scholarly journals Assessing the English Language Needs of Observers and Staff Officers: With Special Reference to Amhara Police College Peacekeeping English Project, Amhara Regional State, Ethiopia

2020 ◽  

English for Academic Purposes course focusing on the academic language needs of students is a subfield of English for Specific Purposes (ESP). It is a type of specialized course to integrate specific subject matter, language content, and material based on learners’ needs. The study aims to evaluate the British Council’s English for Academic Purposes (EAP) coursebook in terms of content, sequencing, learners’ autonomy, motivation, feedback and focus on language skills. Furthermore, the study tries to provide a general perception of the usefulness and effectiveness of the coursebook for undergraduate students. The EAP Students’ Manual coursebook is used as a primary source for the data collection. The researcher has chosen Nation & Macalister (2010) model of language teaching principles to analyze and discuss the data. The study found the coursebook a useful, effective and an appropriate source of English language learning in terms of the investigated aspects of the book. The findings report that the coursebook provides practice and practical usage in all domains of the academically required English language skills. It helps the students to build language competency and to be more independent learners. In addition, it provides an opportunity to the learners to think in the target language, use the language more practically and learn it in a natural type of environment. The study concludes and suggests that the content needs to be supplemented with English language audios and videos presenting the students relevant documentaries and helping material in order to make the coursebook and the learning process more useful, effective, interesting and motivating. Furthermore, the study recommends that while choosing /designing a coursebook for a certain course, it needs to be evaluated following the various criteria and language-teaching-principles suggested by different language researchers.


1988 ◽  
Vol 120 (2) ◽  
pp. 305-315
Author(s):  
Robert E. Frykenberg

Every schoolboy and schoolgirl in India, figuratively speaking, is taught the Myth of Macaulay's Minute. According to this myth, attitudes of lofty condescension towards India's peoples and their inferior cultures, combined with practical needs for a cheap labour force to supply the manpower requirements of an enormous bureaucratic machine, prompted alien rulers to impose an English language educational system upon the subcontinent and, thereby, to neglect and stifle the natural growth of indigenous educational institutions. Moreover, in its more extreme forms, this myth assumes that these rulers were also either racially arrogant or wilfully ignorant, or both. Finally, this myth assumes that the disastrous consequences of this “colonialist” fiat were a major factor inhibiting the progress and well-being of a large proportion of India's peoples.


2017 ◽  
Vol 10 (9) ◽  
pp. 208
Author(s):  
Tunku Mohani Tunku Mohtar ◽  
Charanjit Kaur Swaran Singh ◽  
Napisah Kepol ◽  
Ahmad Zainuri Loap Ahmad ◽  
Sasigaran Moneyam

The present study investigated the beliefs and efficacy of a teacher teaching English to students who were weak at the language. The objective of the study was mainly to investigate the beliefs and efficacy of the ESL teacher for teaching writing to weak learners. The research was a case study of the English Language teacher teaching Form Three class of students whose English proficiency was very low. An interview was conducted with the teacher to further probe the instructional strategies applied to enhance her beliefs and efficacy in her own capabilities to make learning happen in her classroom. Observations were made to investigate the teacher’s efficacy in teaching and the performance of the students specifically for writing. Results show the teacher’s beliefs of her students’ capabilities and their language needs helped shape the teacher’s instructional strategies. The teacher’s efficacy enabled her to decide to undertake the task of teaching writing to her students because she was confident in her ability. The teacher provided clues to the students to facilitate their learning. This kind of feedback from the teacher indirectly motivated them to learn. The teacher’s beliefs and efficacy contributed to her teaching practice and the instructional strategies that she used in turn enhanced her beliefs and efficacy. The study implicates that teacher’s beliefs and efficacy can assist the weak learners in improving their writing skills and also facilitate language learning.


2019 ◽  
Vol 25 (3) ◽  
pp. 61-73
Author(s):  
Cora Lindsay ◽  
Renata Seredyńska-Abou-Eid

For migrants and refugees, language is essential for dealing with officials, engaging with employment, receiving healthcare and feeling comfortable in a new environment. Despite this, there is no uniform approach to English language support for incoming migrants or refugees to the East Midlands. This paper discusses the situation regarding language provision for these communities and identifies the gaps in current language provision which derive from reductions in government funding over recent years. It looks at a mixed methods doctoral study that sought to identify the language needs of the Polish community in the region and describes a University of Nottingham initiative to address the gap in English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) provision for adult learners, both migrants and refugees, in the Nottingham area.


2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 211
Author(s):  
Mohammed Abdulgalil Abugohar ◽  
Ma’in Ateyah Al-Hnifat ◽  
Omar Ali Al-Smadi ◽  
Radzuwan Ab Rashid ◽  
Kamariah Yunus

A good start in researching on language teaching and learning issues is to first analyse target learners’ actual performance and their needs. This mixed-methods 2-cycle study is aimed to analyse medical-college students’ language needs through two instruments—a self-rated report and a guided focus group. Out of the main four language skills (speaking, reading, listening, and writing), Cycle 1 aimed at exploring the most trouble-provoking skill for EMP students through a 7-item rating report with a sample of 45 participants. Based on the results of Cycle 1 which labelled speaking as the most problematic language skill for the target learners, Cycle 2 proceeded with 9 interviewees to narrow the study focus on the factors contributing to the inefficiency of speaking skills among EMP learners, discussing solutions from the learners’ perspectives. Pedagogically, this research helps practitioners innovate and integrate new techniques in language teaching and learning to overcome the issue of students’ speaking performance that has been deemed below expectations.


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