Literature in EFL classes: four teachers' experiences in Brazil

Some of the benefits of using literature in EFL classes include improving vocabulary, critical thinking and providing authentic material. Researchers such as Melo Júnior (2015) and Lago (2016; 2017) investigate literature in EFL contexts, noticing how literature can also motivate students. This paper aims to analyze English teachers' experience in Goiás, Brazil, and their relationship with literature in their EFL classes. Its purpose is to investigate whether these teachers use literary works during their lessons. Four teachers were interviewed for this case study. The results show these teachers attribute importance to literature in EFL contexts.

Contextual learning approach to the development of the grammatical accuracy in EFL

The present article highlights the importance of teaching grammar contextually so that students develop their grammatical skills. Effective strategies for all the stages of a lesson-presentation, practice and production (PPP model) – are presented. The main elements of a contextualized lesson are discovery, cooperation, authentic material and reflection.

AN APPROACH OF ENGLISH TEACHING FOR AUTOMOTIVE AND VEHICLE ENGINEERING STUDENTS

English for Specific Purposes (ESP) is generally interpreted as an approach to learning English based on the goals/needs of the learner. In the context of learning English in Indonesia, both at secondary and tertiary schools, especially for automotive students, the ESP approach is a popular choice. The application of this approach is in line with the government policy in the field of education which emphasizes the purpose of learning English, namely to improve the ability of students to use English, especially for academic and professional career needs with an emphasis on reading skills that allow students to understand authentic material topics according to their majors. effectively. This article puts forward a theoretical study of the basic concepts of ESP including its definition and role as a learning approach, along with related issues including needs analysis as the main feature of ESP, syllabus, learning objectives, materials, methodology, and evaluation of ESP-based English learning.

THE USE OF YOUTUBE TO SUPPORT EFL STUDENTS' LISTENING SKILLS

Authentic material in the English as a Foreign Language (EFL) classroom, particularly in listening, encourages students to apply actual language or authentic speech. In this digital era, Information and Communication Technology (ICT) plays a pivotal role for the teacher's resources to support the teaching-learning process in the classroom. The teacher can find free resources on the Internet by browsing Google, Yahoo, and YouTube. Using YouTube videos can improve students' listening comprehension as it brings many benefits to learners. YouTube is a tool of authentic material to support the student to focus more on listening. The teacher needs to encourage student's motivation in the teaching-learning process. Therefore, this study investigates how YouTube Video is a teaching tool to improve student's listening comprehension skills. There were eight participants from the English Department in a private university in Jakarta. The data was collected through class observation and interviews to observe EFL students' progress in the learning process of listening. This study revealed that YouTube video benefits EFL learners, such as improving students' confidence, enjoying the learning process, making the learning process more fun, and increasing students' interest in learning.

STUDENTS’ PERCEPTIONS TOWARDS THE IMPLEMENTATION OF ROBERT FROST’ POETRY IN WRITING CLASS AT MUSAMUS UNIVERSITY

This study investigated the students’ perceptions concerning the use of Robert Frost’s poetry in writing class at English Literature Department of Musamus University which was obtained through a survey. A total of 17 undergraduate students taking writing class participated in this study. The participants responded to a questionnaire and an open-ended questions concerning the two focal points: (1) how the students perceived the use of Robert Frost’s poetry in teaching writing, (2) the implementation of Frost’s poetry in improving students’ writing short story. The results of the study revealed that the implementation of Frost’s poetry helped them to be easier in writing short story. Most of the participants gave positive response to the use of Frost’s poetry in teaching them to write a short story. In addition, they seemed to prefer learning writing short story by using English poetry in writing classes. The concluding discussion addresses suggestion about the need to consider students’ wants and needs by gauging their perceptions as the student evaluation of teaching in order to keep up the better improvement to the teaching writing the texts and the using of authentic material or media in English Literature Department at Musamus University.

A NARRATIVE INQUIRY STUDY ON TEACHING READING USING AUTHENTIC MATERIALS

<p>This study investigates in-service English teachers’ voices toward the use of authentic materials in teaching reading and the challenges in using the materials. A narrative inquiry study is employed in which the data were qualitatively collected through interview and documentation process. This study was conducted at one of the Private Junior High Schools in Bogor, Indonesia. An in-service English teacher was chosen as a participant who participated in the process of collecting data through structured interviews by audio recording. The result of this research shows that an in-service English teacher have positive perceptions toward the use of authentic material in teaching reading. Various positive reasons and challenges for the use of authentic materials in the classroom were revealed.</p>

POETRY IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE TEACHING: A LESSON PLAN BASED ON POETRY

<p>The present paper deals with teaching italian as a foreign language through poetry. The poetry chosen for the paper is Promemoria by the italian author Gianni Rodari. The aim of the paper is to suggest an example of a lesson plan based on the poem and is intended for the A2 level (according to CEFR). The suggested lesson plan framework based on poetry attempts to realize further objectives: to make students learn a foreign language based on an authentic material, to generate their interest into poetry, and finally, to promote integration of literature, especially poetry, into the foreign language teaching. </p><p> </p><p><strong> Article visualizations:</strong></p><p><img src="/-counters-/edu_01/0853/a.php" alt="Hit counter" /></p>

Reconciling opposites to reach compromise during ELT textbook development

Though reports of pedagogic materials production point to the range of compromises authors make when writing language teaching textbooks, many accounts are retrospective in nature. This study sought to expand the research perspective by interrogating writing episodes via qualitative content analysis to discover how two expert ELT (English language teaching) textbook writers managed compromises during ongoing coursebook development. The authors’ data sets – primarily composed of think-aloud protocols and transcripts of pre- and post-concurrent verbalization interviews – revealed that they applied pragmatic judgement when contemplating the incorporation of textually authentic material and reconciled continuity and variety when developing unit frameworks and content, all with textbook audiences, contexts, and purposes in mind. Further, one of the authors reached compromise with project partners to integrate monologue and dialog texts into his book, while the other squared pedagogic imperatives with publishing realities by skillfully navigating textbook length, design, and deadline parameters during her project. By reconciling ostensible opposites to reach compromise, the authors balanced complexities to see their books through to completion. This research may inspire neophyte textbook writers’ efforts as they examine the architecture of writing sessions and prompt teachers to weigh authorial choices and balances during ELT textbook evaluation.

Teachers’ Perceptions about the Use of Authentic Material in Pakistani EFL Classrooms

This study explores the perceptions of teachers about the use of Authentic Material in Pakistani secondary school English language teaching classrooms. The research was descriptive in nature and used a quantitative approach to collect data through a survey questionnaire from 40 Pakistani Secondary school English language teachers. The questionnaire used was initially adapted from a research done in Hong Kong by Yeung Ting-fai in 2011, under the topic “English language teachers' attitudes towards the use of authentic materials in Hong Kong secondary schools” but then modified to a larger extent according to the scenario and situation of the Pakistani education system. The data was analyzed through SPSS and descriptive statistics were obtained. The results of this research are significant in Pakistani context. Although many teachers wanted to use Authentic Material in their classes, they were hesitant to do so due to the constraints related to curriculum, examination system and administrative pressure. The study recommends adapting curriculum and examination systems to provide administrative support that can provide space to Pakistani secondary school teachers for using Authentic Material in English language classrooms.