Effect Of EFL Learners Research Articles

Effects of EFL Learners’ Perceived Social Support on Academic Burnout: The Mediating Role of Interaction Engagement

Social support is a significant environmental factor predicting academic burnout, but the underlying mechanism of structural relationship between these two variables needs further verification. Students’ perceived social support in the higher education environment is mainly from their teachers and peers. Taking 352 non-English undergraduates as respondents, this article explored the relationship between EFL learners’ perceived support from their teachers and peers, interaction engagement and academic burnout. Correlation analysis and structural equation modeling were employed to analyze the data collected through an online questionnaire survey. The research results showed that (1) Social support is negatively correlated with academic burnout; (2) Interaction engagement has a negative association with burnout; (3) Social support has a direct positive effect on interaction engagement; (4) Social support, mediated by interaction engagement, has an indirect effect on academic burnout. Understanding the above-mentioned mechanism that learners’ perceived support and interaction engagement influence academic burnout may be helpful for lessening academic burnout and improving performance in EFL leaning.

The Effects of EFL Learners’ Attitudes on Participation and Learning During Collaborative Writing

Despite the proliferation of research about pair/group interaction during second language col-laborative writing, little is known about how psychological factors, in particular learner attitude affect participation and learning in collaborative writing. This study primarily attempted to in-vestigate whether EFL learners’ attitudes toward collaborative writing influence their patterns of interaction and learning (reflected in languaging opportunities) during the writing process. To this end, pair talk was examined for the patterns of dyadic interaction and the quantity and quality of language-related episodes (LREs). Moreover, the study examined the texts produced using both quantitative and qualitative measures. The statistical analysis suggested that, com-pared with the pairs whose members held negative attitudes toward collaborative writing, the pairs with positive attitudes exhibited more collaborative patterns and generated substantially more LREs and more resolved LREs. As far as the outcome of pair work (i.e., collaborative writing) was concerned, the positive attitude pairs noticeably outperformed the negative attitude pairs on measures of fluency and accuracy. Also, they produced significantly better texts in terms of content, organization, grammar, and vocabulary. The study, therefore, sheds light on the ways that psychological factors can influence the collaborative writing process.

Effects of EFL Learners’ Perspectives on Online English Classes: Gender, Major, and Proficiency

This study explores the association between gender, major, language proficiency, and student perspectives toward an online educational setting. Participants included 366 university freshmen who attended ten general English courses in the spring semester of 2020. They took online courses featuring pre-recorded video lessons and synchronous classes via Zoom. They were divided by gender, by major into four groups, and by proficiency level totaling three groups to investigate whether there were significant differences between variables. The questionnaire was comprised of four different categories (closed-ended) and three open-ended items (benefits, drawbacks, and suggestions). According to the results of the questionnaire, gender and major had no effect on student perspectives toward online learning. However, statistically significant differences were found between the proficiency levels. Specifically, intermediate students are inclined to be more positive about online learning compared to beginners and advanced students. In conclusion, it can be noted that proficiency levels play an important part in student engagement and in attitudes toward online learning. Lastly, students mentioned that one of the advantages of online learning is students can repeatedly review online materials at their convenience, but identified non-immediate feedback, technical problems, and fewer opportunities for communication as disadvantages. Pedagogical implications and related future studies are suggested.

A Study on the Effects of Chinese EFL Learners’ English Proficiency and Involvement Load on Incidental Vocabulary Acquisition

The effects of EFL learners’ English proficiency and involvement load induced by tasks on incidental vocabulary acquisition are observed in this study. 163 students of non-English majors in a local university of China were divided into two groups of different English proficiency according to their scores of College English Test Band 4 (CET-4). The students in each group were randomly assigned one of three tasks (reading-for-comprehension, blank-filling, and writing) involving 10 target words. Fifteen minutes after they finished the task, they were required to take an immediate vocabulary test about the target words. Two weeks later, they were asked to take the same kind of vocabulary test to examine their delayed memory of the target words. All of the students did not know about the vocabulary tests beforehand. The results show that: in the process of immediate incidental vocabulary acquisition, both learners’ English proficiency and involvement load have a main effect on immediate memory, but the interactive effect of these two factors on incidental vocabulary acquisition is not significant; in the vocabulary retention test, learners’ English proficiency does not have a significant main effect on delayed memory, but the main effect of involvement load is still significant; at the same time, the interactive effect of these two factors is still not significant.

Effects of EFL Learners’ L2 Writing Self-efficacy on Engagement with Written Corrective Feedback

Research has indicated the integral role of self-efficacy in boosting learner engagement. Yet, little research on this issue has been conducted in the field of L2 writing. The purpose of this quantitative study is to explore how EFL learners’ L2 writing self-efficacy affects the level of their engagement with teacher and peer written corrective feedback (WCF). A sample comprising 227 Taiwanese senior high school students completed two questionnaires: the learner engagement with written corrective feedback scale and the L2 learners’ writing self-efficacy scale. The results showed that the participants self-reported a low-to-moderate level of L2 writing self-efficacy. In addition, when all three subtypes (i.e., ideation, conventions, and self-regulation) of L2 writing self-efficacy were taken into account, self-efficacy for writing self-regulation was the only variable with predictive power for learner engagement with teacher and peer written corrective feedback. The findings further our understanding of EFL learners’ L2 writing self-efficacy and of the under-researched topic of the relationship between L2 writing self-efficacy and learner engagement with written corrective feedback.Supplementary InformationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s40299-021-00591-9.

The Effect of EFL Learners’ Critical Thinking on their Skill of Interpreting Information as Reflected in their Writing

A good thinker distinguishes his interpretations from evidence, considers alternative interpretations, and reconsiders them under following the changed conditions and new evidence. Critical thinking enables and helps students to evaluate, judge, and make choices regarding everyday information so that they may obtain, believe and use the information to take action accordingly. This quantitative study aims to know EFL learners’ attitude towards critical thinking skills of interpreting information and the effect of EFL learners’ critical thinking on their skill of interpreting information with specific reference to their critical writing. The present study also aims to explore how m and universities any universities foreign language learners reflect critical thinking ability in writing skills while interpreting information. The researcher has used three research tools to this end. These research tools include critical thinking inventory (CTI), Watson-Glazer’s (2002) critical thinking test for interpreting information (CTII), and critical writing test (CWT). The subjects of the present study are the B.Sc. (Bachelor Level) students from different colleges. The results of this study demonstrate that university students have a very positive attitude towards critical thinking skills interpreting information but their performance in reflecting critical thinking in the critical writing test does not match with the attitude towards critical thinking skills of interpreting information. This study also makes some academic implications for the development of EFL learners’ critical thinking particularly in the context of Pakistan.

Analyzing the Effect of EFL Learners’ Writing Practice on their Speaking Performance

This study explored the effect of writing activity on EFL participants’ speaking performance. In order to attain this purpose, three research questions were presented; 1) What are the characteristics of learners’ writing? 2) How does their speaking fluency change during the writing sessions?, and 3) What is the effect of writing practice on learners’ speaking fluency, in terms of features of spoken grammar? Four college students participated in this study. Pre- and post-oral proficiency test scores, the participants’ writing products, and recorded data of their speaking performance were used for data analysis. Results of data analysis showed that, first, the more proficient participants were, the fewer the errors they made in their writing. Second, there was an increase in scores of intermediate- and beginning-level of students between the pre- and post- oral tests while the scores of advanced level of students did not show any differences between those two tests. Lastly, the result shows that the learners with higher proficiency in writing ability have higher recognition to the spoken grammar. Pedagogical implications are also made on the effective teaching of English writing and speaking in the Korean classroom setting.

Effects of EFL Learners' L1 Prosodic System on the Perception of L2 Stress

Effects of EFL Learners' L1 Prosodic System on the Perception of L2 Stress

L2 Reading Proficiency and Lexical Inferencing by University EFL Learners

This article reports on an introspective study that examined the effect of EFL learners' L2 reading proficiency on their L2 lexical inferencing while reading an English expository text. The knowledge sources and contextual cues they used in the process, the level of success they achieved, and their rate of learning and retention of the inferred target words are examined. A taxonomy of the knowledge sources used by the participants of the study and illustrative examples are presented. The findings of the study are discussed in light of previous research, and some pedagogical implications are suggested.