Designing an Online Course to Teach Anaphora in Foreign Languages

This paper presents the designing of an online course to teach anaphora in English and Spanish as foreign languages. Anaphora is a discursive mechanism that contributes to textual cohesion. Instead of repeating the same nouns in their texts, speakers can use different pronouns or even ellipsis to improve communication. Each language has its own anaphoric system, which can be very distinct from null-subject languages, such as Spanish, to non-null-subject languages, such as English. Focusing on this topic, a two-week course was designed and taught in 2020 at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (Brazil) and at the University of Algarve (Portugal) to language undergraduate students. The first lesson was an introduction to the concepts of cohesion, anaphora, and the pronominal system in the target language. These topics were further explained in the second lesson, which was also about ambiguity. The activities included: educational videos; tools for corpus analysis and coreference resolution; discussion forums; short answer, matching, and multiple-choice exercises; hyperlinks to more videos, texts, and exercises. Students’ knowledge of anaphora was assessed in a pre-test and in three post-tests (discussed in another article), and the results were compared between experimental and control groups. The teaching module improved learners’ comprehension of written texts and could be adapted to teach anaphora in other languages.

Filipino Teachers of English and Native English Teachers: Learners’ Perceptions

Since learning English from Filipino Teachers of English (FTEs) has gained popularity, this research investigated learners’ perceptions of the difference between FTEs and native English teachers (NETs) by conducting semi-structured interviews at two English language schools that have both FTEs and NETs. Many learners felt that FTEs were better at explaining grammar explicitly and comprehensibly, while others said that they could better improve their listening and pronunciation skills with NETs since they spoke faster and with more phonological changes and colloquial expressions. However, some felt more comfortable talking to FTEs, since their English was easier to understand. Additionally, some believed that the pronunciation of NETs was better simply because they were native speakers. One of the schools had an NET who was trained in teaching how to articulate English phonemes. His students noted that NETs were better at teaching pronunciation. However, this view was not shared by learners from other schools. Some reported that FTEs were easier to befriend, though this was because the learners and their teachers belonged to similar age groups. Some mentioned that FTEs, who are also English learners, were more passionate about teaching, understanding, and helping learners, while only one student claimed that NTEs were more serious teachers. A few were more motivated by NETs solely because they admired native speakers. In summary, the participants of this study generally considered FTEs to be better, although some individual differences were observed. The results suggest the importance of teacher training and teachers’ experience in learning a second/foreign language.

The Role Of ‘Think-Pair-Share’ In Enhancing the Moroccan University Students’ Speaking Skills in Online Classes

Speaking English as a foreign language presents one of the most common challenges for learners of English due to many factors related to their perception of the teacher as “a sage on the stage,” their own shyness, a lack of appropriate vocabulary and accurate grammar, and a lack of cooperative learning skills. To help students remedy this problem, the Think-Pair-Share’ strategy was used in this study of online classes during the COVID 19 pandemic. Research has demonstrated that learners can improve their speaking skills and learn more effectively through meaningful collaboration and sharing. This study aims to investigate the role of the Think-Pair-Share’ approach in promoting students’ speaking skills. The study adopts a qualitative approach and addresses the following two research questions: (i) To what extent does the Think-Pair- Share help in improving students’ speaking skills? (ii) How can this improvement be justified? Twenty-eight first-year Moroccan university students took part in this study. The research instruments used combined pre- and post-speaking tests, students’ self-evaluation, and classroom observations. Data were video recorded, analysed qualitatively using the FCE speaking-assessment criteria, and compared to the students’ self- evaluation of their own performance. The results show that the Think-Pair-Share strategy enabled predominantly average and weak students to exchange their views on a range of familiar topics with more ease, confidence, and fluency using more appropriate vocabulary and a clearer organisation of ideas. Although the learners still had problems with their pronunciation and accurate grammar, they demonstrated better interactive communication.

A Suggested Model for Teaching EFL to Syrian Refugee Learners in Egypt

Syrian refugee learners are allowed to join Egyptian governmental schools. However, some Egyptian teachers cannot meet Syrian refugee learners’ needs. Most of the teachers are unaware of refugee responsive teaching competencies (RRTCs). Accordingly, the present study attempted to identify Syrian refugee learners’ needs and refugee responsive teaching competencies to suggest a refugee responsive teaching competencies model (RRTCM). The study utilized a pre-post one-group design. The study recruited (n=76) EFL student teachers from October 6 University, (n=21) Syrian refugee learners, and 64 in-service teachers of refugees. For data collection, a refugee learners’ needs assessment questionnaire and a refugee responsive teaching competencies knowledge test (RRTCKT) were developed. Findings revealed that the Syrian refugee learners identified 21 needs involving safety, social, cultural, psychological, personal, and educational needs. The suggested refugee responsive teaching model was effective in developing EFL student teachers’ RRTCs knowledge.