Femininity and Masculinity in Arabic Words: Gender Marking in Muslim Cosmology

The Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) language strongly indicates the sociolinguistic phenomenon as it reflects gender marking in language use. This study aims to explore how the Arabic letters attributed to specific gender identities, how the gender ideology of Arab culture create gender biases, and how the biases influence Arab social structure. It uses aspects of masculinity and femininity of Arabic letters that affect gender inequality and order of values on language, tradition and culture. Masculine letters are letters that have the property of being able to hold and entail other letters, while feminine letters that have the nature can be attached with other letters but cannot be attached. In this study, Arabic letters were mapped by observing their use in written and oral interaction in the contexts of Arab as first and second language. This research is a qualitative in nature. The data on ideology's influence on social structure were collected through interviews with three key informants representing their areas of expertise on language anthropology, sociolinguistic, and applied linguistic. The morphological analysis was carried out to identify the internal structure of the words. The sociolinguistic analysis explored the linguistic construction that to social construction. The finding showed that their internal structures, these letters were classified as masculine or feminine. From the sociolinguistic point of view, gender issues following social construction that has already formed gender relations. In other words, Arabic letters affect the order of values that tend to be gender-biased in the Arabic context.

¿Cómo ayudar a los estudiantes en la vuelta a la educación presencial después de la educación a distancia durante la pandemia? El papel de las actividades colectivas de interacción en los libros de texto de ELE seleccionados

The aim of the article is to reflect upon the tasks which might help students in the crisis caused by the return to school after distance learning connected with the pandemic. To start with, the data presented concern both mental and physical well-being, as well as the needs of Polish secondary school students during the pandemic (distance learning and the return to schools). Next, the author analyses the place of textbooks during the return to schools and suggests the typology of team tasks facilitating this process, with a special emphasis on the ones which develop the oral interaction and are in accordance with the processual approach to writing. Furthermore, in the research part, the tasks analysed proposed in the four textbooks of Spanish as a foreign language, destined for students aged 15-19 years, in order to state to what degree, they may facilitate the return to schools and what kind of adjustment to this situation they need. Finally, the conclusions were presented.

Immersive virtual reality versus webcam in an online language course

This paper investigates the differences between Immersive Virtual Reality (IVR) and the webcam (WBC) in the context of a Spanish distance-learning course. Two specific objectives were set: (1) to determine the existence of a relationship of dependence between the device used and the oral interaction, and (2) to analyse the existence of a dependency relationship between the device utilised and the perception of copresence. To that end, online courses and semi-structured interviews were conducted. Regarding the first objective, there is a higher chance of speaking exchanges between student-tutor and tutor-student when using WBC. As for the second objective, we did not have sufficient feedback to determine whether the perception of copresence varies depending on the two profiles. However, the analysis indicates that non-verbal communication was essential for IVR volunteers to experience copresence. The conclusions suggest that the IVR could be more appropriate than WBC for socio-constructivist and communicative teaching pedagogies2.

How do mathematics teachers and learners perceive the role of oral interaction in the teaching and learning of English language learners (ELLs) in year 10 mathematics classes?

<p><b>New Zealand has recently reached a population of five million. Many of these five million are from non-English-speaking-backgrounds. Consequently, many students from language backgrounds other than English find themselves in content classrooms where English is the dominant language. One of these content classrooms is secondary school mathematics. </b></p> <p>This qualitative investigation uses exploratory case study, with two sub-units to examine how mathematics teachers and learners perceive the role of oral interaction in the learning of junior (year 10) mathematics. Data were gathered from two classes in one large coeducational school in the greater Wellington region. Data were collected through two interviews with two teachers, one teacher aide, and five English Language Learner (ELL) students from two year 10 mathematics classrooms. Additional data gathered were gathered through observations, narrative field notes, and artifacts. Data were then analysed using thematic analysis. </p> <p>There were four key findings. The first of these findings was the importance of personal experiences of learning and using an additional language for staff. These experiences shaped the way staff interacted with ELLs and made them empathetic to the language learners. An additional finding was the significance of relationships in classrooms between teaching staff and ELLs, as well as ELLs and their classmates. The ELLs reported that they flourished when they felt comfortable and confident in their classroom environment. A dominant theme was understanding the language demands of mathematics. Students and staff recognised the importance of moving beyond vocabulary, to learning the language of mathematical concepts. The staff discussed the affordances and hindrances for language learning in the classroom. Staff also recognised the challenges for ELLs in accessing the curriculum, and acknowledged 5 that full participation was not always achieved. The final finding was that the teacher had a role in supporting oral language for learning mathematics in the classroom. </p> <p>The findings suggest that teachers need support in recognising the role of language in their subject areas including how to promote oral language. This study recommends that preservice teacher education should include opportunities for teaching discipline specific language in content areas, particularly in mathematics</p>

How do mathematics teachers and learners perceive the role of oral interaction in the teaching and learning of English language learners (ELLs) in year 10 mathematics classes?

<p><b>New Zealand has recently reached a population of five million. Many of these five million are from non-English-speaking-backgrounds. Consequently, many students from language backgrounds other than English find themselves in content classrooms where English is the dominant language. One of these content classrooms is secondary school mathematics. </b></p> <p>This qualitative investigation uses exploratory case study, with two sub-units to examine how mathematics teachers and learners perceive the role of oral interaction in the learning of junior (year 10) mathematics. Data were gathered from two classes in one large coeducational school in the greater Wellington region. Data were collected through two interviews with two teachers, one teacher aide, and five English Language Learner (ELL) students from two year 10 mathematics classrooms. Additional data gathered were gathered through observations, narrative field notes, and artifacts. Data were then analysed using thematic analysis. </p> <p>There were four key findings. The first of these findings was the importance of personal experiences of learning and using an additional language for staff. These experiences shaped the way staff interacted with ELLs and made them empathetic to the language learners. An additional finding was the significance of relationships in classrooms between teaching staff and ELLs, as well as ELLs and their classmates. The ELLs reported that they flourished when they felt comfortable and confident in their classroom environment. A dominant theme was understanding the language demands of mathematics. Students and staff recognised the importance of moving beyond vocabulary, to learning the language of mathematical concepts. The staff discussed the affordances and hindrances for language learning in the classroom. Staff also recognised the challenges for ELLs in accessing the curriculum, and acknowledged 5 that full participation was not always achieved. The final finding was that the teacher had a role in supporting oral language for learning mathematics in the classroom. </p> <p>The findings suggest that teachers need support in recognising the role of language in their subject areas including how to promote oral language. This study recommends that preservice teacher education should include opportunities for teaching discipline specific language in content areas, particularly in mathematics</p>

Information Gap Technique on Speaking Skill

Speaking is one of the most important skills to be developed in education curriculum in Indonesia. It indicates communicative purposes involving authentic oral interaction material because students do not study the language as a subject but also using it for social communication. The purpose of the study was to investigate whether or not there is significant effect of using Information Gap on students’ speaking skill. The population of this research were tenth grade students at SMK Negeri 4 Tanjungpinang and chose randomly by using cluster sampling. The sample of this research were 30 students of X RPL 3 as the experimental group and X MM 1 as the control group consisted 30 students. This research employed Information Gap in experimental group as the source of ideas to make the students communicate. While in the control group were taught using Rote Learning. The instrument used in the study was oral test. The data were analyzed quantitative using descriptive statistics and inferential statistics. The result showed, There is a significant effect of using Information Gap on students’ speaking skill, as tcount = 2.666 and sig = 0.010 < 0.05 and the mean score of post-test in experimental was higher (74.00) than control group (69.23). It can be concluded there is any effect of using Information Gap Technique on speaking skill at SMK Negeri 4 Tanjungpinang.

Sense of agency among frequently anxious learners of English in Swedish primary school: Mismatching beliefs and experiences

Instilling a sense of agency (SoA) in young learners is an important aspect of foreign language instruction, as is the counteracting of emergent foreign language anxiety (FLA). Focusing on learners who frequently experience FLA, this study explores young learners’ beliefs and classroom experiences in relation to teaching and learning of English, in order to highlight the way in which they perceive their own agency, that is, their situated SoA. After initial classroom observations, learners from seven Swedish classrooms, across years 2–5, were seated in small groups to discuss open questions about target language (TL) use, oral interaction, instructional work mode and the role of the teacher and the learners. The present study is based on discussions among 31 of those learners. Qualitative content analysis of the recorded discussions reveals conflicting beliefs and experiences. These frequently anxious learners stressed the importance of extensive input in English and of learners engaging and speaking the TL. However, they also expressed that oral instructions and prompts, which were sometimes incomprehensible, made them feel frustrated and insecure. Considering the risk of embarrassment, they refrained from asking questions or volunteering to speak. Thus, their accounts of their emotional experiences and actions did not align with their beliefs, which hampered their SoA. The findings illustrate the interrelated nature of beliefs, emotional experiences and agency. Implications for primary language teaching relate to target language use and offering plenty of time for learners to practice their oral skills under conditions that they perceive as safe.

A Nexus of Group Learning and Collaborative Learning Facilities in Stimulating Oral Interaction of Learners: A Case of Saudi Arabia

The collaborative learning environment promotes socialization and learning among the students. Therefore, the present study has focused on stimulating oral interaction among students through group and collaborative learning. A qualitative survey study was conducted by selecting ten tenth-grade male students with ages ranging between 14 and 15 years. A total of 10 students were randomly selected from collaborative learning classrooms and were asked about their experiences in that particular environment. The data gathered through interviews were transcribed and presented in the form of themes to highlight students&rsquo; perceptions towards a collaborative learning environment. The results demonstrated that most students perceived that the collaborative learning environment was very beneficial for them. It built self-confidence, improved their oral presentation skills, made them responsible, performed diverse tasks, and respected opinions. Therefore, it is suggested that collaborative learning concepts should be implemented in EFL education programs for in-service and pre-service teachers.

Interaction patterns and support for learning in the primary foreign language classroom

In this study, both sociocultural and cognitive perspectives are used to investigate how learners in the primary foreign language classroom support each other’s learning during peer oral interaction, and how this is influenced by different interaction patterns. Learners were recorded taking part in 3 spot-the-difference tasks in a year 4 primary class, and Storch’s model of interaction patterns (2002) was used as a framework to classify learner interaction. Transcripts were analysed qualitatively and quantitatively, and show how learners used a variety of strategies to support their partner’s output. It also shows how the majority of learners worked collaboratively, how collaboration increased with task repetition, and how pairs who engaged in collaborative interaction provided most support for their peer. However, other dyads showed less mutuality and engaged little with each other’s contributions, with quantitative analysis showing these learners provided each other with the least support for language learning, as they were unlikely to ask their peer for help, one of the most common strategies used by other dyads.