Rethinking digitally mediated reading assessment practices: An investigation into the Vietnamese undergraduates’ attitudes

BackgroundMobile‐based assessment has been an active area of research in the field of mobile learning. Prior research has demonstrated that mobile‐based assessment systems positively affect student performance. However, it is still unclear why and how these systems positively affect student performance.ObjectivesThis study aims to identify the determinants of student performance during students' use of a mobile‐based assessment application in a formative assessment activity as part of English as a Foreign Language courses in higher education.MethodsA structural model based on hypotheses will be validated using partial least squares‐structural equation modelling with data from the interaction of around 100 students of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) courses from the A1 and A2 levels of English that used a mobile‐based assessment system for a period of 4 weeks.Results and ConclusionsThis registered report describes the related work, hypotheses development, methodology, and proposed analysis to validate the structural model based on hypotheses. No results or conclusions have been obtained yet.

A growing number of institutions of higher education are offering distance education courses. Through distance education, more foreign language learning opportunities can now become accessible to those who need training. In the 2006 fall semester, a university in central Taiwan started broadcasting inter-university videoconferencing foreign language (VCFL) courses produced by the National Cheng-Chi University in northern Taiwan. This paper presents the findings of the perceptions of the first group of students enrolled in the VCFL classes. To investigate student perceptions, a questionnaire focusing primarily on instructional effectiveness, student participation, and technological issues of the learning environment was distributed. Moreover, semi-structured interviews were conducted to substantiate the quantitative data and to illustrate major opinions of the students on VCFL. Findings of this study can contribute to the understanding of factors related to distance foreign language learning including learning English as a foreign language (EFL), instructional strategies in videoconferencing, course management, and technologies of the VCFL courses. It can also provide implications for pedagogical techniques and instructional guidelines for future inter-university videoconferencing foreign language, including English as a foreign language, programs.

Few studies focus on the instruction of vocabulary to very young foreign-language learners. How useful, frequent or even interesting are the words that Greek young learners have acquired by the end of their first couple of ‘junior’ years? This paper investigates the vocabulary used in five recent English as a foreign language (EFL) course books currently used in Greece in the first two years of primary EFL teaching which are expected to raise learners to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) A2 level. Our research suggests that the books are insufficiently loaded with vocabulary to achieve this aim and are very heavily focused on only the most frequent vocabulary. It emerges, too, that the course books are extremely varied in the vocabulary they present, which suggests that learners moving from one school to another using different books will find the transition especially difficult. Further, comparison with the word lists for the linked examinations suggests that the content of the course books is not tied to formal exams at beginner's level.

BackgroundMobile‐based assessment has been an active area of research in the field of mobile learning. Prior research has demonstrated that mobile‐based assessment systems positively affect student performance. However, it is still unclear why and how these systems positively affect student performance.ObjectivesThis study aims to identify the determinants of student performance during students' use of a mobile‐based assessment application in a formative assessment activity as part of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) courses in higher education.MethodsA structural model based on hypotheses was validated using PLS‐SEM with data from the interaction of 127 students of eight EFL courses from the A1 and A2 levels of English that used a mobile‐based assessment system for a period of 4 weeks. Automatic data collection in the application and self‐reported instruments were applied.Results and ConclusionsUse of scaffolding mechanisms, time on‐task and reported effort are strong predictors of students' learning outcomes. The use of scaffolding strategies predicts students' time on‐task. The provision of corrective feedback is not a predictor of students' learning performance but predicts other constructs such as perceived usefulness and the behavioural intention to use.ImplicationsMobile‐based assessment systems should include scaffolding mechanisms and integrate strategies to increase the perceived relevance of the formative assessment activity to increase the student learning performance. Scaffolding mechanisms are also useful to increase the student time on‐task in the formative assessment activity. In mobile‐based formative assessment activities more elaborated forms of feedback other than corrective feedback are needed to increase student performance.

This study investigated the effects of applying multiple intelligence theory in the tutelage of students with learning disabilities in the field of English as a foreign language (EFL). EFL teachers are urged to incorporate topics that would be of interest to students with learning disabilities, thus encouraging these students to think more deeply and participate more actively in their EFL learning. In this study, the instructor used drawing as a medium to teach English and achieved favorable outcomes. An interview revealed that the participant developed new EFL learning strategies, a stronger EFL learning motivation, improved English-language ability, and even planned to attend future EFL courses. Classroom observation indicated that the participant exhibited greater learning autonomy, enhanced English and drawing ability, decreased anxiety, and an improved student–teacher relationship. Despite its limitations, this study presented a new approach along with the results of that approach to help enhance the EFL learning outcomes of university students with learning disabilities. This novel approach is thus highly recommended for EFL educators of students with learning disabilities to incorporate into their teaching practices.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to understand the consumer behaviour when choosing an English as a Foreign Language (EFL) course in the Syrian market. Based on the student choice model, the study aims at exploring motivations, behaviour, decision‐taking factors and evaluation of purchasing process for the EFL service.Design/methodology/approachThe study employs a case study for one of the biggest family business providers in the EFL market in the City of Damascus, in Syria. Semi‐structured styles of interviews were conducted with 30 currently registered students, in the studied centre, covering five main research questions.FindingsConsistent with the previous literature of consumer behaviour, the findings show that EFL students may go through six steps of purchasing the EFL product. Accordingly, several detailed explanations for each step of the consumer behaviour of EFL, concluded from the study, were presented. Within the consumer behaviour model, the study highlights the importance of individual self study as a phase that should be given more consideration by researchers.Research limitations/implicationsThis study could provide bases for further research through a replication of the model of consumer behaviour and using the information offered by the survey. Further research could investigate the research questions in a wider student population employing a more quantitative approach.Practical implicationsPeople responsible for marketing in EFL institutes should pay more attention to understanding their customer behaviour, rather than engaging in reactive competition practices and focusing on marketing elements and promotion.Originality/valueThe importance of this study comes from the lack of research into understanding the private, fee‐paying EFL customer buyer behaviour in general and in the Syrian context in particular.

Many language teachers use Information and Communications Technology (ICT) in their classrooms to create tasks, quizzes, or polls with general online learning platforms. Few teachers have experience, however, of incorporating online corpus tools in their teaching or assessment practices. This paper will explore how autonomous learning can be fostered by gradually introducing freely available lexical databases, online collocation dictionaries, pronunciation guides, concordancers, N-gram extractors, and other text analysis tools for vocabulary building, skills practice, or self-checking. Tasks used with English as a Foreign Language (EFL) undergraduates and teacher trainees on a Master’s Teaching English as a Foreign Language (MA TEFL) course will be presented. I will also explain why having some familiarity with linguistics research can enable teachers to use these applications more meaningfully.

Student engagement is a significant factor that has been linked to academic success. In Saudi Arabia, curriculum development has been undertaken to improve English as a foreign language (EFL) course; however, EFL students still face difficulties engaging together, especially in online classes. The study aims to (1) investigate students' engagement in online courses and (2) provide online students' perspectives on the value of the student engagement strategies for enhancing learning. The Student Course Engagement Questionnaire (SCEQ) and the Online Engagement Strategies Questionnaire (OESQ) were used as reliable measurements; a survey was conducted with 197 EFL students studying Online English language courses. The results reveal a high level of engagement among EFL female and male students and some engagement strategies that were rated most important based on students' perceptions. The study will help generate recommendations to improve EFL practices and develop online EFL classes.

<em>The aim of this paper is to reveal how native and non-native speaker EFL (English as a foreign language) teachers influence students’ levels of Foreign Language Anxiety (FLA) in classrooms. Researchers in the area of second and foreign language acquisition have long been studying the role that anxiety plays among foreign language learners. Their findings are reported and analyzed in the first part of this paper. Then, research methodology is presented on two groups of students (180 in total) of whom 90 is in NS (Native Speaker) class and 90 in NNS (Non-Native Speaker) class taking English as a foreign language course for 4 hours a week at one university in China.</em>

A Discursive Lens on English Language Teaching and Learning in Saudi Arabia

Cooperative Learning (CL) in the English as a Foreign Language (EFL) context: investigating, learning outcomes, processes, and experiences

A resourceful English language teacher equipped with eclecticism is desirable in English as a foreign language classroom. The challenges of classroom instruction increases when prescribed English as a Foreign Language (EFL) course books (textbooks) are constituted with too many interactive language proficiency activities. Most importantly, it has become a common phenomenon to integrate language textbooks with audio and video as additional or supplementary resources for classroom language learning activities. A study was conducted on the usefulness of audio-visual aids in EFL classroom at undergraduate level at Aljouf University, Saudi Arabia. Findings of the study give insights on EFL students’ approach to using technological aids. EFL textbooks with technological aids are often viewed to be an inspiration and to provide motivation in classroom instruction. However, a close examination of classroom teaching aids and resources unveil many issues in EFL teaching and learning contexts. Insights, issues and implications presented in the paper are useful to English language educators, administrators, curriculum designers and English teachers in English as a Foreign Language setting.

English as a Second Language (ESL) is a term which is broadly used in Malaysia’s educational system. Mandarin, on the other hand, is only used among Chinese community and not many non-Chinese know and use Mandarin language as their communication tools among themselves. However, due to the rapid development of economy in China, the interest in Mandarin language learning is becoming prominent. In Malaysia, a country which has developed a tight diplomatic and economic relationship with China since 1976, the interest in learning Mandarin as a Foreign Language (MFL) among the non-Chinese learners is also growing where there is a quantum leap of Mandarin learners at tertiary level (Teow, Ismail, Foo & Ho, 2016). Students in Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) are offered with both English as a Second Language (ESL) and Mandarin as a Foreign Language (MFL) courses. It means that students must learn English and Mandarin simultaneously especially for Diploma students and Degree students. Understanding how the motivation to learn each language might vary within a certain socio-political context is worth exploring, as it may help lecturers working within that context to motivate their students to learn the language more effectively. Moreover, it is reasonable to assume that the different languages learned might trigger different emotional responses from learners (Humphreys & Spratt. 2008). In relation to this, it is important to examine the differences of students’ ESL and MFL learning motivation. This study employed a quantitative research design which emphasized on data collection from students who studied ESL and MFL.

This mixed-methods study explored the perspectives of university instructors and learners of English as a foreign language (EFL) regarding ChatGPT’s effectiveness for EFL learning and its implications for academic integrity. Twenty-four instructors and 135 learners engaged with ChatGPT for one trimester. After a training session, instructors incorporated ChatGPT into their teaching. At the trimester’s end, questionnaires were distributed to gather participants’ opinions on their experience with ChatGPT. Instructors also provided open-ended responses and participated in semistructured interviews. Instructors and learners both had positive attitudes about artificial intelligence (AI) use in EFL learning, especially for written work. Learners acknowledged, however, that they might conceal their ChatGPT use from instructors; many said they would have ChatGPT complete their homework, if possible. Customizing responses within a word limit and generating multiple answers to similar prompts were identified as ChatGPT capabilities that could lead to misuse. This study’s practical implications, along with solutions for reducing the risk of AI-facilitated plagiarism, are discussed.

The present study validated the general extended technology acceptance model for e-learning (GETAMEL) with the survey data from the English as a foreign language (EFL) online class during the novel coronavirus lockdown period. A total of 678 undergraduates participated in the survey. Structural equation modeling was employed to analyze the data. The results showed that the influence of perceived usefulness of students on their intentional behavior to use the online learning system was not mediated by their attitude, indicating a very limited role of attitude toward technology in the model. Enjoyment and self-efficacy had no significant effects on the internal constructs, raising theoretical concerns on the applicability of this general model into specific contexts. In addition, we found that experience might be a moderator rather than an antecedent of the internal constructs in the model.