scholarly journals Self-Assessed Professional Competence of the High School EFL Teachers in Toraja Indonesia

2017 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 25 ◽  
Author(s):  
Selvi Panggua ◽  
Basri Wello ◽  
Baso’ Jabu ◽  
Doris Macdonald

The teaching of English as a foreign language (EFL) in Toraja is influenced by the quality of teachers from elementary to university level. The Ministry of National Education in Indonesia has stipulated four competencies that should be mastered by teachers: pedagogical competence, professional competence, personal competence, and social competence. The professional competences of foreign language teachers include a knowledge of various aspects of language in English (linguistics, discourse, sociolinguistic and strategic) and mastery of oral and written English language. The purpose of this study is to identify the perceived level of professional competence of high school EFL teachers in Toraja. For this study, 31 high school EFL Teachers in Toraja were chosen randomly from both public and private schools. Data was collected from questionnaires administered in person and by e-mail. The descriptive statistical results of this research show that half of the teachers reported themselves to have only a fair level of professional competence. This suggests the need for in-service training or professional development activities for high school EFL teachers in this region in order to improve their competence and confidence in teaching English. 

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 56-75
Author(s):  
Nur Gedik Bal ◽  
Perihan Savas

Equipping students with intercultural competence (hereafter IC) is a critical aim of English foreign language classrooms nowadays, and EFL teachers have emerged as essential players for accomplishing this. These teachers should essentially be competent in their intercultural skills so that they can pass these on to their students in order to foster interculturally competent language learners. However, teachers' perceptions regarding IC remain uncertain, particularly in the Turkish context. Thus, before asking teachers to apply methods and strategies so that they can enhance students’ IC in the classroom, it is vital that we investigate what they understand about IC. Therefore, this qualitative study aimed to reveal middle and high school teachers’ understanding of the IC phenomenon and their description of the characteristics of an interculturally competent foreign language learner and teacher. In addition, teachers’ perceptions regarding their own and their learners’ IC were also explored in this study. The participants were 30 middle and high school English language teachers teaching at state schools in Turkey. Semi-structured interviews were conducted to collect the data. MAXQDA was exploited in order to analyse the data, primarily to code, categorize, and systematize the findings. The results indicated that the teachers considered IC to be the ability to communicate with people from various cultures effectively, having knowledge about one’s own, target, and other cultures, and developing positive attitudes toward other cultures and societies. They also emphasized the inseparability of language and culture and the importance of English as an international language. The teachers also indicated why they viewed themselves and their learners as interculturally competent or incompetent, which could provide insight into where to start intercultural learning and teaching in foreign language classrooms and how to train EFL teachers about different dimensions of IC.


2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (6) ◽  
pp. 109
Author(s):  
Aisha T. Alharbi

This study looked into Saudi female English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers’ perception of their motivational practices in the actual classroom in public and private schools. Forty (n=40) EFL teachers filled out a questionnaire consisting of forty-four motivational strategies that were based on a five-point Likert scale ranging from "very important" to "not important." Descriptive statistics have been used to determine the most and the least important teaching strategies viewed by EFL teachers in private and public schools. To determine if there was any difference between private and public schools’ teachers on how they viewed each strategy in terms of importance, inferential statistics, t-test has been implemented. The study revealed that participants in both educational contexts indicate that “teachers’ proper behavior” is the most significant motivational strategy while “having an encouraging environment” in the EFL classroom was ranked the least important strategy. The findings show that there existed a striking similarity between the two sets of teachers in regard to their perceptions of the importance of motivational strategies. The study suggests that English-as-a-Second-Language book planners should keep textbook materials in harmony with motivational strategies practiced by EFL teachers.


2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (7) ◽  
pp. 766
Author(s):  
Lina Guan

The quality of foreign language college English teachers will affect the quality of college English teaching. This article investigated 80 college foreign language teachers of SiChuan Province and writer found college English teachers had great pressures. They were eager to get the in-service training and they should be taught how to have self-development. Teachers should co-operate each other and break the isolation among them.


2017 ◽  
Vol 75 (2) ◽  
pp. 194-203
Author(s):  
Nina Raud ◽  
Olga Orehhova

In-service training of teachers of English as a foreign language (EFL) is as a core instrument of continuous professional development of EFL teachers. Within the context of nowadays education policies, the issue of in-service training has become of topical importance. It requires systematic approach based on the analysis of individual EFL teachers’ needs and receptive practices in developing in-service teacher-training programmes. In view of that, a survey was conducted among EFL teachers in Estonia to discover the areas of in-service training they are interested in. Based on the survey results, a model of an in-service training module to implement in order to meet the needs of EFL teachers in Estonia is proposed, and it is placed against the background of in-service teacher training provided in Estonia. The module could be included into in-service teaching training programmes not only in Estonia, but in a wider European context. Keywords: in-service teacher training, continuous professional development (CPD), English language teaching.


2020 ◽  
Vol 72 (2) ◽  
pp. 108-115
Author(s):  
M. Kulakhmetova ◽  
◽  
O. Tasbolatov ◽  

The article considers the relevance and importance of the formation of sociocultural competence in modern educational practice. It is shown that in order to create a more tolerant and cultural oriented society, as well as successful socialization of young people, high-school’s foreign language teachers need to create a positive ethno-linguistic and ethno-psychological cultural atmosphere in the classroom, that leads young minds to tolerant and healthy behavior towards other cultures and nations, which is one of the most important aspects of education in the context of modern and comprehensive globalization. The formation of sociocultural competence as a component of the communicative competence of schoolchildren is considered and examples of its successful formation in high school with in-depth study of the English language are given.


Author(s):  
Jimalee Sowell ◽  
Larry Sugisaki

Approximately ten percent of learners have some sort of learning disability. This means that all English language instructors will encounter students with learning disabilities and could encounter students with learning disabilities in each class. Research has shown that different countries have varying degrees of infrastructure for identifying and accommodating learning disabilities. However, little research on the degree to which English language teachers in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) contexts have received training for learning disabilities has been carried out. This study had three goals: first, to identify whether the participants in the study, all of whom were EFL instructors, had received training for identifying and accommodating students with learning disabilities; second, among the teachers who had received training, to find out specifically the types of training they had received; and finally, to find out whether training had helped these teachers develop competence in assisting students with learning disabilities. The data were collected through a survey of past and current EFL teachers. Overall, the findings revealed that the majority of English language teachers surveyed had little to no training for accommodating learning disabilities, and the majority indicated that they did not feel confident assisting students with learning disabilities. Recommendations from this study include creating greater awareness for identifying and accommodating learning disabilities in EFL contexts among administrators and teachers as well as suggestions for EFL teachers to improve their knowledge of learning disabilities independently.


2015 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 63
Author(s):  
Asriati

An effective English language teacher has different characteristics from an ordinary one. This research was conducted to reveal the characteristics of effective English language teachers in Makassar and the backgrounds of effective English language teachers that contribute to develop their abilities in teaching. This research applied a qualitative research method using case study approach. The findings of this research show that the characteristics of effective English language teachers in Makassar are divided into several categories; professional competence, pedagogical competence, social competence, personal qualities, and intra and intercultural awareness. Effective English language teachers emphasized their characteristics mostly on professional and pedagogical competence while the students categorized their teachers based on their personal qualities. In terms of personal background, there are several characteristics that could be concluded, they were inspired by their teachers that make them interested in English and become English teachers, they have positive attitudes toward English since they were students, and the second and the third research subject come from teachers’ family while the first research subject does not come from teachers’ family, but they all admitted that their families have important roles to their career as teachers. Keywords: Effective Teachers, Teacher Characteristics, Teachers’ Personal Background


2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 93-100
Author(s):  
Muhammad Asif Ali Khan

This study investigates the teaching methods and strategies practised in Pakistan to teach English as a foreign language in the Post-method Era. English language pedagogy in Pakistan has taken a new turn since the establishment of higher education commission and applied linguistic departments in many universities in Pakistan. It focuses on classroom teaching analysis to see what teaching methods and strategies that English language educators in private and public institutes apply. The study applied qualitative methods with five English teachers as Foreign Language (EFL) of the public and private sectors' intermediate level. The participating teachers were given nine open-ended survey questions about the nature of language, language teaching methods, classroom strategies and techniques, and their roles as teachers in the classroom. Findings revealed that EFL teachers in both public and private sectors employ multiple teaching methods and techniques in their classroom practice, rather than holding to one particular method. The data also differentiates teaching methods and strategies of the teachers in the both sectors. Interestingly, it appears that EFL teachers in the private sectors seem to aim at communicative teaching approaches. In contrast, teachers in the public sectors are more inclined to use Grammar Translation Methods (GTM).


2017 ◽  
Vol 10 (6) ◽  
pp. 160 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fariha Asif

The purpose of this study is to investigate the factors that trigger language anxiety among Saudi learners in English as Foreign Language (EFL) classrooms. The factor of anxiety is especially found among learners while developing proficiency in over all communication and speaking skills as felt by the EFL teachers. The study also seeks to answer the questions like what are the socio-cultural factors as well as psycholinguistic factors that cause language anxiety. Furthermore, this study also explores strategies that can be designed and used to cope with language anxiety successfully. The scope of the study is limited to the college and university English teachers and subject specialists working in public sectors colleges and universities in Saudi Arabia.


2018 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
Hamzah A. Omari

The present study aimed to explore the types of classroom questions which Jordanian English language teachers ask. The sample of the study consisted of 77 teachers who were randomly selected from different public and private schools in Amman- Jordan. A total of 1574 classroom questions were collected and analyzed using descriptive statistics, t test and analysis of variance. The results showed that 80% of teachers’ questions were on low thinking levels; 77% were closed-ended questions; and 86% were display questions. The results also indicated that teachers used higher thinking questions, more referential questions, and more open- ended questions at upper basic stage and secondary stage. It was recommended that EFL teachers in Jordan ask different types of questions at each grade level. 


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