A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens: An Authentic Didactic Source for English Language Acquisition and Moral Value Teaching

In the language acquisition and teaching-learning process, the use of good and authentic didactic sources in the classroom is a prerequisite to help students develop language skills efficiently. The choice of these materials may be made based on engaging, interesting, and motivating themes aiming at developing students’ awareness. In the same vein, this project has been designed to suggest Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol as a teaching tool that can help students not only improve their linguistic competences, but also build their character. In other words, English Language Teaching and morality are inseparable and should be taught in the classroom.

interlanguage influences, vocabulary system, grammar, methodological tools, adapted syllabus

The article introduces a methodological approach to teaching English as a second language (ESL) to schoolchildren with general speech underdevelopment and identifies the main interlingual influences. The research featured various means that optimize the English language acquisition by schoolchildren with general speech underdevelopment. The research objective was to identify and substantiate the optimal methodological tools that take into account interlanguage influences. The study revealed the causes of the poor native grammar skills in this group of schoolchildren. A longitudinal study of interlingual influences made it possible to define several methodological tools that are able to improve the process of ESL acquisition by schoolchildren with general speech underdevelopment. These tools take into account the native vocabulary skills in children of this category. The authors propose to create additional adapted ESL syllabuses for schoolchildren with general speech underdevelopment. Such programs should be based on the peculiarities of the native vocabulary and grammar development in this category of children.

Virtual Reality Software as Preparation Tools for Oral Presentations: Perceptions From the Classroom

Although there is a wealth of studies on the role of virtual reality (VR) technology in language acquisition, little research has been done on the utilization of virtual reality mobile applications in English language acquisition, especially in developing oral presentation skills. The main purpose of this case study is to investigate the usefulness of VirtualSpeech, which is a virtual reality mobile application, as a preparation tool for oral presentations via the perceptions of international students and their instructor. The participants are five Academic English Program (AEP) students and their English language instructor at Saint Michael’s College. Qualitative analyses were performed on data collected from: (1) learning logs that were shared between the students and the researcher, (2) surveys that were sent to the students and their instructor, (3) one-to-one interviews with the students, and (4) the researcher’s fieldnotes of the students’ oral presentation performances. The results of the study show that all of the participants recommend using VirtualSpeech as a tool to prepare for oral presentations. Most of the students reported higher confidence levels while speaking English after their use of VirtualSpeech. Thus, this case study can be considered as a contribution to the research on VR mobile applications in English language acquisition.

Before and After: English Language Acquisition in Saudi Arabia and the New Possibilities in Teaching and Learning That the COVID-19 Pandemic May Have Brought

This article examines how the teaching and learning of English as a Foreign Language in Saudi Arabia has evolved over time and the new possibilities the COVID-19 pandemic has brought to teaching and learning of English in Saudi Arabia. Various factors have influenced the pace and degree to which the English language has propagated in Saudi Arabia ever since it was first introduced. Learners of English also continue to be affected by several inherent and external factors when learning the English language. On top of having to grapple with first language and culture interferences, learners of English in Saudi Arabia have also to navigate unfavorable learning environments, lack of experiential exposure to English, and foreign language anxiety. Although the COVID-19 pandemic may have seemingly created issues (e.g., a reduction in time for interaction with peers and teachers) for learners of English due to emergency remote teaching, it has opened up new possibilities that can be the subject of additional research and development. The benefits of online learning, translingual practices, and collaborative teaching should be further explored to benefit from the new normal of mandatory online learning that has arisen due to the pandemic.

Academic conferences in professionally oriented language acquisition by public relations undergraduates

The present paper deals with the attempt to analyze the basics of the theoretical and practical issues in terms of academic conferences as part of the curriculum within the learner-oriented approach to teaching professional English as the second language (L2) to public relations (PR) undergraduates. The objective of the article is to reveal strategies and tactics, necessary for the preparation of the PR undergraduates for participation in professionally oriented scientific conferences in the English language. The research methodology relies on the previous theoretical achievements of the authors of the article, who have worked out special methods, necessary for the modelling of real life situations, including case studies, large-scale role-play games and academic discussions, alongside with the acquisition and consolidation of language knowledge and skills. The actualized skills in the specially constructed academic milieu contribute to the development of the knowledgeable and competent future experts in the field of Public Relations. The graphs accompanying the result of the present research have been created by the authors of the article. The main results of the conducted research indicate that the academic conferences held in English, contribute to effective professionally oriented English language acquisition by PR undergraduates.

"I want to find a better place" : Assyrian immigrant women and English-language acquisition

"I want to find a better place" : Assyrian immigrant women and English-language acquisition

"I want to find a better place" : Assyrian immigrant women and English-language acquisition

"I want to find a better place" : Assyrian immigrant women and English-language acquisition