English As A Second Language Teachers Research Articles

COVID-19 and the pre-existing language teacher supply crisis

The insufficient supply of K-12 language – world language (WL) and English as a second language (ESL) – teachers in the United States has been a pervasive challenge for school administrators seeking to provide language learning opportunities for their students. The issue is complex – including numerous factors that adversely affect the recruitment of future educators as well as their retention once in the classroom. Almost all states report a dearth of WL and/or ESL teachers, and WL is the discipline with the highest predictive teacher turnover rate – whether by leaving the profession entirely ( leavers) or opting to move to a different school ( movers). In spring 2020, the global health pandemic placed additional demands on all educators, and consequently some reports predict an exodus of teachers from K-12 schools. This article presents the results of a study exploring language teachers’ intention to leave the profession as a consequence of school-related responsibilities and experiences during spring 2020. Data revealed three profiles of K-12 language teachers: stayers, leavers, and conditional stayers. Implications related to influential factors in teachers’ potential decisions to remain in or exit the profession are provided.

Translanguaging Pedagogy in the ESL Classroom: A Systematic Review

The effects of technological advancements, globalization and social progress has enabled researchers and teachers to rediscover and innovate methods of English Language Teaching (ELT) to English as a Second Language (ESL) learners worldwide where more non-native speakers of English who identified as bilinguals or multilinguals enroll in English language classes to develop essential skills for international communication. Yet, teachers in ESL education stand by standardized and classic ELT methodology to teach all types of learners with strong emphasis on English-only use in the classroom in hopes of producing competent users of the English language. This long standing point of view has continually ignored bilingual and multilingual learners’ potentials of learning a target language (L2) more effectively by accessing all linguistic resources from their first language (L1) or other familiar languages as a unified system through the practice of translanguaging. Therefore, this systematic literature review paper intends to explore the extent of current researches on translanguaging as an ESL pedagogy or ELT then highlight the potentials, considerations and trends of teaching and learning ESL with translingualism. A total 14 empirical journal articles related to the teaching practice were analysed to find out patterns in relevant research aims or purposes, research settings, research participants’ education and multilingual backgrounds, research designs and data analysis used and considerations for ESL translanguaging pedagogy. This paper serves as a guide for ESL educators and researchers on the current use of translanguaging for developing ESL skills productively as well as recommendations for future research.

MUET English Examination as a Predictor of Academic Achievement for TESL Teacher Trainees at a Public Teacher Education Institution in Malaysia

The Malaysian University English Test (MUET) is a standardised university entrance English language proficiency examination in Malaysia and is seen as one of the most important English language proficiency tests used by Malaysian public universities. Due to more international students (who have taken more internationally recognized English language proficiency tests) coming into Malaysian universities, it is important to assess the accuracy of the MUET as a benchmark to indicate the level of English proficiency of Malaysian students being at par with other international English assessment. In this regard, this study is conducted on a group of second year teacher trainees in the B. Ed Teaching English as a Second Language (TESL) program at a public university in Malaysia. A Bivariate Correlation Pearson test was conducted for the overall MUET score together with their CGPA (Cumulative Grade Point Average) to identify important predictors of academic achievement. The study found that the overall MUET scores and CGPA has positive correlation, and that MUET can serve as a predictive of academic achievement. Moreover, from the four components of MUET, only ‘Reading’ and ‘Speaking’ components seemed to be the heaviest predictors of students' academic achievement.

Sustainability of Professional Development: A Longitudinal Case Study of an Early Career ESL Teacher’s Agency and Identity

This paper reports on a longitudinal case study of a Hong Kong early career ESL (English as a second language) secondary teacher, Joyce (pseudonym), who experienced different stages of personal–professional development over seven–eight years (August 2013–December 2020), as follows: (1) entering, and engaging, in teaching for five–six years, upon graduation from a local teacher education BA degree program in summer 2013; (2) resigning from her full-time teaching position and leaving the teaching profession, in response to an “insulting” classroom revisit in her third school; (3) working in an NGO for a short time, after “recovery” from the “insulting” event; and (4) weighing possibilities for resuming teaching, after leaving the NGO in 2019. Drawing on multiple data that were collected over seven–eight years, including interviews, informal communications, and autobiography, this study aimed to examine the issues of teacher attrition and sustainable professional development, in relation to teacher agency and teacher identity, in Hong Kong secondary school contexts. The findings revealed that school and social contexts intertwined with personal experiences, culminating in Joyce’s leaving or staying in the teaching profession. Through focusing on Joyce’s long-term experiences of becoming and being an ESL teacher, the findings shed light on the affordances for, and constraints upon, teacher agency and teacher identity in school contexts.

The effect of English as a Second Language (ESL) Teacher Talk in Creating Classroom Interactions

The success of teaching and learning depends on the way the teacher talk and the interactions that occur between teachers and students. The use of teacher talk can be considered a necessary as well as an unnecessary source in generating interactions. The study entitled ‘The effect of ESL Teacher Talk in creating classroom interaction’ has the objectives to portray the effect of ESL teacher talk in creating classroom interactions. This research employed an observation sheet, questionnaire and audio recording to reach the objectives. The categories of teacher talk existed in the classroom were discovered by using the observation sheet. Thereby, asking questions and lecturing were found as the dominant ones. The questionnaire was used to gain the students’ perceptions that supported the findings of the effects of teacher talk in which students perceived that the teacher indirectly asks many questions to involve them in the interactions. Thus, the study implies the idea that the teacher plays a major role in the classroom using the language to guide various types of functions as questioning, eliciting, explaining, giving feedback and instructions to generate inter-actions throughout the lesson. It is suggested that teachers should pay attention to their language in the process of interactions with the students to provoke more interactions in the classroom.

Strategies Used to Learn English Among Successful Language Learners

Successful language learners, especially for the second language, are generally recognised for employing different learning strategies. Even so, not so many learning strategies to further improve their listening skills have been discussed. Thus, this study aims to identify and explore the strategies employed by successful learners among the Teaching English as a Second Language (TESL) degree holders who are teaching in various education institutions in Malaysia, primarily on listening skills. The quantitative method was applied in this study. An online survey was conducted with the involvement of 58 participants who are Teaching English as a Second Language (TESL) degree holders teaching in various education institutions in Malaysia. The survey questions were adapted from the Language Learning Strategy Use Survey, developed by Cohen, Oxford & Chi (2002). Findings revealed that most of the respondents; (i)prefer to use media to heighten their exposure to the target language; (ii) form words association with the familiar sound of words in the target language; (iii)pay special attention to specific aspects of the language prior to the conversation; and, (iv)utilized all compensation strategies when they the meaning does not get through. The findings of this study could help teachers to enrich their learning experience not only as educators but also as a good language learner. When it comes to good language learners and language learning strategies, both teachers and learners' roles are mutually dependent and crucial. Teachers should be able to identify the strategies that suit their learners well, and guide them in applying various strategies accordingly. Based on the results, further study could be conducted to identify the suitable activities that would help the learners to improve their listening skills.

Lexical Features of When in Manila Blogs: IPE Word-Formation Processes and their Acceptability to ESL Teachers

The impact of internet in the 21st century has significantly influenced the variety of English language through the innovations in electronic communication. Human communication became faster, more dynamic, and convenient in the digital world. The profound effect of this change is evident in the idiosyncratic usage of words in the sharing and exchange of information online. This study focuses on the lexical creativity of Internet Philippine English (IPE) neologism or the process of creating new words and its acceptability for English as a Second Language (ESL) teachers. A corpus of 300,000+ words was collected from “When In Manila” blogs from 2017-2019 and processed using AntConc 2 software. Findings showed twenty-three IPE lexical items formed through normal expansion, shortening, coinage, and borrowing based on Dimaculangan and Gustilo’s (2018) framework of word-formation processes in Philippine English. Five of these words were frequently occurring among the different categories of the blogs. Moreover, the words were evaluated by ESL teachers to validate their acceptability vis-a-vis academic Philippine English. Thus, it was revealed that these words are only acceptable in informal and conversational English levels. Further, the pedagogical implications entail reviewing the present curriculum and assess where new changes and developments in PE can be incorporated into academic instruction.

English As Secondary Language Learning and Autism Spectrum Disorder: The Obstacles in Teaching and Learning the Language

To this date, there has been an increasing number of children across the globe diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder. There has been much literature that discussed the issues and obstacles common learners face in their English language learning journey. Yet, not much spotlight and acknowledgment were given to the learners with Autism in their voyage of English language learning. In conjunction to that, this paper intends to investigate the obstacles that the learners with Autism face in their English as secondary language learning. In addition to that, teachers are not to be forgotten as teachers are also believed to be playing a role in learners with Autism’s English as a second language(ESL) learning process which is why this research also intends to investigate the challenges faced by the teachers who are in charge of teaching learners with Autism. A qualitative research with the observation and interview as the instruments represents this research. This research involved two Autism Centres located in an urban area in Malaysia. The observation and interviews were conducted with forty-five learners with Autism and fourteen teachers. The findings have gathered that the world of Autism Spectrum Disorder is indeed full of obstacles and challenges but none that could not be overcome. It is believed that this research will provide a better insight of the real world of ESL teaching and learning among learners with Autism. Discussions and recommendations are further explained in this research.

Teaching as Intercultural Communication: A Sociocultural Study of Teaching English as a Second Language in an Asian Country

ABSTRACT Teaching English as a Second Language (ESL) has always been studied through the behaviorist lens using quantitative methodology. An alternative is to view it as an intercultural communication and study it qualitatively. Through the frame of the Sociocultural Tradition of Communication Theory (SCT)where communication is theorized as the production or reproduction of the social order and where alienation, misalignments and conflicts are problematized, this study was conducted to answer two research questions: (1) What is the view of the international non-native English professional teachers on ESL teaching? (2) How does this view define their intercultural communicative practices as ESL teachers? In this investigation the view of the participants on ESL teaching constitutes as the meaning that defines their intercultural communicative practices. Such practices explain how the social order where professional standards are alienated and how the traditional teaching proliferates in the ESL classroom is reproduced. A thematic analysis of the interviews of three overseas professional teachers was employed. The analysis surfaced participants’ view of ESL teaching as embracing of the local culture for employment and education. This view defines three communicative practices: local colleagues are befriended; local language is learned; and local culture is integrated in teaching.

The Contribution of Information and Communication Technology to Develop Writing Skills in ESL Classroom

Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in the teaching and learning process in general, the use of ICT in teaching writing skills in English as a Second Language (ESL) classrooms is very encouraging in the present scenario. This study attempts to seek findings on the use of ICT tools in the teaching of ESL writing skills in modern classrooms. The skill of writing is used on an everyday basis to communicate what one thinks and feels. This study, to find out how the use of technology enhances writing abilities in the classroom. New advancements of technology are being created each day and educators need to incorporate these technologies into modern classrooms. By integrated technology, educators are providing more opportunities and strategies to increase their student’s abilities to write more detailed and grammatically correct essays, stories and, letters.

What do Malaysian ESL Teachers Think About Flipped Classroom?

Student-centred teaching and learning methods are favoured for promoting active and collaborative learning. In the flipped classroom approach, student-centred teaching and learning are the focus in the learning process. The approach has been gaining attention from educators at all levels worldwide. The present study was aimed at exploring Malaysian primary ESL (English as a Second Language) teachers’ perceptions of the implementation of flipped classroom. The study used the mixed method design, a Likert-scale questionnaire and an open-ended question. This research employed a whole population sample, which consisted of primary ESL teachers in a rural area in Malaysia. The findings showed that the teachers have positive perceptions of the flipped classroom approach as well as some concerns regarding its implementation, such as the availability of ICT (information and communications technology) gadgets and Internet connection in rural areas. Teachers’ perceptions of flipped classrooms can be used to make suggestions or give ideas to the authorities for improving the infrastructure in rural areas to help teachers and students. It is recommended that future studies be carried out with a larger and more diverse population to gather a more detailed picture of Malaysian teachers’ perceptions of the flipped classroom approach.

Factors Affecting Teaching English as a Second Language (TESL) Postgraduate Students’ Behavioural Intention for Online Learning during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Online learning has become essential in education as the spread of coronavirus 19 (COVID-19) pandemic has brought significant changes to the field. However, education should remain welcoming and supportive to all the learners as it is important to keep the students’ behavioural intention in any form of learning environment. Thus, this study is significant as online learning is leading the trend of education now. Past studies revealed that the factors of performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence, and facilitating conditions under the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT) model affect learners’ behavioural intention to use online learning. This study intended to identify the most significant factors that influence TESL postgraduate students’ behavioural intention towards the use of online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. It also examined the relationship amongst the four factors and postgraduate students’ behavioural intention to use online learning. The participants consisted of 169 postgraduate students at a public university in Malaysia. To achieve the aim, the study utilized a survey design using a questionnaire. The results from regression analysis revealed that all of the factors have positive effects on postgraduate students’ behavioural intention to use online learning. Meanwhile, performance expectancy has the greatest influence on postgraduate students’ behavioural intention. Hence, this study concludes that the practicality and the usefulness of online learning should be highlighted by the authorities.

The Relationship of Teaching, Social and Cognitive Presence with Course Satisfaction in a TESL Programme Course in a Public University in Sabah, East Malaysia

The purpose of this study was to examine whether teaching presence, social presence and cognitive presence were significant predictors of course satisfaction in a blended learning course at a public university in Sabah, East Malaysia. The research design was based on the Community of Inquiry framework survey involving 32 third-year undergraduates majoring in TESL (Teaching of English as a Second Language). Pearson r correlational analysis was used to determine the relationship between teaching presence, social presence, cognitive presence and course satisfaction. The findings of this study showed that both social presence and cognitive presence were significantly associated with course satisfaction, but not with teaching presence.

ESL Teachers’ Challenges in Implementing E-learning during COVID-19

Education sector in Malaysia had put emphasis on the use of online learning or e-learning with technology and devices as a mediator of communication to replace face-to-face learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. Subsequently, with the improvement of learning technologies, English as a Second Language (ESL) teachers faced various challenges in language teaching. In this regard, this study aimed to investigate the challenges ESL teachers faced in implementing e-learning during COVID-19. Using a qualitative approach, this research was a case study which involved 20 primary ESL teachers. Data collection was done through an in-depth interview to explore teachers’ e-learning experiences and challenges in teaching the English language. Based on the findings, the majority of teachers expressed that the use of e-learning was effective with various limitations such as teachers’ readiness to adopt e-learning, accessibility to mobile phones and Internet connectivity, classroom management in term of low students’ participation and assessment. Thus, the researcher recommended more studies to highlight teachers’ insight regarding the significance of e-learning. ESL teachers, stakeholders, policy makers, and institutions can benefit from the results of the study and come out with practical strategies to utilize online sources for education in the pandemic situation.

Finding Talent Among Elementary English Learners: A Validity Study of the HOPE Teacher Rating Scale

The purpose of this study was to investigate the validity of the HOPE Scale for identifying gifted English language learners (ELs) and how classroom and English as a second language (ESL) teacher HOPE Scale scores differ. Seventy teachers completed the HOPE Scale on 1,467 students in grades K-5 and four ESL teachers completed the scale on 131 ELs. Measurement invariance tests indicated that the HOPE Scale yields noninvariant latent means across EL and English proficient (EP) samples. However, confirmatory factor analysis results support the use of the scale with ELs or EP students separately. Results also indicate that the rating patterns of classroom and ESL teachers were different and that the HOPE Scale does not yield valid data when used by ESL teachers. Caution is recommended when using the HOPE Scale and other teacher rating scales to compare ELs to EP students. The importance of invariance testing before using an instrument with a population that is different from the one(s) for which the instrument was developed is discussed.

Language Teaching during a Pandemic: A Case Study of Zoom Use by a Secondary ESL Teacher in Hong Kong

This article reports a case study of an English as a Second Language (ESL) teacher in Hong Kong who conducted lessons via Zoom during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study focused on the factors influencing her technology integration in synchronous online teaching mode. Using data from classroom recordings, stimulated-recall and semi-structured interviews, this study uncovered how Zoom functioned as a substitute for face-to-face lessons. The findings revealed that although there were fewer interactions between the teacher and her students, teaching in synchronous online mode provided the teacher with opportunities to utilize certain online features to augment methods of checking student understanding. The study identified the teacher’s pedagogical beliefs, the context and professional development as factors that influenced the level of technology integration in her Zoom classes. The study concludes that embracing process-oriented pedagogies may be necessary for a higher level of technology integration among ESL teachers who have adequate professional development opportunities and school support.

Nonnative English learners’ use and understanding of singular they

With universities and other academic institutions now creating policies regarding the use of pronouns and the rights of individuals to use the pronouns they prefer, use of the singular they pronoun in academic discourse is a relatively new phenomenon and not one that is typically studied by English as a second language (ESL) students before their arrival in a predominantly English-speaking country. To date, whether international students are aware of this phenomenon has yet to be explored; lack of this awareness could lead to a range of communication problems. To address this gap, the present exploratory study examined what pronouns university-level ESL students use when writing about a non-gender specified person (e.g. "the ideal student"), and whether they understand the use of singular they in discourse. The data reveal that participants from various proficiency levels use and understand use of singular they in context. However, eleven out of 34 participants (32.4%) do not understand singular they in the provided context. The findings of this study inform ESL instruction and curriculum development in accurately assessing the English language knowledge of students in this area, and tailoring instruction to their needs.

Esl Teacher’s Knowledge and Readiness on the Implementation of School-Based Assessment (SBA) in Malaysian Primary School

In line with the Malaysian education transformation effort to keep up with the current nation needs, a new assessment approach has been implemented on early 2011 namely the school-based assessment or widely known as SBA. Nevertheless, after few years of its implementation, the SBA has caused rippled among educational stakeholders especially the educators. Hence, the purpose of this paper is to identify the English as a Second Language (ESL) teachers’ knowledge and readiness in regard to SBA in Sabah primary schools. A survey was conducted to 100 ESL primary school teachers in one of the states in Malaysia, Sabah. The data were collected using questionnaire and then analysed using descriptive analysis. Based on the findings, majority of the respondents are highly knowledgeable in regards to SBA implementation in English class. Similarly, the findings also indicated that majority of the respondents show positive level of readiness to implement SBA for English class in primary schools. Results of this study are able to give relevant picture to policy makers and Malaysian Ministry of Education on the current states of ESL teachers’ knowledge and readiness in regards to SBA implementation after being introduced in 2011.

The Analysis and Research on the Root-Based and Chunking Approach—Based on the Theory of Multiple Intelligences

The root-based and chunking approach is not a newly invented ESL (English as a Second Language) teaching approach. Technically, it has been widely used by a majority of ESL teachers ever since TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) courses were acknowledged and adopted by the bulk of non-English speaking countries to train their own ESL teachers. While an increasing number of ESL teachers are aware of the value of learning roots and chunks, the misuse of root-based and chunking approach emerges and lead to some adverse effects. Before this paper was written, a comparative study had been done in one of my courses, during which I noticed that their reactions towards the words’ affixes, roots and synonyms are obviously different. Hence this paper was written mainly to analyse the causes of these differences, trying to improve the traditional root-based and chunking approach using the theory of multiple intelligence.

Enhancing Primary ESL Learners’ Simple Sentence Construction Using the PPT PiWoCa Technique in the Form of Bubble Map—A Literature Review

Society of today signifies how English, as a global language, has attained a universal pedestal compared to others. Thus, it is highly demanding and challenging for one to be a proficient and effective language user. In Malaysia, teachers of English as a Second Language (ESL) tend to face umpteenth challenges in developing primary ESL learners’ language abilities, especially in the scope of writing. Some of the problems include deprivation of vocabulary, lack of motivation, lack of reading and the influence of multimedia language. Consequently, ESL teachers have to opt for different strategies and approaches to tackle primary ESL learners’ writing skills, particularly in simple sentence construction. Therefore, this study presents a literature review on the use of PowerPoint Picture-Word Card (PPT PiWoCa) technique in the form of bubble map to enhance primary ESL learners’ simple sentence construction. In this study, social constructivist theory and the visual-spatial element in Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences theory reveal that the PPT PiWoCa technique allows primary ESL learners to brainstorm ideas and construct knowledge in authentic contexts. Similarly, the use of visual representations such as PPT, pictures, word cards and bubble map is able to capture primary ESL learners’ attention in the recognition of words, grammatical functions and sentence structure based on a guided sample of simple sentence construction. With the presence of visual aids, primary ESL learners are able to model the sample given in order to produce meaningful simple sentences.