Teacher Competences for Teaching English as a Foreign Language in the First Educational Cycle of Primary Education

<p style="text-align:justify">Foreign language teaching in the Slovenian educational context begins in the first grade (age 6). Many studies report a lack of qualified teachers at this stage of learning around the world and numerous authors emphasise the misconception that basic linguistic and didactic knowledge of teachers is sufficient for teaching children. All three Slovenian public universities are aware of this problem and offer pre-service and in-service programmes for (student) teachers who want to specialise in teaching English to young learners. In the present article, we focus on the subject-specific teacher competences for teaching English in the first three years of primary education; namely, linguistic, subject didactic and intercultural competences. We explore teachers’ self-assessment of these competences and their perception of certain elements pertaining to them. The study seeks to answer the following research questions: (1) What subject-specific competences do teachers consider essential for teaching English in the first cycle of primary education? (2) To what extent do teachers believe they have developed certain subject-specific competences? (3) What are teachers’ attitudes toward certain subject-specific competences that the teacher needs for teaching English in the first cycle of primary education? The results of the quantitative survey, in which 100 teachers participated, show that teachers perceive their subject didactic competence to be the most developed and their intercultural competence to be the least developed. Moreover, they consider that a basic level of English is not sufficient for teaching English in the first grades.</p>

Teacher Competences for Teaching English as a Foreign Language in the First Educational Cycle of Primary Education

<p style="text-align: justify;">Foreign language teaching in the Slovenian educational context begins in the first grade (age 6). Many studies report a lack of qualified teachers at this stage of learning around the world and numerous authors emphasise the misconception that basic linguistic and didactic knowledge of teachers is sufficient for teaching children. All three Slovenian public universities are aware of this problem and offer pre-service and in-service programmes for (student) teachers who want to specialise in teaching English to young learners. In the present article, we focus on the subject-specific teacher competences for teaching English in the first three years of primary education; namely, linguistic, subject didactic and intercultural competences. We explore teachers’ self-assessment of these competences and their perception of certain elements pertaining to them. The study seeks to answer the following research questions: (1) What subject-specific competences do teachers consider essential for teaching English in the first cycle of primary education? (2) To what extent do teachers believe they have developed certain subject-specific competences? (3) What are teachers’ attitudes toward certain subject-specific competences that the teacher needs for teaching English in the first cycle of primary education? The results of the quantitative survey, in which 100 teachers participated, show that teachers perceive their subject didactic competence to be the most developed and their intercultural competence to be the least developed. Moreover, they consider that a basic level of English is not sufficient for teaching English in the first grades.</p>

TEFL in the Postmethod Era

This study aims to review the implementation of steps in teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) from a post-method point of view. The research is an analytical study using a literature review approach to describe the results and to draw conclusions. The results of the literature analysis show that basically there is no fundamental theoretical difference between the method and post-method. Regarding the implementation of teaching English from the post - method point of view, there is no fundamental difference found on the steps of teaching English in methods that existed before the era of post-method. Therefore, the energy of debate between proponents of method and post-method can be directed to find the best and appropriate steps in teaching English to students.

Assessment of Flipped Learning as an Innovative Method of Teaching English: A Case Study

The article aims to assess the efficiency of flipped learning as one of the most up-to-date methods when teaching English for the EFL students in Ukraine. The significance of the study bases on the necessity to implement advanced teaching practices during the COVID-19 pandemic since online learning requires constructive changes in the traditional system of education. It is necessary to shift from the direct knowledge transfer to searching and cognition of new information by students, to change the teacher’s role to being ‘a facilitator’ and organizer of various academic activities. The article outlines the main characteristics of flipped learning, including flexibility, individualization, differentiation, and opportunities for students to learn at any place or time. The contribution of this research is to estimate new experiences of University students due to flipped learning implementation. It was achieved due to analyzing responses to the survey-based questionnaire of 48 learners and 23 teachers of the Department of Foreign Philology and Translation of Vinnytsia Institute of Trade and Economics of Kyiv National University of Trade and Economics, evaluation of students’ performance, attendance, and attitude to the study. In order to verify results of the research, a descriptive statistical and analytical method was applied. The study results reveal that implementation of flipped learning made the educational process more effective and innovative as it improved students’ progress in language learning performance, increased their motivation and involvement, and made them more interested in learning English.

IMPACT OF THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC ON HIGHER EDUCATION: THE CASE OF REPUBLIC OF SRPSKA

Pandemic was a serious test for higher education institutions, as key institutions of higher education, that showed the extent to which professors and students have adopted and used all the advantages of new technology in teaching. This is exactly what this research aims for; assessment and comparison of the performance of students who attended traditional classes before the pandemic, and online and combined during the pandemic. In addition to success, this research will show whether the way of teaching affects the presence and activity of students. Data were collected from traditional classes (March - July 2019), online classes (March - July 2020) and combined classes (March - July 2021). The main research question in this study is whether there was a difference in the success of students who attended classes in the traditional way, online or by combining these two models. To obtain the results, a t-test of independent samples was performed with the calculation of the mean and standard deviation. This relevant research shows which approaches and methods of teaching English for students gives the best results, given the specifics of its implementation and the need for interactivity during teaching.

Exploring modality in multimodal macrogenre: A social semiotic analysis of EFL pedagogic materials in China

Given the evolving multimodal features in educational settings, modes other than language further enable the diversity in the realization of meanings and pedagogic goals. This paper explores modality in multimodal pedagogic materials for teaching English as a foreign language in China. Drawing upon the social semiotic approach to modality in visual media, this study provides a comparative analysis of modality markers in different elemental genres that constitute the macrogenre of a teaching unit, with a focus on explaining the underlying reasons for the different choices in terms of coding orientation. It is shown that different degrees of deviation from the accepted coding orientation are employed in different constituent genres of the macrogenre of a given text.

Review of Literature on Teaching English Vocabularies Through Games to Young Language Learners

In the last two decades, learning English has become a popular activity in Iran (Sadeghi & Richards, 2015). There has been a remarkable increase in the number of private language schools in the country. In Iran, interest in English has risen due to the status of the language as a lingua franca and its necessity for technical, scientific, and economic developments. Meanwhile, vocabulary is deemed as one of the most crucial aspects of learning a language. Currently, vocabularies are taught through traditional methods; therefore, young learners lose their interest over time. This paper aims to substantiate that games are profoundly effective in teaching vocabularies and affect young learners’ motivation and engagement with the language. This paper presents a review of literature on teaching English vocabularies through games to young English language learners in Iran. It discusses the practical instructions of games and how games could be taught more effectively. It describes the suitability and implication of games and how they should be selected and implemented by teachers. Three games are introduced for teaching vocabularies and followed by a discussion on the inherent challenges of teaching vocabularies through games.

Diversity of and Differentiation for Gifted English Learners

This chapter presents a need to understand the diversity of the English learner population. Within this large multi-lingual group of students, there is a richness of diversity in languages, skills, histories, abilities, and experiences. Teaching for differences begins by learning about the students in the classroom. English learners collectively share language needs, but as individuals require attention to their own personal assets and abilities and ongoing learning needs. This chapter presents suggestions for teaching English learners through the lens of differentiation and extends to individualization and personalization. Strategies for supporting the unique needs within and across the multi-lingual learning population are presented. A focus on maximizing thinking shows a strong correlation to language development. Therefore, this chapter presents instruction for English learners as rigorous and challenging to promote thinking and language development.