The Role of Group Work in Enhancing Undergraduate Students’ Writing Skills

Teachers serve as key figures in education, bringing energy and dynamism to the teaching and learning process. One critical factor for effective teaching in foreign language schools is the presence of highly motivated instructors. Consequently, their enthusiasm and job satisfaction play a significant role in shaping the effectiveness of language instruction. However, burnout—affecting teachers emotionally, physically, and psychologically—can hinder their performance and adversely impact their interactions with students and colleagues. This study aimed to identify the primary causes of teacher burnout and examine how preparing learners for high-stakes exams influences burnout levels among EFL (English as a Foreign Language) teachers. The study employed a phenomenological approach, a type of qualitative research design, and involved nine EFL teachers from seven state secondary schools in Sivas, Türkiye. Participants were selected through convenience sampling, a non-probability sampling method. Data were gathered through semi-structured interviews, which were developed by the researcher following a literature review and then reviewed and revised by two experts. The interviews were conducted via Zoom at times convenient for the participants, and the resulting data were analyzed using content analysis. The findings indicated that administrative issues, student-related factors, and societal and parental attitudes were the primary contributors to burnout among EFL teachers. Regarding high-stakes exams, factors such as the lack of communicative teaching, students' preparedness, and pressure from parents and school administrators were identified as major contributors to teacher burnout.

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.

Since Shulman (1986b) argued that pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) should be a significant indicator of teacher knowledge for quality teaching, PCK has received enormous attention from researchers in the teacher education field. Nevertheless, little empirical and theoretical attention has been given to English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers’ PCK growth in teachers’ collaborative learning activities (Li et al., 2021). In practice, collaborative learning groups for EFL teachers are often adopted as an effective teacher learning activity as it always integrates observations and discussions of real EFL teaching practices such as English teaching pedagogies and subject matters, for example. However, how EFL teachers’ collaborative learning promotes their PCK growth is less explored by empirical or theoretical studies and some teacher professional growth models. Therefore, this review will mainly discuss via existing literature how EFL teachers could increase their PCK in collaborative learning based on one particular teacher professional growth model, called the Interconnected Model of Professional Growth (IMPG) summarized by Clarke and Hollingsworth (2002). Since IMPG only generally summarizes teachers’ professional growth, this article aims to specifically elaborate the various trajectories of EFL teachers’ PCK growth. The significant role of three essential factors, namely, EFL teachers’ initiatives to learn/share, reciprocal mindset, and reflective dialogues in EFL teachers’ PCK development are stated in the paper. Several recommendations are made to EFL teachers, EFL teacher trainers, and EFL education programs.

This paper aims to improve post-pandemic English as a Foreign Language (EFL) education by leveraging immersive, NLP-driven, AI-based tools that promote collaboration and interactivity in teaching. It is because the COVID-19 pandemic has significantly disrupted conventional language education, leading to a shift towards online instruction and requiring new language learning strategies. The study used a mixedmethods approach integrating quantitative and qualitative data collection and processing strategies to examine the effectiveness of collaborative and interactive AI-powered natural language processing (NLP) applications on EFL instruction in a post-pandemic online teaching environment. To collect data, teachers, and students at the University of Abomey-Calavi (UAC) in Benin were surveyed, interviewed, and observed during online language learning sessions. The data was analysed using both descriptive and inferential statistical methods. The study used questionnaire surveys to analyze the quantitative data and the thematic (content) analysis method to identify significant trends and themes in the qualitative data collected through semi-structured interviews and online class observations. The results revealed the advantages and disadvantages of using AI-supported collaborative and interactive language learning in EFL instruction, the learning methodologies and assessment approaches used in AI-supported online collaborative learning, the role of technology in supporting lifelong learning, and the impact of ICT teacher training on the integration of AI-supported online collaborative learning in EFL instruction. The outcomes provide new insights into the impact of AI-assisted collaborative and interactive language learning on EFL instruction and its implications for EFL teachers and students in the post-COVID-19 era.

This study explores the implementation of Project-Based Learning in a Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) course. Employing a qualitative case study methodology, the research aims to answer two primary research questions: (1) How is TEFL class instruction changed from individual-oriented project learning to group-oriented project learning? and (2) How is the PBL-infused TEFL class instruction perceived by the students? Data were collected through course documentation, classroom observation, and questionnaires distributed to 13 students enrolled in the TEFL course at a faculty of teacher education. Using ADDIE model, the one-semester TEFL course originally constructed with individual-oriented approach was reshaped to emphasize collaborative learning tasks and authentic project outputs. The findings suggest that integrating PBL into the TEFL course provided more diverse learning opportunities for the students to increase their engagement with real-world issues and foster their autonomy, creativity, and active participation. As the transformed course outline gives more time and opportunities for group work, iterative feedback, and authentic assignments, the students perceived collaboration more positively, improved problem-solving skills, and developed professional identity as future educators. Thus, PBL is seen as an alternative pedagogical framework that can support both cognitive and social aspects of the students’ learning. The future implementation of PBL is to be equipped with clear scaffolding strategies to maintain students’ comprehension of the learning processes and maximize the PBL-based instructions. Not only for pedagogical classes, other courses teaching English language skills and components can also implement PBL to give more authentic assignments for the students’ collaborative learning.

In recent years, veterinary education has received an increased amount of attention directed at the value and application of collaborative case-based learning. The benefit of instilling deep learning practices in undergraduate veterinary students has also emerged as a powerful tool in encouraging continued professional education. However, research into the design and application of instructional strategies to encourage deep, collaborative case-based learning in veterinary undergraduates has been limited. This study focused on delivering an instructional intervention (via a 20-minute presentation and student handout) to foster productive, collaborative case-based learning in veterinary education. The aim was to instigate and encourage deep learning practices in a collaborative case-based assignment and to assess the impact of the intervention on students' group learning. Two cohorts of veterinary students were involved in the study. One cohort was exposed to an instructional intervention, and the other provided the control for the study. The instructional strategy was grounded in the collaborative learning literature and prior empirical studies with veterinary students. Results showed that the intervention cohort spent proportionally more time on understanding case content material than did the control cohort and rated their face-to-face discussions as more useful in achieving their learning outcomes than did their control counterparts. In addition, the perceived difficulty of the assignment evolved differently for the control and intervention students from start to end of the assignment. This study provides encouraging evidence that veterinary students can change and enhance the way they interact in a group setting to effectively engage in collaborative learning practices.

The research aimed to explore beliefs of sociolinguistic competence from Indonesian EFL (English as a Foreign Language) teachers. Two teachers were carefully chosen to participate in the research. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews, analyzed, and interpreted using the critical descriptive method. The research finds that EFL teachers express their beliefs in various terms, ideologies, and perspectives. The result indicates that the EFL teachers’ beliefs about sociolinguistic competence are equivalent to the concepts of spatial repertoire, principled-polycentrism, resourceful speakers, and sociolinguistics as mobility. It also indicates that EFL teachers’ pedagogical affordances in determining learning objectives, selecting materials and media for learning, implementing classroom strategies, and choosing appropriate evaluation for their teaching are influenced by their beliefs of sociolinguistic competence. The research suggests that Indonesian EFL teachers should be awarded the freedom to develop sociolinguistic competence based on their classroom context and learners’ heterogeneity. With the presence of a national curriculum (known as K13) that gives more spaces for sociolinguistic competence to take place, teachers should transform their paradigm of seeing classroom interaction in EFL classroom to be more sociolinguistically-aware to transform the static, pre-determined, and motionless definition of sociolinguistic competence to a more dynamic, fluid, and varying. These transformations can be made by imparting sociolinguistic competence in teachers’ education and teachers’ professional development programs.

Employing integral instruction of listening and speaking, and understanding their roles is significant for effective language teaching, developing learners' spoken and written proficiencies, and improving their achievement and motivation. However, there is limited prior research on EFL-integrated listening and speaking in public universities in Ethiopia. Investigating the integral teaching/learning of listening and speaking remains a research problem. Accordingly, the study aims to examine University English EFL instructors' implementations in teaching integral listening and speaking employing a concurrent mixed-methods design. A total of 252 sample respondents were involved in data collection. Comprehensive and systematic sampling techniques were used to select respondents using a 5-point Likert scale. Through purposive sampling, 12 instructors were identified for qualitative data collection employing semi-structured observations and interviews. Quantitative data analysis employed descriptive and inferential statistics run by SPSS version 20. Qualitative data were thematically analyzed utilizing NVIVO 12 Pro. The findings revealed a remarkable mismatch between EFL instructors' reported practice and the implementation of integral teaching of listening and speaking. Students' questionnaire data confirmed the mismatch between the results of the instructors' practice and implementation. The main themes predicted integral practice included using real-life listening materials, appropriate application of listening phases, and using the language features appropriately. The variance was indicated by the effect size with an eta-squared value of 75%. Qualitative findings supported that EFL teachers frequently relied on non-authentic listening materials. The study implied that EFL program development and curriculum reviews incorporate key factors influencing integral instruction of listening and speaking in the present study. Finally, the study provided recommendations for EFL teachers and the contexts beyond the present settings.

Foreign language learning process of gifted individuals plays a critical role in both their self-development and academic life. However, EFL (English as a Foreign Language) teachers may encounter various challenges while teaching to gifted individuals. The purpose of the present research is to reveal the opinions of EFL teachers in Science and Art Centers (SACs) on the challenges they encounter in teaching English, find out possible sources for these difficulties, and their solutions and recommendations. In total, 21 EFL teachers working in different SACs in Turkiye participated in the study. The data were collected through a semi-structured interview based on three main themes: a) the challenges the participants have faced, b) the participants’ views on the source of these problems, and c) their suggested strategies to cope with the mentioned challenges. Content analysis was carried out to analyze the data. The qualitative findings demonstrated that the EFL teachers experienced similar challenges including the lack of an established curriculum, insufficient educational technological equipments and appropriate materials for language teaching, having students with different levels of English proficiency in the same groups, and having long working hours.

The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted traditional language learning, leading to a shift towards online teaching and requiring new approaches to language education. This study examines the effectiveness of AI-powered collaborative and interactive Natural Language Processing (NLP) applications on English as a Foreign Language (EFL) instruction in a post-COVID-19 online education environment. The study used a mixed-methods approach, incorporating statistical and in-depth qualitative data gathering and processing strategies. EFL teachers and students from the University of Abomey-Calavi (UAC) in Benin were surveyed, interviewed, and observed during online language learning sessions. The data were analysed using both descriptive and inferential statistics. The study employed questionnaire surveys to analyse quantitative data and used the thematic (content) analysis method to isolate the most important trends and themes hidden within the qualitative data collected through semi-structured interviews and online class observations. Results showed the challenges and opportunities of using AI-powered collaborative and interactive language learning in EFL teaching, the learning methodologies and assessment approaches used in AI-enabled collaborative e-learning, the role of technology in supporting pervasive learning, and the impact of professional development for teachers in ICT on integrating AI-assisted collaborative e-learning in EFL instruction. The findings offer new perspectives on the effects of AI-supported collaborative and interactive language learning on EFL teaching and its implications for EFL teachers and students in the post-pandemic era.

Speaking from an intersectional perspective, the personality of EFL instructors influences the development of personality-specific teaching styles. As such, research has explored the relationship between the personalities of EFL (English as a Foreign Language) teachers and various teaching variables. However, the developmental aspect of EFL teachers' intra-personal negotiations has been overlooked in previous research, despite the potential that tracking teachers’ personality (re)constructions can offer a critical understanding of pre-service EFL teachers’ evolution over time into effective in-service EFL pedagogues. To address this gap, this study employed a narrative approach to gain insight into a single EFL teacher's retrospective understanding of how their personality evolved over their pre-service and in-service teaching career with the pursuit of becoming an effective communicative EFL teacher. Data was gathered through a self-reported personality document, a written narrative, and two rounds of semi-structured interviews. The data were then analyzed using qualitative data mining and coding techniques. The study found that some pre-service personality traits of EFL teachers act as obstacles to becoming effective EFL teachers. However, over about five years, cultural, pedagogical, and professional factors as some compelling drivers lead to EFL teachers' intra-personality negotiations, resulting in their gradual evolution into effective communicative pedagogues. The study also concludes that methodologically, a narrative approach to capturing the longitudinal psychosocial transformations of EFL teachers can offer valuable insights into the dynamics of EFL teacher development.

English as a foreign language (EFL) teachers’ professional success has been claimed to depend on numerous factors in the literature. However, the interactive influence of psycho‐affective and cognitive factors on this construct has been neglected. To address this gap, this quantitative study used three scales to test an associational model of positive psychological capital (PPC), cognitive flexibility, and professional success. It also tried to uncover if PPC and cognitive flexibility could predict EFL teachers’ professional success. To do so, 533 Chinese EFL teachers took part in a survey. The results of structural equation modeling, correlation analysis, and multiple regression showed a strong and positive link among teachers’ PPC, cognitive flexibility, and professional success. Furthermore, it was revealed that PPC and cognitive flexibility could collectively predict about 53% of the variations in Chinese EFL teachers’ professional success. The study discusses the results and presents some implications for teachers, teacher trainers, and authorities, who can work on the psycho‐affective and cognitive aspects of teacher professionalism and success.

Examining the role of psychological wellbeing in EFL teachers' pedagogical effectiveness and professional success: A structural equation modeling analysis.

EFL teachers take the position as front-liners in attempt to promote the nation's human resource quality. Unfortunately, in Indonesia, the competence of EFL teachers remains low. Some teachers take steps to solve this problem. This study aimed to investigate the participation of two urban primary school EFL teachers in professional development and its impact on their teaching performance. Semi-structured interviews with the teachers and colleagues were conducted, documents were collected, and student questionnaires were administered. Data were analyzed using inductive technique, content analysis, and descriptive statistics. The study has shown that the two EFL teachers' participation in professional development was not yet optimal. Indeed, in quantity, their participation was above average. In quality, however, inadequate attention was given primarily to relevance and role taking. With regard to teaching performance, the study has shown that the two teachers' performance was not optimal, either. Their personal and social competences were extremely superior to the pedagogical and professional ones. The latter should have been more demanding in order to attain a better learning process as well as outcome. At last, the study has revealed that despite their urban work environment the two EFL teachers' less quality participation in professional development was believed to have its unsatisfactory impact on their performance in classroom.

Collaborative digital learning is becoming increasingly popular in higher education. However, the use of collaborative digital learning does risk placing too big a responsibility on the learner and reducing face-to-face interaction with the educator. The aim of this quasi-experimental study was to evaluate the effects of a digital educational intervention on collaborative learning in nursing education. The intervention group ( n = 87) studied using a collaborative digital learning environment and the control group ( n = 38) studied in the traditional classroom setting. There were no significant differences between the groups in terms of student satisfaction. However, the students' satisfaction of studying decreased in the intervention group after completion of the course. In the intervention group students had higher satisfaction in the area of promoting collaborative group work and received statistically significant higher grades in the final course evaluation. This study emphasizes that collaborative digital learning can be an effective approach in nursing education in terms of learning outcomes. It also shows that more study is needed on the role of the teacher in collaborative digital nursing education.