scholarly journals English Language Proficiency and Employability of University Students: A Sociological Study of Undergraduates at the Faculty of Arts and Culture, South Eastern University of Sri Lanka (SEUSL)

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 199
Author(s):  
A. Rameez
Keyword(s):  
Language Proficiency ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
English Language ◽  
Poor Performance ◽  
Visual Aids ◽  
Sociological Study ◽  
Psychological Dimension ◽  
Self Confidence ◽  
The Poor ◽  
Arts And Culture

Gaining mastery over the English language by undergraduates of universities has acquired much significance today because it plays a significant role in ensuring their future employability. This is highly relevant to the students of the Faculty of Arts and Culture (FAC), SEUSL, as a majority of them are from rural areas and pursue their degrees in the Tamil medium. Results of English language examinations held in recent years at the faculty indicate the poor command of English language of undergraduates, and the trend appears to be set firmly. Thus, the objective of this study is to explore the factors contributing to the poor performance of students in English language and to examine the ways in which this problem could be addressed. This is a qualitative study consisting of observation, interviews and focus group discussions employed as techniques of data collection. The study argues that the enrolment of students from rural background, psychological dimension of students, and the lack of reading habit among them are the key factors responsible for their poor level of English knowledge. Lack of physical resources such as visual aids, lack of learner centered teaching (LCT) method, and inexperienced teaching panel are also highlighted as additional factors contributing to the poor command of the language that inevitably leads to poor employment prospects for graduates after they pass out. Therefore, this study suggests that the prevailing trend can be reversed by enhancing the students’ self-confidence and changing their attitudes so they will be motivated to learn the language willingly; upgrading the physical as well as human resources available to students in the faculty will provide an additional impetus to enhance their proficiency in English language.

scholarly journals Determinants In The Choice Of Comprehensible Input Strategies In Science Classes

2011 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-18
Author(s):  
Crisanta Comia Buri
Keyword(s):  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
English Language ◽  
Poor Performance ◽  
Medium Of Instruction ◽  
The Poor ◽  
Comprehensible Input ◽  
Filipino Students ◽  
And Mathematics ◽  
Science Classes ◽  
Bilingual Education Policy

The Bilingual Education Policy, which was launched in 1974 and revised in 1987, has resulted in the limited exposure of Filipino learners to the English language. This is because the policy reversed previous policies and stipulates that in only two content area subjects, namely, Science and Mathematics is English to be used as medium of instruction. The limited exposure to English has been cited as one of the reasons for the declining proficiency in English of Filipino students since the promulgation of the policy (Gonzales, 1986). On the other hand, the use of English as medium of instruction in cognitively demanding subjects such as science and mathematics has also been given as the reason for the poor showing of students and even teachers themselves in nationwide tests in Science (Maminta, 1985). The overall downtrend in student achievement as evidenced by the poor performance on all of the tests has given rise to two issues concerning the policy. First, is the language for initial literacy and the second is the medium of instruction in science and mathematics. These language issues are crucial in as much as language is the primary vehicle of expression and thought exchange in the classroom. Teaching and learning are in fact language tasks carried out largely by means of verbal interaction between teacher and students (Bellack, et al 1966). The exchange of ideas between students and teachers is largely done through language as they talk about concepts in science, mathematics and other content areas.

An Investigation of the Relationship of Motivation, Attitudes and Environment

2018 ◽  
pp. 1126-1139
Author(s):  
Helen, Yeh Wai Man
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Learning Environments ◽  
Language Proficiency ◽  
Attribution Theory ◽  
Global Economy ◽  
English Language ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
Self Confidence

This chapter will study a Philippine and a Chinese leaner's approaches to learn and achieve English language proficiency over 15 years in Hong Kong using biographical approaches. It focuses on the experience of individual motivation and social learning environments, and examines the interactions between the learner's motivation, self-confidence, and competition in the global economy. The effect of the interaction on shaping English learning and the learning experiences in three aspects including formal, self-directed and natural learning environments will also be discussed through Gardner's model of socio-educational model in second language acquisition and Weiner's attribution theory in social psychology. The chapter will suggest some practical implications for students and language teachers, discusses the ways to enhance second language learning in a cosmopolitan city, and presents some possible ways to increase learners' motivation and competitiveness in the global economy.

scholarly journals Professionalism, Urban Settings, and Teachers’ Self-Efficacy in Developing Countries: A Ghanaian Perspective.

2019 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
pp. 194-217
Author(s):  
Bernard Gumah ◽  
Nora Bakabbey Kulbo ◽  
Prince Clement Addo
Keyword(s):  
Classroom Management ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Self Efficacy ◽  
Extrinsic Motivation ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Poor Performance ◽  
Experienced Teachers ◽  
Self Confidence ◽  
Teacher Trainees ◽  
Positive Effect

In achieving the goals of education, it is imperative for teachers to have high self-efficacy which has a direct positive effect on their delivery and for the overall benefit of their pupils. This study was in three-fold. First was to access the influence of teachers’ demographics on their self-efficacy. Second, how work environment influences teachers’ self-efficacy and finally, how their self-efficacy impact students’ performances in the Bolgatanga municipality of Ghana. The efficacy dimensions studied are classroom management practices, classroom instructional practices, and student engagement. It was noted that whiles gender has no significant impact on teachers’ self-efficacy, older, more educated and highly experienced teachers had higher self-efficacy. Also, teachers in the urban area tend to have higher self-efficacy than those in rural areas. Not overlooking other factors, students’ poor performance in some rural areas can largely be attributed to the lower self-efficacy of their teachers as compared to their urban counterparts. Governments should intensify their extrinsic motivation packages to make life more comfortable for teachers working in rural areas and by bridging the rural-urban developmental gap. It is also imperative to intensify self-efficacy in teacher trainees to increase their self-confidence where ever they find themselves.

scholarly journals The Potential of Mobile Phones to Transform Teacher Professional Development to Build Sustainable Educational Futures in Bangladesh

2015 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 37-52
Author(s):  
Christopher S Walsh ◽  
Clare Woodward ◽  
Mike Solly ◽  
Prithvi Shrestha
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Mobile Phone ◽  
Teacher Professional Development ◽  
Language Proficiency ◽  
Mobile Phones ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
English Language ◽  
New Technology ◽  
Future Scenarios ◽  
Teacher Professional

Futures thinking is used by governments to consider long-term strategic approaches and develop policies and practices that are potentially resilient to future uncertainty. English in Action (EIA), arguably the world's largest English language teacher professional development (TPD) project, used futures thinking to author possible, probable and preferable future scenarios to solve the project's greatest technological challenge: how to deliver audio-visual TPD materials and hundreds of classroom audio resources to 75,000 teachers by 2017. Authoring future scenarios and engaging in possibility thinking (PT) provided us with a taxonomy of question-posing and question-responding that assisted the project team in being creative. This process informed the successful pilot testing of a mobile-phone-based technology kit to deliver TPD resources within an open distance learning (ODL) platform. Taking the risk and having the foresight to trial mobile phones in remote rural areas with teachers and students led to unforeseen innovation. As a result, EIA is currently using a mobile-phone-based technology kit with 12,500 teachers to improve the English language proficiency of 700,000 students. As the project scales up in its third and final phase, we are using the new technology kit — known as the 'trainer in your pocket' — to foster a 'quiet revolution' in the provision of professional development for teachers at scale to an additional 67,500 teachers and nearly 10 million students.

scholarly journals An Empowerment Tool for Teaching English Effectively to Refugees: A Case Study of Syrian Adult Refugees in the UK

2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 389
Author(s):  
Aisha M. Alhussain
Keyword(s):  
Elementary Education ◽  
Language Proficiency ◽  
English Language ◽  
First Language ◽  
Rote Learning ◽  
Teaching English ◽  
Self Confidence ◽  
Self Reliance ◽  
The Uk

There is a growing demand today to fill the gap in the literature with studies that focus on teaching English to adult refugees who are illiterate or have had interrupted education and no English proficiency. This group has been ignored because ESOL courses are not designed to serve their needs, namely, to be self-reliant and socially integrated. This paper shares my personal experience with six Syrian adult refugees, 2 females and 4 males ranging in age from 26 to 52, with either interrupted elementary education or illiteracy. They had no English language proficiency and could neither speak nor understand English at all. Their first language was Arabic. The rote learning approach was used as an empowerment tool to teach self-reliance in speaking and listening when dealing with these participants’ priority themes. The approach is based on memorization using both repetition and recall. Their remarks of progress towards self-reliance varied due to age and motivational factors. Four participants moved from A0 level to A1+, while the other two reached A2 level. Gaining self-reliance helped them to socially integrate, find a job, and gain greater self-confidence. Results of the study might be useful to teachers who are involved in teaching English to refugees as volunteers and to refugees’ organizations to shift from relying totally on interpretation to rote learning when specifically dealing with this group of refugees.

scholarly journals An Investigation of the Relationship of Motivation, Attitudes and Environment

2014 ◽  
pp. 1212-1225
Author(s):  
Helen, Yeh Wai Man
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Learning Environments ◽  
Language Proficiency ◽  
Attribution Theory ◽  
Global Economy ◽  
English Language ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
Self Confidence

This chapter will study a Philippine and a Chinese leaner's approaches to learn and achieve English language proficiency over 15 years in Hong Kong using biographical approaches. It focuses on the experience of individual motivation and social learning environments, and examines the interactions between the learner's motivation, self-confidence, and competition in the global economy. The effect of the interaction on shaping English learning and the learning experiences in three aspects including formal, self-directed and natural learning environments will also be discussed through Gardner's model of socio-educational model in second language acquisition and Weiner's attribution theory in social psychology. The chapter will suggest some practical implications for students and language teachers, discusses the ways to enhance second language learning in a cosmopolitan city, and presents some possible ways to increase learners' motivation and competitiveness in the global economy.

scholarly journals Native vs. non-native EFL teachers: Who are better?

2018 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 137-147
Author(s):  
Kurniawati Kurniawati ◽  
Dini Rizki
Keyword(s):  
Language Proficiency ◽  
English Language ◽  
Native Speaker ◽  
First Language ◽  
Quality Teachers ◽  
Self Confidence ◽  
Efl Teachers ◽  
English Speaking ◽  
Native English Speaking ◽  
Native English Speaking Teachers

This paper discusses possible advantages of having Non-Native English-Speaking Teachers (NNESTs) to teach English as a Foreign-Language (EFL) especially in Asian countries when they are often regarded as inferior to their Native English-Speaking Teachers (NESTs) counterparts. A native speaker fallacy has emphasized that NESTs are better teachers of EFL and have put NNESTs at a disadvantage. Actually, NNESTs possess advantages that can make them better teachers for teaching English in an EFL/ESL setting connected with their own EFL learning experiences and with sharing the same first language and cultural background with their students. While considered to have lower English language proficiency and lower self-confidence compared to NESTs, NNESTs who have made the effort to become quality teachers can position themselves as ideal English teachers in their own environment.

An Investigation of the Relationship of Motivation, Attitudes and Environment

2013 ◽  
pp. 194-207 ◽  
Author(s):  
Helen, Yeh Wai Man
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Learning Environments ◽  
Language Proficiency ◽  
Attribution Theory ◽  
Global Economy ◽  
English Language ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
Self Confidence

This chapter will study a Philippine and a Chinese leaner’s approaches to learn and achieve English language proficiency over 15 years in Hong Kong using biographical approaches. It focuses on the experience of individual motivation and social learning environments, and examines the interactions between the learner’s motivation, self-confidence, and competition in the global economy. The effect of the interaction on shaping English learning and the learning experiences in three aspects including formal, self-directed and natural learning environments will also be discussed through Gardner’s model of socio-educational model in second language acquisition and Weiner’s attribution theory in social psychology. The chapter will suggest some practical implications for students and language teachers, discusses the ways to enhance second language learning in a cosmopolitan city, and presents some possible ways to increase learners’ motivation and competitiveness in the global economy.

scholarly journals Factors Shaping the Lived Experience of Resettlement for Former Refugees in Regional Australia

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 501 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura Smith ◽  
Ha Hoang ◽  
Tamara Reynish ◽  
Kim McLeod ◽  
Chona Hannah ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Lived Experience ◽  
Language Proficiency ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
English Language ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Qualitative Interviews ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Service Access ◽  
Related Factors ◽  
Employment Education

Refugees experience traumatic life events with impacts amplified in regional and rural areas due to barriers accessing services. This study examined the factors influencing the lived experience of resettlement for former refugees in regional Launceston, Australia, including environmental, social, and health-related factors. Qualitative interviews and focus groups were conducted with adult and youth community members from Burma, Bhutan, Sierra Leone, Afghanistan, Iran, and Sudan, and essential service providers (n = 31). Thematic analysis revealed four factors as primarily influencing resettlement: English language proficiency; employment, education and housing environments and opportunities; health status and service access; and broader social factors and experiences. Participants suggested strategies to overcome barriers associated with these factors and improve overall quality of life throughout resettlement. These included flexible English language program delivery and employment support, including industry-specific language courses; the provision of interpreters; community events fostering cultural sharing, inclusivity and promoting well-being; and routine inclusion of nondiscriminatory, culturally sensitive, trauma-informed practices throughout a former refugee’s environment, including within education, employment, housing and service settings.

scholarly journals Farmers' perception about causes and remedies of Monga in Hatibandha upazila of Lalmonirhat district

2012 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 107-118
Author(s):  
J R Sarker ◽  
M R U Mian ◽  
S S Roy
Keyword(s):  
Urban Area ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Agricultural Sector ◽  
Group Development ◽  
Poor Performance ◽  
Poor People ◽  
High Interest Rate ◽  
The Poor ◽  
Plant Nursery

The present study was an attempt to analyze the farmers’ perception about causes and remedies of Monga in some  selected areas of Lalmonirhat district of Bangladesh. In order to achieve the objectives, survey was conducted in three villages and one Char area in Hatibandha upazila of Lalmonirhat district. In total 90 samples were purposively taken of which 45 were from Char area, 25 from rural area, and 20 from urban area. The family size of the respondents revealed that medium family domination in Char area (the poorest area) is an indication of the consciousness of the poor people about population problem. Monga stricken people in terms of less consumption were higher in Char and rural areas compared to urban area. Lack of cultivable land, natural calamities, nonavailability of working facilities at non-agricultural sector, lack of working facilities at agricultural sector due to natural calamities and lack of credit availability and high interest rate were opined by the researcher as their causes of Monga. On the other hand, beef fattening, petty business, plant nursery and poultry farming were addressed as the mitigating activities of Monga undertaken by NGOs. old-age allowance, Hundred-days job scheme and Vulnerable Group Development (VGD) programme were observed as Monga mitigating activities undertaken by GOs in the study area. The difference between the performance of GO and NGO in Monga mitigation was wider in Char area than that of in rural and urban areas. The higher performance of NGOs was due to their better identification, selection and supervision strategy with perfect information. Drawbacks like, corruption, lack of proper management, lack of adequate financial support, etc., might be responsible for the poor performance of GO mitigating activities of Monga in the study area. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/jbau.v10i1.12101 J. Bangladesh Agril. Univ. 10(1): 107–118, 2012  

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