Development Of EFL Learners Research Articles

Effect of Using Computer–Mediated Corrective Feedback in Developing EFL Learners' Grammar Performance.

Effect of Using Computer–Mediated Corrective Feedback in Developing EFL Learners' Grammar Performance.

Developing EFL Learners' Autonomy in Speaking English: An Investigation Into Teachers’ Support at a University in the Mekong Delta

Learner autonomy (LA) has been concentrated in the Vietnamese educational context for more than two decades as it equips learners the capacity for lifelong learning. For the EFL tertiary context, students encounter various challenges practicing language skills, especially English speaking, because of lacking the language environment (Huyen & Cang, 2021). As the importance of LA and students’ English speaking skills in language learning, this study aims at exploring what EFL teachers support to develop LA in speaking English. The study using a mix-method approach was conducted at a university in the Mekong Delta with the participation of 12 EFL teachers. To gain insights into teachers’ support to develop LA in speaking English, a questionnaire, recording observations and a semi-structured interview were used to collect data from the participants. The result indicated that the teachers positively supported their learners by offering choices of relevant information belonging to English speaking topics delivered, implementing class discussion and group work activities, encouraging them to self-evaluate and emphasizing the importance of LA in speaking development.

Panel Discussions: Skilled Communication And Knowledge Construction to Develop EFL Learners’ Speaking Performance

The poor speaking performance is a big obstacle for EFL learners to communicate and to construct knowledge. The main aim of the study was to find out how panel discussion can be implemented to develop EFL learners’ speaking performance. In panel discussion, students need to understand the topic and to construct knowledge by gathering information and deeply engaged in learning. The study followed action research methodology where data was gathered from an in-depth interview and Test of Spoken English (TSE), collected from 18 students in Universitas Muhammadiyah Jember. The speaking score was better than before the implementation of panel discussion, as seen from the mean score in TSE (64.63 in Preliminary to 70.93 in Cycle 1). The highest achievement made is in the aspects of vocabulary (67% better). Panel discussion can significantly improve speaking because the process of knowledge construction stimulates students to have extended and multimodal communication.

Contributions of E-Portfolios Assessment to Developing EFL Learners’ Vocabulary, Motivation, and Attitudes

A great deal of studies have explored the effects of electronic-portfolios (e - portfolios) on various measures of language learning, including writing and speaking in English. However, the effects of e-portfolios on vocabulary, motivation, and attitudes of EFL learners have remained unexplored. Thus, this study aimed at disclosing the effects of e-portfolios on Afghani EFL learners’ vocabulary, motivation, and attitudes. For this purpose, after homogenizing, a total of 100 EFL male learners were selected and randomly assigned to an experimental group (n = 50) and a control group (n = 50). Afterward, they went through pretest, interventions, and posttest procedures. The interventions lasted 18 one-hour sessions held twice a week where the experimental group was trained through e-portfolios (Mahara: the electronic portfolio software) and the control group was trained using conventional methods. The collected data were analyzed through running an independent-sample t-test and calculating mean and percent. Results evidenced that the experimental group outperformed the control group concerning their gains of vocabulary knowledge on the posttest. Additionally, the findings documented that there was a statistically significant difference between the two groups in terms of motivation at the end of the interventions. Furthermore, the findings indicated that the participants had very positive attitudes toward the e-portfolios. The study concludes by offering some implications for relevant stakeholders and opening some windows for further research.

The Interface Between Metacognitive Strategy Training and Locus of Control in Developing EFL Learners’ Listening Comprehension Skill

This study investigated the effects of metacognitive listening strategy instruction (MLSI) and learners’ locus of control orientation on the listening comprehension of EFL learners. 100 EFL students at the University of Zanjan and Imam Khomeini International University of Qazvin were randomly chosen. The participants were randomly assigned to an experimental group (N = 50) and a control group (N = 50). The experimental group received 10 weeks of treatment including 10 sessions of metacognitive listening strategy training. Both groups took the Metacognitive Awareness Listening Questionnaire and Rotter’s Internal-External Locus of Control Scale before the treatment sessions. Then, they took the listening pre-test and after the treatment, the listening post-test was administered and the required data was obtained. The findings revealed that MLSI had a significant impact on the learners’ listening comprehension for the learners with internal LoC; However, external LoC did not have any significant moderating effect on listening comprehension ability. Pedagogical implications are suggested for an EFL teaching/learning context.

Developing EFL learners’ syntactic complexity in writing: The role of eTandem communication

A large body of research has investigated ways of measuring and assessing syntactic complexity in learners’ writing, particularly for the purpose of determining the growth in their syntactic complexity. However, little such research has focused on technological ways of improving learners’ syntactic complexity in second language writing, and to date there has been no considerable effort in examining technological means to improve learners’ syntactic complexity in writing. This article investigates the use of eTandem communication on improving learners’ syntactic complexity in writing, and how the development of syntactic complexity could affect the accuracy and quality of their writing. The participants of the study were 100 undergraduate students who were divided into two groups. The experimental eTandem group involved interaction with native speakers, and the control group was made up of students interacting with non-native speakers (face-to-face, peer communication). The participants’ writing samples were analysed using measures that are theoretically motivated by previous research. The results show considerable improvement in syntactic complexity for the experimental group. They also showed improvement in the accuracy and quality of their writing. The implications for writing and syntactic complexity research are considered.

Developing EFL Learners’ Ability in Writing Report Text through Mind Mapping Technique

Mind mapping technique is one of the techniques that are very helpful in writing activities and is considered effective and able to help develop the ability of EFL learners in writing report text. This study aims to describe the development of the ability of EFL learners in writing report text through mind mapping technique. The research method in this study is qualitative research with a library research approach, where the researcher collects, analyzes, and reviews scientific journals or previous studies, which are then described and made a conclusion. The results showed that mind mapping was able to help in developing the ability of EFL learners in writing report text, especially in the content aspect, also mind mapping technique is considered very effective in helping to teach writing. Thus, it can be concluded that developing the ability of EFL learners in writing report text through mind mapping technique is very useful and effective in its use. So this study suggests EFL teachers be able to implement mind mapping technique in writing report text.

“Youtube Go”: Developing EFL Learners’ Listening Skills and Social Learning Process

The sophisticated advance in digital technology, one of which is YouTube Go, has not specifically fully significantly affected the EFL learners’ English Listening enhancement and other required critical skills accompanying it. The fact is, to this day, YouTube has not yet become the most critical learning medium in the Listening Comprehension instructional program. Therefore, the study, whose paradigm employed qualitative research, aimed at diagnosing the benefits of taking YouTube Go as a major listening comprehension instructional resource. Personal journal, observation as a complete participant, and informal interviews were techniques for collecting the qualitative data. Organizing, interpreting, and conclusion drawing were ways of analyzing the data. Credibility and audibility were ensured to examine the data. The findings indicated that YouTube Go improves students’ linguistic inputs, vocabulary knowledge, productive skills, and debating skills. Besides, it develops the students’ appreciative, discriminative, comprehension, attentive, reflection, critical, evaluative, dialogic, relationship, empathetic, therapeutic, sympathetic listening skills. It also establishes the teacher-learners and students learners' social and interaction skills, learning skills, literacy skills, and life skills. It encourages teachers to assess the students’ knowledge and skills authentically. In conclusion, YouTube Go extensively enhances the students’ language skills, listening skills, social skills, and social learning process.

Assessing the Effects of Gamification on Developing EFL Learners’ Idiomatic Knowledge: Do Attitudinal Factors Contribute to the Learning of the Idioms with the Game?

Regarding the attractiveness of educational games for EFL learners, the present research intended to investigate the effects of gamification on improving Iranian EFL learners’ idiomatic knowledge. In addition, the current research examined the attitudes of Iranian EFL learners towards using gamification in English learning in the Iranian EFL context. Firstly, to carry out this research, the researchers administered the Oxford Quick Placement Test (OQPT) to 84 Iranian EFL learners and selected 50 upper-intermediate participants. Secondly, they divided the selected participants into an experimental group (EG) and a control group (CG). Thirdly, the researchers gave an idiom pretest to the participants of both groups to assess their idiomatic knowledge before starting the treatment. Fourthly, the EG was taught the new idioms using game-based instruction, while the CG received traditional idiom instruction. Following the instruction of 70 idioms to both groups, the participants received an idiom posttest to determine the influence of the treatment on their idiomatic knowledge. The EG was then provided an attitude questionnaire, and 15 members of the EG were interviewed as a result of the questionnaire. In the idiom posttest, the data were evaluated using paired samples and independent samples t -tests, and the findings revealed that the EG performed significantly better than the CG on the posttest of idioms. In fact, gamification helped EFL learners develop their idiomatic knowledge. The results indicated that Iranian EFL learners presented positive attitudes toward gamification in learning English idioms. In addition, the results revealed that enjoyment, fun, reducing anxiety, involvement, and immediate feedback were the factors that the students mentioned for the instructional games. The implications of this research can encourage English teachers to implement different educational games in their teaching.

Relative effects of focus on form versus focus on forms on learning the second conditional in English

While previous research has found beneficial effects for form-focused instruction (FFI), there is still contention over the relative effectiveness of different types of FFI. This study investigated the effects of focus on form (FonF) and focus on forms (FonFs), as two FFI options, on developing EFL learners’ explicit and implicit knowledge of the English present unreal conditional. Learning was measured through two testing devices: discrete-point items and oral interviews. The results indicated that while both FonF and FonFs were effective in developing the learners’ explicit and implicit knowledge in both the short and long terms, they differed in the extent to which they fostered these types of knowledge. FonF was found to be more effective in developing the learners’ implicit knowledge, whereas FonFs was more beneficial in fostering their explicit knowledge. Moreover, it was found that time had a role in consolidation of the form in the FonF group.

The Effects of a Shadowing Activity Using Movies on Korean EFL College Learners’ Speaking Skills and Their Affective Attitudes

The present study investigated the effects of a shadowing activity using movies on Korean EFL college students’ speaking skills and their affective attitudes. Over a semester, a total of 138 students participated in the study and they were assigned to an experimental group (n = 71) and a control group (n = 67). According to language proficiency, the participants in the experimental group were assigned to advanced, intermediate, and beginner-level groups. Over a semester, all the experimental groups engaged in a shadowing activity once a week while the control group participated in a traditional speaking activity. To collect data, both 1) pre- and post-speaking tests and 2) pre- and post-questionnaires on affective attitudes were conducted. The results showed that the shadowing activity is more effective than the traditional speaking activity in terms of increasing speaking proficiency. In addition, there was a statistically significant improvement in speaking proficiency of both the intermediate and beginner-level groups while there was no statistically significant difference in the advanced level group’s speaking proficiency. Furthermore, the shadowing activity significantly improved the confidence, interest, and motivation level of the experimental group. Based on the findings, it is suggested that this shadowing activity using movies can be an effective tool to develop EFL learners’ speaking skills and improve their affective attitudes.

The Effect of Using Dicto-Gloss as a While-Listening Activity for Listening Comprehension Development of EFL Learners

The present study aimed to investigate the effects of using dicto-gloss as a while-listening activity for improving EFL learners’ listening comprehension in Iran. To fulfill the objectives of the study, 80 high school female students were selected using a random sampling method, and they took the Oxford Quick Placement Test (OQPT). A total of 40 students whose scores fell between 1 SD below and above the mean were selected and randomly assigned to the experimental group and control group. Then, the groups went through a pretest, intervention (lasted 10 sessions, held once a week), and posttest procedure. The collected scores were analyzed using an independent sample t-test. The findings revealed that the experimental group outperformed the control group. The results indicated that using dicto-gloss as a while-listening activity can improve significantly the Iranian EFL learners’ listening comprehension. The study ends with offering some implications.

Developing Speaking Skills on EFL Learners through Biography-Driven Instructional Strategies

This mixed-method case study evaluated the effectiveness of Biography Driven Instructional (BDI) strategies in developing EFL learners’ speaking skill. The participants of the study included 23 students from a high school in Loja, south of Ecuador. Data were collected through interviews as pre and post tests and a focus group. Findings from descriptive and inferential analysis show a statistically significant difference in pre-post speaking tests and participants’ perceptions revealed that the use of these strategies had a positive effect on their oral skills. It was concluded that BDI strategies were found to be beneficial to improve EFL learners’ speaking performance after the integration of these tools in the classroom. Implications for teaching and future BDI application are also discussed. Keywords: Biography-Driven Instruction, BDI strategies, speaking skills, EFL learners DOI: 10.7176/JEP/13-3-01 Publication date: January 31 st 2022

Effects of Digital Stories on the Development of EFL Learners’ Listening Skill

The purpose of this research was to investigate the effects of digital storytelling on listening skills of language learners and their attitudes towards the use of digital storytelling. 64 secondary school students whose degrees were 6th and 7th grade participated in the study. The study was conducted in Adana, Turkey during the fall semester of the academic year 2020-2021. Quasi-experimental design with pretest-posttest control group was employed for the research. Listening comprehension achievement test and learners’ attitude scale were the data collection tools of the research. The results of the study revealed that participants had statistically significant differences in their listening skills improvement and test group had higher competency in listening activities compared to the control group. The findings also provided additional information about learners’ attitudes towards digital storytelling listening activities, including their motivation level and thoughts. Students’ attitudes towards digital storytelling were positive and their motivation was significantly higher.

Developing EFL Learners’ Intercultural Sensitivity Through Computer-Mediated Peer Interaction

ABSTRACT This study investigated whether online communication among learners from different cultural backgrounds mediates Iranian EFL learners’ intercultural sensitivity (IS) development. To this end, two experimental and one control groups, and a group of intercultural speakers participated in the study. Each Iranian group consisted of 15 EFL learners who were university students majoring in English language and Literature at upper-intermediate and advanced levels of proficiency. The intercultural group consisted of 4 non-native English speakers of differing cultural backgrounds. The first experimental group engaged in intercultural discussions with intercultural speakers, while the second experimental group took part in in-person cultural discussions with their peers. Learners in the control group discussed general topics with their peers. Intercultural Sensitivity Scale (ISS) was used to evaluate IS of the participants prior and after the completion of the study. Findings revealed the outperformance of the first experimental group in IS. However, no significant difference was found between the control and second experimental groups in their interaction engagement, interaction confidence, and interaction attentiveness. Implications of the study are discussed in the paper.

“It’s of no value compared to your value”

Abstract In the present study, we attempt to develop EFL learners’ metapragmatic awareness of English compliments, which still remains an under-researched issue. Initially, we conducted a cross-sectional survey with intermediate-level Iranian EFL learners, Persian and British English native speakers. Although the analysis of the language learners’ realization of compliments and responses to compliments seemed to indicate that their pragmatic development was overall adequate, it also suggested the influence of the native socio-pragmatic schema on their pragmatic performance. We therefore undertook a pragmatic instruction aimed at developing the EFL learners’ metapragmatic awareness of complimenting. The results suggested that through discussion, analysis, small-scale research, and reflections on the native and target pragmalinguistic and socio-pragmatic complimenting conventions the learners were developing metapragmatic awareness. Finally, we make recommendations for more effective pragmatic teaching in EFL contexts.

DEVELOPING VOCABULARY OF EFL LEARNERS THROUGH SHORT-STORIES

It is irrefutable that vocabulary plays an important role in the academic life of EFL learners. This is because foreign language learners' lack of vocabulary significantly impairs other language skills. So David Wilkins [26, 111] said, “It is almost impossible to convey without grammar. You can't convey anything without vocabulary.” Therefore, teaching and learning vocabulary in a foreign language classroom is a very important place. In doing so, a variety of methods and strategies are used to develop the vocabulary of EFL learners. However, the success of the methodology, strategy, or material used will depend on the nature of the material and the EFL learner's perception of that methodology, strategy, and material. In that regard, this thesis seeks to investigate the role of short stories in the vocabulary development of EFL learners.

Developing EFL Learners’ Speaking Fluency: Use of Practical Techniques

his research explores the role of concept mapping and speech repetition in developing EFL learners' oral fluency. Eighty language learners, after passing an in-house placement test, were randomly assigned into two equal experimental groups. The data analyses demonstrated that both groups' oral fluency significantly improved when they were trained to apply concept mapping and 4/3/2 technique. It was argued that concept mapping helps them take a more active role to effectively organize the concepts, plan their tasks, and monitor their activities. Besides, repetition techniques may lead to linguistic proceduralization and automaticity which results in positive changes in underlying cognitive mechanisms and ultimately contributes to long-term and transferrable effects on speaking fluency. Furthermore, a semi-structured interview was run to triangulate the data. This paper discusses some implications for instructors and educators.

A Systematic Overview of Issues for Developing EFL Learners’ Oral English Communication Skills

The objective of this systematic review is to present a critical overview of current studies to explore issues such as the factors causing EFL learners’ poor oral performance and the teaching and assessment methods of oral English communication skills (OECSs) for developing tertiary level learners’ OECSs in EFL contexts. For this purpose, 51 empirical studies of the 2907 retrieved from SpringerLink, SCOPUS, Web of Science, and the Google Scholar database that were published between 2010 and 2019 in different EFL contexts were analyzed. This study followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-analyses (PRISMA) guidelines and was analyzed thematically using NVIVO 12, followed by the Mendeley reference management software. Studies that were conducted in native English contexts and non-empirical studies were excluded from consideration for this study. The findings showed that the environmental factor was the primary factor for learners’ poor OECS performance in EFL contexts. For the method of teaching and assessment of learners’ OECSs, the use of technology is rapidly increasing in different EFL contexts. This study suggests some implications for both future researchers and academics for developing EFL learners’ oral English communication skills dealing with environmental, psychological, and linguistic factors along with teaching and learning resources at the tertiary level in EFL contexts.

Translanguaging in the development of EFL learners’ foreign language skills in Turkish context

ABSTRACT This study investigates the potential impact of translanguaging pedagogy on EFL learners’ four language skills, as well as their perceptions towards its in-class implementation as a pedagogy. The study was conducted for 10 weeks with 60 pre-intermediate and 60 upper-intermediate students at a high school in the north of Turkey. In each group, half of the students were assigned as the experimental group, while the other half as the control group. The experimental groups were subject to a 10- week (40 h of teaching) of translanguaging pedagogy, whereas one of the control groups was taught through grammar-translation methods, while the other, through communicative language approach. In the study, the quasi-experimental mixed methods design was employed. The analysis of a paired-sample t-test and one-way analysis of ANCOVA indicated that translanguaging played an effective role in improving students’ four English language skills. Semi-structured interviews revealed that the students reported constructive, cognitive, interactive, and affective benefits through translanguaging pedagogy since they were able to draw upon all the linguistic resources for meaning-making and negotiation, a sense of comfort, and a sense of motivation to use English. We offer implications for teachers and teacher educators regarding the role of translanguaging in teaching English.