Arab Learners Of English Research Articles

Challenges of Mastering English in Syria With Emphasis on Speaking: Suggested Remedies and Recommendations for Foreign Language Teaching

Pioneers of applied linguistics have spared no effort in theorizing and innovating fruitful techniques through which foreign languages should be both taught and mastered. In addition, a wave of research has been conducted to bring English language teaching inadequacy to light. It is because we are now on a threshold of a new age that mastering at least one foreign language, say English, has become an urgent need. But why English? English is the language of most manuals, the medium of instruction at many virtual or physical institutions throughout the world, of instructional programs, and of international conferences. News presentation or conference interpretation is mostly provided in English. Among other languages, English has long enjoyed an advantage. However, Arab learners of English, notably Syrians, show deficiency when communicating in English, which, in their setting, is merely a foreign language. This might be attributed to many factors related to teachers’ teaching styles, governmental curricula or courses design, lessons allotment and exams question type. This article addresses the methods employed in language teaching, the challenges of mastering English in the Syrian setting with emphasis on speaking and why many languages program fail to operate as needed. Furthermore, it recommends specific policies towards better teaching and learning practices. These recommendations, therefore, once implemented, are capable of impacting both national and international security. They may include teachers’ training program, new curricula design policies and lessons allotment where speaking is given more time for learners to practice the language. Additionally, programs for teachers should be developed to prepare them to use cutting-edge teaching strategies which take into account the different demands and styles of students. The training courses should also focus on enhancing instructors' abilities and expertise in the field of language instruction.

How Do Foreign Language Learners Process L2 Emotion Words in Silent Reading? An Eye-Tracking Study

The current study aimed to examine the processing of emotion words in L2 silent reading. We conducted two experiments in which Arab learners of English as a foreign language (EFL) read short English sentences in which target words were embedded. The participants’ eye movements were recorded and analyzed. The results of Experiment 1, which compared the processing of emotionally positive versus neutral words by 44 participants, did not reveal any significant effect for word type. The results only showed a few instances of significant interactions between word type and word frequency (i.e., positive words were read faster than neutral words only in the case of high-frequency words) and arousal (i.e., positive words were recognized faster than neutral words only when the target words were low in arousal). The results of Experiment 2, which compared the processing of emotionally negative versus neutral words by 43 participants, only established one effect of word type on the skipping rate which was also modulated by length (i.e., negative words were less likely to be skipped, particularly shorter ones). Moreover, arousal interacted with word type (i.e., only the negative words with low arousal were read faster than neutral words in two eye-movement measures).

An Optimality-Theoretic Analysis of Some Phonological Errors Produced by Saudi Female Learners of the English Language

Purpose. The purpose of this study was to investigate the phonological errors associated with consonant and vowel pronunciation made by Saudi learners of the English language in light of the optimality hypothesis. In addition, transfer and contrastive analysis hypotheses are discussed, which justify why Saudi English language learners make phonological errors. Methods. Thirty Saudi female students in their first semester in the English language department at Qassim University were randomly selected. They were examined on their pronunciation of over 30 words from a list of twenty sentences. Each participant was individually recorded using a sensitive microphone, and all recordings were transcribed using IPA symbols and compared to the English transcription to identify the correct and incorrect pronunciation. Each participant filled out a consent form before to having their pronunciation recorded. Results. The majority of errors committed by Saudi English learners are attributable to the substitution of foreign sounds with the closest native sounds. In addition, Saudi English learners tend to add a glottal stop to non-onset syllables and insert a vowel to break clusters of three or more obstruent consonants. This finding is due to the fact that their native language is an onset language and lacks clusters of three or more obstruent consonants. The descriptive tables in addition to the Pareto charts of these errors are provided. Conclusions. Overall, results from this study support optimality theory, transfer, and contrastive analysis hypotheses. Moreover, this study contributes to the growing literature on the investigation of phonological errors produced by Arab learners of English, particularly Saudi learners. This study proposes that Saudi English learners listen attentively to English native speakers to correct phonological errors. In addition, Saudi English learners should record their pronunciation during discussions and replay them in order to identify their mistakes and avoid them in the future.

Identifying the Problems EFL Students Encounter in Translating Adverbs from English into Arabic

While discussing the grammatical problems EFL learners confront in translating between languages, especially in translating adverbs as a basic category in English Grammar, it is significantly highlighting the difficulties these learners encounter and justifying the errors they make when translating adverbs and adverbial phrases from English into Arabic. Obviously, the errors are due to the fact that both languages at hand belong to two sharply distant language families and systems. In other words, language is culture-specific; what might be in one, might not be the same in the other, this leads to the ambiguity and misunderstanding of adverbs real contextual meaning, resulting the displacement of adverbs within sentences. Besides, Arab learners of English are sufficiently competent of English language and culture, thus English adverbs system and adverbial order, and their counterparts in Arabic which in turn affect their translation into their native. The study, therefore, suggests some strategies to be employed by Arab learners when translating English adverbs into Arabic. However, it is hypothesized that EFL students at the undergraduate level have confusion in understanding the adverbs contextual meaning or in other words their sentential meaning, thus err when translating these adverbs from English into Arabic. To prove the hypotheses of the study, two tests, of five sentences each, are set for fifty randomly chosen students at the undergraduate level to do; the first test is set to re-place the adverbs properly within sentences; whereas the second is set to translate English adverbs into Arabic contextually. Then the data of the study are analyzed and the results of the tests are evaluated to show how sentence meaning is affected by the misplacement and mistranslation of adverbs and adverbial phrases. In addition, to prove that the deficiencies in translation are due to the dissimilarities between English and Arabic adverbs meaning and order, and Arabic learner

Motivational Strategies in the English Classroom: The Case of Arab Learners in Israel

<p style="text-align:justify">Decline in students’ motivation to learn languages remains a vexing issue for teachers and educators. Among a myriad of factors that affect student motivation, teachers’ practices appear to play a very dominant role. This has been reflected in the rising number of studies that examine teachers’ motivational strategies. This study aims to determine the specific teacher strategies which are most likely to positively affect the motivation of Arab learners of English from the perspective of learners. Some 400 teenage learners of English responded to an open-ended question in which they were asked to freely describe the strategies their teachers used that motivated them to learn. The results of the study suggest that the majority of students prefer strategies that promote communicative uses of the language to ones that focus on grammar or emphasize learning through texts. Many students also reported that they had more interest in studying English when their teachers integrated technology. It is therefore recommended that teachers give more weight to these motivating strategies by incorporating more communicative use of English and more technology into their lessons.</p>

University Jordanian Learners of English: Difficulties and Solutions

Referencing related literature and drawing upon our experience, observation and talks with specialists, we have realized that the problem of difficulty encountered by Arab learners of English in general and by Jordanian university English students in particular is sporadically addressed by researchers. They mention it along with their focus on errors committed by those EFL learners. At the university, English majors study English language, linguistics, and literature courses over a period of four years. While enrolling in the English program, they encounter difficulties or problems like teaching methods, cultural and language problems and teaching settings which negatively affect their language proficiency and, thus, graduate committing gross errors in various language skills, pointing to their weakness, low proficiency and unsatisfactory achievement which do not meet teachers’ and society’s expectations. The present paper is meant to diagnose the problems that confront university Jordanian English majors and to propose some solutions including strict requirements on transfer students, a TOEFL score of 500, and a small class size intended to play a role in reforming the present status quo of English departments, thus upgrading their outputs, and helping students improve their level linguistically and extra linguistically.

COLOUR IDIOMS IN ENGLISH AND ARABIC: THEIR MEANING AND COLOUR ASSOCIATIONS

This study aimed at investigating the cross-culture variation when comparing idiomatic expressions related to colour in both English and Arabic languages. Also, it tries to identify the challenges encountered by language learners in understanding the color idioms in both Arabic and English languages. Because colour idioms in English and Arabic have some commonalities in meaning as well as differences in the association. Both languages make rich use of them for which several examples are given and explained. The meanings of transparent idioms are easily logical, but more opaque ones are pure idioms that can confuse foreign language learners in case of different associations. Cross-cultural comparisons are then drawn, and an attempt is made to identify some universal colour associations and highlight stark contrasts between the two cultures. For example, the colour gray is shared in both English and Arabic as unclear and vague situations, while the colour yellow in English indicates “coward” while in Arabic refer to “fake”. It is also shown that many of the colour idioms arose from historical events, but all serve to enrich languages as long as the intended meaning is clearly understood. It is recommended that English teachers and Arab learners of English consider this cross-cultural variation between English and Arabic, which is a double-edged weapon. This could confuse learning these idioms or, as a distinguished difference, it could help in enhancing the learning outcome. Article visualizations:

Writing Errors Among Arab EFL Learners: A Review of Literature

The aim of this article is to provide an overview of common writing errors among Arab learners of English as a second language by analyzing the findings of 15 studies. The negative influence of the first language (L1) is called interference and was first introduced by Lado (1957). This article focused on studies that have examined the negative influence of Arabic on the English writing of Arab learners. It has excluded studies that dealt with common errors resulting from different sources such as, intra-lingual errors (i.e. resulting from L2). The findings of the reviewed studies were analyzed based on James’s (2013) error taxonomy. Accordingly, three types of errors were identified, namely, substance errors, textual errors, and discourse errors. The analysis suggested that Arabic has influenced learners’ English writings at multiple levels.

Effective Teaching Strategies to Eliminate Spelling Problems Among Saudi English Language Undergraduates

Saudi university students who learn English as a foreign language face multiple difficulties during the process of learning especially while mastering writing skill and its component (spelling). This paper aims to explore the most recommended teaching strategies to eliminate the Saudi university students’ spelling errors. The research participants were 15 students in English Language Department at Tabuk University and 15 English language lecturers from the same department. Group structured interviews were designed for the lecturers and students. The findings reveal that, there are different effective teaching strategies to master English spelling such as, practicing spelling, lecturers’ pedagogical practices and Learners’ Engagement. This paper concludes that, the spelling problems of EFL learners could be addressed by a variety of intervention strategies such as, instructors should be introduced to a range of teaching methods such as simulation situations where they can experience problems arising from poor spelling and roleplaying .Students should also be encouraged to engage in the learning process by setting tasks like, learning the spelling of a few selected words, which they can test each other on in pairs class and so evaluate their own and their peer’s work. This paper hoped that, the findings revealed in this study will help the policymakers in taking necessary actions in improving the learning experience of Arab learners of English.

A Critical Review of Research on Language Learning Strategies used by Arab Learners of English

More than four decades have passed since the language learning strategy (LLS) concept was first brought to wide attention by Joan Rubin (1975). Although LLS research is prolific, it has faced challenges regarding its conceptual and methodological nature. These apparent weaknesses have encouraged some proponents of LLS research (e.g. Oxford, 2011; Rose et al, 2018) to conduct a systematic review of previous LLS research, with the aim of identifying the nature of the vigorous attempts to abandon the construct of LLS in research studies. Surprisingly, perhaps, these reviews did not include any LLS research studies concerning Arab learners. Therefore, this paper examines previous research into the LLSs used by Arab learners of English taken from different databases. The analysis has indicated that the majority (22 out of 27) of studies discovered were exclusively quantitative, using Oxford’s (1990) Strategy Inventory for Language Learning (SILL). These quantitative studies correlated the Arab participants’ LLS use with other individual learner variables, especially those related to gender and language proficiency. The other five were qualitative studies, and no study had adopted a mixed-method approach. This paper concludes by suggesting some areas that deserve further investigation in future research.

Can L2 Phonological Vocabulary Knowledge and Listening Comprehension be Developed Through Extensive Movie Viewing? the Case of Arab EFL Learners

The relationship between second language (L2) learners’ orthographic vocabulary knowledge and extensive reading is quite well researched. However, the way phonological vocabulary knowledge and extensive listening/viewing interacts remains not so well investigated. The current study examines the effect of extensive viewing of English movies supplemented by first language (L1) subtitles on aural vocabulary knowledge and listening comprehension among 78 tertiary-level Arab learners of English as a foreign language (EFL). The purpose of using L1 subtitles in this study was to enhance understanding of the spoken input through the L2 sound and L1 meaning mapping. Results of the study showed that the participants, after 5 weeks of extensive viewing, significantly improved their aural vocabulary knowledge and listening comprehension. The results indicated that aural vocabulary gain from extensive viewing was about 4.8 words per contact hour compared to 2.5 words from normal classroom input. The results also showed that prior vocabulary knowledge was strongly associated with vocabulary gain in aural modality.

The effects of explicit pronunciation instruction on the degree of perceived foreign accent in the speech of EFL learners

This paper reports on a study that attempted to examine the effect of explicit pronunciation instruction of some English segments (individual sounds) on the degree of perceived foreign accent in EFL Arab learners’ speech. Nine Arab learners of English in an EFL (English as a foreign language) setting were assigned to two groups, experimental and control. Five utterances loaded with the taught segments were collected from both groups before and after instruction. While the experimental group received instruction on these segments, the control group did not. 13 native English listeners were recruited to rate all the elicited sentences for the degree of perceived foreign accent. The results did not show any effect of explicit pronunciation instruction on the degree of perceived foreign accent, as there were no differences between the ratings before and after the instruction.

Explaining the orthography–phonology interface in written corpora: an Optimality–Theoretic approach

This paper has two goals. The first goal is to contribute to the literature of Second Language Writing Systems (L2WS) by focussing on the British University in Dubai (BUiD) and the Arab Learner Corpus (BALC). The second is to demonstrate the close orthography–phonology interface in L2WS and critically address the issue of reform in a script. Unlike previous studies, which provide a holistic and descriptive analysis of all possible spelling errors of Arab learners of English (e.g., Haggan, 1991 ; and Randall and Groom, 2009 ), this study is different in two ways. First, BALC will be interpreted within a markedness framework and a constraint-based theory known as Optimality Theory. Second, particular emphasis will be given to the erroneous spelling forms which appear in lexical items exclusively with complex onset and coda clusters at the phonological level. The motive for this study is to look beyond spelling errors and bridge linguistic theory with learner corpora. The sub-corpora will be identified and categorised by using the Wmatrix3 program ( Rayson, 2003 , 2005 ). The fulfilment of the above goals will provide new insights for researchers and teachers who are working closely in the areas of L2WS and learner corpora.

Arab Learners of English and the Use of Discourse Markers in Writing

This study aims at investigating the development level of Arab EFL learners in the use of discourse markers (DMs) in writing through the analysis of their errors. For this purpose, two types of questions regarding the use of DMs (additive, causative, adversative, and temporal) were distributed to 40 undergraduates (20 males & 20 females), first, second, third, and fourth year English-major, in the academic year 2015, at the Hashemite University in Jordan. The study concludes that students' level in using DMs becoming better and better as their academic level evolves.

The Acquisition of Do-Support in Negation and Interrogatives by Adult Arab Learners of English: A preliminary study

The Acquisition of Do-Support in Negation and Interrogatives by Adult Arab Learners of English: A preliminary study

Long Term Effect of Phonetic Instruction on the Production of /p/ by EFL Arab Learners: an Exploratory Study

Most previous studies, that have examined the effect of explicit pronunciation instruction on foreign language speech, have focused on the short term effect of explicit pronunciation instruction, usually measured immediately after instruction. For this reason, it is not yet clear whether the attested benefit from pronunciation instruction can be sustained for a long time after instruction. The current study attempted to explore the long term effect of phonetic instruction on the production of the English bilabial voiceless stop /p/ by Arab learners of English as foreign language (EFL, henceforth). Nine Arab EFL learners were assigned to two groups, control and experimental. The experimental group received phonetic instruction on how to produce the English sound /p/, whereas the control group did not. The production of the English sound /p/ was elicited from all the learners in both groups, once before the instruction and once after 11 weeks of the instruction. Two experienced native English instructors were asked to judge whether the students produced /p/ or /b/. The results generally showed no benefit from the phonetic instruction on the delayed production of /p/ by the EFL Arab learners. Although the results do not seem encouraging for pronunciation instruction, it is difficult to reach a conclusion with regard to pronunciation instruction due to the small sample size used in the current exploratory study, and to the difficulty to generalize the results on /p/ to all other sounds. Future studies may use larger sample sizes and include more sounds in their instruction methods.

Long Term Effect of Phonetic Instruction on the Production of /p/ by EFL Arab Learners: An Exploratory Study

Most previous studies, that have examined the effect of explicit pronunciation instruction on foreign language speech, have focused on the short term effect of explicit pronunciation instruction, usually measured immediately after instruction. For this reason, it is not yet clear whether the attested benefit from pronunciation instruction can be sustained for a long time after instruction. The current study attempted to explore the long term effect of phonetic instruction on the production of the English bilabial voiceless stop /p/ by Arab learners of English as foreign language (EFL, henceforth). Nine Arab EFL learners were assigned to two groups, control and experimental. The experimental group received phonetic instruction on how to produce the English sound /p/, whereas the control group did not. The production of the English sound /p/ was elicited from all the learners in both groups, once before the instruction and once after 11 weeks of the instruction. Two experienced native English instructors were asked to judge whether the students produced /p/ or /b/. The results generally showed no benefit from the phonetic instruction on the delayed production of /p/ by the EFL Arab learners. Although the results do not seem encouraging for pronunciation instruction, it is difficult to reach a conclusion with regard to pronunciation instruction due to the small sample size used in the current exploratory study, and to the difficulty to generalize the results on /p/ to all other sounds. Future studies may use larger sample sizes and include more sounds in their instruction methods.

Spelling Errors Made by Arab Learners of English

Writing is a pivotal system that transfers spoken utterances from being heard to being seen and read. Literacy is appraised not only by reading and writing accurately, but also spelling words correctly. Pedagogically speaking, second language learners (L2) may struggle in their English writing more than first language speakers (L1) due to different reasons. Even among L2 learners, it is believed that Arab learners struggle with English spelling more than any other non-native speakers. This paper, therefore, is an attempt to review recent research and literature on the spelling errors made by Arab learners. In addition, a small experimental study of intermediate high school Saudi students aged 17-18 years old (n = 26) is implemented in a context that has not been explored yet. All participating students were tested before taking part in the study. The results of this study are consistent with previous research, which found that spelling errors made by Arab learners are associated with the impact of their L1. The most common spelling errors are consonant doubling, silent letters, final [e] and vowels in general. It is, thus, indispensable for Arab instructors and stakeholders to scrutinize this dilemma explicitly.

Effects of help options in a multimedia listening environment on L2 vocabulary acquisition

ABSTRACTSeveral types of help options have been incorporated into reading and listening comprehension activities to aid second language (L2) vocabulary acquisition. Textbook authors, teachers, and sometimes even students may pick and choose which help options they wish to use. In this paper, I investigate the effects of two help options in a multimedia listening environment (annotated captioned animation versus annotated transcript animation) on L2 vocabulary acquisition. Thirty-four Arab learners of English as a foreign language watched and listened to an animated story under any one of the following conditions: (1) annotations + captions + animation (ACA) and (2) annotations + transcripts+ animation (ATA). After viewing the story, the participants received a vocabulary posttest (i.e., L2 spelling) and posttest of translating Arabic words into the target language (L2 form recall). These tests were readministered five weeks after the treatment. The results revealed that the ACA and ATA groups performed significantly better on both L2 vocabulary spelling and L2 vocabulary recall in posttest and delayed test treatments than on L2 vocabulary spelling and recall in the pretest treatments. No significant difference was observed between the ACA and ATA groups in terms of vocabulary posttests. However, the ACA group slightly outscored the ATA group in the long-term L2 form recall tests (i.e., delayed tests). The results suggest that both types (i.e., ACA and ATA) help improve L2 vocabulary acquisition, whereas ACA surpasses ATA in aiding L2 vocabulary acquisition over a long term. In light of these findings, pedagogical implications to teachers, learners, and curricula designers are discussed.

The Pragmalinguistic Competence in Requests: A Comparison between One Native and Two Non-native Speakers of English

Speech acts are a very important part of pragmatics in any language. There are many types of acts (e.g., request, complain, question, etc.) associated with the speaker’s utterances. Searle (1972) calls production of linguistic communication ‘a speech act’ (137). The present study examines how two Arab learners of English at two levels of proficiency modify requests compared to a native speaker. The performances by the three informants were compared in terms of internal modification (lexical and phrasal downgraders) and external modification (supportive moves) used. The data were collected by means of a Discourse Completion Test (DCT). Overall, the results revealed that although the advanced-level learner outperformed the intermediate-level learner in using lexical and syntactic mitigators, both learners underuse internal and external modifiers compared to the native speaker. This study addressed three questions that are associated with three directional hypotheses: Hypothesis 1, intermediate or advanced learners of a second language underuse internal modifiers compared to L2 native speakers. Hypothesis 2, advanced learners could vary the syntactic form of the request while the intermediate learners relied heavily on modals and the politeness marker 'please'. Hypothesis 3, second language learners have been said to display verbose pragmatic behavior by producing frequent and lengthy supportive moves (Hassel, 2001).