and teachers’ personalities are more important than the teachers’ nativeness.


2021 ◽  
Vol 26 (26) ◽  
pp. 069-092
Author(s):  
楊逸君 楊逸君 ◽  
吳昱嫺 吳昱嫺

<p>這項研究主要調查台灣非英語系主修的大學生英語閱讀焦慮,英語自我效能以及閱讀能力等三者之間的關係。本研究對象為209名非英語系的大三學生。此次研究採用兩份問卷,外語閱讀焦慮問卷和英語學習自我效能問卷,以及多益閱讀測驗來了解這三項變數之間的關係。研究者在兩份問卷各加入開放式問題,以了解學習者對自身英語學習自我效能和英語閱讀焦慮的認知。結果顯示,學生英語學習自我效能與閱讀能力之間的關係呈正相關,但與英語閱讀焦慮之間則是負相關。另外,學生英語閱讀自我效能和英語學習自我效能呈現高度相關。然而,英語閱讀焦慮與不同程度的閱讀能力並無任何關聯。就閱讀焦慮的因素而言,大多數學生在閱讀陌生的詞彙和句子結構時都會經歷閱讀焦慮。學生英語學習自我效能越高者,在閱讀理解上的表現則愈佳。而閱讀能力在中間的學生,其英語學習自我效能和閱讀焦慮則呈現顯著差異的負相關。總而言之,這項研究增加對於非英語系主修學生在英語學習自我效能以及閱讀焦慮認知上的了解,以及這些因素在英語閱讀能力上產生的影響,同時提供語言教師非英語系主修學生的閱讀焦慮來源。教學建議則提供教師未來於課堂參考,以有效提升學生的英語學習自我效能及降低閱讀焦慮。</p> <p>&nbsp;</p><p>EFL learners’ reading performances can be greatly influenced by affective factors, such as anxiety and self-efficacy. This study investigates the effects of non-English major EFL learners’ reading anxiety and overall-English-learning self-efficacy on their reading proficiency. 209 non-English majors participated in the study. Two questionnaires, the Foreign Language Reading Anxiety Scale and the Questionnaire of English Self-Efficacy, and a TOEIC reading subtest were utilized to examine the relationship between the three variables. Open-ended questions at the end of two questionnaires were added to obtain learners’ perceptions of overall-English-learning self-efficacy and reading anxiety. Results showed that the relationship between overall-English-learning self-efficacy, reading self-efficacy, and reading proficiency was positive respectively whereas that between overall-English-learning self-efficacy and anxiety was negative, particularly for the students in the middle group. Reading anxiety, however, was not correlated with reading proficiency at different levels. Students had the highest level of reading self-efficacy when comparing to the self-efficacy of other language skills. They mostly experienced reading anxiety when reading unfamiliar vocabulary and sentence structures. To conclude, this study can be of importance in understanding the relationship between the three factors and provide language teachers with non-English major students’ sources of reading anxiety. Pedagogical implications are provided for language teachers’ future references.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p>


Author(s):  
Luz Castillo-Cuesta

The purpose of this study is to analyze the use of digital games to enhance English as a Foreign Language (EFL) grammar and vocabulary in the English Major of Universidad Técnica Particular de Loja, in southern Ecuador. A total of 68 students from B1 level, according to the Common European Frame-work of Reference for Languages (CEFR), participated in this study. All the par-ticipants were enrolled in two different classes of a Communicative Grammar course. A mixed-method approach was used to collect and analyze data in this study. Pre and post-questionnaires as well as writing rubrics were applied as in-struments. Digital games were implemented throughout an academic term of 5 months in which students received permanent feedback. The results show that digital games were useful to improve learners´ grammar in aspects concerning the use of modals, gerunds, and infinitives; also, students showed an improvement in their vocabulary knowledge, especially in topics related to jobs and education.


2014 ◽  
Vol 644-650 ◽  
pp. 4192-4196
Author(s):  
Ning Zhang ◽  
Ze Hua Wu

College English learning now has attracted a great deal of attention, but many non-English majors students have major problems in terms of English learning, and how to improve the non-English majors' autonomous learning efficiency is the problem that the majority of English educators can not ignore. Through a college non-English major students' English learning science test survey, usual English learning and English language proficiency scores for tracking and monitoring, and data for scientific analysis, and monitoring results, this article indicates that by increasing the non-English majors' autonomous learning teaching mode, the students' efficiency and academic performance have improved significantly. From subsequent cognitive satisfaction survey for self-acceptance, this teaching mode's performance is quite satisfactory.


2018 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-24
Author(s):  
Reza Anggriyashati Adara

Investigating demotivating factors can help teachers to avoid them and provide more insights on sustaining learners’ interest in FL learning. The present study aimed to analyse demotivating factors in FL learning. To obtain the findings, the present study applied a mixed method approach. A set of questionnaires adapted from Sakai and Kikuchi’s (2009) questionnaires were distributed to thirty eight university students whereas interviews were conducted to three of them. The findings indicated teacher’s competence and lack of intrinsic motivation as the most salient factors that caused demotivation among the participants. In this consideration, teachers were perceived as incompetent by the participants when teachers have poor English pronunciation and do not provide communicative classrooms. On the other hand, lack of intrinsic motivation was indicated by the loss of students’ interest in learning and their goal to be an English speaker. Providing a communicative classroom with a fluent teacher as well as promoting students’ interest in English language and culture seem to be the solutions to reduce students’ demotivation. [Penelitian tentang faktor-faktor yang menurunkan motifasi (demotivation) dapat membantu para guru untuk menghindari factor-faktor tersebut dan memberikan wawasan untuk mempertahankan minat peserta didik dalam pembelajaran bahasa asing. Penelitian ini menganalisis faktor demotivasi dalam pembelajaran Bahasa asing. Untuk memperoleh jawaban dari beberapa pertanyaan, penelitian ini menerapkan pendekatan metode campuran. Seperangkat kuesioner yang diadaptasi dari model Sakai dan Kikuchi (2009) didistribusikan kepada tiga puluh delapan mahasiswa sedangkan wawancara dilakukan terhadap tiga dari mahasiswa tersebut. Temuan menunjukkan bahwa kompetensi guru dan kurangnya motivasi intrinsik merupakan faktor yang paling menonjol yang menyebabkan demotivasi di antara para peserta. Dalam hal ini, guru dianggap tidak kompeten oleh para peserta ketika guru memiliki pelafalan bahasa Inggris yang buruk dan tidak menyediakan ruang kelas yang komunikatif. Di sisi lain, kurangnya motivasi intrinsik ditunjukkan oleh hilangnya minat siswa dalam belajar dan tujuan mereka untuk berbicara dalam bahasa Inggris. Menyediakan ruang kelas yang komunikatif dengan guru yang fasih serta mempromosikan minat siswa dalam bahasa dan budaya Inggris tampaknya menjadi solusi untuk mengurangi demotivasi siswa]


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 215-228
Author(s):  
Doniazad Sultan Alshraideh

This study aims at analyzing the English as a foreign language (EFL) learners’ and teachers’ perception toward the use of online videos in EFL classes. The current study used a mixed method to answer the question of the study which is: What is the perception of EFL learners and teachers toward the use of online videos in EFL classes? It includes both quantitative and qualitative techniques, namely a questionnaire and an interview. To get the required data and to answer the question of the study, the researcher collected information by distributing a relevant questionnaire among 120 EFL Saudi female students who are studying English in their preparatory year “Unified Scientific Track” at Taibah University. Their ages range between 18 to 21 years old. The questionnaire of the study consists of 10 items. For the first nine items, Likert Scale is used to let the respondents range the statements on a five- point scale. The tenth item asks the respondents to rate the usefulness of the online video regarding language skills and other aspects. The researcher also conducted an interview with six EFL teachers who teach English language skills in the English Language Centre (ELC) at Taibah University. The responses of the participants showed that the use of online videos is an effective technique and has a positive influence in EFL classes.


2016 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 149
Author(s):  
Yuehong Wei ◽  
Li Zhang

Triggered by the lack of students’ sense of identity in English regular class effects their language achievement, this research aimed at developing a kind of teaching mode for building students’ sense of identity with a series of teaching activities. Targeted at 55 non-English major students for one semester, the experiment was to explain the effectiveness of this kind of mode in endorsing student’s sense of identity. Here, the researcher used teaching observation and students’ feedback to collect the data. It revealed that the kind of mode can help improve students’ sense of identity, intrigue their interest, and improve their English learning efficiency.Keywords: sense of identity, college English, regular class, English class, teaching research


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