Classroom Environmental Factors Research Articles

Analysis of Classroom Environmental Factors and Teaching Strategies for Foreign Language Learning Anxiety

With the advent of humanistic psychology, there has been an increasing emphasis in English language instruction on the influence of emotional factors on the learning process. Among these factors, anxiety has gained recognition as a prominent affective disorder in the context of language learning. Recognizing the significant detriment caused by "environmental anxiety" to English learners, this paper endeavors to investigate the anxiety arising from various environmental factors within the classroom. Specifically, it examines language anxiety resulting from the teacher-student relationship, peer interaction, and teaching materials. Moreover, this paper provides three recommendations aimed at mitigating anxiety levels in these areas: cultivating a harmonious teacher-student relationship, organizing group activities, and selecting appropriate teaching content. These measures are intended to help educators foster a more conducive learning environment.

The Relationship between Group Dynamics and Learners’ Willingness to Communicate amongst Female EFL Students in a Saudi University

The willingness to communicate (WTC) is of significant importance to the development of communication in second language learning. The present study investigated the relationship between group dynamics (GD) and learners’ WTC. A mixed-methods approach involving a questionnaire and semi-structured interviews was utilized to collect data. The participants were 256 female preparatory year students from the science track at a public university in Saudi Arabia. Eight of these students also participated in the interviews. The findings revealed that there was a significant positive correlation between learners’ perceived WTC and GD. Moreover, the perceived WTC of learners from level 1 was significantly different from that of learners from levels 2 and 3. The qualitative analysis revealed a set of GD factors that influence the participants’ WTC. These factors were organized into three main themes that included nine subthemes. These themes are classmates-related factors, classroom environment factors, and teacher-related factors. The study also suggested some potential implications that can increase GD, which can contribute to enhancing learners’ WTC.

Influence of Classroom Environment on the Academic Performance of Students in English Language

The classroom environment plays a pivotal role in the academic performance and engagement of students, particularly in the realm of English language learning. This study explored the perceived influence of various classroom environmental factors on the academic performance of students in English language. Factors such as the physical environment, teacher-student interactions, peer interactions, teaching strategies, and assessment techniques were examined. A mixed-method approach, encompassing surveys and focus group discussions, were employed to gather perceptions from both students and teachers in a diverse urban secondary school. The findings suggest that a conducive physical environment, positive interpersonal relations, innovative teaching strategies, and fair assessment practices significantly impact students’ motivation and performance in English language. Recommendations for improving the classroom environment to foster better language acquisition and academic performance were made. This study contributes to the broader understanding of how the classroom environment shapes the learning experiences and academic outcomes of students in the context of English language education.

Transitioning from school to university: a person-oriented approach to understanding first-year students’ classroom engagement in higher education

ABSTRACT The first year at university is critical to students’ later academic development. The first year, however, is also the time when students are most vulnerable to disengagement and dropout. Therefore, identifying students most at risk of disengagement as well as the classroom environment factors that drive or undermine student classroom engagement in the first year plays a crucial role in preventing dropout in later years. This study makes a contribution in this regard by taking a person-oriented approach to discovering profiles of students with different configurations of classroom engagement and examining the classroom factors that determine the classification of students into such profiles. Latent profile analysis of self-report data from 413 first-year university students in Vietnam reveals three profiles of student engagement, namely highly engaged (N = 75), moderately engaged (N = 230), and minimally engaged (N = 108). Multinomial logistic regressions further reveal three classroom environment factors including peer support, provision of choice, and task relevance that predict the likelihood of student membership in the three profiles. The study findings offer useful implications for the development of instructional strategies and the manipulation of classroom environment factors that have potential to promote first-year student engagement in the classroom.

Exploring the Factors Affecting Saudi University Students’ In-Class Willingness to Communicate in English

This study explores perceptions of Saudi university students about the factors that affect their in-class willingness to communicate (WTC) in English. The study is conducted using a qualitative research approach. The sample of the study comprises 30 EFL students enrolled in the Preparatory Year programme at the Northern Border University (NBU) in Arar City, kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). The data were collected through in-depth semi-structured interviews and then analyzed using a thematic content analysis. The results revealed that there are 19 factors affecting the students’ in-class WTC in English which can be categorized into three main themes that are learner-related factors (e.g., self-perceived communication competence, fear of making mistakes, fear of being laughed at, feeling of shyness, lack of confidence, being afraid of public speaking, previous communication experience), affective factors (e.g., motivation, second language communicative anxiety, evaluation apprehension), and classroom environment factors (e.g., topic interest, topic familiarity, instructional methods, instructional materials, time, classroom apprehension, instructor, class size, classmates). The study concludes with some pedagogical implications for EFL practitioners about L2 learners’ in-class participation in the target language and provides some insights for the improving the learning experience of English as a foreign language.

An investigation into the relationship between willingness to communicate and classroom environment in a Turkish EFL context

Theories of second/foreign language (L2) learning attach great significance to meaningful communication both inside and outside the language classrooms. In this respect, it is vital that language learners use the target language. However, they substantially differ from one another with regard to how much they talk. This difference has been partly justified by willingness to communicate (WTC) in the second/foreign language. Over the past years, WTC and its relation with a number of social, personal and affective factors have been researched in various settings. Nonetheless, little research has been carried out to investigate L2 WTC in speaking inside the classrooms, specifically in Turkey. Besides, though language classrooms are the main platforms for the majority of learners, WTC has gone unnoticed in conjunction with classroom environmental factors thus far. Thus, this study aimed at investigating Turkish preparatory school students’ WTC levels, their perceptions of language classrooms and the relationship between the two variables. In addition to that, gender differences were investigated to find out how male and female students differ in terms of their WTC and their perceptions of classroom environments. To these ends, two different questionnaires were employed. The results unraveled that the students were somewhat willing to communicate in English. Besides, regarding classroom environments, the students reported having positive perceptions. As for gender, females were found slightly more willing to communicate than their male counterparts; however, no significant difference was obtained concerning perceptions of classroom environments. Lastly, correlation analyses indicated that the level of L2 WTC was significantly and strongly related to the classroom environment. In other words, the more positively the students perceive their language classrooms, the more willing they are to communicate.

Relationship between Willingness to Communicate in English and Classroom Environment among Libyan EFL Learners

Oral communication skills can be regarded as core and significant skills in foreign language learning. English language teaching (ELT) educators have always been concerned with finding appropriate ways that can help English as a foreign or second language learners (EFL/ESL) to improve their oral communication skills. Such skills are closely related to the learners’ willingness to communicate (WTC). Currently, researchers in ELT have focused their attention on the significance of classroom environmental factors in developing learners’ WTC. Therefore, this study examines the association between classroom environmental factors and Libyan EFL students’ WTC. The results of the descriptive analysis indicated that the individual’s level of WTC and classroom environment among Libyan EFL students is at a moderate level. Analysis using correlations indicated a positive relationship between WTC, students’ cohesiveness, and task orientation. Multiple regressions analysis revealed that only students’ cohesiveness and task orientation were significant predictors of WTC. However, for teacher support, there was no apparent correlation and prediction relationship between teacher’s support and learners’ WTC. The study has implications for EFL university instructors and the academic authorities who are concerned with enhancing the oral communication skills of undergraduate students and enable them to become better communicators in the future.

Physical classroom environment affects students’ satisfaction: Attitude and quality as mediators

Boosting student satisfaction with courses is undoubtedly a key challenge for higher education institutions. Our research was designed to understand better the role of the physical classroom environment, attitude toward the course, and perception of the quality of the course in forming student satisfaction with the course. Responses to paper-based surveys were collected during classes from students majoring in hospitality and tourism in 5 high-level universities in South Korea. We analyzed 401 responses by using a series of multiple regression analyses based on forward selection. The results showed that air quality, odor, noise, and equipment/amenity are essential physical classroom environment factors in determining attitude, perception of quality, and satisfaction. Attitude toward the course completely mediates the effect of odor on satisfaction, and quality partially mediates the impact of equipment/amenity on satisfaction. Overall, in this study we identified the salient role of certain features of the classroom physical environment in building students’ satisfaction with a course via attitudes toward, and evaluation of the quality of the course.

A CONCEPTUAL ENVIRONMENTAL SETTINGS TO SIMULATE CLASSROOM DYNAMICS USING AGENT-BASED SOCIAL SIMULATION

A variety of interactive teaching strategies are crucial in maintaining students’ engagement throughout a lesson. However, the development of effective strategies takes a great deal of time and effort. Many teaching strategies have been proposed by researchers to improve students’ engagement in a classroom. However, researchers have not discussed the applicability of proposed strategies on different environmental settings. In other words, they overlooked some potential influential Environmental Factors. Therefore, in this paper, we highlight several classroom environmental factors that should be considered by researchers before deploying a teaching strategy. We propose a conceptual agent-based social simulation method to simulate classroom dynamics in demonstrating the environmental settings that would produce the most suitable teaching strategy to help academicians to improve their students’ classroom engagement. Environmental Setting; Environmental Attributes; Student Engagement;, Teaching Strategies; Agent-based Social Simulation

An Examination of Physical Education Teachers’ Perceptions of Utilizing Contemporary Music in the Classroom Environment: A Qualitative Approach

Objectives: To provide further information regarding physical education (PE) teachers’ perceptions of incorporating music in PE lessons and to evaluate the influence of music on the classroom environment using a qualitative approach. Method: Electronic survey interviews were conducted with 26 veteran PE instructors (10 male, 16 female), from 7 states and 24 schools (7 elementary schools, 15 middle schools, 4 high schools). Participant teaching experience ranged from 1 to 25 years. Results: Analyses of interview transcripts revealed four major themes concerning the use of music in the PE environment: (1) classroom management, (2) student learning, (3) class climate, and (4) music as a motivational tool. Two repeating themes within the major theme of classroom management were the assistance of music in starting and stopping class activities. Other classroom environmental factors within the major themes of student learning, class climate, and music as a motivational tool were specific to student focus, the predilection of contemporary music by students in the classroom, and perceived increased motivation in classroom activities by students, respectively. Conclusions: Study findings point to the fact PE teachers find music as a helpful tool to assist in class activities. Incorporated during class activities, music may help to create a positive class climate, serving as a tool to help PE teachers manage students and keep them on task. Subscribe to TPE

Environment matters: exploring the relationships between the classroom environment and college students’ affect in mathematics learning in China

This study explored the relationships between Chinese college students’ perceptions of the classroom environment and some affective aspects in the study of mathematics. A total of 2529 students responded to three measures that were specifically designed to assess college students’ perceptions of the mathematics classroom environment, their emotional experiences and values of studying mathematics. Comparatively, the students had a higher score on the value of mathematics but lower scores on their emotional experiences of mathematics learning, and the characteristics of the classroom environment had some significant effects on the students’ emotional experiences and values of studying mathematics. The eight classroom environmental factors were categorised into three groups according to the nature and extent of their effects on students’ affect in mathematics learning. Although most classroom environmental factors had a positive impact on college students’ emotional experiences and values in the study of mathematics, the effects of two environmental factors, the difficulty of studying mathematics and teacher support, were of particular interest. Given these results, instructors are encouraged to leave more room for student autonomy, to adopt some innovative learning approaches to promote student collaboration and to pay close attention to the difficulty of the mathematics curricula and competition among students.

Academic achievement at the cost of ambition: The mixed results of a supportive, interactive environment on socially anxious teenagers

Social anxiety impacts functional impairment in several life domains; in children, the most notable effect is a decline in academic performance. Socially anxious children report that communicating with peers and teachers, as well as public speaking are their biggest fears in academic settings. Prior research has shown that these children attribute a lack of academic achievement to difficulties communicating interpersonally or publicly. For apprehensive children, many resources are devoted to interventions at the individual level, with little consideration given to their environment — the classroom. The current study examined the association between communication apprehension, social features of the classroom environment, and academic outcomes — current achievement and future ambitions. Three out of four classroom environmental factors (promoting interaction, promoting respect, and teacher support) buffered the negative effects of communication apprehension on current academic achievement. Interestingly, these same factors increased the negative effects of communication apprehension on future academic ambition (intentions to attend college). Implications for the mixed results of a classroom environment that encourages communication are discussed.

Exploring dynamism in willingness to communicate

This paper examines dynamism in students’ situational willingness to communicate (WTC) within a second language classroom. This longitudinal study involved twelve English as a Second Language (ESL) participants who enrolled in an English for Academic Purposes (EAP) programme in New Zealand for five months. Based on data from classroom observations, stimulated-recall interviews and reflective journals, the in-depth analysis of a case study reveals that learners’ situational WTC in second language (L2) classes could fluctuate and dynamically change over time. This involved a process where situational WTC was jointly affected by learners’ cognitive condition and linguistic factors, together with classroom environmental factors. The in-depth qualitative analysis of a single case in individual lessons allowed us to see the dynamic nature of WTC.

Physics classroom environment factors and students' achievement in physics: the Nigerian experience

Physics classroom environment factors and students' achievement in physics: the Nigerian experience

Negative Effects of Traditional Middle Schools on Students' Motivation

We discuss the decline in early adolescents' academic motivation after the transition to middle grade schools and review work on how school and classroom environments in traditional middle grade schools could be responsible for these declines. We suggest that there is often a mismatch between characteristics of the classroom environment in traditional middle grade schools and early adolescents' developmental level. We present results of a comprehensive longitudinal study examining the influence of school and classroom environmental factors such as teacher discipline and control practices, teacher-student relations, opportunities for student decision making, teachers' sense of efficacy, and between-classroom ability grouping on student motivation. In general, results indicated that middle grade school math teachers, in comparison to sixth-grade elementary school teachers, control students more, provide them fewer decision-making opportunities, and feel less efficacious. Between-classroom ability grouping a...

Student Perceptions of Preferred Classroom Learning Environment

This study involved administration of several preferred classroom environment measures as well as an actual environment measure on a sample of 1,675 students from 18 schools in New South Wales, Australia. Whereas preferred classroom environment was measured with short forms of the My Class Inventory , Classroom Environment Scale, and Individualized Classroom Environment Questionnaire, actual environment was assessed with the Quality of School Life questionnaire. Data were analyzed in five different ways to answer various types of questions. First, a set of analyses attested to the high reliability of all the environment scales. Second a maximum likelihood factor analysis suggested that there are four distinct groups of classroom environment scales, which were labeled tentatively as “Preference for Peer Conflict,” “Preference for Individualization,” “Preference for Teacher-Managed Structure,” and “Actual Environment.” Third, a cluster analysis revealed three distinct typologies of schools, which were called “Self-Survival,” “Indifferent,” and “Cooperative and Motivated.” Fourth, a multivariate analysis of variance revealed some interesting grade level and gender differences in students’ learning environment perceptions. Fifth, some associations between student achievement and classroom environment factors were found.