EFL Literacy Research Articles

Metalinguistic Effects on English Spelling: A Structural Equation Model for Early Literacy Instruction

English word spelling attempts originate from spellers’ linguistic and metalinguistic processing. Our study examines the concerted impact of English metalinguistic skills- morphological, phonological, and orthographic processing- on English-as-a-foreign language spelling of a group of young English learners. Structural equation modeling confirmed a three-factor confirmatory factor model, validating phonological awareness on spelling with highest factor loading with degrees of morphology and orthography contribution to spelling. The qualitative spelling analyses also validated phonologically-oriented spelling errors as the most pervasive followed by unique contribution of orthography and morphology. Results, converging with existing literature, emphasize the metalinguistic skills impacts on early EFL literacy development.

Effects of Homework Policy on EFL Literacy Development in Emergency Remote Learning: A Focus on Academic Self-Regulation

Homework as an essential component of the academic process supports teaching and learning by consolidating what the students learn in class and promoting their study skills and self-paced work capacities. While homework characteristics and its efficacy are reported to be interrelated, there is a lacuna in the research on the effectiveness of homework policy in learning outcomes in online classes, particularly under adverse conditions. As a result, the current study investigated the effects of homework policy (leniency vs. strictness) on EFL learners literacy (reading and writing) development, focusing on their academic self-regulation (ASR) level in a distance learning course amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Data were gathered from 36 K-10 students organized into homework packet and homework leniency groups. Their literacy skills and ASR were assessed before and after the study. Due to schools closure during the COVID-19 pandemic, both groups participated in distance learning courses delivered via the national mobile-based LMS. The results of the two-way Analysis of Variance primarily revealed a significant development in the reading and writing skills of the homework-packet group. Despite the marginal difference between the reading performance of high and low self-regulated participants of both homework conditions at the end of the study, a significant difference in the development of the writing skills of high self-regulated participants of the homework-packet condition was observed. The critical role of homework strictness in online courses and promoting learners’ self-regulation skills to benefit from the assigned homework, particularly in teaching writing, is underscored.

TEACHERS’ READING HABITS AND THEIR EFFECT ON THE STUDENTS’ LITERACY

This article is intended to show the importance of teachers’ reading habits to develop students’ literacy effectively. It is shown that the lack of teachers’ reading habits causing the deficiencies and lack of opportunity for students’ quality in EFL literacy. This study used mixed method approach and the data were collected through questionnaire, interview, reading test, and observation. The participants in this study were 6 teachers and 120 students from 6 schools. The result showed that teachers’ reading habits and affective states in EFL reading were in medium level and students’ literacy were in low level. It also exposed that teachers faced many reading problems and challenges throughout the years they studied English. There is a tendency that teachers’ deficiencies on their reading habits is from their perception about EFL reading that still focus on translating the words into their first language rather than critically involved with the main ideas in the text. The result concludes that teachers’ lack of reading habits had caused the lack opportunity of their students’ quality literacy instruction in the classroom. This lack of instruction caused the students are thriving and struggling as EFL readers who do not achieve proficiency, fluency, or comprehension. Moreover, there are also many factors that affect reading habits such as socio-economic background. Parents’ role and the development of technology that changes the medium of reading.

EFL literacy instruction as reflected in elementary school textbooks in Israel

EFL literacy instruction as reflected in elementary school textbooks in Israel

Using Inquiry-Based Learning to Enhance Primary Stage Students’ 21st Century EFL Literacy

Using Inquiry-Based Learning to Enhance Primary Stage Students’ 21st Century EFL Literacy

Promoting EFL literacy through shared and individual classroom reading experiences of literature

I denna artikel undersöks hur gemensam och individuell litteraturupplevelse i klassrumet kan hjälpa elever i låg-, mellan- och högstadiet att utveckla sin engelska literacy, det vill säga sin förmåga att läsa och skriva på engelska. Det finns belägg för att elever på dessa nivåer får för få meningsfyllda läsupplevelser på engelska. I artikeln redovisas forskning som visar vikten av gemensam läsning, i form av lärares högläsning och Readers Theatre, en gruppaktivitet med högläsning. Forskning om individuell läsning, speciellt nyttan av extensiv läsning, som till exempel läsning av stora mängder självvalda texter, diskuteras. Det riktas speciell uppmärksamhet mot två undervisningsvarianter i literacy, The Early Years Literacy Program och Reading and Writing Workshops, som båda inkorporerar gemensamma och individuella upplevelser i sin praktik. Forskningen om dessa metoder i engelskundervisning är begränsad. Trots metodernas uppenbara nytta för utveckling av engelskspråklig literacy, kan ingen av ansatserna betraktas som ledande. Det finns starka argument för att en kombination av gemensam och individuell läsning borde ges en mer framträdande roll i engelsk klassrumsundervisning.

Joining a book club: EFL literacy practice of a primary EFL learner

At most public primary schools in Korea, students are placed in classrooms regardless of their English proficiency. Teachers have limited means of dealing with such variation despite many pedagogical suggestions. The study examined what reading in English as a foreign language can bring a Korean primary student beyond the regular EFL classroom experience in a school setting. To be specific, the study explored a primary EFL learner’s L2 reading practice through participant-observation along with interviews and audio-recordings of classes throughout a semester to understand the role of L2 reading in one student’s educational experience. In total, 30 hours of EFL classroom observation, eight hours of book club class observation, and two hours of interviews were analyzed. The study tries to understand the L2 reading practice in a local setting including meanings of L2 literacy practices and the role of teachers and parents. The study showed when teachers extend their vision beyond regular EFL classes and find room for level-differentiated learning opportunities, students can enjoy rich and meaningful learning environments. This study sheds light on how alternative EFL language practices may compensate for a lack of exposure to the target language in the local context.

Using "Collocations" for Developing EFL Literacy Skills Among Preparatory School Pupils

Using "Collocations" for Developing EFL Literacy Skills Among Preparatory School Pupils

The Effect of Using "Chunking" on Developing EFL Literacy Skills Among Preparatory School Pupils

The Effect of Using "Chunking" on Developing EFL Literacy Skills Among Preparatory School Pupils

Inflectional and derivational morphological awareness in Arabic-speaking High versus Low EFL literacy students

Abstract This paper investigates morphological awareness for inflected and derived words among high versus low literacy students of English as a foreign language in the 5th, 7th and 9th grades. The study experimented with Arabic L1 students and tested inflectional morphological awareness (IMA) and derivational morphological awareness (DMA) separately using the Word Analogy task. Results demonstrate generally less developed morphological awareness skills in low as against high EFL literacy students. Moreover, significant differences between IMA and DMA in favor on IMA were observed in both groups of students and across all grades. This appears to reflect the distributional and linguistic properties of the two morphological systems. Moreover, though morphological awareness emerged rather early in EFL learning, differences between the two morphological systems decreased, though remained significant, as grade level increased. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings, as well as the potential role of Arabic as L1, are discussed.

Explicit Versus Implicit Modes of EFL Reading Literacy Instruction: Using Phonological Awareness With Adult Arab Learners

There is a strong belief among language teachers that intensive exposure to language alone can lead to acquisition. The present study is a qualitative- quantitative research design that used a quasi-experimental design to compare between the effectiveness of intensive exposure to language versus phonological awareness explicit instruction on adult Arab EFL learners’ EFL reading literacy in a Saudi university context. The study is also concerned with Saudi adult learners’ attitudes towards phonological awareness instruction. Participants (N=89) were all male students enrolled in an intensive EFL undergraduate program, where they were required to pass an intensive EFL course. Sample were randomly divided into a treatment group (N=47), who received phonological awareness treatment, and a control group (N=42) who were exposed to language intensively. Posttest findings confirmed the significant effect of phonological awareness instruction on the sample’s EFL literacy. Moreover, positive attitudes towards the program were detected in the interviews held at the end of treatment. Therefore, the study recommended introducing phonological awareness instruction to develop Arab learners’ EFL literacy.

Assessing the Writing Task: Do Pictures Change What Students Write?

This article reports an empirical study which compared the effects of different writing tasks on the writing products of EFL students. This study recruited 50 students from two natural classes in a Chinese university. In the pre-test, they were given the same writing task with only textual instruction and no difference was found in their writing quality. In the test, one class was given graphic novel with textual information, while the other class was given the same graphic novel without textual information. It finds that the group given graphic novel performed better than the other group in terms of content richness, plot development, organization, and language accuracy. It concludes that graphic novel is a better way to scaffold EFL student’s narrative writing and visual information should be included in EFL literacy curricula.

The Malaysian EFL Education: A Brief Historical Review and Literacy Issues

Hailed as a lingua franca, the English language maintains its significance at the global level and due to such status, ithas been made a mandatory subject at the elementary, secondary and tertiary institutions in Malaysia. This paperpresents the review of English literacy in terms of its historical path and its status as a second language (EFL) issueswithin the Malaysian educational context. Document review was conducted for the study to find out the MalaysianEnglish literacy historical path. A library research on mainstream journals was carried out to find out EFL literacyissues in Malaysia. The historical review reveals that the mandatory inclusion of the English literacy in the schooland higher institutions’ curriculum could be traced back as a linguistic culturalization effect of the Britishcolonization. The review also indicates that the pattern of inclusion of the English literacy in the Malaysianeducational system seems to be developmental in nature but with some patterns of consistency at the initial stage ofits inclusion. With regards to the EFL literacy issues, the review shows that the shifting from the English to theMalay medium in public schools could be inferred as one of the root causes of the emergence of issues in the EFLliteracy amongst Malaysian learners. The outcomes of the review have implications on English literacy policy, futurerevisions of English literacy curriculum to alleviate the current EFL literacy issues and to increase its effectiveness inEFL teaching and learning in the Malaysian context.

Investigating EFL Teachers' Conceptions and Literacy of Formative Assessment: Constructing and Validating an Inventory

Investigating EFL Teachers' Conceptions and Literacy of Formative Assessment: Constructing and Validating an Inventory

The PaCT: Parents, Children and Teacher Partnership in Developing ESL Literacy

Malaysia government has called for schools and parents to collaborate in nurturing the culture of reading among children, as there is no formalised programme for a more active involvement of parents in academic matters. Based on the positive results of school-home partnership of past studies, this study proposed a formalised partnership, i.e. the Smart Partnership in Reading in English (SPIRE) project. The six month project aimed to foster a partnership among the teacher, parents and children in an English storybook reading programme. It involved 25 multiracial five year old children, 25 parents and a class teacher. The parents, in partnership, with the teacher scaffold the children’s reading development by reading storybooks to the children at home. Qualitative data gathered via interviews, teacher journals and home visits showed the children largely benefited from the teacher and parents collaboration. The outcome of the study was the formation of two levels of partnerships, firstly, the formation of a teacher-parent partnership, where the teacher scaffolds the parents, who in turn scaffold the children’s development of reading skills at home. Secondly, the family partnership, where all family members, including extended family members were involved in scaffolding the children’s reading development. This partnership also positively influenced the other children and teachers beyond the participating group. Another pertinent outcome was a clear link between the levels of partnership and the children’s reading progress. The closer the parents worked with the teacher, the better was the children’s reading progress. Similar partnership can also leave conventional splits in EFL context in the past and genuine sharing of responsibilities for EFL literacy development in the future.

Exploring the Roles of Parents and Students in EFL Literacy Learning: A Colombian Case

<p>There is little scholarly information about parent involvement in their children’s English as a Foreign Language (EFL henceforth) literacy learning in the Colombian context. This exploratory-qualitative study looks into the possible roles of parents and children in EFL literacy learning at home, with special emphasis on parental roles and contributions. The study has a three-fold purpose: (1) to describe the behaviour of parents and students when doing EFL literacy tasks at home, (2) to explore feelings and thoughts (perceptions) of parents and students about working together on EFL literacy tasks at home, and (3) to identify ways in which parents contribute to a student’s EFL learning. Sixteen ninth grade students at a state school, and their parents or caregivers, carried out a series of EFL literacy tasks in their respective homes. Video recordings, field notes, qualitative interviews, and surveys were used as data collection tools. The results demonstrate that even when parents do not have a command of the English language, they have the potential to help with EFL learning from a non-linguistic point of view (e.g. monitoring children's homework, providing learning conditions, shaping children’s minds for EFL by giving advice, and feedback about EFL homework development).</p>

Cultural Aspects of EFL Reading Acquisition

The significance of EFL literacy goes beyond success at school and may affect a person's level of income and opportunity. Evidently, EFL classes all around the world consist of pupils with diverse learning needs and different cultural and linguistic backgrounds to which teachers are expected to attend. This article depicts the effect of various factors, specifically cultural factors, on EFL reading acquisition. The article presents partial findings of the quantitative research in a doctoral thesis that addressed perceptions and practices regarding reading acquisition among emergent readers learning EFL in small groups within a multicultural environment.

English as a foreign language spelling development: A longitudinal study

ABSTRACTEnglish as a foreign language (EFL) spelling was examined longitudinally three times (4th, 9th, 12th grades) during 9 years of EFL study among Hebrew first language (L1) students. The study examined the impact of L1 literacy variables including phonemic awareness, word attack, and spelling on EFL spelling and the relationship between EFL literacy variables and EFL spelling. Results showed that English spelling measured at earlier points strongly predicted later English spelling. L1 literacy skills measured in fourth grade were more significant than English word recognition in explaining end of ninth grade EFL spelling. Beginning of first year EFL letter knowledge in fourth grade predicted end of first-year EFL spelling. These results show qualitatively different L1 and EFL literacy abilities impacting EFL spelling at 4th, 9th, and 12th grades.

3-Ls: A MODEL FOR TEACHING YOUNG LEARNERS

The fact that EFL literacy in Indonesia is still low led me to conduct this study to cultivate reading habits and increase literacy skills of young learners. Using the 3-Ls—libraries, literature, and literacy—as an instructional model, the study involved five methods: Informational Text Structures; Online Resources; Partnership with Librarians; Big6; and Literature Circles. The sample consisted of 200 fifth graders divided equally into five groups, each of which was also divided into experimental and control groups. Each of tThe experimental groups was taught for three months using one method. All the students in both groups were given English tests and a questionnaire before and after the experiment. The results showed that the experimental groups outperformed the control groups with a significant mean difference of 21.73 on literacy skills and 10.15 on reading habits. Using regression analysis, it was also found that 3-Ls as a whole had given a significant contribution to both students’ reading habits (R2 0,793) and literacy skills (R2 0,943) with the highest percentage contributed by every method was reading skill. However, in spite of demonstrating significant effects on students’ literacy, these methods still did not bring the students’ literacy to an acceptable level. A factor that might contribute to the low achievement of their English literacy was that the 3-Ls model requires optimal facilities.

Digital Education in Eastern Europe: Romania's Modern Affair with Technology

After the fall of the communist regimes in Eastern Europe, technology started penetrating new markets like Romania. Technology was viewed as a tool to improve Romania's political and social standing in the world, and multilingual literacy became very important in the country's effort to join the European Union. This article analyzes how political goals impact the adoption of modern technology and the teaching of English in Romania and discusses how politics eventually aided the promotion of digital literacy and foreign language policies in Romanian schools. Other factors impacting IT and EFL literacy in this process were poverty, people's mentality, and the country's lack of infrastructure. This culminated in an emerging divide between some segments of the population as a result of the unequal access to resources.