scholarly journals Teacher’s and Students’ Beliefs on English for General Academic Purposes: The Case of Iranian University Students

2015 ◽  
Vol 8 (12) ◽  
pp. 37
Author(s):  
Masoud Kermani Kojour ◽  
Javad Kia Heirati
Keyword(s):  
University Students ◽  
Reading Strategies ◽  
Quantitative Data ◽  
Structured Interview ◽  
Study Data ◽  
Educational Environments ◽  
L2 Learners ◽  
Teachers And Students ◽  
Awareness Raising ◽  
Research Questions

<p>This study was framed in the sociocultural theory to look into the evolution of L2 learners’ beliefs about the general English course during a term. One hundred ninety-eight male and female university students and their general English course teacher were randomly selected as the participants of the study. Data were gathered through the administration of Horwitz’s (1988) BALLI questionnaire. Among the participants, 38 students were invited to take part in semi-structured interview sessions and fill in an open-ended questionnaire at the beginning and end of the term. Descriptive statics were applied to precisely analyze the quantitative data based on the questionnaire. In order to qualitatively analyze the data, the grounded theory methodology was utilized to code the data and find the main categories in line with the research questions of the study. Findings concluded that all the learners changed their simplistic beliefs about the general English course highlighting the attention to grammar and vocabulary. In fact, the teacher believed in teaching strategies to pave the way for the learners to comprehend the text better and apply the strategies while reading. The teacher’s meditational activity assisted the learners to evolve their simplistic beliefs and be able to benefit from reading strategies for better comprehension. Awareness-raising activities should be done in terms of teachers’ and students’ beliefs about EGAP (English for general academic purposes) to equip L2 learners with better educational environments resulting in their enjoyment of the learning process.</p>

scholarly journals Mandarin Chinese Tonal Acquisition by Thai Speakers

2017 ◽  
Vol 13 (5) ◽  
pp. 107 ◽  
Author(s):  
Apichai Rungruang ◽  
Yanhong Mu
Keyword(s):  
Empirical Study ◽  
University Students ◽  
Quantitative Data ◽  
Qualitative Data ◽  
Structured Interview ◽  
The Other ◽  
Lexical Tones ◽  
Mandarin Tones ◽  
Better Than ◽  
Thai University

The aim of the present empirical study is two-fold. The first aim is to investigate why Thai university students perceive a certain tone better than others or why a certain tone is more difficult to perceive than others. The second aim is to examine to what extent Thai university students can perceive four Chinese Mandarin tones. 14 volunteer university students (2 males; 12 females) participated in the study. Research tools were structured interview and the perception test. The findings from the interview reveal that 9 out of 14 (64%) students claimed that tone 4 was the easiest tone either to perceive or produce. In contrast, 10 out of 14 (71%) stated that tone 3 was the most difficult one to perceive. The qualitative data findings from the interview were greatly consistent with the quantitative data ones from the perception test. That is, Thai speakers performed well in tone 4 (mean scores 24.92 or 99.68%) and tone 1 (24.35 or 97.40%). On the other end of the scale, they had some difficulty identifying tone 2 (21.42 or 85.68%) and tone 3 (19.50 or 78%). It can be concluded that firstly, the hierarchy of tone accessibility from the least difficult to the most difficult one was tone 4 > tone 1 > tone 2 > tone 3. Secondly, students’ native language (Thai) or L1 plays a crucial role to their tonal acquisition when Thai speakers deal with foreign lexical tones. For one important reason, tones 1 and 4 in Chinese are very similar to the mid tone and the falling tone in Thai, respectively. 

scholarly journals ANALYSING UNIVERSITY STUDENTS’ ATTITUDES TOWARDS HOAXES

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 15
Author(s):  
Dadang Herli Saputra
Keyword(s):  
University Students ◽  
Structured Interview ◽  
The Other ◽  
State University ◽  
Negative Attitudes ◽  
The People ◽  
Research Questions ◽  
Students Attitudes ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Share Information

The present study aimed to analyse the students’ attitudes toward hoaxes and the other fake news. The research questions were formulated as the followings: a) What are attitudes of students toward hoax? b) What are the factors (determinants) which might affect their behaviour toward hoax? c) Where do the students usually access or share information which contains hoax? d) What are the students’ perceptions toward the impact of hoaxes? The design of the study was a mixed method in which both questionnaire and interview were administered to the participants. Firstly, the written questionnaire was administered to elicit the respondents’ attitudes and other relevant questions. Further, semi-structured interview, which was conducted randomly, was employed to provide more elaborate data on the participants’ perception. The number of participants was 80 students of law department who are currently studying in their early semesters at one state university located in Serang, Banten. The result indicated that the participants disliked hoaxes. In average, 70 % of the whole respondents were identified to have negative attitudes, followed with the other supporting statements indicating their dislike toward hoaxes. However, despite the students’ negative attitudes toward hoaxes, they also admitted that they sometimes shared hoaxes. One reason found in the present study was to prevent possible harmful occurrences as indicated by 81, 25 % of respondents who admitted to do that, besides having fun. Finally, they also perceived that hoaxes were not as harmful as what the people have thought. This statement was supported by their objection toward the government’s action to penalize the perpetrator of hoaxes. Key words: Analysing, University students’ attitudes, Towards, Hoaxes

IMPROVING STUDENTS’ WRITING RECOUNT ACHIEVEMENT THROUGH PEER REVIEW TECHNIQUE

2013 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nina Surya Rahman Nasution ◽  
Masitowarni Siregar
Keyword(s):  
Peer Review ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Quantitative Data ◽  
Qualitative Data ◽  
Teaching Writing ◽  
School Level ◽  
Level Of Education ◽  
Teachers And Students ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Thinking Process

Writing, regarded as a thinking process enables language learners to explore and transform their ideas into words in accurate and appropriate ways. Although it has been taught from the Elementary school level up to the higher level of education, English teachers and students encounter various challenges. For students, they still get difficulties in writing a text even after being taught. For teachers, correcting students’ writing increases their workload. Therefore, how to reduce the load of teaching writing and to decrease students’ difficulties in writing have become important problem to solve. Through applying a technique in teaching writing, this research aimed to explore whether the application of peer review technique can improve students’ achievement in writing recount text. The method applied in this research was a classroom action research. The subject of the research was X-4 class SMA Negeri 21 Medan. The instruments of collecting the data were writing tasks as quantitative data while observation sheet, questionnaire sheet, diary notes and interview as qualitative data. The finding showed that Peer Review Technique gives contribution to improve students’ achievement in writing recount text. Keywords: Achievement, Writing, Recount Text, Peer Review Technique

Four Ways Technology Has Negatively Changed Education

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 10-20
Author(s):  
Khadija Alhumaid
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Social Interactions ◽  
Classroom Technology ◽  
Relevant Research ◽  
Reading And Writing ◽  
Internet Connection ◽  
Educational Environments ◽  
Technological Tools ◽  
Teachers And Students

Abstract Our experience with technology is a bitter-sweet one. We relish its presence in our lives, but we dread the effect it may have on our manners, attitudes and social interactions. We open the gates of our schools to all types of technological tools, yet we fear it may badly impact our students’ performance. This article investigates the ways through which classroom technology such as iPad, Internet connection, laptops and social media, impacts negatively on education. Relevant research has proven that technology could change education negatively through four paths: deteriorating students’ competences of reading and writing, dehumanizing educational environments, distorting social interactions between teachers and students and isolating individuals when using technology.

scholarly journals Home schooling through online teaching in the era of COVID-19: Exploring the role of home-related factors that deepen educational inequalities across European societies

2021 ◽  
pp. 147490412110233
Author(s):  
Kostas Dimopoulos ◽  
Christos Koutsampelas ◽  
Anna Tsatsaroni
Keyword(s):  
Technology Use ◽  
Online Teaching ◽  
Home Schooling ◽  
Information And Communications Technology ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Related Factors ◽  
School Conditions ◽  
Educational Environments ◽  
Teachers And Students

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced governments worldwide to produce solutions to the abruptly interrupted work in education. School systems appear to have responded rapidly, creating home schooling and online educational environments, where teachers and students would interact with safety. In this paper, we attempt a synthesis of Sen’s capability approach, Bourdieu’s theory of capital and Bernstein’s framework in order to theorize the relationships between home and school conditions and practices, and to analyse the data of the 2nd Survey of Schools: ICT in Education (a survey conducted in 2019 on behalf of the European Commission collecting data regarding digitalization in education and digital technologies in learning in the European Union). The survey is complemented by a second set of indicators provided by Eurostat to further investigate the availability and functionality of household space per family in selected European countries. We find significant differences in important social and environmental conversion factors, likely limiting children’s capability to benefit from digital schooling. The most important differences are found in regard to parents’ familiarity with information and communications technology use, while inequalities in environmental factors, such as overcrowded housing, are also existent. Overall, there are large inequalities within and between countries in Europe, which need to be addressed by policymakers.

scholarly journals Palliative care in paediatric oncology: perceptions, expertise and practices from the perspective of the multidisciplinary team

2015 ◽  
Vol 36 (2) ◽  
pp. 56-62 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adriana Ferreira da Silva ◽  
Helena Becker Issi ◽  
Maria da Graça Corso da Motta ◽  
Daisy Zanchi de Abreu Botene
Keyword(s):  
Palliative Care ◽  
Multidisciplinary Team ◽  
Structured Interview ◽  
Paediatric Oncology ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Team Members ◽  
Descriptive Research ◽  
The Family ◽  
Research Questions ◽  
Oncology Unit

OBJECTIVE: To reveal the perceptions, expertise and practices of multi-professional teams providing palliative care to children in a paediatric oncology unit. The research questions were based on everyday care, facilitations and difficulties, essential aspects of professional approaches, and the inter-disciplinary focus of care for children in palliative care and their families. METHOD: Qualitative, exploratory and descriptive research. Data were collected from June to October 2013 from nine professional multidisciplinary team members by means of a semi-structured interview submitted to thematic analysis. RESULTS: The following four themes emerged from analysis: palliative care: conceptions of the multi-professional team; the construction of singular care; the facilitations and difficulties experienced by the team and significant lessons learned. CONCLUSIONS: The subjects revealed that the team also suffers with the death of a child and, like the family, moves toward the construction of coping mechanisms for the elaboration of mourning. Paradoxically, the team shares knowledge to determine the foundations of a singular therapeutic project and inserts the family in this process so that it can be the protagonist of the child's care.

scholarly journals Effects of Pre-Reading Strategies on EFL/ESL Reading Comprehension

2011 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 51 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kei Mihara
Keyword(s):  
Reading Comprehension ◽  
University Students ◽  
Reading Strategies ◽  
English Proficiency ◽  
Reading Strategy ◽  
Comprehension Question ◽  
Japanese University ◽  
Japanese Students ◽  
Esl Reading

This study focuses on two pre-reading strategies: vocabulary pre-teaching and comprehension question presentation. Researchers have claimed that a vocabulary strategy is less effective than any other pre-reading strategy. This study investigates whether their claim is true of Japanese university students. The purpose of the study is twofold. The first goal is to examine the effects of the two pre-reading strategies; the second is to discuss the relationships between students’ English proficiency and their reading comprehension. The participants in the present study were asked to perform a pre-reading strategy, read a passage, and then answer comprehension questions. They read four passages altogether. Three weeks after they read the fourth passage, they were asked to answer a questionnaire. This study indicates that vocabulary pre-teaching is less effective for Japanese students, although students with higher English proficiency outperformed lowerlevel students regardless of which pre-reading strategy they used.

Description, acquisition and teaching of polysemous verbs: The case of quedar

2019 ◽  
Vol 57 (1) ◽  
pp. 21-44
Author(s):  
Lucía Gómez Vicente
Keyword(s):  
Cost Effectiveness ◽  
University Students ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Semantic Network ◽  
Spanish Speakers ◽  
L2 Learners ◽  
Adults And Children ◽  
Conventional Manner

Abstract This paper analyzes the usage of frequent polysemous verbs by native speakers and by L2 learners and it makes several pedagogical suggestions on how to teach polysemous verbs in a L2 classroom. To achieve these objectives, we have examined the case of the Spanish verb quedar, which means “to remain”, “to stay”, “to be left”, “to make an appointment”, etc. A methodology based on narratives and sentence elicitation has been created. The experiences were accomplished by Spanish speakers (adults and children), and French university students of Spanish, who performed productions in Spanish (L2) and in French (L1). The results of this study seem to confirm that adult native speakers used the semantic network of polysemous verbs in a very conventional manner. Meanings appear to have been acquired thanks to usage, by storing linguistic experiences as patterns, and operating mostly by analogy process. Children seem to have primarily elicited quedar in conventional situations (for instance, to fix an appointment) and depending on a cost-effectiveness criteria (only if this verb adds a pragmatic gain compared to simpler options). The acquisition path of quedar by children (L1) seems to be driven by different factors than for L2 learners. French learners of Spanish used quedar meanings differently from native speakers and they were highly influenced by their L1, both semantically and syntactically.

scholarly journals Social Studies Course from the Perspective of Parents -The Istanbul-Sultanbeyli Case

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 73
Author(s):  
Kenan Baş ◽  
Esen Durmuş
Keyword(s):  
Social Studies ◽  
Cultural Values ◽  
Structured Interview ◽  
Study Data ◽  
Spring Semester ◽  
The Social ◽  
National Flag ◽  
Kemal Ataturk ◽  
Academic Year

The aim of this study is to identify the perspectives of parents on the "Social Studies" course. The case study design,one of the qualitative research methods, was used in accordance with the nature of the study. Data related to the studywere obtained through a semi-structured interview form prepared by the researchers. The data of the study wereobtained from the parents of students attending 5th, 6th and 7th grade of a state secondary school located in theIstanbul-Sultanbeyli district in the spring semester of 2017 and 2018 academic year. The data obtained were analyzedby content analysis. According to the data obtained from the research, the following results were obtained: Themajority of the parents apparently linked the concept of Social Studies to the concepts of History, Geography,Citizenship and Socialization. Parents thought that the subjects related to History, Geography, Citizenship Rights,Culture, Democracy, Human Rights and the life of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk were taught in the Social Studies course.Nevertheless, it was seen that the parents wished to see the concepts such as Love of Motherland, Nation, Communityand National Flag, Etiquette, Cultural Values, Freedom, Democracy, Equality to be taught in the Social Studies courses.While the parents mostly compared the Social Studies courses with such organs as the Brain, Kidney, Heart, Eye,Stomach and Intestine, they considered it as appropriate to place this course in the last places in terms of importance. Inaddition, it was found that majority of the parents did not want their children to become social studies teachers in thefuture.

scholarly journals Content Reading Strategies of EFL Teachers and Students at the Secondary Stage

2005 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 289-299
Author(s):  
Dr. Mohammad Hassan Ibrahim ◽  
Dr. Machael Abd Elmessih Awad
Keyword(s):  
Reading Strategies ◽  
Secondary Stage ◽  
Efl Teachers ◽  
Teachers And Students ◽  
Content Reading
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