Investigating university English as a foreign language instructors' implementations in teaching integral listening with speaking.

Gender-responsive pedagogy refers to teaching methods that respond to the specific learning needs and experiences of males and females. It plays a crucial role in overcoming the widespread gender gap in education by promoting equal opportunities for students regardless of their gender. A number of studies address the problems of gender equality in the Ethiopian education system. However, none of them address the question of whether teachers and academic leaders are aware of gender-responsive pedagogy, which could be one of the factors perpetuating gender inequality in the country’s educational institutions. Therefore, this study aims to address this gap by defining the level of awareness of gender-responsive pedagogy among teachers and academic leaders in some selected public universities in Ethiopia. This type of study could contribute to an improvement and broader international discussion on gender inequality from the perspective of teaching methods used by teachers. The objective of this study was to explore the awareness of gender-responsive pedagogy among teachers and academic leaders in public universities in Ethiopia. The study also aims to identify the solutions proposed by the participants to improve the awareness of gender-responsive pedagogy among teachers and academic leaders. Investigating university teachers’ and academic leaders’ awareness of gender-responsive pedagogy helps to understand the extent to which they recognize and address gender bias in teaching practice. In this sense, this study explores the awareness of gender-responsive pedagogy among teachers and academic leaders in selected public universities in Ethiopia using critical pedagogy as a theoretical framework. Methodology. The aim of this study was to explore teachers’ and academic leaders’ awareness of gender-responsive pedagogy and participants’ proposed solutions. Madda Walabu, Arsi and Ambo universities were included in this study using purposive sampling as the researcher had very close contact with these universities as a student and academic staff member. The researcher believes that this could facilitate data collection. An exploratory qualitative research method was used with a semi-structured interview as the main instrument of data collection. To explore the awareness of gender-responsive pedagogy among educators and academic leaders in three selected public universities in Ethiopia, seven academic leaders (two faculty deans and five academic programme leaders) and six university teachers, a total of 13 participants (teachers and academic leaders) were included in this study by the means of purposive sampling. All the selected academic leaders and teachers have teaching experience in more than one public universities in Ethiopia, which can enrich the sample of this study. All the participants are involved in teaching activities and can share their experience and knowledge on gender-responsive pedagogy. In addition, the participants are from diverse fields of study and experiences which supports the inclusion of different experiences and perspectives in this study. The data collected for this study was analysed qualitatively. Accordingly, the data analysis involved various processes to transform the collected data into a form of explanation, understanding and interpretation of the participants’ awareness of gender-responsive pedagogy. The data analysis for this study was done by transcribing the data collected through semi-structured interviews from the teachers and academic leaders into appropriate textual units and reading them repeatedly to understand the meanings in the data. After the transcribed data were thoroughly read and understood, they were coded and transformed into categories (or themes). The themes for data analysis in this study were derived from the basic research questions guiding this study. Accordingly, the gender awareness of teachers and academic leaders and the solutions proposed by the participants are the themes for data analysis in this study. Finally, the data were interpreted beyond the codes and themes to capture the larger meaning of the data. Findings. The findings of this study show a lack of awareness and training on gender-responsive pedagogy among the educators and academic leaders of the selected public universities in Ethiopia. The teachers and academic leaders in the selected public universities in Ethiopia lack awareness and training on gender-responsive pedagogy but recognize the importance of gender equality in teaching and leadership positions. These participants proposed solutions such as continuous gender-responsive pedagogy training, university support and commitment for the implementation of gender-responsive pedagogy and integrating gender-responsive pedagogy into teachers’ education curricula. Conclusion. Based on the findings of this study, we conclude that teachers and academic leaders who lack awareness of gender-responsive pedagogy contribute to the perpetuation of systemic gender inequalities that impact society. To mitigate these problems, it is important that universities provide training and resources for gender-responsive pedagogy for all at the selected public universities in Ethiopia. It is critical that policy makers, university leaders and educators work together to effectively promote awareness and practice of gender-responsive pedagogy and create a more inclusive education system in Ethiopia.

In the realm of the academic world, scientific writing is crucial for academics and postgraduate students to communicate scientific findings, advance knowledge in their fields, and make contributions to their countries’ development. Given this, building the scientific writing capacity of postgraduate students and identifying potential factors that affect their writing is imperative. This study aimed to investigate the self-efficacy of TEFL MA students’ scientific writing, particularly in employing linguistic knowledge, self-regulated writing strategies, and their comprehensive research efficacy at sampled Ethiopian public universities. A concurrent triangulation mixed-method design was employed for the purpose. Multi-stage sampling was used starting from random to comprehensive sampling techniques to reach the grassroots (individual participants). Universities in Eastern and South-eastern Ethiopia were sampled randomly. One hundred sixty students and fifteen supervisors were selected by employing a comprehensive sampling. Data were generated via interviews and questionnaires. Descriptive statistics, using SPSS version 20, were utilized to analyse the quantitative data, whereas thematic analysis was used for the qualitative data. The finding showed that the self-efficacy of TEFL MA students’ scientific writing self-efficacy, on average, was low, especially in their ability to utilize linguistic knowledge, self-regulated writing strategies, and comprehensive research, such as writing introductions, discussing and writing research results, and making recommendations. Furthermore, the interviews evidenced that the students were low in their abilities to carry out a review of related literature and method sections, though quantitative data revealed that the students have shown a moderate efficacy in these sections. Pedagogically, it is recommended that students’ scientific writing skills should be reconsidered, and the universities should give generic instruction, and integrate conducting mini-research, seminars, and reviewing empirical studies before actual research.

Higher Diploma Program (HDP) was introduced in 2003 as a professional license program for practicing teacher educators in Ethiopian public universities. Initially, it was introduced across seven public universities in Ethiopia by the federal Ministry of Education. Gradually, the program has been adapted and institutionalized as a mandatory pedagogical training program for all teachers in the 45 public universities in Ethiopia. The duration of study for HDP is 9 months, with two face-to-face sessions per week. It is not common to find such an extended pedagogical training program being institutionalized and implemented across universities in the nation. Hence, this study attempts to investigate the institutionalization process of the HDP program across public universities in Ethiopia with a focus on the initiation and early years’ implementation phases of the program. The paper analyses the process on the basis of data collected through document reviews and interview. The study applied key informant interview and data collected from seven respondents in which one was from the Ministry of Education and the rest from the four HDP implementing universities. The author also drew on his personal and professional experiences in the Ethiopian higher education sector in the last two decades. The study identified characteristics of HDP that contribute to its institutionalization. These include evidence-based program design and implementation, strong moderation system, systematic institutional capacity development, engaging leaders, the preparation and use of tools or artifacts, and adaptability to ongoing changes. These characteristics can be taken as lessons for the future policy reform initiatives in the Ethiopian higher education sector.

Instructors’ publication (IP) is one of the major activity in higher education institutes. Currently, IP faced problem both high prevalence and severity in Ethiopia public universities. Even if the problem is common to both developed and developing countries, about 352 (73.9 %) of the instructors employed by public universities in Ethiopia have been affected by a lack of scholarly publications. Since the outcomes from IP factors are mostly discrete variable; they are often modelled using advanced count regression models. The purpose of this study was to model the appropriate count regression model that efficiently fit the IP data and further to identify the key risk factors contributing significantly to IP in public Universities in Ethiopia. The data were collected between November 2015 through November 2016 from selected thirteen (13) public universities in Ethiopia through both questionnaires and interview. The cross-sectional study design was employed using IP data. A simple random sampling technique was applied to the population of Ethiopia public universities to obtain a sample of 13 universities or 476 individual instructors were selected. The average age of the 476 participants was found to be 30 years with 31(6.5%) being females and 445(93.5%) being males. The count outcomes obtained were modelled using count regression models which included Zero-Inflated Negative Binomial (ZINB), Zero-Inflated Poisson (ZIP) and Poisson Hurdle regression models. To compare the performance and the efficiency of the listed count regression models concerning the IP data, the various model selection methods such as the Vuong Statistic (V) and Akaike’s Information Criterion (AIC) were used. The ZINB count regression model concerning the values of the Vuong Statistic and AIC was selected as the most appropriate and efficient count regression model for modelling IP data. Based on the ZINB model the variables age, experience, average work-load, association member and motivation to work were statistically significant risk factors contributing to IP in Ethiopia public universities.

By using descriptive research design with quantitative and qualitative data gathering method, this study attempted to asses EFL (English as a Foreign Language) teachers practice of giving oral error corrective feedback and learners preferences for oral error correction. In doing so, data were gathered from grade 11 students and their English language teachers. Three English languages teachers were included for observation and interview by using comprehensive sampling technique and eight students were also selected for interview by using purposive sampling technique. Each teacher was observed three times and a total of nine classroom observations were made on four classes while EFL teachers teach speaking skills, and the data were recorded for three hundred sixty minutes. To gather quantitative data, questionnaires consists of four major parts were used. On the other hand data from classroom observations, teachers’ and students’ interview were analyzed qualitatively. Findings of the study revealed that EFL teachers always give oral corrective feedback on learners’ oral error. Teachers were found using explicit correction strategies most of the time. Learners prefer to be corrected by their teacher always and teachers were also found to be the dominant corrector of learners’ oral error. This indicated that EFL teachers’ actual classroom practice is divorced with some scholarly suggested pedagogical consideration. Keywords: Oral error, corrective feedback, practice, preferences DOI: 10.7176/JLLL/66-01 Publication date: March 31 st 2020

Background: Creativity greatly helps English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers flourish and succeed in the teaching profession. Given the immense influence of creativity on EFL teachers' professional success, it is crucial to ascertain the factors that trigger teachers to bring more creativity into the educational setting. To address this necessity, many scholars to date have probed the role of various personal factors in teachers' creativity. Nevertheless, the contextual factors that encourage teachers to adopt creative teaching have somehow been disregarded by both educational and L2 researchers. Purpose: To bridge this gap, the present study addressed the role of two contextual factors, namely job satisfaction (JS) and principals' leadership behavior (PLB), in EFL teachers' creativity. Furthermore, this study assessed the potential association between JS, PLB, and teacher creativity. Research Design: The study employed a quantitative research design using self-report scales and Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) to explore relationships among the variables. Study Sample: A total of 339 English teachers were selected from different schools and colleges in China. Data Collection and/or Analysis: Three self-report scales were distributed among the participants to investigate their perceptions of PLB, JS, and creativity. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was run through the latest version of the Mplus program to analyze participants' perceptions. Results: Results indicated that both PLB and JS are closely related to Chinese EFL teachers' creativity. Results also demonstrated that PLB and JS can bring about positive and meaningful changes in Chinese EFL teachers' creativity. Conclusions: The findings suggest that principals' leadership behavior and teachers' job satisfaction play pivotal roles in fostering creativity among Chinese EFL teachers. The results of the current study would be instructive and beneficial for all educational principals, notably those working in language education settings.

While there has been much research into teachers’ professional quality in general education, scant attention has been paid to the professional quality of EFL (English as a foreign language) teachers, especially those working in adverse areas, for their sustainable career trajectories. Drawing on Wu’s framework of EFL teachers’ professional quality, this study adopted a mixed-method study design to investigate the professional quality of experienced EFL teachers in China’s rural areas. A questionnaire was administered online to 367 Chinese EFL teachers from 15 high schools in the northeast part of China. Follow-up interviews were then conducted with four volunteers. The results of the exploratory factor analysis produced a two-module structure of teachers’ professional quality, addressing teacher beliefs and English language pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) for their sustainable career development. The teacher belief module addresses beliefs about language teacher learning and development as well as beliefs about foreign language teaching and learning. The English language PCK module includes two subscales: English teaching capacity and English knowledge and skills. Descriptive analysis showed that these participants had high levels of professional quality. Possible explanations for the interpretations of EFL teachers’ professional quality are provided from the qualitative data. Based on the above findings, the paper offers some implications for sustaining EFL teacher development in the future.

It is critical for language teachers to be assessment literate. At present, many English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers are constantly integrating Internet English lessons into their class programmes simply because they have witnessed the numerous advantages offered by this teaching and learning medium. The present mixed-methods study aimed at exploring Iranian EFL teachers’ e-assessment literacy. The participants of the study consisted of 66 EFL instructors who were conveniently selected from different universities. Out of this number, 7 EFL instructors voluntarily participated in the interview. To collect the data, the E-assessment Literacy Questionnaire and a semi-structured interview were used. The quantitative procedures included calculating the frequency and percentage of the participants’ answers to the items of the questionnaire. With regard to the qualitative procedure, MAX Qualitative Data Analysis (MAXQDA) 10 was used to expose the qualitative data to thematic analysis. The quantitative results showed that most of the EFL teachers believed that they were literate in e-assessment and had positive perceptions towards e-assessment. As revealed by the qualitative results, several themes were extracted for EFL teachers’ perceptions towards e-assessment. Finally, some advantages and disadvantages were extracted for Iranian EFL teachers’ e-assessment literacy. The quantitative results showed that 64.1% of EFL teachers believed that they were literate in e-assessment. Finally, the results showed that the Iranian EFL teachers had the highest mean on competence in e-assessment, while their lowest mean was on being aware of e-assessment. The findings have some implications for EFL teacher education material developers, teachers and researchers.

The present study examines the emotional experience and expression of Chinese tertiary-level English as a foreign language (EFL) teachers and their interaction with their students. Data were drawn from semi-structured in-depth interviews with 10 EFL teachers recruited from seven universities of different levels in China and were analyzed in light of Emotional Geography Theory. The results reveal that Chinese tertiary-level EFL teachers experience more negative emotions than positive ones. The emotions most frequently reported by them are anger, enjoyment, anxiety, disappointment, and ambivalence. When it comes to emotional expressions, Chinese tertiary-level EFL teachers tend to display positive emotions by following the emotional rules of school settings. This study also uncovers that EFL teaching in Chinese universities is characterized by EFL teachers’ physical and moral distance from but political closeness to students, all of which are the sources of EFL teachers’ negative emotions. The need for providing positive psychology intervention for EFL teachers is then suggested.

As it encourages students to solve problems on their own and guides them throughout the process, the importance of active learning has gained popularity in a growing body of scholarly literature. However, there is a paucity of research on the practice and challenges of active learning in public universities in Ethiopia. This study seeks to examine the attitudes of faculty members and students toward the practices of active learning. Data for the study were collected from randomly selected 1597 participants (404 faculty members and 1193 undergraduate students) in eight public universities. The findings revealed that most of the respondents perceived active learning positively. However, the practice of active learning was found to be low where lecture was the most frequently reported method of instruction. Faculty participants have identified factors that hinder their use of active learning methods. The study has practical implications and contributes to the literature on practices and challenges of active learning strategies in public universities.

The objective of this research is to examine the impact of Employee Engagement on Organizational Performance within Public Universities in Ethiopia. It aims to explore the relationship between employee engagement and the overall performance of these institutions, specifically focusing on public universities. By providing significant insights and recommendations, this research will contribute towards the development of strategies that can enhance employee engagement and improve the overall performance of Ethiopian public universities. The study utilized both quantitative and qualitative approaches, employing descriptive and explanatory research designs. To gather data, three Ethiopian universities were selected based on their establishment date, and a random selection technique was used to include 365 personnel in the sample. Descriptive statistical tools like mean and standard deviation were employed, while structural equation models were utilized for confirmatory factor analysis and path analysis. The study's findings indicate that vigor, dedication, and absorption all have a significant and favorable impact on organizational performance in higher education. The study findings also indicate that the performance of study institutions differs based on the extent of employee involvement. This research introduces a fresh perspective of the relationship between employee engagement and organizational performance by concentrating specifically on the context of public universities in Ethiopia. This sheds light on the distinctive dynamics and obstacles encountered by these institutions. Furthermore, the study adds to the current body of knowledge by exploring the relationship between employee engagement and organizational performance, offering valuable insights and suggestions to enhance performance in the setting of Ethiopian public universities.

This mixed methods research study investigated if explicit instruction could affect EFL teachers’ perceptions and practices of classroom justice considering its three-dimensional conceptualization based on the social psychology theories of justice, encompassing the distributive, interactional, and procedural justice. To this end, 77 Iranian English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers, chosen through maximum variation sampling, attended a four-session online justice-training course. The data were collected both before and after the course intervention through close- and open-ended questionnaires. Quantitative data analysis results, obtained through running paired samples t-tests and Wilcoxon signed ranks tests, indicated that except for the distributive component, the treatment was effective in significantly enhancing the Iranian EFL teachers’ procedural, interactional, and total classroom justice perceptions. Content analysis of the posttest qualitative data, done through MAXQDA, revealed that the participants approved the course usefulness, its significance, and uses of justice enactment strategies in their classroom. Furthermore, they confirmed positive changes in their conceptions and practices of justice because of attending the course and showed enthusiasm in attending more such courses in the future. The convergence of the quantitative and qualitative results in this study demonstrated the effectiveness of the justice-oriented training course for enhancing EFL teachers’ just classroom behaviors. Hence, the results would be fruitful for teacher educators aiming to promote the pre- and in-service EFL teachers’ professional effectiveness through explicit instruction on classroom justice and its use in teacher education programs.

The returns to higher education and public employment

This study presents civil engineering students’ observations on the practical education they receive at public universities in Ethiopia. The teaching approach in Ethiopia heavily favours theory-based teaching over skills-based teaching and there has been a gap in studies addressing the issue. Final year civil engineering students from two major public universities in Ethiopia participated in the study. A standard questionnaire was used to collect data. Descriptive statistical analysis and statistical tests were carried out using SPSS to study distribution and relationship of items. Results indicated that there is a gap in the practical teaching approach at both universities, contrary to curriculum requirements and international guidelines. In addition, statistical tests indicated that theory-based teaching had decreased students’ interest in civil engineering and their satisfaction in the education they received.

The increasing needs of international contacts for modernization program have created favorable conditions for the study of English as a foreign language (EFL) in the People's Republic of China over the last ten years. Thanks to the support by the government, millions of people are involved in learning the language for quick acquisition. However, because of little improvement from traditionally instructional methods in EFL the teaching efficiency for acquisition remains relatively low. On the other hand, during last few decades, foreign language teaching, as a very specialized area of education, has experienced tremendous changes in theory and practice in most of the Western countries. The purpose of this study was to identify the current features of EFL teaching in China and search for better ways for improvement. The procedures included a literature review on foreign EFL specialists' observation of how English was taught in China and a questionnaire survey of Chinese students studying in the United States for their perception of how they had learned English in China. The other important aspect of this study was a systematic review of the studies on foreign language teaching in the Western countries, the United States in particular. Great attention was paid to the latest developments in foreign or second language teaching theory and methodology, especially the Communicative Approach and the Proficiency Movement. The main objective of this study was to analyze different theories and methodologies and to apply them to EFL curriculum development in China. Many new principles and concepts were identified, that can fit into EFL teaching practice in China. Eclecticism was suggested for integrating all existing theories and methodologies. A whole chapter was devoted to EFL curriculum and instructional development in approach, design, and procedure, offering a practical framework and working principles for designing EFL teaching models to achieve communicative proficiency in the learners. In this study, new findings and principles from many specialists both in foreign language teaching and curriculum studies were selected and quoted, and they are sure to be of great help to Chinese EFL curriculum change in the years to come.