scholarly journals Insights into CEFR and Its Implementation through the Lens of Preservice English Teachers in Thailand

2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (6) ◽  
pp. 25
Author(s):  
Witchuda Phoolaikao ◽  
Apisak Sukying
Keyword(s):  
Preservice Teachers ◽  
Language Proficiency ◽  
Classroom Practice ◽  
English Language ◽  
National Curriculum ◽  
English Teachers ◽  
Reference Level ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
English Teaching ◽  
Teaching Aids

The Common European Framework of Reference for language teaching, learning, and assessment (CEFR) provides a guideline for English teaching aids and curriculum development in language courses. It identifies and describes the specific skills that language learners must acquire to improve their English language proficiency for communication (CoE, 2001). In the Thai context, the Ministry of Education (MoE, 2014) has adopted the framework as a practical handbook for reforming English teaching at all levels. However, only a few studies have examined Thai stakeholders’ perceptions towards CEFR. As such, the current study investigated preservice English teachers’ perceptions of the CEFR in a Thai context. A total of 200 fourth and fifth-year preservice English teachers participated in this study. A mixed-method design was used to collect data via seven-point Likert scale questionnaires and semi-structured interviews. The quantitative findings revealed that the participants had a high level of understanding of the CEFR, specifically in the assessment domain and development of reference level descriptions. By contrast, the qualitative data revealed that Thai preservice teachers have little knowledge of the CEFR, and their understanding of the CEFR was quite limited. Nevertheless, Thai preservice teachers expressed positive views regarding the implementation of the CEFR into classroom practice. Overall, these findings indicate that the preservice English teachers had a poor understanding of the CEFR conception, which suggests that Thai stakeholders must raise awareness regarding the proper implementation of the CEFR and its alignment with the national curriculum. 

scholarly journals Ghanaian EFL Teachers Working in Asia: Benefits and Implications for English Teachers Working Overseas

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (8) ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
Mark Treve
Keyword(s):  
English Language ◽  
English Teachers ◽  
Literacy Skills ◽  
Primary Role ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
English Teaching ◽  
Language And Culture ◽  
Attitudes Toward Teaching ◽  
Efl Teachers ◽  
English Speaking

The present study explores teachers of English as a foreign language (EFL) in Asia, their attitudes toward teaching English, the roles of teaching the English language, motivations, benefits, implications, and the reason they are highly recognized in non-English speaking countries. The researcher applied the qualitative method through semi-structured interviews with (n=4) Ghanaian teachers working in three countries in Asia as EFL instructors; their strengths and weaknesses were investigated. The result of semi-structured interviews revealed that Ghanaian teachers' primary role in Asia is to teach English and literacy skills. Moreover, the reasons they chose to work in Asia are higher salaries and better working conditions. Their inability to speak the local language and culture diversity were their weaknesses. Native and Non-native English teachers' preferences, which directly/indirectly affect English teaching, are discussed.  The respondents' positive attitude toward English teaching overseas is also investigated and presented. This empirical study revealed the globalization of English in the 21st century.

scholarly journals THE WASHBACK EFFECT OF SCHOOL-BASED ORAL EVALUATION PERFORMANCE AND ITS CAUSAL RELATIONSHIP WITH FEAR OF NEGATIVE EVALUATION

2018 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-16
Author(s):  
Rosnah Mohd Sham ◽  
Mohd Nazri Latiff Azmi
Keyword(s):  
Causal Relationship ◽  
English Language ◽  
National Curriculum ◽  
English Teachers ◽  
Negative Evaluation ◽  
Fear Of Negative Evaluation ◽  
Evaluation Performance ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Évaluation Performance ◽  
School Based

This paper presents part of a study that investigates the washback effect of a School-Based Oral Evaluation (SBOE) performance from the teachers’ perceptions.  It also investigates the causal relationship between students who have passed in the school-based oral evaluation (SBOE) with fear of negative evaluation. The participants are 302 of form four students and four English teachers from the Putrajaya Federal Territory government secondary schools in Malaysia. It is a mixed-method study in which data were collected in sequential, analysed separately, and then explained. The quantitative data were collected by using FLCAS, the School-Based Oral Evaluation (SBOE) results and the qualitative data were collected from the semi-structured interviews with the English teachers and guidelines on SBOE from the Ministry of Education Malaysia. The quantitative method used descriptive statistical analysis, whereas the qualitative method used content analysis.  Students’ result in the mid-term examination 2017 had shown that they scored high marks in the SBOE.  The quantitative results revealed that the students experienced low mean level of fear of negative evaluation.  The teachers reported that students had shown positive attitude during the SBOE and English class interaction.  They were focused, confident, responsive and not panic.  There is a positive washback effect of SBOE on the students’ result. High results in SBOE affected the mean level of fear of negative evaluation. The partial eta-squared showed the value of 0.106 which is considered high.  This study suggests two broad future tasks.  The first task involves the development of national curriculum in English language which dependence upon oral English language.  The second task focuses on the development of English language training and skills for the English teachers.Keywords: washback effect, School-Based Oral Evaluation performance, causal relationship, fear of negative evaluation

Framing Syllabi For Developing English Language Proficiency Bridging Gaps In English Teaching At The Tertiary Level

2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 9-13
Author(s):  
C. MONSINGH DANIEL
Keyword(s):  
Language Proficiency ◽  
Career Advancement ◽  
English Language ◽  
Global Market ◽  
English Language Proficiency ◽  
Educational Institutions ◽  
Tertiary Level ◽  
English Teaching

The English Language holds primacy in several levels of employment. This has drawn appeal towards the language as a valuable tool towards having an edge in ones skill set. Capitalizing on the image that English builds for ones employability and career advancement has become a trend set by employer and employee alike. It does indeed have its appeal in a global market, but its demand is due to the inability of educational institutions to provide verifiable and considerable output in students who are proficient in the English Language. Therefore the search for candidates with quality English skills is rather sparse in number. Attempts are of course made by academicians to change this reality but not to the level of a massive turnabout.

scholarly journals The peace tree in ELT: A problematizing exploration

2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 44-57
Author(s):  
Yeraldine Aldana Gutiérrez
Keyword(s):  
Exploratory Study ◽  
Knowledge Construction ◽  
Critical Reflection ◽  
English Language ◽  
Language Teaching ◽  
English Teachers ◽  
English Language Teaching ◽  
Situated Knowledge ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Alternative Reading

The English language teaching (ELT) field has undergone transformations regarding its views on knowledge and language. Although instrumental perspectives situate English teachers in a passive, receptive and technical position, their research and pedagogical work displays an interest in extracurricular phenomena about Peace Construction (PC) in ELT. This qualitative exploratory study aimed at unveiling possible connections between PC and ELT in Colombia. Documental revision and semi-structured interviews were applied with 4 English teachers. Findings discuss an organic metaphor as facilitating “teachers’ situated knowledge construction” (Serna, 2018, p. 585). Thus, a critical reflection is developed on how ELT and PC may articulate one another towards an alternative reading on their possible relationality or the reduction of the canonical distance imagined between these two fields, in order to acknowledge their interconnection. Conclusions around the multifaceted transdisciplinary ELT field are presented.

scholarly journals Arab English Language Teaching Candidates Climbing the IELTS Mountain: A Qualitatively Driven Hermeneutic Phenomenology Study

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ali Al-Issa ◽  
Ali Al-Bulushi ◽  
Rima Al-Zadjali
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
Student Teachers ◽  
Learning Strategies ◽  
Language Proficiency ◽  
English Language ◽  
Language Teaching ◽  
Hermeneutic Phenomenology ◽  
Critical Discussion ◽  
English Language Teaching ◽  
Structured Interviews

As a high-stakes international language proficiency benchmark, the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) requires different and special Language Learning Strategies (LLS), which pose numerous challenges to its takers. Some Sultan Qaboos University (SQU) majoring in English Language Teaching (ELT), have therefore, failed to achieve an overall score of Band 6 on the IELTS as a language proficiency requirement and a condition mandated by the Ministry of Education for selecting English language teachers among. This qualitatively driven hermeneutic phenomenology study, hence, discusses this issue from an ideological perspective. The study triangulates data from semi-structured interviews made with six fourth-year ELT Student Teachers (STs) at SQU and the pertinent literature. The critical discussion revealed various ideologies about the powerful impact of the IELTS on the STs’ English language development. The findings have important implications for the practices of the teachers in the Omani ELT school system and elsewhere.

scholarly journals Omani Students’ Perceptive of Communicative Language Teaching Approach in Higher Education in Oman: Its Practice

Proceedings ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 2 (21) ◽  
pp. 1333
Author(s):  
Mouza Said Al Kalbani ◽  
Josu Solabarrieta ◽  
Ahmad Bin Touq
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Proficiency ◽  
Classroom Practice ◽  
English Language ◽  
Language Teaching ◽  
Communicative Language Teaching ◽  
Teaching Approach ◽  
Clear Understanding ◽  
The Impact

This study aimed to analyze and understand learners’ attitudes towards Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) approach in a foreign language context in higher education in Oman. In the literature review, learners’ attitudes play a strong role in determining the success of innovations in instructional practices (Savignon and Wang 2003). In addition to that, this study is considered as an evaluative study to explore teachers’ implication of CLT and the impact of this implication on students “communicative competence”, which is considered as an ultimate goal of communicative language teaching in a foreign langue context (FL). The importance of this study is due to its significance to come up with a clear understanding of Omani learners’ beliefs considering teaching and learning process. It also aims to specify the impact of CLT as an effective teaching approach in English as a foreign language (EFL) among higher education students and to specify any difficulties or challenges that might hinder CLT implementation in the Omani context. To achieve this, a quantitative study had been used to collect data from both teachers and learners. The participants of this study were 631 students (189 male and 391 female) who were enrolled in Intensive English language programs (IELP) in Foundation Institute (FI) in two Universities (210 students from public university and 421 students from private university) and those participants were from three different English proficiency levels (247 level 1, 155 level 2 and 229 level 3). The analysis revealed that students perceived classroom’s practice to be more oriented towards using strategic and grammatical competence and less towards sociolinguistic and intercultural competences. Additionally, Omani learners reported statistically significant correlation between CLT practice. The students’ gender, language proficiency and education context affected how students perceived classroom practice.

scholarly journals Educational Policy: Voices from Local English Teachers and Students towards National Exam in Yogyakarta

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 217
Author(s):  
Laser Romios ◽  
Nindya Primandita ◽  
Novilda Angela Saragih
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
English Language ◽  
Group Discussion ◽  
Sampling Technique ◽  
English Teachers ◽  
School Level ◽  
Learning Activity ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Teachers And Students ◽  
The Government

<p class="AbstractText">This study is aimed at exploring the voices of English teachers and students of a state senior high school towards the National Exam policy and its implementation in Indonesia. Several theories of psychology and language learning were applied in this study as the theoretical framework. This study used a descriptive qualitative method. The participants were chosen by purposive sampling technique. The data for this study were garnered through a Focus Group Discussion (FGD) conducted to the selected twelfth-grade students and semi-structured interviews done to two English teachers. Both data were analyzed descriptively. Upon the analysis, two paramount themes prevailed: (1) the negative response towards the implementation and accuracy of National Exam (NE) policy in Indonesia; and (2) unintended impacts of NE policy on teaching and learning activity, students’ motivation, and English Language Learning and Curriculum. This study offers information for the government as the policymaker, school leaders, teachers, and researchers to understand how the NE is implemented at the school level.</p>

scholarly journals Preparedness for the World of Work Among Malaysian Diploma Students in a Local Institution

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 56-70
Author(s):  
Krishnan Isai Amutan Isai ◽  
Manickavasagar Govindasamy ◽  
Ramalingam Selvajothi Ramalingam ◽  
Hee Sio Ching ◽  
Muthutamilselvan Kausalya
Keyword(s):  
Language Proficiency ◽  
English Language ◽  
Kuala Lumpur ◽  
Job Seekers ◽  
Appraisal System ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Job Interviews ◽  
Local Institution ◽  
Depth Interview ◽  
Standard Interview

The purpose of this study is to investigate the use of appraisal system-attitude and cooperative solidarity principle and also the perception of interviewees and interviewer of the job interview interactions. The data was collected in one of the local education institutions in Kuala Lumpur Malaysia. There were 20 students participated in the study. Job interviews were recorded and analysed qualitatively by using appraisal system-attitude and cooperative solidarity principle theories. Semi-structured interviews as well as in-depth interview were done on the interviewees and interviewer to triangulate the study. The findings show that most of interviewees were covered the categories affect, judgment and appreciation but due to lacked English language proficiency, certain occurrences were not reflected to these categories. In relation to cooperative solidarity principle both interviewer and interviewees attribute to the interaction. The findings further reveal that most of the interviewees had difficulty in comprehending the standard interview questions and feeling nervous and anxious to answer the questions. Based on the in-depth interview with the interviewer, it was found that most of the interviewees were not able to expose to the standard interview questions and not able to understand the questions. It is hoped that the present study would be helpful for undergraduates, fresh graduates or in general job seekers as well as interviewer to carry out a smooth interaction in job interviews by having a better understanding on the standard interview questions.

scholarly journals COMMUNICATIVE TASKS FOR IMPROVING FOREIGN LANGUAGE SPEAKING COMPETENCE OF PROSPECTIVE TEACHERS

2021 ◽  
pp. 231-234
Author(s):  
Iryna Lobachova
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Proficiency ◽  
Prospective Teachers ◽  
English Language ◽  
Practical Importance ◽  
Scientific Article ◽  
Teaching Aids ◽  
Language Classes ◽  
Language Communication ◽  
Language Environment

The article deals with the implementation of communicative exercises in foreign language classes to improve the foreign language speaking competence of prospective teachers. The relevance of the article is determined by the need to consider the outlined problem for increasing the level of English language proficiency in order to personal and career prospects of prospective teachers. The purpose of the article is a theoretical and practical justification for the use of communicative exercises in the study of English in foreign language classes for prospective teachers in higher education. To achieve this goal it is necessary to solve the following tasks: 1) to analyze the efficiency of using communicative tasks to improve students’ foreign language speaking competence; 2) to offer exercises for communication, which provide for the creation of life situations of foreign language communication; 3) to substantiate the efficiency of using these exercises to improve foreign language speaking competence of future teachers. To achieve this purpose the following research methods are used in the scientific article: generalization, analysis and synthesis, descriptive method, which allow to consider in detail the proposed problem and come to important conclusions. It is determined that the specificity of learning a foreign language is to create an artificial language environment, which is absent in practice in most cases. Foreign language space is extremely important for the realization of one of the factors influencing the acquisition of a foreign language – the speed of establishing associative language connections. It is found out that in the communicative environment both the conscious training of vocabulary and grammar, and the necessary language tools accumulate during communicative activities intuitively. The speed of appropriate language reactions, a sense of language are developed in this activity (phonetic, lexical, grammatical aspects). The permanent search for new teaching aids, the development of more effective methods of work are of practical importance for increasing the student’s motivation to learn a foreign language and automate the experience of its using. The proposed types of communication exercises create the most adequate conditions for the formation of language skills, stimulate the mechanisms of involuntary memorization, as well as provide for the solution of certain methodological, linguistic and psychological problems.

scholarly journals Students’ Perceptions Towards Extensive Reading In Efl Contexts

2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 99-104
Author(s):  
Rini Lindawati
Keyword(s):  
Language Proficiency ◽  
Information Search ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
English Language ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
Language Education ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Extensive Reading ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Learning English

Most university students are struggling in learning English as Foreign Language. The utilization of an extensive reading strategy will potentially promote more striking influential impacts on EFL learners’ target language proficiency. The students' perceptions influence the success of teaching and learning English. The research aimed to know the students’ perception of Extensive Reading in EFL contexts. The researcher used the Qualitative Research method. This study was conducted in Universitas Islam Majapahit. The researcher selected twelve senior students of the English language education department who have already received the extensive reading subject in their previous semesters. The researcher collected the data through semi-structured interviews. The data were then analyzed by following Miles and Huberman’s (1994) framework. The results showed that the students had positive perceptions toward Extensive Reading practices. They considered if Extensive Reading is a reading activity for pleasure and information search where they can read material without any restraint. Besides, Extensive Reading also contributed to developing their comprehension and English skills such as listening, speaking, reading, writing, vocabulary mastery, and grammar. Moreover, Extensive Reading enabled them to enjoy the learning experience.

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