A FLIPPED CLASS ON ENHANCING EFL ACADEMIC VOCABULARY ACQUISITION FOR NON-ENGLISH MAJOR COLLEGE STUDENTS

In the era of global diversification and technological advancement, the vocabulary teaching of teaching English as a Foreign Language (EFL) faces new challenges and opportunities. Multimodal theory-based teaching has gained significant attention in academic research. This study addresses the challenges in EFL vocabulary acquisition among non-English major students by employing the Explanatory Sequential Design (ESD). Initially, this study conducted a quantitative semi-structured questionnaire involving 78 non-English major college students in China. It identified key vocabulary learning issues, including monotonous vocabulary presentation content, limited vocabulary teaching methods and tedious vocabulary tasks. To address these challenges, this research implemented a research practice at Wenzhou Business College (WZBC) for one semester with 20 non-English major students, focusing on pre-class, in-class, and post-class stages. This study collected data to evaluate the effectiveness of the intervention and conducted a follow-up interview with 5 students to gain deeper insights. This study shows that applying multimodal theory in EFL vocabulary teaching enhances vocabulary acquisition by engaging students with varied content, interactive methods, and customised tasks that build confidence, thereby boosting interest and participation in vocabulary learning. These findings offer valuable insights for advancing EFL educational practices.

Since Holec first introduced the concept of “learner autonomy” in 1981, it has attracted widespread attention from scholars both domestically and internationally. College students, as the nation’s talents, should possess a certain level of English autonomous learning ability. This study aims to examine the current state of English autonomous learning among non-English major graduate students. The research was conducted with 97 non-English major college students as the subjects. Using a questionnaire by domestic scholar Lin Lilan as a tool, supplemented by semi-structured interviews, the study investigated the English autonomous learning situation of non-English major college students. It explored the autonomous learning situation of ethnic minority college students from three dimensions: self-management of learning ability, autonomous learning psychology, and autonomous learning behavior. The study analyzed the reasons for the lack of English autonomous learning ability among them and discussed how to cultivate the autonomous learning ability. The survey results are as follows: (1) The vast majority of ethnic minority college students have the awareness of autonomous learning and are willing to take responsibility for their own English learning. (2) Approximately sixty percent of non-English major college students have a certain level of self-management ability in learning, with clear English learning goals, the ability to make corresponding learning plans, and the capacity to conduct their own learning effectiveness assessments. (3) Most non-English major students do not demonstrate strong autonomy in their actual learning behavior, indicating a significant gap between their potential psychological tendencies and actual behavioral capabilities. Based on the above research, this paper proposes three suggestions for cultivating the autonomous learning ability of ethnic minority students: 1) Cultivate students’ English learning strategies; 2) Stimulate students’ learning motivation; 3) Actively create an autonomous learning environment.

This study explored the role of the Dalton Plan-based instruction in improving learner autonomy and reading performance among non-English major university students in China. A quasi-experimental design was utilized to reach the goal. The Dalton Plan-based instruction in this study consists weekly individual sessions and monthly class meetings, which were held on the basis of the problems reported in students’ self-reports in accomplishing their reading assignments. The experiment was undertaken in one university characterized by students from multi-ethnic background in China. The participants were 62 second-year non-English major students from medical college of the university, thirty-two of them makes the experimental group, the rest 30 composes the control group. The experimental group received the Dalton Plan-based instruction and the control group received conventional classroom instruction. The quantitative data of Autonomous Learning Scale and reading tests were collected and analyzed to answer the research questions. The results of this study revealed that the Dalton Plan-based instruction was more conducive to building learner autonomy and improving reading proficiency than conventional instruction, and there’s a moderate positive relationship between the learner autonomy and reading proficiency among College English learners under the Dalton Plan-based instruction.

This study investigated the impact of mobile-assisted language learning (MALL) on Iranian university students’ acquisition of academic vocabulary beyond classroom instruction. Forty-eight undergraduates participated, with 28 assigned to an experimental group and 20 to a control group. Over one academic semester, both groups received identical classroom instruction, but differed in their out-of-class learning approaches: the experimental group used Lexilize Digital Flashcards, whereas the control group used paper-based flashcards. Vocabulary proficiency was measured through three standardized tests assessing general, academic, and associative word knowledge, administered before and after the intervention. Reflective journals and semi-structured interviews complemented the quantitative data. Results from multivariate analyses revealed significant gains in both groups, with the experimental group showing superior improvement in vocabulary breadth and depth. Qualitative findings indicated that participants perceived mobile-assisted learning as flexible, engaging, and effective for systematic vocabulary expansion, though some expressed concerns about screen distraction and device limitations. Overall, the findings highlight the pedagogical value of integrating digital flashcards into out-of-class study routines to strengthen academic vocabulary learning in English for Academic Purposes (EAP) programs. Mobile-assisted tools can provide a scalable complement to traditional instruction, particularly in resource-limited or self-directed learning contexts.

Student engagement plays a vital role in their performance in in-class activities. The importance of student engagement in a foreign language class has been proved in many prior studies. Most of them have mainly focused on students' and teachers’ perceptions towards student engagement in learning English. However, the current paper quantitively analyzed factors affecting student engagement and its correlation between variables. There are two research questions: 1) What factors influence non-English major tertiary students in Vietnamese EFL class; and 2) To what extent do those factors correlate with non-English major students’ engagement in English classrooms? The study’s questionnaire was delivered to 83 non-English major tertiary students studying in a public university in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. The findings found that motivation made a more significant contribution to student engagement than the three others (e.g., teacher-student interaction, family engagement, and peer support for learning). In this paper, the correlations between student engagement and those factors were found to be significantly positive. Based on the results, the present study’s implication was that teachers and school managers should form a strong relationship with students’ parents to manage their learning process and share education opinions related to boosting student engagement in EFL classrooms. The study also suggested more future research investigating influences of student engagement with different methods to generalize this field.

This study investigates the phenomenon of boredom experienced by non-English major college students in their English language learning, aiming to provide valuable insights into the factors influencing boredom, such as language proficiency levels and gender. Additionally, it aims to guide educators in effectively addressing negative emotions and enhancing students’ efficiency in acquiring English skills. Employing quantitative research methods including surveys and statistical analysis, this study collects data on the frequency, intensity, triggers of English boredom, as well as its impact on academic performance. The data analysis reveals that non-English major students commonly experience feelings of boredom when studying English, particularly PowerPoint Presentation Boredom. There are variations in the causes of boredom among non-English major college students based on their language proficiency levels and gender. The findings indicate that students have grown weary of conventional approaches to grammar and vocabulary instruction, expressing a desire for more engaging and practical learning methods. Consequently, this study concludes that educators should embrace innovative pedagogical techniques such as gamification and task-based learning to invigorate students’ interest and motivation.

College students Internet users have basically achieved a fully coverage in our country. The flipped classroom, supported by information technology, not only conforms to the development of the Internet era, but also follows the need of college students’ psychological development of how to discriminate the "Internet me" from the "real me". As a new teaching mode, the flipped class has attracted a multitude of scholars to explore more about the teaching mode reform. Starting from the development and connotation of the flipped classroom, this paper explores the specific application and possible challenges of flipped classroom in college students' mental health courses based on the dilemma faced by the traditional curriculum model of mental health education for college students in China.

본 연구의 목적은 서울의 한 여자 대학교에서 영어회화 수업을 수강하는 비영어전공 대학생들의 언어 불안을 유발하는 요인들이 무엇인지 조사하고 그들의 불안 수준에 나이, 계열, 그리고 영어 학습기간에 따라 유의미한 차이가 있는지 검토하고자 함이다. 연구 대상은 2019년 가을 학기에 교양영어 수업을 15주 간 수강한 514명의 1학년 한국 대학생들이다. 이들은 Horwitz의 Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (FLCAS)(외국어 교실 불안 척도)를 바탕으로 23문항으로 수정된 설문에 응답하였다. 1) English as a Foreign Language (EFL) 학습 중 불안을 유발하는 요인이 무엇인지, 2) 나이, 계열, 영어 학습기간에 따라 학습 불안이 어떻게 달라지는지를 알아보기 위해 SPSS 26을 이용하여 설문에 대한 응답을 분석하였다. 그 결과, 학생들의 불안 유발 요인은 대부분 (1) 문법적 실수를 하는 것, (2) 구술시험을 치르는 것, 그리고 (3) 준비 없이 수업 시간에 말하기였다. 응답을 분석하기 위해 ANOVA test를 사용한 결과 영어 학습기간에 있어서 유의미한 차이를 보였다 (F=5.559, p-value = .000). 한편, 나이와 계열에 따른 차이를 분석한 결과, 유의한 차이가 없는 것으로 나타났다.The purpose of this study was to investigate the factors causing language anxiety by non-English major university students taking general English conversation class in a women’s university in Seoul. It also aimed to examine if their level of anxiety is significantly varied in terms of their age, fields of majors, and length of studying English. For the study, the subjects were 514 first-year students in Korean EFL (English as a Foreign Language) classrooms during a 15-week semester in the fall of 2019. The participants responded to a 23-item modified survey based on Horwitz’s Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (FLCAS). In order to find out 1) what factors make learners anxious while learning EFL and 2) how their English learning anxiety varies by age, different fields of majors, and length of studying English, their responses to the questionnaire were analyzed by using SPSS 26. The findings revealed that most anxiety-provoking factors among students were their fear of (1) making grammatical mistakes, (2) having oral tests, and (3) speaking without preparation in class. Furthermore, a ANOVA was used to analyze the responses. The study found a significant difference in terms of length of studying English (F = 5.559 and p-value was .000 on the ANOVA test). In respect to age and different fields of majors, the ANOVA test disclosed that there was no significant difference.

Using the Intercultural Sensitivity Scale formulated by G. M. Chen and Starosta, the intercultural sensitivity of English major students, non-English major students, and multinational employees in China were investigated. In this study, intercultural sensitivity was defined as consisting of interaction engagement, interaction confidence, respect for cultural differences, interaction enjoyment, and interaction attentiveness. The focus of this research was to explore how intercultural sensitivity was structured among subjects of different English learning and intercultural communication experience. A series of results generated by multiple regressions showed different weightings of the 5 elements of intercultural sensitivity of the 3 subsamples. For example, respect for cultural differences for English major students was affected by interaction engagement and enjoyment, whereas for multinational employees it was only affected by interaction enjoyment. The study also found that English major students felt interaction enjoyment more easily than non-English major students and multinational employees.

This study explores the attitudes and preferences of non-English major vocational college students in China regarding the integration of Chinese excellent traditional culture into their English courses. A survey was conducted with 639 students to assess their cultural knowledge, confidence, and the challenges they face in expressing Chinese culture in English. The results indicate that while students generally display a positive attitude towards learning Chinese culture, significant gaps exist in their cultural knowledge and language proficiency, particularly in speaking and listening. Furthermore, students express dissatisfaction with the current cultural content in their English courses and demonstrate a clear preference for more relatable cultural themes, such as lifestyles, social norms, hobbies, and food. These findings highlight the need for curriculum reforms that integrate more culturally rich content and provide stronger language support. Such changes will better align with students’ interests and professional aspirations, preparing them for cross-cultural communication in a globalized world.

With the rapid development of mobile internet technology and the widespread adoption of self-media platforms, traditional English oral teaching models face enormous impacts, while non-English major university students encounter more challenges in oral learning due to factors such as heavy professional coursework and weak English foundations. This study aims to deeply analyze the current situation, problems, and their causes of autonomous oral learning among non-English major university students in the self-media era, and propose corresponding optimization strategies. Through methods such as literature analysis and current situation investigation, the study systematically reviews relevant theoretical foundations and comprehensively examines the oral learning status of non-English major university students in the self-media environment. The study finds that students currently show certain positive trends in learning platform usage, content selection, time arrangement, effect assessment, and motivation stimulation, but simultaneously face key problems including lack of clarity in learning objectives, blindness in resource selection, lack of systematicity in learning processes, absence of learning effect evaluation, and insufficient learning sustainability. Based on these findings, the study proposes five optimization strategies: constructing clear learning objective systems, establishing scientific resource screening mechanisms, designing systematic learning pathways, perfecting diversified evaluation systems, and establishing effective incentive mechanisms, forming a complete autonomous oral learning model for non-English major university students in the self-media era. The research findings provide theoretical guidance and practical reference for English education reform in higher education institutions and improvement of students' oral abilities, holding important significance for promoting innovative development of English education in the new era.

Because of globalization and the internationalization of higher education, English ability has become an important dimension of the core literacy of non-English major college students. However, most existing studies focused on the negative impacts of anxiety, neglecting the synergistic effects of positive emotions, especially lacking localized exploration of the two emotional states of anxiety and enjoyment. This study adopted the literature review method, aiming to explore the degree, causes and correlation between anxiety and enjoyment in English classes among non-English major college students. Research has found that students generally have moderately high levels of anxiety and also experience a certain degree of enjoyment. The two showed a significant negative correlation, but their interaction exhibited complex dynamics. The causes covered multiple dimensions such as individuals, interpersonal relationships and the environment. This study explored the degree, causes and correlations of anxiety and enjoyment in English classes among non-English major college students, demonstrating the complexity of emotions in English learning. By revealing the interaction mechanism between anxiety and enjoyment in the English classroom of non-English major college students, this study broadened the theoretical perspective of foreign language learning emotion research and provided implications for emotional regulation and the construction of a positive classroom atmosphere in college English teaching.

This study aims to explain the Metaverse application development process for teaching geometry in a virtual reality environment. The application was developed based on the instructional design model including analysis, design, development, implementation and evaluation phases. The target group was secondary school students. During the analysis phase, students’ virtual reality experiences and their needs for using the Metaverse application academically were identified. Additionally, learning outcomes from the Secondary School Mathematics Course Curriculum were selected to determine the application content, and convenient educational software programs for a Metaverse environment were examined. During the design phase, Metaverse software that was suitable for the study's purpose was selected. Also, three-dimensional models of the objects and the environment for the application activities were designed through three-dimensional drawing programs. During the development phase, the activities’ visualization and manipulation trials were conducted by transferring the three-dimensional designs into the Metaverse application. After necessary corrections, activities took their final form. During the implementation phase, 15 students in grade 10th used the Metaverse application. During the evaluation phase, participants stated their opinions about the application. Accordingly, suggestions for improving the Metaverse application in the field of teaching geometry and its widespread implementation were proposed.

As a result of tremendous technological breakthroughs over the past several decades, there has been an unparalleled expansion of portable smart devices and mobile applications, especially for language learning purposes. Despite the amount of research on Mobile Assisted Language Learning (MALL), little is known about non-English major students’ perceptions of the usage of MALL in Vietnamese universities. Using both qualitative and quantitative research approaches, this study explores the perceptions of non-English major university students at a Vietnamese university regarding the usefulness and ease of use of MALL in English learning based on the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM). 219 first- and second-year students were given a questionnaire to collect data, which was then combined with qualitative data acquired from semi-structured interviews and critically examined and analyzed. The results suggest that the majority of students regard MALL to be beneficial in terms of vocabulary acquisition, pronunciation enhancement, and ease of use. Consequently, it is highly suggested that MALL be implemented in the context of English teaching and learning at Vietnam’s higher education institutions.

This article discusses a survey of non-English major college students and the effective use of English Salon activities to develop teaching methods for intercultural communication competence (ICC). This study identifies problems students may have developing ICC. The paper also identifies applied teaching methods which can overcome the educational deficiencies associated with non-English major students. By the use of student engagement activities, non-English major students can increase their language learning and develop their intercultural communication competence. The paper also identifies various teaching methods and activities which can be used to cultivate and promote intercultural communication competence.