scholarly journals The Practice of Cross-Grading in Assessing Writing: The Case of EFL Teachers and Students in a Saudi Arabian Context

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 266
Author(s):  
Abdullah Alshakhi
Keyword(s):  
Writing Assessment ◽  
Research Question ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Cultural Backgrounds ◽  
Efl Writing ◽  
Efl Teachers ◽  
Teachers And Students ◽  
Language Instructors ◽  
The Cross ◽  
Assessment Context

This qualitatively based research study utilized a combination of multiple methods, which aimed at investigating the efficacy and reliability of employing cross-grading when assessing English as a Foreign Language (EFL) tertiary level learners’ writing. It further explored the perceptions of the EFL teachers and learners regarding the cross-grading practices to provide a clearer understanding of this relatively unexplored line of research enquiry. It was set to answer the following research question: In what ways does cross-grading practice contribute to assessing EFL writing? The participants of this study were conveniently selected where the sample included four language instructors from different ethnic and cultural backgrounds, as well as four Saudi EFL learners. Semi-structured interviews were individually conducted with all eight participants. In addition, four one-on-one feedback sessions between language instructors and learners were observed to assess feedback effectiveness after the cross-grading sessions. The data analysis revealed that instructors had difficulty explaining the feedback on their learners’ papers since they did not grade their students’ papers themselves. Furthermore, students felt they did not benefit from the feedback sessions because they could not fully understand the external grader’s markings and, thus inhibiting the learner’s ability to improve and develop their writing. The study concluded with some pedagogical implications for the EFL writing assessment context.

scholarly journals Genre-based Approach to Writing in EFL Contexts

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 95
Author(s):  
Vu Phi Ho Pham ◽  
Thi Kim Loan Bui
Keyword(s):  
Systemic Functional Linguistics ◽  
Writing Skills ◽  
Teaching Writing ◽  
Microsoft Excel ◽  
Efl Writing ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
Step Structure ◽  
Writing Course ◽  
Efl Teachers ◽  
Teachers And Students

Writing is a challenging and demanding skill for EFL learners in Vietnam. Teaching writing skills at Vietnamese universities is problematic since different approaches to writing have not been implemented effectively. Mainly, a genre-based approach to writing has not yet been implemented in EFL writing classrooms successfully. This paper investigates how the genre-based writing approach has been taught and learned at Van Lang University. The study mentions some critical notions of systemic functional linguistics, genre-based writing approach, and the importance and effects of genre-based approach to writing. 128 students turned in their midterm essays in week 5 of the 10-week writing course. These 128 expository essays were analyzed and synthesized using Microsoft Excel to calculate the differences in move-step structure. The findings indicated that the students had difficulty following the fixed move-step structure, and they also faced challenges of lexico-grammatical usage for the expository. Hence, the study suggests some implications for applying a genre-based approach to writing for EFL teachers and students and suggests further research.

scholarly journals MATCHES AND MISMATCHES BETWEEN EFL TEACHERS’ AND STUDENTS’ PREFERENCES FOR CORRECTIVE FEEDBACK IN ENGLISH SPEAKING CLASSES AT A VIETNAMESE UNIVERSITY

2020 ◽  
Vol 36 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Luu Thi Huong
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Research Question ◽  
Corrective Feedback ◽  
Efl Teachers ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Teachers And Students ◽  
English Speaking

This study aimed at examining matches or mismatches between teachers’ and students’ preferences regarding different types of corrective feedback in EFL (English as a foreign language) speaking classrooms at a Vietnamese university. Observation and two parallel questionnaires adapted from Katayama (2007) and Smith (2010) were used to gather data from five EFL teachers and 138 English-majored students. Multiple findings pertaining to each research question were revealed. Overall, results indicated that while there were some areas of agreement between teachers and students, important mismatches in their opinions did occur.

scholarly journals Second Language Writing and Assessment: Voices from Within the Saudi EFL Context

2017 ◽  
Vol 10 (6) ◽  
pp. 174 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rana Obeid
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Writing Assessment ◽  
Second Language Writing ◽  
Research Study ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Efl Teachers ◽  
Teachers And Students ◽  
Language Writing ◽  
Efl Students

This small scale, quantitatively based, research study aimed at exploring one of the most debated areas in the field of Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL); and that is, the perceptions and attitudes of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers as well as EFL learners at an English Language Institute (ELI) at a major university in the Western region of Saudi Arabia, King Abdulaziz University, towards second language writing assessment. The research study involved, randomly selected twenty-two EFL teachers and seventy-eight EFL students between the period of September 2016 and December 2016. Two, purposefully designed, twenty-item, Likert scale questionnaires were distributed amongst the teachers and students. One for the participating EFL teachers and one for the participating EFL students. Data analysis using descriptive statistical methods indicated several concerns which EFL teachers and students have with regards to the writing assessment in general and to the obstacles EFL teachers face when teaching and assessing writing. In addition, there was an indication of general resentments and strong feelings amongst the EFL students where the majority indicated that they are sometimes graded unfairly and writing assessment should take another, more holistic approach rather a narrow one. The study makes recommendations for future research.

scholarly journals Enhancing Students’ Effectiveness through Motivational Strategies

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Haron BOURAS
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Place Value ◽  
Motivational Strategies ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Teacher Behaviour ◽  
The Social ◽  
Efl Teachers ◽  
Teachers And Students ◽  
Key Issues ◽  
Landmark Study

The present qualitative study aims to explore teachers’ and students’ perceptions of some teaching motivational strategies impact on university students’ effectiveness based on Dörnyei & Csizér (1998) landmark study. The research has involved individual in-depth semi-structured interviews with six English Foreign Language (EFL) teachers and six students to further explore key issues from their viewpoints. The main findings have unveiled that both teachers and students recognise the motivating potential of all the examined scales. Many similarities and some dissimilarities related to specific motivational themes have emerged. In terms of dissimilarity, students accorded importance to group work scale, however teachers minimised its role by justifying that it needed certain conditions. Another area of mismatch can be noticed in the way students and teachers regarded tasks in motivating students. Teachers stressed on providing clear instruction and explanation while students pointed to the content of tasks. Furthermore, another instance of difference in participants’ views towards the same scale in terms of the motivational strategies to be used was in teacher behaviour scale. Both participants agreed to place value on it, but students appeared to emphasise on the social aspects as feeling relaxed and enjoying the class in order to participate fully, while teachers stressed on academic achievement.

scholarly journals Exploring EFL Teachers’ and Students’ Perceptions of Learner Autonomy in Egyptian Technical Schools

2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
Safaa Mostafa Khalil ◽  
Amira Desouky Ali
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
Learner Autonomy ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Clear Understanding ◽  
Cultural Backgrounds ◽  
Teacher Interviews ◽  
Technical Schools ◽  
Efl Teachers ◽  
Teachers And Students ◽  
Student Questionnaire

This study aimed at exploring the perceptions of learner autonomy of 265 students and 89 EFL teachers in technical secondary schools in Egypt. Both qualitative and quantitative data were collected through student questionnaire, teacher questionnaire, and teacher interviews. The findings revealed that the participants; students and teachers, have positive views about learner autonomy in language learning. Students were generally aware of the autonomy-boosting practices and teachers’ roles in fostering autonomy. Students were neutral about their ability to choose course materials and use appropriate strategies to learn English. The results also showed that EFL teachers had clear understanding of the concept of learner autonomy and were mostly aware of its importance in EFL classes. However, they perceived their students as non-autonomous due to individual and institutional challenges. Both students and teachers were unsure about the relation between cultural backgrounds and autonomy in language learning. Based on the results, some pedagogical implications and recommendations for future research for promoting learner autonomy in secondary technical schools have been provided.

Chinese University EFL Teachers’ and Students’ Beliefs About EFL Writing: Differences, Influences, and Pedagogical Implications

2019 ◽  
Vol 42 (2) ◽  
pp. 163-181
Author(s):  
Yan Ding ◽  
Ting Zhao
Keyword(s):  
Negative Impact ◽  
Writing Strategies ◽  
Efl Writing ◽  
Text Quality ◽  
Chinese University ◽  
Efl Teachers ◽  
Teachers And Students ◽  
Giving Feedback ◽  
Method Analysis

Abstract This study investigates Chinese university EFL teachers’ and students’ beliefs about what determines the text quality of EFL writing via a mixed-method analysis of data collected by questionnaire, interview, and diagnostic and self-diagnostic feedback on students’ essays. The results indicate that: First, both the teachers and students attached much importance to language, but the teachers put significantly more emphasis on organization and content whereas the students put significantly more emphasis on vocabulary; Second, the beliefs of students were heavily influenced by their conceptions of the purposes of EFL writing tasks and the assessment criteria adopted to mark their writing; Third, the disparity between teachers’ and students’ beliefs caused them to emphasize different aspects of an essay when giving feedback; Finally, students’ beliefs had a negative impact on the development of effective writing strategies. Pedagogical implications are suggested.

scholarly journals Teachers’ and Learners’ Beliefs About Pronunciation Instruction in Tertiary English as a Foreign Language Education

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Loc Tan Nguyen ◽  
Bui Phu Hung ◽  
Uyen Thi Thuy Duong ◽  
Tu Thanh Le
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Curriculum Design ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Language Education ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Language Curriculum ◽  
Pronunciation Instruction ◽  
Efl Teachers ◽  
Teachers And Students ◽  
Group Interviews

Recent studies have sought to describe and understand English as a second/foreign language (ESL/EFL) teachers’ pronunciation teaching practices in different contexts, but much less research has examined how teachers and learners perceive pronunciation instruction at tertiary level, especially in EFL settings. The qualitative study reported in this paper extends this line of research by investigating the beliefs of teachers and learners with regard to pronunciation instruction in tertiary EFL education in Vietnam. Data were collected from individual semi-structured interviews with six EFL teachers and focus group interviews with 24 students (four students per group) at a Vietnamese university. The study adopted a content-based approach to qualitative data analysis. The findings show that both the teachers and students considered pronunciation instruction an important component in tertiary EFL programs, which deserves explicit and systematic delivery. The findings suggest that both groups of participants believed communicative pronunciation teaching to have the potential to improve learners’ pronunciation and facilitate their general communicative purposes. The study has implications for language curriculum design and L2 pronunciation teaching and learning.

A Study of Socio-Cultural Conception of Writing Assessment Literacy: Iranian EFL Teachers’ and Students’ Perspectives

2019 ◽  
Vol 43 (4) ◽  
pp. 389-409
Author(s):  
Maryam Ataie-Tabar ◽  
Gholamreza Zareian ◽  
Seyyed Mohammad Reza Amirian ◽  
Seyyed Mohammad Reza Adel
Keyword(s):  
Writing Assessment ◽  
Assessment Literacy ◽  
Efl Teachers ◽  
Teachers And Students

scholarly journals AN INVESTIGATION OF THE USE OF THE FIRST LANGUAGE IN LIBYAN EFL CLASSROOMS

2018 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 155
Author(s):  
Safia Mujtaba Alsied
Keyword(s):  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
First Language ◽  
Study Data ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Positive Attitudes ◽  
Efl Teachers ◽  
Teachers And Students ◽  
Efl Students ◽  
Efl Classrooms ◽  
Students Attitudes

This article attempts to explore the use of first language (Arabic) in the Libyan EFL classrooms as well as teachers' and students' attitudes towards using it. To this end, 5 Libyan EFL teachers and 143 Libyan EFL undergraduate students from the English department of Sebha University took part in the study. Data were gathered through questionnaires and semi-structured interviews. The findings of the study indicated that the Libyan EFL students had positive attitudes towards using Arabic in the classroom to some degree; however, they were in favor of using English more than Arabic. It was also found that the students employed Arabic frequently to translate words from English into Arabic. The results also reported that the Libyan EFL teachers used Arabic in their classrooms to accomplish many purposes such as helping students to understand, giving instructions, emphasizing information and giving the meaning of new and unfamiliar words. Additionally, teachers held positive attitudes towards the use of Arabic inside the classroom, but they were of the opinion that Arabic can be only used in certain cases and it should not be overused.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document