Undergraduate EFL Research Articles

Understanding English Language Anxiety among Undergraduate Saudi EFL Learners: The Case of Business College, PSAU

This study aims to investigate English language anxiety among Saudi EFL learners, understand their experience with the causes and sources of their anxiety, and examine if they witness differences in their anxiety based on the differences in their demographic profile. As the study seeks to understand how certain independent variables (gender, employment profile of learners’ parents, and their educational level) shape and affect the dependent variable (English language anxiety), the quantitative approach (descriptive quantitative design) was selected, and Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale developed by Horwitz et al. (1986) was utilized to collect the data from the participants. A simple random sampling method was employed to select 205 respondents from the total population of students studying at different levels of the undergraduate program at the College of Business Administration, Prince Sattam bin Abdulaziz University, Al-Kharj, Saudi Arabia. The results of the study found that the participants experienced moderate levels of anxiety and that there were several sources of anxiety among Saudi EFL learners. Test and communicative anxieties were found to be the major sources of English language anxiety followed by classroom and negative evaluation anxieties respectively. One-way ANOVA analysis revealed no difference of any significance for English language anxiety among Saudi English students due to variance in their demographic profile. The study findings hold implications as they would be of immense use in addressing the issue of anxiety, understanding the possible sources, and finding ways to overcome issues of anxiety and help students move away from anxiety towards acquiring effective and excellent English language skills and proficiency. 
 
 Received: 20 September 2023 / Accepted: 19 February 2024 / Published: 5 March 2024

Using Reading Logs to Develop EFL Undergraduate Students’ Reading Comprehension Ability: A Case Study

Using Reading Logs to Develop EFL Undergraduate Students’ Reading Comprehension Ability: A Case Study

Impact of Research-Informed Integration of AWE Among Chinese EFL Undergraduates

Recent years have seen growing attention to the use of automated writing evaluation (AWE) in the L2/EFL writing classrooms. While it is generally agreed that teachers should provide scaffolding to students when introducing AWE to the class, a paucity of research has an explicit focus on investigating methods for optimizing the integration of AWE feedback. To fill the gap, the present study proposed a research-informed integration of AWE based on the literature and explored empirically its impact on students’ writing performance and their perceived usefulness of AWE feedback in the context of Chinese EFL undergraduates. Data of the study include writing scores and student responses to a questionnaire. The study found that the student participants made significant improvements in content, organization, and holistic score, but not in accuracy, and they seemed to perceive the automated feedback more positively after the intervention. The findings of the study can contribute to knowledge regarding the integration of AWE feedback and provide insights to teachers who are interested in utilizing AWE in L2 writing classrooms.

Exploring the effect of teacher autonomy support on Chinese EFL undergraduates' academic English speaking performance through the mediation of basic psychological needs and classroom engagement.

The capacity to speak English for academic purposes is a pivotal facet of language education and assessment. Despite the substantial research approving the significant role of teachers in L2 learning, it remains unclear how exactly teachers' support for students' learning autonomy influences EFL learners' academic English speaking performance. To address this primary concern, this study drew ground from the Self-System Model of Motivational Development (SSMMD) and adopted a mixed-method approach to examine teacher autonomy support's direct and indirect effects on Chinese EFL undergraduates' academic English speaking performance through the mediation of basic psychological needs and classroom engagement. 247 first-year university students participating in academic English speaking courses were recruited in this study. The quantitative results of the questionnaire indicated that students' perceived teacher support for autonomy directly predicted English speaking performance, and it also indirectly influenced students' speaking performance via the mediation of classroom engagement and basic psychological needs. Students' responses in the semi-structured interview further verified the positive effect of teacher autonomy support on academic English speaking development in the classroom. Pedagogical implications were also discussed based on the findings.

Perceptions of Afghan EFL undergraduate learners towards autonomous learning

Autonomous learning is extensively acknowledged as a desirable goal in undergraduate education as it is found to comply with learner-centered approaches and enable learners to pursue life-long learning. However, very few empirical researchers have closely examined the actual practices of autonomous learning in the Afghan context. Therefore, the main purpose of the current research project was to investigate EFL undergraduates’ perceptions of autonomous learning, strategies used for improving language proficiency, and the extent to of these strategies are deployed. With regard to achieving these objectives, a mixed-method approach was adopted. The quantitative data were analyzed through SPSS v24 by conducting descriptive and inferential statistics. The findings revealed that EFL learners had positive perspectives on autonomous learning and were ready to take the initiative in autonomous learning. Qualitative analysis of nine EFL students’ interviews revealed that they have to create learning goals for their learning, assess themselves for controlling their learning, and take part in inside and outside classroom activities to improve their language proficiency. This case study concludes that the findings cannot be generalized to other contexts, and the study makes an original contribution to understanding the promotion of autonomous learning at Kandahar University. In addition, this study offers practical implications for policymakers and lecturers who are interested in adopting autonomous learning as a worthwhile educational goal.

Conceptualizing the Integration of a 3As Approach Content-Based Instruction into Teaching Business English Speaking to Chinese EFL Undergraduates

Conceptualizing the Integration of a 3As Approach Content-Based Instruction into Teaching Business English Speaking to Chinese EFL Undergraduates

Intra-cultural competence assessment: unveiling its influence on efl students’ affect and on their intercultural competence development

Previous research on foreign language learners' intercultural competence has predominantly centered on their understanding and awareness of the target culture. While most research attribute learners' lack of intercultural competence to their inability to understand the target culture, there has been limited exploration into how students' awareness of their own culture influences their affect and the development of their intercultural competence. Given the significance of intracultural communicatiion ability in intercultural encounters, this this study aims to assess the intracultural competence of EFL students and its impact on their affective experiences and intercultural competence development. To achieve this goal, this study focuses on Algerian undergraduate EFL students. A cohort of 40 EFL students from Ibn Khaldoun University of Tiaret participated in the study. As a research method, the research employed quantitative and qualitative method. The quantitative method draws on Fantini’s (2007) Intercultural Communicative Competence Inventory (ICCI) model, which was modified and constructed into a rating scale to assess the level of the participants' intracultural competence. The qualitative method aims to know students’ perception on the role of intra-cultural competence in influencing their affective experiences in intercultural encounters. Based on the quantitative assessments, it was found that the participants exhibited a moderate level of intracultural competence. The qualitative results, on the other hand, indicated that the participants recognized of the pivotal role that intracultural competence would play in shaping their affective experiences when engaging with individuals from different international cultural backgrounds. This research contributes to our understanding of the importance of intracultural awareness for successful intercultural interactions and provides insights for educators and institutions aiming to enhance intercultural competence among students. The findings highlight the significance of fostering intracultural competence to create more positive and enriching intercultural experiences. /Keywords: assessment, EFL students, intra-cultural competence, affect, intercultural competence development

Effectiveness of automated writing evaluation program to enhance EFL undergraduates’ writing performance in China

Effectiveness of automated writing evaluation program to enhance EFL undergraduates’ writing performance in China

Assessing the Quality of Complexity, Accuracy and Fluency in Expository Writing for EFL University Students

This study is concerned with assessing the quality of complexity, Accuracy and Fluency in expository writing. It aims at identifying and comparing:
 
 The quality of writing expository composition for EFL university students at the department of English, colleges of Education for humanities at Tikrit and Baghdad\ Ibn - Rushd universities.
 EFL university students' quality of writing expository composition in the light of the three principal dimensions: Complexity, Accuracy and Fluency at the two universities.
 
 The aims are achieved by applying a diagnostic test to 185 undergraduate EFL students, in the third year, English Departments, Colleges of Education for humanities, at Tikrit and Baghdad Universities. The study has conducted during the second semester of the academic year 2022-2023. The results have revealed that EFL university students have a low quality of writing in the three specified dimensions: complexity, accuracy and fluency. In the light of the results, some conclusions and recommendations have been presented.

Translation Quality Assessment of the Analysis of Deixis Made by Indonesian EFL Undergraduate Students Abstract

This study investigates the translation quality in terms of accuracy, acceptability, and readability of the translated text of the abstract titled "Analysis of Deixis made by Indonesian EFL Undergraduate Students" which serves as the research's source material. It is descriptive-qualitative. Two approaches were taken to collect the data: content analysis was used to extract information from the source and target texts, and a questionnaire was utilized to collect information regarding readability, acceptability, and accuracy. Three raters evaluated the translated text's acceptability, readability, and accuracy. The data analysis results indicate that: (1) The average score of accuracy is 2.6. (2) The acceptability score average is 2.7. (3) The readability score is 2.4 on average. Given that the three factors had an average score of 2.6, it can be said that the Indonesian EFL undergraduate students' translation of the Analysis of Deixis was of good quality.

The Role of English Speaking- Skills in Career Progression: A Case Study among Sudanese Undergraduate EFL Students

The present study is to shed light on the nature and extent of the impact of English language proficiency on career advancement across a range of professional contexts by compiling and critically analyzing scientific research on the subject. The research shows on the connections between language proficiency, professional mobility, and socioeconomic circumstances by drawing on the ideas of linguistic capital, socio-linguistic adaptation, and globalized labour markets. Moreover, the English language has a significant influence on our workplaces and businesses. Regardless of differences in geography, society, politics, or religion, English has emerged as the dominant language in the global business community. Fieldwork was carried out at Vignan's Foundation for Science, Technology & Research, Andhra Pradesh. For this, Sudanese graduating EFL students were chosen from various courses of the institute.The findings show a significant relationship between job success and English language competency, particularly in fields where English is the predominant language of exchange. The extent of this advantage, however, it varies depending on the industry, the cultural setting, and the specific organizational policies. The findings highlight the importance of English education and training in workforce development plans, particularly in locations with a low native English-speaking population. Businesses may benefit from investing in language training as a means of retaining and developing talent. Policymakers may take these findings into account when creating educational curriculum and social interventions to address linguistic gaps on a larger scale. The investigation reveals a favorable correlation between professional advancement and proficiency in the English language.

A Survey of an Exposure to Extramural English Activities among EFL Undergraduate Students

Apart from learning English in class, EFL students start learning English outside the classroom, known as Extramural English activities. This study aims to determine how often EFL undergraduate students are exposed to Extramural English activities in everyday life. It involved 153 students majoring in English Education at a private university in Indonesia who participated in the study. To garner the data, a questionnaire adapted from Barbee (2013) with a total of 34 items which consisted of three elements of language learning activities beyond the classroom, namely 1) Exposure to verbal sources of English outside the classroom, 2) Exposure to written sources of English outside the classroom, and 3) Exposure to verbal-written sources of English outside the classroom was distributed to the students. The results showed that Extramural English activities that were often carried out by the students were listening to English songs with and without lyrics, reading English content on social media, and ‘sometimes’ watching English TV series or movies with subtitles. Overall, each of these activities was carried out by students with a duration of between 4 to 5 and 5 to 7 hours each week. This research can be useful for language teachers or lecturers to motivate students to start practicing English through Extramural English language activities that students do, and for the English Education department to facilitate students' language proficiency with Extramural English activities outside of the classroom.

The Assessment of Self-Directed Learning Readiness Among Generation Z Kurdish EFL Undergraduates

The aim of this study is to determine the level of self-directed learning readiness among undergraduate students belonging to Generation Z in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. The study sample was 225 undergraduate students in the English language and literature departments across three universities located in Erbil, Halabja, and Sulaymaniyah. The study used a quantitative approach using a questionnaire. The results showed that there was no significant difference between male and female students in terms of self-control and self-management. However, a slight difference emerged in terms of their desire for learning. A considerable variation was found between first- and fourth-year students in terms of their level of self-control. Furthermore, the results revealed a significant difference between the cities, with students from Erbil demonstrating a higher readiness level for self-directed learning compared to their peers in the other two cities. These findings provide valuable insights into the self-directed learning preparedness of undergraduate students in Kurdistan. They suggest the need for targeted efforts to promote self-directed learning, particularly in areas where readiness level is lower.

The Effect of Multimedia on L2 Idiom Learning: Using Instructional Humorous Videos with Saudi Female EFL Undergraduate Learners

Learning formulaic language, such as idioms, is considered one of the greatest difficulties encountered by EFL learners. The aim of the present study is twofold: first, to examine the effect of using humorous videos on learners’ ability to understand and remember English idioms; second, to investigate students’ attitudes towards learning idioms through humorous videos as a multimedia instructional method. The sample of this study consisted of 50 Saudi female EFL undergraduate learners in the English department at Imam Mohammad Ibn Saud Islamic University, Saudi Arabia. The participants were divided into two groups of 25 students; an experimental group and a control group. The data of the study was collected via three research instruments: pre-test, immediate and delayed post-tests, and an attitudinal questionnaire. A pre-test was given to both groups at the beginning of the study to ensure that they were equivalent. Proceeding this, the experimental group was instructed using humorous videos, while the control group was instructed in the traditional method. Finally, both groups underwent post-tests to measure the performance effects on two levels of idiomatic knowledge: recall and transfer. Results showed that there was a statistically significant difference between the performance of the experimental group and the control group; indicating a positive effect on the experimental group’s recall and transfer. Thus, the study concludes that the use of humorous videos appears to improve learners’ ability to understand and remember English idioms, in addition to indicating that learners hold a positive attitude towards learning idioms through humorous videos as a multimedia instructional method.

Digital Translation Literacy of Undergraduate EFL Students

Abstract
 Literacy is the representation of language competency, individual skill in reading, writing, speaking, and managing. In digital era, literacy can be represented through the use of Google translation tool as one of the most popular tools among EFL students, either for their translation assignment or improve foreign language skills. This study aimed to explore undergraduate EFL student’s digital literacy by using Google translate as a tool to do translation. Qualitative descriptive method is used to present the data comprehensively. The data collection begin from problem identification, field observation, interview, and study the document related to their assignment. This research used purposive sampling which involved 31 EFL undergraduate students of Muhammadiyah Tangerang University. This research shows that EFL undergraduate students are able to operate and use Google translate effectively in assisting assignment. Google translate tool can eliminate the learning’s gap among different level of student’s English competency especially in vocabulary mastery and time management, the research also shows student’s digital literacy through Google translate not only for written translation, but also orally and can be used in diversity functions, such as translating the language in sentence form and learning how to pronounce English words.
 Keywords: Literacy, translation, Google translate, EFL students, digital literacy

ONLINE LEARNING AND INVISIBLE DISABILITY: EXPLORING GREEK EFL STUDENTS’ EXPERIENCES

<p>The bulk of research on students with learning disabilities during university has focused on face-to-face mode on campus. Less is known regarding the learning experiences of these students online. This qualitative work aims to explore the online educational experiences among Greek undergraduate EFL students with learning disabilities and/or ADHD during the Covid-19 shutdown. Data were collected via in-depth interviews with seven undergraduate students with LD and/or ADHD from two different higher education institutions in Greece. Interviews focused on the difficulties participants encountered during the three online academic semesters in 2020-2021. Data were analysed using IPA. Findings revealed students encountered severe difficulties that hindered their academic progress both in EFL and in core subject courses but there also were affordances that facilitated their learning. <strong></strong></p><p> </p><p><strong> Article visualizations:</strong></p><p><img src="/-counters-/soc/0661/a.php" alt="Hit counter" /></p>

Thai EFL Undergraduate Engineering Students’ Perspectives on Academic Writing: Challenges and Strategies

Thai EFL Undergraduate Engineering Students’ Perspectives on Academic Writing: Challenges and Strategies

Exploring English Major Students' Readiness and Its Influence on the Students’ Motivation for Online English Courses

The intent of this study is to explore the views of EFL undergraduate readiness to e- learning. More precisely, it probes how readiness will affect students’ motivation to learn online and whether the students’ gender and year of study have a relation with their readiness and online learning motivation. The researchers have administered an online survey with a 5-Likert scale (Microsoft Form) to259 EFL undergraduates from Al-Balqa Applied University of various study levels of English. The scale for data collection was adopted from a study by Hung et al. (2010). Results showed a positive relation between online learning readiness and online learning motivation, and the most significant predictor of online learning motivation was learner control readiness. Moreover, results revealed no significant relation between students’ e-learning readiness and their learning motivation due to the students’ gender and their year of study variables.

Mapping Undergraduate EFL Students’ Writing Anxiety: Trajectories from Responses, Reasons, and Strategies

Concerning the various responses of students’ anxiety on writing throughout the years, this sequential explanatory study aims to deeply explore the students’ writing anxiety and their reasons and strategies how to deal with it. The adapted questionnaire of Second Language Writing Anxiety Inventory and semi-structured interview were applied to examine students’ writing anxiety. Twenty five fourth semester students were sampled purposively, then they volunteered in the questionnaire and five of them were invited in the interview. The investigations revealed that among all types of anxiety, the students experienced most cognitive anxiety. The reasons for anxiety are linguistic difficulties, inadequate writing technique and practice, being afraid of tests, time pressure, and negative evaluation. The students’ strategies used for dealing with anxiety involve cognitive and affective aspects. These results can be a map in aiding students to cope with anxiety and suggests the important practical implications for teachers/lecturers and learners. Further, this study also discusses limitations and recommendations.

Turkish EFL Learners’ Perceptions and Preferences of Written Corrective Feedback

Written corrective feedback (WCF) has gained considerable attention from both researchers and teachers in the field of English language teaching (ELT). Although a large bulk of research on WCF has focused on the link between different feedback types and language development, more research is needed to understand how language learners perceive written corrective feedback and what feedback practices they favor more than others. Therefore, this study aims to investigate Turkish EFL learners’ perceptions and preferences of written corrective feedback in terms of the feedback strategies employed in their classrooms as well as their revision practices upon getting feedback. 90 Turkish Intermediate EFL undergraduates from a public university in Turkey completed a 21-item Likert-scale questionnaire online. Using descriptive statistics, the questionnaire data were analyzed. The findings showed that the learners’ perceptions and their teachers’ feedback practices mostly aligned, and most learners preferred to receive comprehensive and indirect feedback that focuses on grammatical, mechanical, and lexical errors rather than organization and content. These findings highlighted the importance of learner expectations in relation to the perceived efficacy of feedback practices.