Discourse markers in EFL teacher talk

English as a Foreign Language (EFL) has constituted a major part of the curriculum in private and public institutions in Saudi Arabia for over eight decades. More recently, the emergence of English as a global language has made it a socially desirable language in Saudi society, as elsewhere in the world. However, despite the long history of English teaching in Saudi Arabia and the growth of the profession over the years, the overall English proficiency level of the majority of students is low and unsatisfactory. Saudi researchers have reported many reasons for the ineffectiveness of English Language Teaching (ELT) including, but not limited to, low levels of student motivation, negative attitudes toward English, a substandard English as a Foreign Language (EFL) curriculum, and inefficient teacher pedagogical practices. These problems fall into two major categories: problems related to the lwhyr of teaching and learning of EFL, and problems related to the lhowr of teaching and learning EFL. In investigating these issues, much of this research has been carried out within individual/psychological/structuralist/positivist frameworks, which has failed not only to problematize the complexity of such constructs but also to appreciate the fact that all realities are produced/(re)produced via ldiscourser. Hence, the present study investigated EFL teaching and learning practices by employing Foucauldian and poststructuralist frameworks. This study used poststructuralism not only as a theoretical lens per se, but also established it through the implemented analytical tools and textual representations of the collected data. Employing a poststructuralist discursive perspective made it possible to view EFL teaching and learning as complex social practices, interacting with the discourses of English and ELT practices available in the global as well as the local context(s). These discourses create the nexus between power and knowledge and impact on what an EFL teacher/ learner does within a classroom setting by constructing perspectives of reality through which he or she comes to understand the EFL teaching and learning process in certain ways which constitute epistemological spaces and generate particular practices. Drawing on policy documents, EFL textbooks, classroom observations, interviews with two Saudi EFL teachers, and focus group discussions with Saudi EFL students in two rural areas, the study identified seven discourses circulating within and competing across the examined discursive spaces. The first three discourses are related to English and its values, including: English as a universal language; English as the language for better employment opportunities; and English as the language for spreading religion. The remaining four discourses centred around ELT with exams as an important aspect of EFL learning and ELT; CLT as the key to success in ELT; L1 as a barrier to successful EFL learning; and EFL textbooks as an essential aspect of the processes of EFL learning and ELT. In exploring the production and (re)production of these discourses through the examination of how visibilization, normalisation, exclusionary/inclusionary acts, classification, and subject positioning as discursive strategies are employed, it was found that whether a particular discourse was made visible or invisible depended on other discourses operating across the examined discursive spaces: the social context, the policy, the textbook, the classroom, and the teachers and students. The analysis of the connection(s) and misconnection(s) between these discursive spaces demonstrated that the interplay between the different discourses constructed discursive battlegrounds, which impacted the processes of EFL teaching and learning. Through the investigation of this interplay, it was found that there was a disconnect and an ambivalent relationship between the study participantsr espoused discourses of English and their EFL teaching and learning practices, suggesting that EFL teachers and learners should not be considered lstabler figures, but rather as social agents with discursively constructed ever changing subjectivities. Furthermore, the analyses of the constructions of the discourses operating within the examined policy texts demonstrate an intra disparity and fragmentation. This was manifested in the difference between the ideals of the EFL curriculum and the institutionally imposed regulating techniques, that is, examinations and teachersr assessment practices which had negative effects on EFL teaching and learning dynamics. Additionally, as a consequence of the competition between the different sources of discursive constructions, I found that there was a gulf between the EFL policies and the enactment of these policies in EFL teaching and learning dynamics in the observed EFL classrooms. The findings of this study also indicate that if a discourse promoted through the policy is mediated by discourses operating in the larger societal context, it became more visible in teaching and learning practices as compared to other discourses that did not have social moorings. This suggests that taking the prevailing social expectations into account at the stage of developing any policy is of paramount importance.nThe study concludes with a discussion of the implications of the interplay of connections and misconnections between competing discourses across different spaces in Saudi educational settings for improving the EFL teaching/learning environments in Saudi Arabia and other similar contexts.n

Previous studies have mainly focused on homework in courses such as math and physics with little attention to homework in EFL (English as a foreign language) classes. The main purpose of the study reported in this paper was to give a voice to both EFL teachers and learners with regard to English homework. To this end, 8 EFL teachers and 19 EFL learners took part in a semi-structured interview first. Then, based on their responses to the interview questions and a comprehensive review of the literature, a questionnaire was developed and validated to investigate EFL learners’ and teachers’ perspectives on different aspects of English homework. The questionnaire was finally completed by 283 EFL learners and 46 English teachers from two famous English institutions in Iran. Results revealed that English homework can help EFL learners with their language learning apart from enabling them to improve their reading, writing, vocabulary, and grammar. However, the homework assignments that are currently being used are not very interesting and do not help EFL learners improve all their English skills. The majority of EFL learners usually finish their homework in a hurry just before class begins; others do not spend the time that their teachers require them to spend on doing homework. English teachers should, therefore, design homework based on their students’ needs and interests as well as resort to employing modern opportunities such as online resources and self-access centers.

PurposeThe present study aims to examine the attitudes of future Saudi female English as a Foreign Language (EFL) student-teachers toward English native-like pronunciation to investigate their misconceptions about English as a Lingua Franca (ELF).Design/methodology/approachThe researcher used a questionnaire to collect the data for the study.FindingsThe results indicate that students and teachers have positive attitudes toward native-like pronunciation. However, the results also show a realization on the participants’ part about the status of ELF. The study concludes that although they have positive attitudes toward native-like English pronunciation, students use ELF and recognize that such pronunciation is not essential for global communication. The study results show that the participants are aware of ELF, filling a vacuum in the literature about how Saudi students perceive ELF. It encourages EFL teachers, syllabus designers, developers and researchers to provide more information on this topic and stresses international communicative ability, as ELF speakers require.Research limitations/implications As the study has some limitations that could be addressed in future research, other researchers should address these deficiencies in future studies. One limitation is that the study only involved Saudi female future teachers. Further researchers can investigate male Saudi future EFL teachers. Another limitation is that the study focused on future teachers of English in Saudi Arabia in only one institution. Other Saudi EFL teachers and other Arab future teachers could be further investigated to reject or support the study’s findings. Additionally, a more detailed demographic background could be specified in further research for more comprehensive results. In addition, similar studies could be conducted with participants from different EFL-speaking countries. Another limitation of this study is that it covers the attitudes of EFL future teachers toward native-like pronunciation and indirectly investigates their views on ELF. More research is needed to determine how EFL learners and teachers perceive ELF. The actual use of English globally could become more enlightened with further study.Practical implicationsThis study’s findings have implications for instructors, syllabus designers and researchers. The results suggest that EFL instructors, syllabus designers and researchers should focus more on international communicative competence than native-like competence. While designing course materials or teaching, teachers and syllabus developers should be fully aware of the status of ELF. Designers of syllabi should include conversations among speakers from different linguistic backgrounds. Effective communication is a priority. Students should become more familiar with global communication outside the classroom and be prepared to engage in it.Social implicationsStudents should become more familiar with global communication outside the classroom and be prepared to engage in it.Originality/valueNative varieties of English have gained popularity over the years among EFL teachers and learners. However, researchers have debated the importance of EFL students achieving native-like English proficiency.

Process drama, which emphasizes the active exploration of fictional roles and situations, has proven to be an effective pedagogical approach in language teaching and learning. Despite its recognized efficacy, the systematic evaluation of process drama's impact on English as a Foreign Language (EFL) education remains understudied. This systematic review aimed to investigate the current literature on the relationship between process drama and EFL teaching and learning. Using the keywords "process drama" and "EFL," publications released between 2003 and 2023 were meticulously extracted from various reputable databases, including ProQuest Citation, Web of Science, Scopus, Science Direct, Taylor & Francis, SAGE, and Google Scholar. In total, 30 studies (27 articles, two master's theses, and one PhD thesis) that met the inclusion criteria were analyzed comprehensively based on their primary characteristics, fostering in-depth discussions on the diverse factors influencing EFL learning and teaching through process drama. Notably, the review underscores that process drama exerts a significant and positive impact on EFL learning and teaching, particularly by enhancing language skills, students' language learning outcomes, and EFL teacher development.

This study aims to explore and investigate University English as a Foreign Language (EFL) instructors’ perceptions of enhancing and improving EFL learners’ oral proficiency in English classrooms in Saudi Arabia and real-life communication. The researcher used a mixed-method approach to achieve the aim of the study. The quantitative method involves the construction of a structured questionnaire based on the EFL instructors’ views to enhance the students’ oral proficiency and was distributed among 30 EFL teachers from Majmaah University. In the quantitative phase, in-depth interviews were conducted with a subset of 6 EFL instructors to gain deeper insights into EFL instructors’ perceptions of improving EFL learners’ oral proficiency. The findings of the study explored that, EFL instructors at Majmaah University agreed that oral proficiency is the most important aspect of overall language proficiency, and they used various strategies to improve the students’ oral proficiency with a clear preference for role-playing, presentations, group discussions, and debates. The findings also stated some problems and challenges such as limited class time, large class sizes, and low student motivation faced by EFL instructors to improve learners’ oral proficiency. The study finally, recommends including the incorporation of more communicative activities, the integration of technology, and the provision of professional development workshops. The findings of the study can give a path to provide some new strategies to overcome the problems and challenges faced by EFL instructors for enhancing EFL learners’ oral proficiency.

In Indonesia, the globalization era has directed the policy makers to establish English as a compulsory subject in the secondary school curriculum. However, the major issue in pursuing the goal of the teaching of English as a foreign language (EFL) has been the imbalance between the amount of teaching materials and the time to teach the materials. The availability of the Internet has provided a concept that learning is not just a one-time event to be conducted at schools, but learning is also a continuous process that can be conducted beyond the school time. One of the learning platforms in the Internet is Quipper School, and this platform has been used by EFL teachers in Indonesia. This article reports the result of research on the EFL teachers’ perceptions on the teaching of EFL and the reasons for using Quipper School as a platform for the students’ EFL learning. Three EFL teachers teaching in senior high school level and six students who have used the platform with the three teachers were involved in this research. The results of the study show that the Indonesian EFL teachers used the platform not only for coping with the limited time available for EFL teaching, but also due to the significant value of the platform to support the students’ EFL learning.

Mostly learners and even teachers of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) are still not able to speak grammatically and fluently just because they lack of the Indonesian language proficiency and comprehension. This research was done to investigate how the Indonesian (Bahasa Indonesia) can assist the teachers and learners of EFL in improving their English proficiency and comprehension. The data were analyzed by applying Miles’ and Huberman’s framework; data reduction, data display, and drawing then verifying conclusion. The findings showed some positive and negative representative perceptions of the teachers dealing with the roles of the Indonesian in the teaching and learning EFL. The second findings showed and explored the roles of the Indonesian in the teaching and learning EFL. There were five roles by which the Indonesian contribute to such as Functional Equation, Competence Indicator, Linguistic Mediator, Communicative Language Paradigm, and Situational Language Use. The third findings explored the aspects in which the Indonesian had the roles to play in assisting the teaching and learning the EFL such as aspect of the Linguistic Item, aspect of Semantics, and aspect of Pragmatics. There were three other findings in this research that were explored and labeled as Linguistic Competence vs Linguistic Cognition, Cultural Behavior-Based Language, and First Language Interest. Keywords: first language, role of Bahasa Indonesia, SLA, teaching EFL, teachers’ perception

Implementing a best course of action to boost English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners’ motivation to speak has been a controversial issue among EFL instructors. The present study aims to investigate the probable impact of Harmer’s ESA (Engagement, Study, and Activate) elements implementation on motivation of EFL learners to speak. To meet this objective, first, the pre-treatment questionnaire was delivered to 15 EFL learners at the beginning of the term to measure ‘input motivation’. After collecting information from the pre-treatment questionnaire, the students were taught for nearly two months by applying ESA elements, and then the post-treatment questionnaire was given to the same students to gather information of students’ motivation changes, students’ attitudes towards techniques and activities applied by teachers and their preferences. Additionally, to triangulate the results, a Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient was run to see if there is any relationship between the learners’ speaking performance and their motivation to speak. In sum, the results of the questionnaires and correlation analysis proved that the treatment of the learners via ESA approach was quite influential in boosting EFL learners’ motivation to speak. It is expected that the findings of the study may significantly contribute to work of EFL teachers, EFL learners, policy makers, supervisors and researchers.

This study aims at analyzing the English as a foreign language (EFL) learners’ and teachers’ perception toward the use of online videos in EFL classes. The current study used a mixed method to answer the question of the study which is: What is the perception of EFL learners and teachers toward the use of online videos in EFL classes? It includes both quantitative and qualitative techniques, namely a questionnaire and an interview. To get the required data and to answer the question of the study, the researcher collected information by distributing a relevant questionnaire among 120 EFL Saudi female students who are studying English in their preparatory year “Unified Scientific Track” at Taibah University. Their ages range between 18 to 21 years old. The questionnaire of the study consists of 10 items. For the first nine items, Likert Scale is used to let the respondents range the statements on a five- point scale. The tenth item asks the respondents to rate the usefulness of the online video regarding language skills and other aspects. The researcher also conducted an interview with six EFL teachers who teach English language skills in the English Language Centre (ELC) at Taibah University. The responses of the participants showed that the use of online videos is an effective technique and has a positive influence in EFL classes.

This study aims at analyzing the English as a foreign language (EFL) learners’ and teachers’ perception toward the use of online videos in EFL classes. The current study used a mixed method to answer the question of the study which is: What is the perception of EFL learners and teachers toward the use of online videos in EFL classes? It includes both quantitative and qualitative techniques, namely a questionnaire and an interview. To get the required data and to answer the question of the study, the researcher collected information by distributing a relevant questionnaire among 120 EFL Saudi female students who are studying English in their preparatory year “Unified Scientific Track” at Taibah University. Their ages range between 18 to 21 years old. The questionnaire of the study consists of 10 items. For the first nine items, Likert Scale is used to let the respondents range the statements on a five- point scale. The tenth item asks the respondents to rate the usefulness of the online video regarding language skills and other aspects. The researcher also conducted an interview with six EFL teachers who teach English language skills in the English Language Centre (ELC) at Taibah University. The responses of the participants showed that the use of online videos is an effective technique and has a positive influence in EFL classes.

Research on the beliefs of pre-service and in-service English teachers at the primary, secondary, and tertiary levels has provided useful knowledge to teacher education curriculum designers. However, the beliefs of pre-service pre-primary English as a foreign language (EFL) teachers have not been addressed. Thus, a case study was conducted in one pre-primary education program at a public university in the Macau Special Administrative Region of China. Data was collected by providing participants ( N = 63) a writing prompt aimed at gathering their beliefs about the teaching and learning of English in the pre-primary context. Qualitative content analysis was used to analyze these written reflection reports of third-year pre-service pre-primary English teachers with the aim of uncovering their beliefs about teaching and learning EFL. Results showed the participants held beliefs about classroom practice, EFL learners and learning, pedagogical knowledge, teaching, content, goals of language teaching, the role of teaching, subject, schooling, hearsay, self, learning to teach, and the teacher education program. Most participants mentioned their beliefs about classroom practice, EFL learners and learning, and pedagogical knowledge, while very few participants wrote about self, learning to teach, or the teacher education program. While many of the beliefs held by the participants were found to be substantiated by early childhood education research, some unfounded beliefs were also uncovered. The results highlighted a need for curriculum designers to reconsider the education program’s ability to meet the needs of the pre-service teachers. Participants required additional training in English content knowledge, use as a medium of instruction, and pronunciation. The polarized view of teaching the mother tongue and EFL should be reconsidered in light of the current views on bilingualism and bilingual education.

Digital literacy plays a crucial role in language learning. However, the relationship between digital literacy and engagement in English as a foreign language (EFL) learning remains unclear. Furthermore, the factors that moderate this link are not well understood. This study explored the connection between digital literacy and learning engagement among EFL learners, with particular attention to the moderating role of teacher support, as framed by social support theory. A total of 1,582 secondary school students from China participated in the research, providing self-reported data on digital literacy, learning engagement, teacher support, and demographic information. Multiple regression analysis revealed that after controlling for age, gender, and socioeconomic status, digital literacy positively predicted engagement in EFL learning. Moderation analysis indicated that teacher support significantly moderated this relationship. Specifically, the relationship between digital literacy and learning engagement was stronger when teacher support is high, or teacher support helped students with lower digital literacy become more engaged in EFL learning. These findings contribute to the application of social support theory in EFL education and have important implications for EFL teaching and learning practices.

Discourse markers (DMs) play a critical role in facilitating understanding for English as a foreign language (EFL) learners and helping them navigate the complex communicative environment of the classroom (Walsh 2013). They contribute to the coherence and flow of spoken discourse, aiding both comprehension and interaction. In addition to aiding in the structuring of discourse, they enable teachers to clearly indicate relationships between different phases of the lesson, facilitating students’ comprehension of the instructional content. While considerable attention has been given to the use of DMs by EFL learners—and, to a lesser extent, teachers—there is limited research on the specific use of “and” as a discourse marker, particularly within EFL classroom contexts. Most studies on teacher discourse focus on a range of DMs without closely examining the role of individual markers in structuring pedagogical discourse. The present study aims to address this gap through a qualitative analysis of “and” as a DM in teacher talk, focusing on data collected from 8 Croatian EFL teachers working with primary (aged 12–13) and secondary school students (aged 16–17). The study reveals that “and” serves as a valuable and versatile DM, fulfilling several key pragmatic functions in teacher talk. It was primarily used to mark elaboration, continuation, and sequences, and to structure discourse by signalling topic changes, introducing questions, and making continuity more salient, helping to scaffold classroom interaction and maintain coherence. The findings highlight how this simple, yet frequent DM supports teachers in managing classroom communication, facilitating interaction, and enhancing overall classroom management. By shedding light on the diverse functions of “and,” this study contributes to the growing body of research on discourse markers in EFL teaching and underscores their pedagogical importance in fostering effective teacher-learner interaction.

Effects of teacher’s personality traits on EFL learners’ foreign language enjoyment

This research explored the challenges faced by EFL (English as a Foreign Language) teachers in the realm of online teaching/learning and the strategies to overcome these obstacles. The objectives were to explore the challenges of EFL teachers during online teaching classes and to suggest coping strategies for EFL teachers. Twenty teachers were selected randomly from five secondary schools. The study employs a qualitative approach, via in-depth interviews, to explore the various hurdles EFL learners encounter in online learning. Findings revealed many challenges including limited face-to-face interaction, technological issues, self-motivation, and the absence of immediate feedback. The study also illuminates the coping strategies employed by EFL learners, such as leveraging online resources, forming virtual study groups, and adopting time management techniques. The thematic analysis produced five conclusions. Teaching materials, corrective measures, and instructional techniques regarding coping mechanisms utilized by EFL teachers, whereas multiple factors encounter difficulties when teaching low achievers.