Teacher research on changing the concept of English language teaching

The present article is an attempt to examine the place of English syllabus and its relationship with error analysis in English language class. In recent years, there has been a positive trend in English language courses with the focus shifting from teacher –centered to learner centered activities and in this connection, the role of error analysis as one of the theories has been associated with English language courses in teaching English in English foreign or second classes. This paper tries to trace theoretically the notion of Error Analysis and its important and validity in English language courses. The term Error Analysis gained prominence during 1960s and developed as a branch of Applied Linguistics to language teaching. It has been particularly associated with the field of linguistic analysis of language learner' errors in target language. One of the greatest contributions of Error Analysis to language teaching has been its emphasis on careful and extensive learners' errors for language syllabus in general and English in particular.

In Bangladesh, competence in English is considered indispensable for international communication, educational advancement, professional accomplishment and progress in every sphere of life. Accordingly, it is considered essential for Bangladeshi higher level learners to acquire sufficient competence in English to perform efficiently in their future work settings. Nonetheless, the current English language courses taught at the tertiary level are rarely geared to the future professional needs of the learners. Hence, the need to develop and implement specialized, more focused and learners’ professional needs-oriented English language courses should be explored and integrated in English language course design to ensure adequate and fruitful English education of the tertiary level Bangladeshi learners. This paper intended to investigate the applicability of the ESP Approach to English language course design at the tertiary level to meet Bangladeshi learners’ prospective professional needs. A mix-method approach has been used for this study. Findings of the study disclose the necessity of re-construction of the current Tertiary Level English Language courses and establish the need to incorporate the English Language needs of the learners for prospective professional purposes.

this research paper investigates the influences of social networks on the improvement of communication skills among EFL learners. The paper considers the new forms of social networks like Facebook and Skype as new effective mediums for the process of Language Learning that help EFL learners to improve their communication capacity. Since, social networks take a major part in our daily life, and play a crucial role in our development in term of knowledge and information; therefore, they can be integrated and involved in the process of Language Learning because they can provide a better environment and interaction between teachers and learners compared to the traditional classes. So, learners in social network-assisted language learning will be able to accelerate and improve their abilities in term of listening, speaking, and writing skills. Thus, the focus of this paper will be on Facebook as a popular social network that can improve communication skills among EFL learners. To theorize this argument, an experimental study was conducted with the participation of 40 freshmen from University of Human Development in KRG who were taking conversation class in the department of English Language. The students were divided into for two different groups; group A (20 students) as the experimental group, and group B (20 students) as the control group. The investigation consisted of three months of study and observation with two different tests. First of all, an entrance test was conducted for the two groups from the very beginning of the language course to measure the students’ communication skills before their entrance in the course. Then, the two groups were allowed to participate in two different English Language courses; a traditional English Language course inside class for the control group, and a Facebook-assisted English language course for the experimental group. At the end of the language courses, a post-test was conducted to measure the amount of improvement the students made in their communication skills during the three-month language course. The results showed significant improvement in the communication capacity of the students who participated in the Facebook-assisted English language course, while little improvement observed among the students who participated in the traditional English Language course.

From a pedagogical-psychological point of view, communication in teaching occurs between a teacher and a student or between students themselves. It contributes to the activation of internal mental processes, not only in participating individuals, but it benefits the entire class as a whole. Moreover, in the teaching of a foreign language, communication is not only the means of communication, but it also becomes the content of the lesson. Students verify their knowledge and improve their speaking skills through the meaningful use of the foreign language. The willingness to communicate construct answers the question of why some people are more inclined to share their thoughts, knowledge, and opinions verbally more than others. In the presented research, I investigated students’ willingness to communicate in English language courses on a sample of university students (n = 350) using a quantitative questionnaire survey. The overall results indicate that students are generally willing to communicate in English language classes, i.e. the overall reported level of willingness to communicate among students was high, and the results of individual speech skills did not indicate significant differences. However, a closer look at individual speaking skills shows that students report a higher willingness to communicate for items that describe receptive speaking skills.

The aim of the present study is to investigate the connection between academic self-perception and academic achievement of seventh-grade secondary school students in English courses. Additionally, the study aims to explore the relationship between various demographic factors and academic achievement in English. A predictive correlational research design and causal comparison methods were employed. The sample consisted of 906 volunteer seventh-grade students from public secondary schools in Altıeylül and Karesi, Balıkesir Province. The 19-item, 4-point Likert-type "Academic Self-Perception Scale," developed by Liu, Wang, and Parkins (2005), was adapted into Turkish by the researchers for this study. An original measurement tool was also utilized to assess achievement in English language courses. Demographic variables were analyzed using t-tests, ANOVA, and structural equation modeling. Pearson correlation analysis, simple linear regression analysis, and stepwise multiple hierarchical regression analysis were applied to determine the relationship between academic self-perception and achievement in English language courses. Results indicated a significant, positive, and moderate relationship between academic self-perception and achievement in English language courses. Regression analysis revealed that academic self-perception significantly predicts achievement in English language courses. Furthermore, achievement in English language courses varied significantly based on the variables of having a study room and the father's level of education.

In the contemporary higher education, English language courses are recognized as foundational subjects. They are entrusted with not only nurturing students' lin-guistic competencies but also integrating elements of ideological and politi-cal ed-ucation (IPE) to fulfill the essential mission of moral cultivation. This study is grounded in the practical demands of IPE in English language courses. Employing a mixed-methods approach that combines questionnaires and in-depth interviews, a comprehensive investigation was conducted involving 213 students from four majors at a university in Eastern China. The objective was to explore students' current levels of satisfaction with IPE in English lan-guage courses and to identify the underlying influencing factors. The research utilized statistical analysis tech-niques to examine the impact of personal at-tributes (encompassing major, and po-litical affiliation) and course implemen-tation aspects (including teachers' ideolog-ical and political literacy, instruc-tional design, and classroom interaction modes) on students' satisfaction with IPE in English language courses. The results reveal that teachers' ideological and political literacy, along with the relevance of the teaching content, exert a sig-nificant positive influence on student satisfaction. Furthermore, the diversity of classroom interaction strategies and students' sub-jective engagement play an indispensable positive role in their satisfaction with IPE. Notably, the study un-covered variations in expectations regarding the ideo-logical and political con-tent of foreign language courses among students from dif-ferent majors, prompting the suggestion of differentiated teaching strategies for IPE.

Analyzing students’ feedback course text data is an inevitable requirement to improve the teaching quality of English language courses in colleges and universities. Based on the two parts of word vector representation and recognition of text language in natural language technology, this paper completes the word vector representation of English language course text in colleges and universities through the CBOW and Skip-gram structure of World2Vec model. Using the LDA topic model, the obtained English language word vectors are identified, and then the English language course system of colleges and universities is processed to complete the optimization of the course system. On this basis, 10 English language courses of X university are selected and the texts of question responses and course evaluations of the selected English language courses are collected and analyzed using the model. The study shows that 80% of the course responses are active at the beginning and end of the question life cycle. The percentage of question responses decreased as the number of questions increased. Students in Majors A (53%) and B (27%) were more concerned about teaching ability, and students in Majors B (40%) and C (57%) were more concerned about teaching style. Based on the above analysis, pedagogues can optimize the teaching quality of English courses in colleges and universities in terms of teaching ability and teaching style.

The aim of this study is to determine learner autonomy perceptions and English language course achievement mediated by foreign language learning anxiety. In the study, carried with 472 undergraduate students, utilizing the relational survey model, it was found that students’ foreign language learning anxiety and learner autonomy perceptions were at moderate level; there was a moderate, positive and significant relationship between learner autonomy perceptions and foreign language learning anxiety; there is a statistically insignificant, negative and close relationship between English language course achievement and foreign language learning anxiety and learner autonomy perceptions and this relationship does not predict English language course achievement significantly; therefore, foreign language learning anxiety could not have a meaningful mediation role in the relationship between students’ learner autonomy perceptions and English language course achievements.

The English language course offered in the Faculty of Medicine of DehasenUniversity of Bengkulu was not based on the needs of the students. This can lead to a lack of student motivation and participation in the course. The purpose of this study was to find out the basic needs of medical students in learning English. Finding out the needs of students in the English language course was done with a questionnaire for 36 students of the Faculty of Medicine. The results showed that 18 respondents (50%) stated that they needed English to develop their career, complete their studies and expand international relations. 18 respondents (50%) stated that they need speaking and reading skills for their future career. In addition, twenty-seven (75%) respondents explained that they needed research-related material.

Substantial peer feedback of the students through peer review in the context of EFL or ESL can help them become skilled at different structures and strategies of academic writing in English rather than receiving feedback from teachers in the classroom. However, most of the students at English language classes in Bangladesh do not appreciate the significance of following the structures of academic writing from the lectures of the respective teachers immediately. On the other hand, most of the English language instructors in their classes are not used to encouraging their students to provide peer feedback through peer review. Therefore, this paper will be focusing on the issues regarding how peer review can be utilized for the beginners of English language courses in terms of making them aware of the structures of academic writing. Moreover, this paper will make an attempt to find out whether peer review makes them a better writer, a more rational thinker or a more critical appreciator of peers’ writings. At last, this paper will present some recommendations on how peer review can develop the students’ creativity while producing thought provoking and critical comments on their peers’ writing.

English language courses are provided in universities throughout the majority of the world where English is used as a second or first language to address students' English language needs in the target-situation use. However, at all Ethiopian Universities where English is taught as a foreign language, two English language skills courses, dubbed "communicative English language skills I" and "communicative English language skills II," are offered as standard courses in the first year. Large language gaps have been noted, particularly in health science academic and professional settings where English is largely expected. Hence, this study aimed to identify Health Science students’ English language gaps so that English language courses are designed accordingly. This study employed a mixed-methods research design. It was conducted via tests, observations, and interviews. The findings revealed that participant students had good proficiency in grammar and usage as well as reading skills. However, they had poor proficiency in listening skills, which in turn indicated that the students had difficulty understanding spoken English. The findings also indicated that these students demonstrated an inability to write an acceptable essay. The study further revealed that students' failure to describe a patient, the case, the complaints, and the drugs in medical terminology was partially due to a lack of English language skills. As a result, while developing English language course materials for health science students, course designers and practitioners should address these English language gaps existing in students’ academic studies and future professions.

This research aims to know the effect of formative assessment on the achievement of university students in the English language course. The study sample included (196) students intentionally selected from among the first-year students at Al-Isra University in Jordan. These students were divided into two identical groups: one was taken to represent the experimental group, and the other was to represent the control group. The experimental group used formative assessment methods to study the (English Language) course. The students of both groups sat for the final achievement examination. The student's results in the two groups were placed in tables and then treated statistically. It was found that the performance of the experimental group students was better than that of the control group, which indicates the effectiveness of using the formative assessment method in teaching English. In addition, a questionnaire was used with the study sample of students to monitor the attitudes of students and teachers toward the formative assessment. The advanced statistical analysis of students' responses showed their positive attitudes toward this assessment. Then the study concluded with some recommendations to strengthen this type of evaluation.

Academic Oral Presentation (AOP) is an important academic discourse for undergraduates in the English Language course as well as in their discipline-based courses to prepare themselves to be more successful at the academic and workplace situations.In AOP both the visual and verbal modes are important although most studies have focused mainly on the verbal mode.Visuals are part of a generic structure of AOPs, especially so in the digital era where rarely are their AOPs performed without the use of visuals.Therefore, the objective of the present study was to examine the juxtaposition of the visuals or powerpoint (PPT) slides and verbal mode of the AOPs.A total of 601 PowerPoint slides of forty group AOPs were analysed based on Rowley-Jolivet's (2002) typology of visuals.Interviews were also conducted with undergraduates and lecturers to get feedback on the use of visuals.The findings showed that the visual and verbal modes do correspond well.The most common semiotic type of visual identified was the scriptural type.However, the density of information displayed on the PPT slides, the spelling and grammatical errors and reading a lot from the PPT slides indicate that undergraduates seem to lack good oral presentation skills despite being trained in the EL proficiency course.The findings of the study have implications for students, lecturers and curriculum developers.It is recommended that undergraduates are given training on AOPs by highlighting both the visual and verbal modes as they may end up speaking in writing style as well as, guide them to transfer their learning from English language to discipline-based AOPs.

This study seeks to examine areas of influence of the first language on the second language that have not yet been explored, supported or evaluated in the domain of language skills transfer. The extent that one’s ability in one’s first language (L1) can predict success and performance in learning a second language (L2) is of special interest to researchers of second language acquisition (SLA). This area of study seeks to better understand language learners and the factors involved in learning a new language. Cross-linguistic influence (CLI) is a phenomenon the presence of which is confirmed by investigations into speakers’ language performance in many aspects of language. However, most of the studies have been concerned with Indo-European languages which use the Latin script. This study investigated the influence of Arabic, which is a Semitic language that uses a different script to that used in English. It focuses on reading skills and exposure to print deriving from the premises of the interdependence hypothesis that all languages share common cognitive mechanisms. This study aimed to report on CLI for English FL adult learners. Moreover, the study examined the role of other influential factors for foreign language learning (FLL) that are thought to affect the relationship, such as motivation and learning strategies. Understanding the relationship between performance in Arabic as a first language and English as a second language is important because, in Saudi Arabia, admission to English language courses at university is determined by the General Aptitude Test (GAT) which is a test of students’ aptitude in Arabic. This study, therefore, evaluates the effectiveness of the GAT to predict students’ performance on English courses. Previous studies have found the GAT is effective in predicting overall performance at university, but this study focusses on English language performance and reading skills in particular. This study also analysed different constructs within the test to identify which ones may be more effective predictors of English language performance. Data were collected from tests and questionnaire involving 248 students at a Saudi university. Analysis included correlation, regression and path analyses to test the study’s hypotheses regarding the proposed relationships, whether directly or indirectly. The main findings were as follows: 1. There is a moderate and predictable relationship between aptitude in Arabic and English reading skills. 2. There is no relationship between print exposure in Arabic and performance in English. 3. The GAT is effective in predicting performance in English language courses at university. 4. Intrinsic motivation and problem-solving learning strategies can moderate the relationship between the L1 and L2. These findings contribute to the body of research in relation to cross-linguistic influence, specifically in relation to Arabic speakers learning English. It also provides support for the application of the GAT as a requirement for university admission to English language courses in Saudi Arabia and can inform policymakers regarding the use of GAT in other Arabic-speaking regions. Aptitude in Arabic, with students having an intrinsic motivation for learning languages and adopting problem-solving strategies for learning can contribute to the prediction of performance in an English language programme at university.

This research reports on a case study applying synchronous computer-mediated communication (SCMC) in a Wuhan university’s English language classes during the COVID-19 pandemic. The aim was to identify the advantages and disadvantages of using synchronous technology applications in online English language courses. The dataset consisted of ethnographic observations and in-depth interviews with the teacher and students. The thematic analysis revealed that the advantages of the SCMC include the availability of abundant learning resources, the affordance of instant information exchange, and a comparatively relaxed learning environment. Two major disadvantages were that the non-face-to-face communication tended to lead to the teacher’s “one-person” show, and the limited screen size reduced eye contact between the teacher and students. The present research indicates that SCMC can be applied during and after the pandemic to foster student discussion and collaboration. We also suggest that when language teachers deliver courses using SCMC tools or platforms, students should be given abundant opportunities to express their opinions.