Lecturers’ perception on the implementation of approaches to teaching literature in EFL classrooms

The selection of appropriate approach(es) to teaching literature in EFL classrooms becomes a necessity that they can result in good performance of the students, both in their critical thinking aspect and their language proficiency. The problem appears when the lecturer does not implement a suitable approach to literary analysis when teaching literature to the EFL students. These problems led to the student’s inability to perform as expected. The present study examines how lecturers perceive the implementation of approaches to teaching literature in EFL classrooms and their relations to improving the students’ reflective writing skills as the manifestation of the student’ responses to the literary works. Among the approaches studied were the Language-based approach, the Reader-Response approach, and the Philosophical approach. The study was carried out on six lecturers teaching the Literary Criticism course in the EFL classrooms at the university level. A questionnaire was distributed to the lecturers teaching this course at a university in Semarang, Indonesia, containing eight-question items regarding how they perceive the literary approaches and how effective they used them in improving the students’ reflective writing skills, in encouraging the students to think critically about the events in literary works and in relating the readings to some aspects of their own lives. The study revealed that each literary analysis approach in teaching literature has its benefits and characteristics. The study results also showed that each approach has its strengths and weaknesses that differ from one another.

EFL Learners’ Pedagogical Views on the Online Social Networks in EFL Classrooms

This present study aims to explore EFL learners’ pedagogical views towards the utilization of online social networks in EFL classrooms. It specifically elaborates the EFL learners’ preferences of online social networks for learning English. Moreover, the EFL learners’ English skills enhanced by utilizing online social networks were also investigated. Ten EFL learners participated in the qualitative study which employed observations and interviews in collecting qualitative data. The results show that the learners’ preferences include Facebook, blogs, WhatsApp, Twitter, podcasts and Instagram. The learners’ English skills improved include listening, writing, reading, and speaking. In conclusion, online social networks are not only designed for general communication among EFL learners, but also for engaging EFL learners to work collaboratively in learning English via online environments.

Exploring the Online EFL Classroom Ecology of Middle Schools During the COVID-19 Lockdown

The outbreak of COVID-19 has induced an abrupt shift from face-to-face instruction to online delivery mode for academic continuity. This research aims to explore the ecology of the pandemic-induced online English as foreign language (EFL) classrooms in Chinese middle schools and perceptions held by the English teachers, students, and parents. By analyzing data collected from 10, 576 questionnaires and eleven interviews, this study revealed how these participants played their respective parts in online EFL classroom ecology. Also, it was found that teachers’ evaluations of students’ learning performance (learning engagement and outcomes) and teacher-student interactions (in-class interaction, after-class interaction, and teachers’ feedback about homework) and their overall satisfaction of the online EFL classrooms were lower than that of the other two groups. In addition, major concerns of the participants about online EFL teaching and learning were identified, such as students’ vision damage and inadequate self-discipline, lack of face-to-face communication, and unstable Internet connection. Through presenting and discussing the research findings, this study is expected to provide implications and insights for foreign language educators, learners, and parents worldwide in adapting to online classrooms during public crises.

Needs of the ‘Bilingual Schools' Program in Andalusia Regarding EFL Classrooms and Language Assistants

Since the implementation of Bilingual Education in Spain, research has focused on studying ways to improve the quality of this educational model. However, although there are aspects that threaten its correct functioning and/or implementation, little has been done to find solutions to those issues. Thus, this chapter presents findings from a research conducted in Seville, Spain, and compare them to those of some current studies in different autonomous communities to conclude that some important issues that have been previously reported but have not been solved are the lack of linguistic and methodological training for the stakeholders and time for coordination or planning, and confusion regarding specific information (roles, functions, procedures, etc.), among others. Most importantly, the chapter concludes that a number of actions should be taken by the regional Board of Education and/or schools to improve the quality of the bilingual education offered in Andalusia.

Exploring Conversational Implicatures in the American Sitcom Seinfeld

Since learners must know how to use language in different contexts, sitcoms could help with pragmatic competence development because they display contextualized lifelike language. Could identifying conversational implicatures in a sitcom help develop metalinguistic awareness of implicatures? In addition, are there conversational implicatures in the sitcom Seinfeld that present the potential to help develop pragmatic competence? This article illustrates conversational implicatures through Seinfeld episodes and discusses how identifying implicatures could develop metapragmatic awareness. The method was a descriptive research of the qualitative type. Ten segments from the American sitcom Seinfeld were analyzed based on their conversational implicature occurrence. The implicatures present in the segments are discernible and may help develop pragmatic competence if explicitly taught to learners. Further studies could focus on quantitative research in EFL classrooms on the potential benefits of using sitcoms to develop metalinguistic awareness.

Students' Learned Helplessness and Teachers' Care in EFL Classrooms

The construct of learned helplessness, as one of the noticeable emotional issues in education, has been investigated and approved its prominent place in education for its stimulus on students' accomplishment, enthusiasm, and commitment in learning. Moreover, the role of teachers as the most crucial issues in the learning viewpoint is at the center of attention since they help learners to be more motivated and provide a supportive context by caring. So, the current review of literature tries to emphasize teachers' care and its effects on decreasing learned helplessness in EFL classrooms. The review of this study underscores the important role of the teachers' care and support in learners' improvement of learned helplessness that can be alleviated in this way. Afterward, some suggestions are offered to illuminate the exercise of teachers, learners, teacher trainers, and syllabus designers.

Developing Poetic Writing Skills: A Teaching Technique for Advanced ESL/EFL Learners

This article attempts to showcase a number of techniques to teach poetic writing skills in EFL settings. First and foremost, we have tried to identify and propose corrective attitudes to work out the psychological obstacles that impede the practice of poetry in many EFL classrooms. Then, we have selected some basic characteristics of poetic discourse through lyric songs to increase learners’ awareness of the specificities of poetry. The mastery of the structure and functioning of figurative language has been the essential skill to develop. Furthermore, the technique privileges the process-oriented approach which is based on well-structured, harmonious and interrelated phases to help learners start composing simple verses and poems.