University EFL Learners Research Articles

A Factor Analysis of Chinese University EFL Learners’ Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety

The subjects of the present study were 344 college students from China. They responded to a 5-point likert scale questionnaire adapted from Horwitz`s Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (FLCAS). Their responses to the questionnaire were submitted to exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis (with the help of SPSS and AMOS statistical package) for identifying anxiety dimensions. The results showed that there existed four dimensions of the FLCAS and the four-factor model adequately fit the data. The fit indices also suggested that the instrument measuring the dimensions of anxiety specific to college students in China was construct-wise valid and reliable for future use and it may also provide some reference for measuring anxiety dimensions in similar cultural context countries like Korea and Japan.

Simulation Activities for Japanese EFL College Learners

Simulation Activities for Japanese EFL College Learners

Acquisition of the nongeneric use of the definite article “the” by Egyptian EFL learners

This study investigates the acquisition of the nongeneric use of the definite article “the” by Egyptian EFL learners over a period of eight months. Sixty students at two levels of language proficiency (low, high) from the English Department, Faculty of Education, Menoufia University, participated in the study. The theoretical approach adopted was Liu and Gleason’s (2002) model of classification, which classifies the nongeneric use of the into four major types: textual, structural, situation, and cultural. The study aims to determine whether these uses present different levels of difficulty for Egyptian EFL learners, and whether or not they are acquired at the same time. Besides, the study seeks to determine the extent to which students’ English proficiency level (low, high) affects their acquisition of these uses. Data were collected by administering a 46-item test twice to the participants, with a period of eight months between the first and sec­ond administrations. The test required the participants to complete each question sentence by choosing either the, a(n) or O. The findings indicate that the four nongeneric uses of the present different levels of difficulty for Egyptian EFL university learners and do not appear to be acquired at the same time. On both the first and second administrations of the test, both structural and textual uses proved to be the most diffi­cult for the two levels of proficiency followed in order by situation use and cultural use. Moreover, there was a significant improvement in the students’ command of the four nongeneric uses of the as the level of proficiency increases. Finally, after a period of eight months, students of the low-level group noticeably improved their level of command of the nongeneric uses of the, while students of the high-level group failed to do so

An Investigation of Iranian EFL University Learners’ Creative Thinking and Critical Thinking Skills in a Pedagogical Blog: A Mixed-Methods Approach

An Investigation of Iranian EFL University Learners’ Creative Thinking and Critical Thinking Skills in a Pedagogical Blog: A Mixed-Methods Approach

The effectiveness of english movie subtitles in vocabulary learning among iraqi kurdistan efl learners: soran university efl learners as an example

The effectiveness of english movie subtitles in vocabulary learning among iraqi kurdistan efl learners: soran university efl learners as an example

Effect of Foreign Language Anxiety on Gender and Academic Achievement among Yemeni University EFL Students

This study aimed to investigate the gender differences in terms of anxiety among Yemeni university EFL learners. It also aimed to investigate the correlation between the level of anxiety and the academic achievement of the students. The participants of this study were 155 students chosen from the population through stratified random sampling. The participants are selected from English Department, Faculty of Arts, Ibb University, Yemen. The data was collected by using a questionnaire adopted from Yassin (2015), and the data was analysed by using 22nd version of the SPSS. The data of the first question was analysed by using T-test and the result of the analysis showed that the females experienced higher level of anxiety than male students, but the difference between both groups is not significant. The second question was analysed by using Pearson Product Moment Correlation and the result showed that there is not significant correlation between the level of anxiety and the academic achievement of the students.

The Impact of Metacognitive Strategy Training on Comprehension Monitoring among Moroccan EFL University Learners

The Impact of Metacognitive Strategy Training on Comprehension Monitoring among Moroccan EFL University Learners

Korean EFL college learners’ perspectives toward World Englishes

Korean EFL college learners’ perspectives toward World Englishes

A Study on a Model of L2 Vocabulary Achievement for Korean University EFL Learners

The present study was designed to examine the effects of a variety of factors on English vocabulary achievement. To this end, a total of seven hypotheses were posed in light of previous research on vocabulary learning. To test these hypotheses, an SEM procedure was performed for a sample of 368 Korean university students. The effects of gender and academic specialization on English vocabulary achievement were also examined through multi-sample analyses. Results of the present study demonstrate that Korean university EFL learners’ English vocabulary achievement was a direct function of motivation and vocabulary strategy. The effects of confidence, learner beliefs, and vocabulary learning methods, however, were found to be only indirectly connected to vocabulary achievement through motivation and strategy use. The results of multisample analyses for learners of different gender and academic major groups identified a total of four path coefficients whose effects functioned differentially across different learner groups. Implications of the present are also discussed.

INVESTIGATING IRAQI EFL LEARNERS’ USE OF THE SPEECH ACT OF AGREEMENT

This study investigates Iraqi EFL university learners’ use of the speech act of agreement at the pragmatic level. Additionally, the present study analyzes the productive level of the learners’ use of agreement.The study basically aims at analysing the speech act of agreement at the pragmatic level. It also aims at investigating the most common strategies used by Iraqi EFL learners to issue communicative acts of agreement at the productive level.The study hypothesizes that (1) the students’ performance of the direct strategies for showing agreement is better than the indirect onesat the productive level, and (2) the students’ performance of the explicit performative strategies for showing agreement is better than the implicit ones. To achieve the aims of the study and verify or refute its hypotheses, a sample of twenty Iraqi EFL learners from fourth year-stage in the Department of English Language, College of Education, University of Al-Qadisiya during the academic year (2014-2015) is randomly chosen to answer a questionnaire which consists of twenty different interactional situations requiring from the subjects to respond with agreement. The study verifies the hypotheses and yields that (1) a percentage of (92%) goes to the direct strategies for showing agreement ,whereas (8%) goes to the indirect ones, (2) a percentage of (67%) goes to the learners’ use of explicit performatives for showing agreement ,whereas only (33%) goes to the learners’ use of the implicit ones. So, the study concludes the poor use of indirect strategies and implicit performativesfor showing agreement compared to the direct strategies and the explicit performatives by the Iraqi EFL learners.

Motivation, ideal self and willingness to communicate as the predictors of observed L2 use in the classroom

Willingness to Communicate (WTC), the most immediate antecedent of actual communication behavior in an L2, is widely believed to facilitate the acquisition of the target language. Higher WTC is generally associated with higher L2 use (MacIntyre, Clément, Dörnyei & Noels 1998), though it has not been empirically tested. This article reports on an attempt to fill this gap by investigating to what degree learners’ self-reported L2 WTC predicts actual L2 use in the classroom. A group of 372 Japanese university EFL learners majoring in science and human arts subjects participated in the study. Students’ oral performance data were collected three times during the group discussions in one academic semester. The number of words each student produced during each discussion was counted. The results of structural equation modelling analyses suggested that self-reported L2 WTC predicted actual L2 use in the classroom. Second, gender differences in L2 use in the language classroom has not been empirically explored in the quantitative studies, therefore, whether L2 WTC would predict observed L2 use equally among males and females, and whether males and females produce equal amount of L2 in the classroom will be explored. Implications of the research findings will be discussed.

The Critical Period Hypothesis Revisited: An Investigation of Taiwanese University EFL Learners’ Production of Two English Consonants

This study mainly investigates the relationship between onset age of exposure to formal English instruction and Taiwanese university EFL learners’ accuracy in pronouncing two English consonants (i.e., /s/ and /θ/). A total of 50 English majors who studied at a single university in northern Taiwan were recruited to participate in the current research. All of the participants were asked to fill in a language background questionnaire, followed by receiving a pronunciation test that required them to read into a tape recorder 16 English words with either a /s/ sound or a /θ/ sound. The recordings of the participants were rated by three native speakers of English, who either held a PhD in the TESOL- or linguistics-related field or had taught English at university for at least 10 years. The learners’ productive performances were then analyzed along with their ages of starting learning English (retrieved from the data of the questionnaires) via Pearson Product-Moment Correlations. The statistical results show that there were no significant correlations of onset age to the participants’ production of the consonants. As a result, the findings of the study suggested that onset age did not appear to play a critical role in foreign language acquisition of producing consonants.

The Relationship between Reticence and Personality Types in Iranian University EFL Classrooms

Reticence is regarded as a problematic phenomenon among students in EFL classrooms. The present study was an attempt to explore the issue of reticence in Iranian foreign language classrooms. The study examined the relationship between students’ reticence and their personality types among university EFL learners. For this purpose, the Reticence Scale-12 (RS-12) questionnaire and the 60-item NEO Five-Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI) questionnaire were used. Moreover, interviews with the participants about reticence were employed to find the students’ ideas about reticence in the classroom. The results revealed that the five personality types affected Iranian EFL students’ reticence. In addition, educational, situational, and emotional factors contributed to the students’ reticence in EFL classrooms. It can be concluded that teachers’ awareness of learners’ reticence can help them match their teaching styles with their students’ personality types, and choose more appropriate activities that can enhance EFL learners’ participation. The study can have implications and applications for both teachers and students.

Interrelations Between Foreign Language Listening Anxiety and Strategy Use and Their Predicting Effects on Test Performance of High- and Low-Proficient Chinese University EFL Learners

The present research examined the associations between foreign language listening anxiety (FLLA) and strategy use (FLLSU) and their predicting effects on test performance of high- and low-proficient Chinese university English as a foreign language learners. 1160 first-year undergraduate non-English majors answered the battery of questionnaires and took the listening test, among whom 227 low- and 243 high-proficient students were included in the final analyses of the collected data. The findings were as follows: (1) the low-proficient group was significantly more anxious about English listening and less confident in their English listening proficiency, and employed word-oriented and less active listener strategies significantly more often than their high-proficient peers, (2) FLLA was generally significantly correlated with FLLSU for both high- and low-proficient groups, and (3) FLLSU was a good predictor for English listening test performance for both low- and high-proficient students. It is thus concluded that FLLA and FLLSU are two closely interrelated and important factors in second/foreign language (SL/FL) learning, that FLLSU is a more influential factor for SL/FL listening learning, and that proficiency greatly mediates students’ FLLA levels and FLLSU frequencies.

A Survey of EFL College Learners’ Perceptions of an On-Line Writing Program

This survey adopted quantitative and qualitative methods to investigate 209 Chinese college learners’ perceptions of an on-line writing program, Pigaiwang, in a normal university. The survey questionnaire and interview results indicated that EFL college learners attach great importance to English writing, but they find English writing difficult, particularly in terms of vocabulary and grammar; the majority of college learners showed slightly more positive attitudes toward using Pigaiwang as a writing tool than as an essay grader; computer–mediated feedback could enlarge learners’ vocabulary size, and reduce the grammar and spelling linguistic errors in their writing compositions; the majority of college learners thought writing with Pigaiwang could improve learners’ English writing learning autonomy and they hoped to use on-line writing programs in future English writing.

Fluency Assessment of First Year EFL Learners in St. Theresa International College

The global market demands for speaking English since the cross-border business communication is done in English. To meet this challenge, it has become imperative for schools to assess the fluency level of their students in order to cater to their needs. This study was conducted to determine the level of oral fluency of St. Theresa International College EFL leaners in the dimensions of : fluency, meaning and ideas, and vocabulary extent. The study also compared the level of fluency of the EFL learners from the different faculties. The descriptive statistics of mean and standard deviation were used for data analysis. The findings showed that the EFL learners of St. Theresa International College have attained a high level of fluency in vocabulary, moderate level in oral fluency, and low level in meaning and ideas as well as in sentence structure. When grouped according to faculties, the findings showed that International Business, Bachelor of Science in Nursing, and Business English and Bachelor of Education students are in moderate level of fluency while those in Public Health and Sports Management had low level of fluency. In general, the level of fluency of St. Theresa International College EFL learners is in need of urgent improvement considering that majority of the students have reached only moderate level of fluency. Hence, a pedagogical model was developed to meet the needs of ESL learners. This model has specific stages which can lead to the development of skills in oral fluency, meaning and ideas, sentence structure and vocabulary.

The Use of English Adjectival Affixes by Iraqi EFL Learners: An Error Analysis

This study is mainly concerned with English adjectival affixes as one of the common and essential processes in the English derivation on the one hand, and as a problematic area for English foreign language learners on the other hand . This study hypothesizes that: (1) Iraqi EFL university learners do not often have a full mastery of adjectival affixes and their different types. (2) Such learners encounter difficulties in using these affixes due to various factors. (3) The learners’ performance at the recognition level is expected to be better than their performance at the production one. These hypotheses have been verified through adopting a diagnostic test of four questions. The test has been applied to a sample of 150 Iraqi EFL university learners at their fourth year from Departments of English, Colleges of Education, Universities of Babylon, Baghdad, and Al-Qadissiya during the academic year 2014 – 2015. Then the subjects’ responses have been collected and analyzed to draw the findings of this study.

Korean College EFL Learners’ Task Motivation in Written Language Production

<p>The aims of the present study were to explore the effects of two different types of task conditions (topic choice vs. no choice) on the quality of written production in a second language (lexical complexity, syntactic complexity, and cohesion) and to investigate the effects of these two different task conditions on task motivation. This research was conducted by means of a task motivation questionnaire and a collation of the writings of 31 Korean college students learning English as a foreign language. The data was analyzed using Coh-Metrix 3.0. The major findings were as follows: 1) The writings of participants in the topic choice condition were better than those in the no-choice condition in terms of lexical sophistication and temporal cohesion. However, participants’ written production in the no-choice condition was better than that in the topic choice condition in terms of syntactic complexity. 2) The participants’ task motivation levels were higher for the perceived choice domain in the topic choice condition than in the no-choice condition. These findings should help L2 writing instructors, materials developers, and researchers to design L2 writing instruction with a focus on written production specifically for Korean college-level learners.</p>

The Role of Psychological Well-being on University EFL Learners’ Attributional Patterns

The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between learners’ state of psychological well-being and their attributional patterns in learning English as a foreign language. The sample consists of 96 university students studying English literature and language teaching in Ferdowsi University of Mashad, 42 of whom were male and 54 female whose age ranged from18 to 26 years old. The participants completed Attribution Theory for Foreign Language Learners Questionnaire and Ryff Scale of Psychological Well-being in one session. The correlational study indicated positive and significant correlations between psychological well-being subscales and all the attribution patterns except for the association between Personal growth and Language policy which was non-significant. The results of regression analyses demonstrated that some of psychological well-being subscales could predict some of the factors learners ascribe their success or failure to. DOI: 10.5901/jesr.2016.v6n1p189

Iraqi University EFL Learners

Iraqi University EFL Learners